KilnGuides is free for workers. Every guide, tool, template and reference card on every KilnGuides vertical is free to read, download and use. This page explains how that works financially, so you know exactly where our money comes from and what it buys.
This is version 1.0, published 22 April 2026. We review this page every quarter and publish a changelog whenever it changes.
Where the money comes from
Category-exclusive sponsorship. The main source of KilnGuides funding is category-exclusive sponsorship from UK businesses that want to reach self-employed workers in a specific trade. A single sponsor covers a defined category for a defined term. They get logo placement, a named point of contact and monthly reporting. They do not get editorial influence. Their sponsorship is clearly labelled as such wherever it appears. Full terms are in our Sponsor Charter.
Printed reference cards. Workers who want a laminated pocket version of our reference cards can buy them. The guide content itself stays free online. The card is a format convenience for anyone who prefers a physical copy on the van dashboard or in the tool bag.
B2B licensing. Training providers, further-education colleges and awarding bodies can license KilnGuides content as their own teaching resource, at rates that scale with the size of the institution. Licensing revenue funds the research and review work that keeps guides current.
That is the full list. We take no money from affiliate links, lead-generation fees, programmatic ad networks, sponsored editorial, "native" content or any form of commercial placement.
Who we refuse money from
We do not sell sponsorship to anyone whose business model depends on the people we publish for being worse off. In practice that means we refuse payday lenders, unregulated debt advice firms, multi-level marketing schemes, any "course" that charges self-employed workers for access to work that should be advertised openly, or any product that obviously preys on financial distress.
Safety content carries no sponsor placement of any kind. Mental health, crisis, domestic abuse and welfare pages run sponsor-free across every KilnGuides vertical. Charities listed on these pages are listed because they help, not because they paid.
How commercial content is labelled
Sponsors do not see guides, tools or templates before they go live. We do not accept paid editorial placements. Logo placements on sponsored pages are clearly identified as sponsor slots, and any advertorial content we published would be labelled prominently as "Ad", "Advert" or "Advertisement Feature" in line with UK Advertising Standards Authority guidance. Reference cards with sponsor zones have those zones labelled on the card itself.
How you can hold us to this
Our traffic numbers are published on a public stats page. Our corrections log is public, per vertical. Our KilnGuides Charter and Sponsor Charter are published and versioned with changelogs. You can report a sponsor breach, a labelling concern or an editorial issue to hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
As KilnGuides grows and hires editorial staff, our intention is to seek regulation under the IMPRESS Standards Code. Until then, the public Charters are the binding document.