TEMPLATE

Comparison Brief Template for Product Research

A good comparison is more than a feature table. This is the structure SourceFrame uses for a Comparison Brief — options, criteria, tradeoffs, evidence, and gaps — so a product decision rests on sources you can inspect, not vibes.

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What goes in a comparison brief

Six parts that turn scattered sources into a defensible comparison.

Each part below answers a question a reader will ask before trusting the comparison. Keep them explicit and the brief holds up under scrutiny; skip them and it reads as opinion.

1. Options

The specific alternatives being compared, scoped so it is clear what is in and what is out.

2. Criteria

The shared dimensions that actually decide it — cost, fit, effort, risk — chosen before you look at answers.

3. Tradeoffs

How each option does on each criterion, with the strengths and the costs side by side.

4. Evidence

The sources behind each claim, cited so a reader can check the comparison instead of trusting it.

5. Evidence gaps

Criteria where the sources are thin, missing, or one-sided — flagged, not glossed over.

6. Recommendation (optional)

A call, when the evidence supports one — with the conditions that would change it.

How to use the template

Fix the criteria first — deciding what matters before you see the answers keeps the comparison honest.
Gather sources per option — vendor pages, docs, pricing, and independent reviews, captured from your tabs or discovered from a prompt.
Compare on the same axes — every option is scored against every criterion, so gaps in coverage are obvious.
Label the thin spots — where only one source (or a vendor’s own page) backs a claim, mark it as an evidence gap.

Generate one from your own sources

You do not have to fill this in by hand. SourceFrame produces a Comparison Brief in this shape from the source set you give it — capture the tabs you already have open, or start from a prompt and let it discover and check sources for you.

The result keeps the same structure: options across shared criteria, tradeoffs cited to their sources, and evidence gaps surfaced so the comparison is one you can defend.

Compare Tools

Build a side-by-side Comparison Brief with criteria, tradeoffs, and evidence gaps.

Recommendation Brief Template

Context, recommendation, alternatives, risks, and evidence gaps in one place.

AI Research Briefs

Turn a prompt, open tabs, or an AI chat into a cited, inspectable brief.

Summarize Sources

Condense many tabs, articles, or docs into one cited Summary Brief.

Build a comparison brief from your sources

Turn vendor pages, docs, reviews, and AI chats into a structured Comparison Brief you can cite.