How we make money
Short version: we don't run ads. DrinkIY is free to use, has no sign-up, and pays its bills entirely through Amazon affiliate links — a small commission when you buy gear we've linked to, at no extra cost to you. Here's the whole story, no fine print hidden.
Why the site is free
We built DrinkIY because we wanted a straight answer to "is this machine worth it?" — not a marketing page dressed up as one. Keeping the calculators free means anyone weighing a coffee habit, a soda maker, or a homebrew kit can run their own numbers without an account, a paywall, or a credit card. That only works if the site pays for itself another way, so here's ours.
Our promise to you
- No display ads. Nothing sold by the pixel, no banners, no pop-ups.
- No sponsored placements. A machine or bean shows up because it's a genuinely good pick for its tier, never because a brand paid for the spot.
- No paywalls. Every calculator, guide, and review is free, forever.
- We never sell your data. The calculator runs in your browser; your inputs stay on your device unless you choose to share a link.
- Our opinions are never for sale. A review says what a machine actually gets you and where it cuts corners — that doesn't change based on who sells it.
- Links never cost you extra. Clicking through to Amazon doesn't add a cent to your total — the commission comes out of Amazon's cut, not yours.
What an affiliate link actually is
When you click a "Check the price on Amazon" button on this site, the link carries our Amazon Associates tag. If you buy that item — or almost anything else — within about 24 hours of clicking, Amazon pays us a small commission (typically low single-digit percent on kitchen goods). You pay the exact same price either way. It's the same model used by most independent product-review sites, and it's the one that lets us keep the calculators free instead of gating them behind a subscription.
Why this keeps our math honest
Here's the part we actually like about this model: we only make money if the calculator convinces you a purchase pays off. If a machine's break-even is slow, or the savings are thin for your habit, the honest answer is "maybe skip it" — and that's exactly what the numbers will show, because the math is the same math whether or not you ever click a link. There's no dial we can turn to make a bad buy look good; the formulas are the same ones documented on every calculator page, and every default price is yours to override.
We'd rather earn a smaller commission from someone who trusts the numbers than a bigger one from someone who felt sold to. Trust is the whole product here.
The required fine print
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This is the standard FTC and Amazon Associates disclosure, and it applies to every affiliate link on this site — machines, beans, milk, flavorings, and accessories alike.
Run your own numbers
That's the whole model — no ads, no sponsorships, just a small commission when the math works out for you. See it in action: