From a kitchen-table frustration to a trusted comparison practice serving clients across Canada.
Compare with Credence was founded in 2021 in Laval, Quebec, by a small group of consumer-advocacy researchers who noticed a troubling pattern: the most popular comparison websites were not truly independent. Their rankings were influenced — sometimes entirely determined — by affiliate commissions. A provider willing to pay a higher referral fee would magically appear at the top of every "best of" list, regardless of actual quality.
We believed consumers and businesses deserved better. So we built a comparison practice funded entirely by client fees, with a strict no-commission policy baked into our founding charter. Our first report compared five home-insurance providers for a Laval homeowner. She saved $420 a year and told three friends. Those friends told their colleagues. Word spread, and within eighteen months we had completed over 300 comparison reports across a dozen categories.
Today we serve individual consumers, small businesses and enterprise procurement teams. Our office is still in Laval — at 258 Mike Corner, H7A 0A1 Laval, Quebec, Canada — and our commitment to unbiased research has not wavered. Every analyst signs an independence pledge, and we publish our methodology openly so clients can verify our work.
Four principles guide every comparison we produce.
We never accept referral fees, affiliate commissions or advertising payments from the providers we evaluate. Our revenue comes exclusively from the clients who commission our reports. This structural independence is what makes our recommendations trustworthy.
Every report includes the full scoring rubric, data sources and weighting rationale. We want our clients to understand not just what we recommend, but why — and to be able to challenge our reasoning if they disagree. Transparency builds trust, and trust is our most valuable asset.
We verify claims directly with providers, read the fine print that others skip and run hands-on tests wherever possible. Our analysts are trained to spot misleading marketing language and to distinguish genuine differentiators from cosmetic features designed to inflate perceived value.
Complex information is only useful if it is understandable. We write our reports in plain language, use clear tables and visualisations and offer a summary page for decision-makers who do not have time to read a 30-page document. Good comparison is not about more data — it is about the right data, presented clearly.
A small, experienced group of analysts, researchers and communicators who care deeply about honest information.
Founder and lead analyst
Nathalie spent a decade in consumer advocacy before launching Credence. She holds a master's degree in public policy from Université de Montréal and has published research on financial-product transparency in Canadian markets. She personally reviews every comparison report before delivery.
Senior researcher
Éric brings eight years of experience in insurance underwriting and risk assessment. His deep knowledge of policy language allows him to spot exclusion clauses and coverage gaps that most consumers overlook. He leads our insurance and financial-product comparison practice.
Technology analyst
Sara is a former software engineer who now applies her technical expertise to evaluating SaaS platforms, APIs and digital tools. She conducts hands-on testing, reviews security certifications and models total cost of ownership for our business and enterprise clients.
Key moments in our journey from a kitchen-table idea to a trusted comparison practice.
Nathalie Tremblay and two colleagues produce their first home-insurance comparison report. The client saves $420 a year and becomes the company's first advocate.
Credence reaches 100 completed comparison reports. The team expands to include a dedicated technology analyst and begins covering software and SaaS categories.
Responding to demand from procurement teams, we launch our quarterly enterprise monitoring service. Three mid-sized companies sign on in the first quarter.
We surpass 500 completed reports across 14 product categories. Client satisfaction surveys show a 96 % recommendation rate, and we begin accepting custom research engagements.
We are expanding our analyst team and exploring new comparison categories including renewable-energy providers and electric-vehicle leasing. Our commitment to independence remains unchanged.
Whether you have a question about our methodology or want to start a comparison project, we would love to hear from you.
258 Mike Corner, H7A 0A1 Laval, Quebec, Canada