How we check download links

ExeDepot does not host software. Every download button points to the program's developer. Where the developer publishes a direct link to the Windows installer, the button starts that download from the developer's own server. Otherwise it opens the official download page. Before a review goes live, and each time it is updated, we check the following.

• The domain belongs to the developer. We take it from the project's own website or source code repository, not from search results.
• A direct link is the stable Windows installer. It comes from the official download page and serves the file itself, not another web page.
• The link opens directly. No shorteners, ad networks, countdown pages or third-party mirrors in between.
• The license is current. We confirm the program is still free, or for shareware and trial software the current price and trial terms, and note the exact license on the review.
• The date is real. The "Link checked" date on each review is the day we last opened the official download page.

If a developer moves or removes a download, we update or remove the button.

How we rate apps

A review gets a rating only after we install the current version on Windows and use it for its main job. Reviews without stars have not been tested this way yet. We score five criteria from 1 to 5 in half-point steps; the overall rating is their average.

• Features. How well the free version covers its main job.
• Ease of use. Setup, interface and how fast a new user gets results.
• Performance. Speed, stability and resource use on a typical PC.
• Privacy and ads. Telemetry, ads, bundled offers and account requirements.
• Free version value. What you get without paying compared with paid tiers.

Ratings are our own editorial opinion, not user votes or download counts.

Some reviews also show the user rating from the app's Microsoft Store listing: the same score and the same number of ratings as on that page, with a link to it. That figure is the store's, and a review without it means the app has no matching listing there. We do not copy ratings from other catalogs or invent them.