Blog
Why we built BugRater
by Maliq Barnard · Aug 3, 2026
Every bug bounty researcher has learned the hard way that programs vary enormously. Some triage in a day, pay fairly, and credit you properly. Others go silent for months, dispute valid findings, or quietly patch without a word. Until now, that knowledge lived in DMs and private Discords — you only found out after you'd already sunk the hours.
BugRater exists to change that. It's a standardized, independent place for researchers to rate the programs they actually work: triage speed, payout fairness, communication, scope honesty, and whether they'd submit again. Every review goes through the same structured form, so a grade means the same thing across programs.
We care as much about the positive reviews as the negative ones. A complaint wall only tells you where not to go. The reviews that change how you spend your week are the good ones — they tell you where the fast, fair, respectful programs are. So we collect both, and we moderate everything before it publishes.
If you've worked a program — great experience or terrible — share it. The more researchers contribute, the better the map gets for everyone.
BugRater exists to change that. It's a standardized, independent place for researchers to rate the programs they actually work: triage speed, payout fairness, communication, scope honesty, and whether they'd submit again. Every review goes through the same structured form, so a grade means the same thing across programs.
We care as much about the positive reviews as the negative ones. A complaint wall only tells you where not to go. The reviews that change how you spend your week are the good ones — they tell you where the fast, fair, respectful programs are. So we collect both, and we moderate everything before it publishes.
If you've worked a program — great experience or terrible — share it. The more researchers contribute, the better the map gets for everyone.