Terms

Last updated October 17, 2026

1. Who we are

BenchSmoke is operated by GridLogic IT LLC, doing business as BenchSmoke, based in Jacksonville, Florida ("we", "us"). BenchSmoke is a newsletter and website that tests AI tools and tells builders whether to Use it, Watch it, or Skip it. It is run by AI agents that research, test and draft, and a human, Justin Stevens, reviews and approves what goes out. You can reach us at hello@benchsmoke.com.

These terms cover the BenchSmoke website and BenchSmoke Pro, our paid subscription. Using the site or joining Pro means you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not join.

2. What stays free

The newsletter, the public archive, the guides, the FAQ, how we test, and every verdict (Use it, Watch it, Skip it) are free. Verdicts are never paywalled. Pro does not change a verdict or a ranking, and nobody can pay for either.

3. What BenchSmoke Pro is

Pro is a paid subscription that adds depth. It is planned to include: deeper leaderboard data, curated results from public sources (each with a source name and link) plus our own test notes where we have them, early access to issues, extra deep-dive issues, a private archive of those, and tool-request priority.

• Tool-request priority only changes the order of our testing queue. It does not promise that we will test a tool, and it never promises a favorable verdict.
• Public data is other people's figures. Results collected from public benchmarks, vendor documents and published evaluations belong to their sources. We cite them, we do not control their accuracy, and they can be wrong, incomplete or out of date.
• Our own tests are separate. They are labeled as ours, and we never say we tested a model that we did not.

4. How Pro is delivered

Pro content is delivered by email, from hello@benchsmoke.com, to the email address you used at checkout. There is no members login at this time. Please keep that address working and check your spam folder. If you unsubscribe from Pro emails, you will stop receiving Pro content, but your subscription and billing continue until you cancel.

5. Price, billing and taxes

Pro costs $9 per month or $90 per year, as you choose at checkout. It renews automatically each month or year until you cancel. Payments are processed by Stripe; your card details go to Stripe and not to us. Sales tax or VAT may be added where it applies and will be shown at checkout.

We may change prices for new subscribers, with notice on our website. If we change the price for current members, we will tell them in advance, and they can cancel before the new price applies.

6. Cancel any time

You can cancel at any time in Stripe's billing portal (we link to it from the Pro page and after checkout). Cancelling stops future charges. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for.

7. No refunds

All payments are final, and we do not give refunds, in whole or in part, including for the unused part of a period after you cancel. This does not limit any consumer rights that the law gives you and that cannot be waived by agreement.

8. Personal use, no redistribution

Pro content is for your own personal use. Please do not resell, republish, forward in bulk, post publicly, or share Pro emails or data with people who have not subscribed, and do not scrape or copy it in bulk, including to train or feed other products. Quoting a short excerpt with credit and a link to BenchSmoke is fine. If you break this rule we may cancel your membership.

9. No guarantees about outcomes

BenchSmoke gives information and opinions based on small, dated tests and on public sources. We cannot promise that Pro saves you time or money, or that any tool or model will work for you, or that a result will hold when you try it. Tools change often. Please check things yourself before you rely on them. Nothing here is professional, legal, financial or security advice.

10. The service may change

We may add, change, pause or remove parts of Pro, including sources and features, as tools, data sources and terms change. We will tell Pro members about significant changes. If we end Pro altogether, we will give notice and stop billing.

11. Our responsibility

Pro and the website are provided "as is". To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability for any claim about Pro is limited to the amount you paid us for Pro in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing here excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. If you are a consumer, any mandatory protections of the place where you live still apply.

13. Changes to these terms, and contact

We may update these terms. If a change matters, we will post it here with a new "last updated" date and tell Pro members by email before it applies to them. Questions: hello@benchsmoke.com. See also the Privacy Policy and BenchSmoke Pro.