Methodology
The Stack Alpha Score™
Your SAS is a weighted composite of three pillars. Each score runs from 0 to 100. We update scores when a vendor changes their ToS, model, or infrastructure — not on a fixed schedule.
Data Sovereignty
40% of SAS- —Does the vendor train on your inputs or outputs?
- —Who retains ownership of data you submit?
- —Is a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) available?
- —What sub-processors handle your data?
- —Is your data stored in a dedicated or shared tenant?
We analyze ToS and enterprise agreements directly. Run our CLI script on any vendor URL to get a preliminary score.
Technical Alpha
40% of SAS- —Finance-domain task performance: DCF support, document summarization, ratio analysis.
- —Model reasoning quality on multi-step problems.
- —Accuracy on sector-specific terminology and context.
- —Quality of citations, sourcing, and hallucination rate.
- —Ability to handle long-context documents (filings, transcripts).
We run structured prompts against each tool and score outputs blind. Scoring is repeated quarterly.
Latency / Flow
20% of SAS- —Median first-token latency for typical finance prompts.
- —API stability and uptime over 90-day rolling window.
- —Native integrations: Excel, Bloomberg, Slack, email.
- —Authentication and SSO support (Okta, SAML).
- —Ease of onboarding for a 10-person analyst team.
Latency measured from US-East. Your location may vary.
Score Thresholds
Commercial Relationships
Some tools on TIS are marked “Recommended” and carry affiliate links. We earn a recurring commission if you sign up via our link — at no cost to you. Our scoring is conducted independently of commercial relationships. Affiliate status does not inflate a tool’s SAS. If you believe a score is incorrect, email us with your evidence.