Terra is free to use. Revenue can support the site, but it should not get to rewrite the math, hide the tradeoff or turn an educational result into a product pitch.
Terra does not claim to be perfectly free of every human judgment. It does commit to making the important financial incentives visible and keeping them separate from calculator outputs.
That promise is more useful than simply labeling the site “unbiased.” Visitors should be able to inspect the assumptions and understand why a result changed.
Terra may use display advertising around educational content. Ads should stay away from calculator controls and should not be placed between a calculator's inputs and its result merely to increase clicks.
Terra may eventually use carefully selected affiliate relationships when a product or service naturally fits the visitor's next question. When a link can earn Terra money, that relationship should be disclosed where the visitor can see it.
An advertiser or affiliate relationship does not get to change calculator formulas, modeled outputs, break-even points or the assumptions Terra exposes to visitors.
Terra should not label a product, advisor, account or strategy mathematically superior because the site is paid. When reasonable choices depend on assumptions, Terra's job is to show what makes the answer change.
Changing an advertising or affiliate relationship does not change a financial engine or its result.
If Terra can earn from a specific link or recommendation, the visitor should not have to hunt through a legal page to discover that fact.
Traditional can beat Roth under some assumptions. Paying down debt can beat investing under some assumptions. An advisor can be worth a fee when the value provided exceeds the cost. Terra should explain the condition, not force one answer.
Future tax rates, market returns and personal circumstances are uncertain. A transparent range or comparison is more honest than pretending a model can predict the future.
Methodology explains the math and modeling conventions. Privacy explains what Terra does with site and calculator data. About explains why the site exists.