datool.ru methodology
How the channel quality index is calculated
The quality index (QI) is a single number from 0 to 100. It shows whether a channel is alive, whether it grows honestly, how much advertising it carries and whether it can be trusted. The QI does not replace a proper review of the channel: it helps you quickly shortlist strong channels and spot risky ones, and then you look at reach, posts and dynamics yourself.
We compare with similar channels, not with all of them
Most ratings compare a channel with every channel at once. Then a district newspaper with 3,000 subscribers always loses to a national news channel with a million — even though it may be the best one for its town.
We compare a channel only with similar ones: the same main category and the same size. Sizes: up to 1K subscribers, 1K–5K, 5K–20K, 20K–100K, 100K–500K, over 500K. If there are fewer than 30 similar channels, the channel is compared with all channels of its size.
The channel card always says what it was compared with, for example: “News and media, 5K–20K subscribers, 412 channels”.
What the number means
| QI | Rating |
|---|---|
| 85–100 | High |
| 70–84 | Good |
| 40–69 | Medium |
| 0–39 | Low |
When the index is not calculated
A fair rating needs data. The QI is calculated only for channels (not for chats) that have:
- at least 500 subscribers;
- at least 5 posts in the last 30 days and at least one in the last 7 days;
- views on at least 5 posts older than two days;
- at least 7 days of our observations of the subscriber count.
If a condition is not met, the channel has no index: the channel page says the index has not been calculated yet and reminds these conditions. The site does not yet show which condition exactly is not met — check the channel against the list above.
What the index is made of
| Part | Points | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | 25 | whether the audience is alive and responds to posts |
| Growth integrity | 25 | whether the subscriber count grows naturally |
| Ad load | 20 | how much advertising the channel carries |
| Trust | 20 | whether the channel is verified and known to other channels |
| Calculation reliability | 10 | whether there is enough data for a confident rating |
Audience — 25 points
We look at the last 30 days and only at the channel’s own posts (no reposts):
- Reach — how many people see a typical post compared with the number of subscribers. We take the median views of posts older than two days, not the average: one viral post should not embellish the channel.
- Engagement — how many reactions there are per view.
- Regularity — on how many of the 30 days posts were published; a pause longer than a week takes off another 20 points out of 100.
Reach and engagement are scored by the channel’s place among similar channels: a channel with reach better than 80% of similar ones gets 80 out of 100 for reach. Weights: reach — half of the part, engagement — 30%, regularity — 20%.
Growth integrity — 25 points
We start at 100 and deduct points for signs of inflated subscribers over the last 30 days:
| Sign | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Subscribers grew by more than 10% in a week while reach barely grew | 30 |
| A sharp jump: +5% in one day and three times the usual growth | 25 (two or more jumps — 40) |
| Three or more days with identical growth (±2%) at more than 50 a day | 25 |
| Subscribers grew by more than 3% while the channel was silent for 5 days or longer | 20 |
| Unsubscribes exceed 60% of subscribes | 15 |
The score does not go below zero.
Ad load — 20 points
Advertising is not bad, but an advertiser needs to know how loaded the channel is with it. We start at 100:
| Sign over 30 days | Deduction |
|---|---|
| 10–25% of posts are ads | 20 |
| 25–50% of posts are ads | 45 |
| More than 50% of posts are ads | 70 |
| On average more than one link to other channels per two posts | 15 |
| Half or more of the links to other channels lead to 1–2 channels (looks like an ad network; counted from 5 links in 30 days) | 15 |
A post counts as an ad if it has an advertising label, typical advertising wording or an external link with a call to follow it. In the card this part is described in words: low, moderate or high load.
Trust — 20 points
We add up the signs (maximum 100):
| Sign | Points |
|---|---|
| The owner verified the channel via the datool.ru bot | 30 |
| The channel has the A+ mark in MAX | 20 |
| Other channels cite it — place among similar channels by the citation index | up to 25 |
| The channel has been in our database for 90 days or more / a year or more | 10 / 15 |
| The channel’s name and address have not changed for 90 days | 10 |
If the channel changed its address, the card shows the note “Profile has changed”.
Calculation reliability — 10 points
Five checks, each worth 20 points out of 100:
- we have observed the subscribers for 30 days or more;
- there are 20 or more posts with views older than two days in 30 days;
- fresh posts have reaction data;
- we know whether other channels cited the channel in 30 days;
- the channel’s data was updated within the last day.
This part also sets the confidence of the rating: high (80–100), medium (40–79) or low (below 40). With low confidence we do not show the overall rating — only the separate parts and the list of missing data.
How the total is calculated
Each part is first scored from 0 to 100 and then multiplied by its weight: for example, “Audience” at 70 out of 100 gives 70 × 25 / 100 = 17.5 points. The total is the sum of the five parts rounded to a whole number.
What you will see in the channel card
- The total number and the rating in words, in the rating's colour.
- A scale from 0 to 100 with the four ratings and a mark where the channel is.
- “Points scored” — the five parts of the index: points scored out of the maximum.
- “Strengths” — up to four, for example: “Reach above 80% of channels of the same category and size”, “Owner verified”, “Profile is stable”.
- “Weaknesses” — up to three, for example: “Sharp subscriber growth without reach growth”, “High advertising load”.
- What the channel was compared with.
If the index is calculated but there is too little data for a confident total, the total and the rating in words are not shown: only the parts of the index and “Data limitations” — for example, “Few subscriber snapshots” or “Few posts with views after 48 hours”.
When it is updated
Once a day, at night. We store index values by day, but the site does not have an index history chart yet — it is planned. If we change the methodology, old values are not recalculated.
What the index does not take into account
- Comments — we do not collect them: neither texts, nor authors, nor their number.
- Post forwards — MAX does not report how many times a post was forwarded.
- Subscriber history before we started observing — MAX does not provide it, we only see changes from the day we started tracking the channel.
Disagree with the rating?
Write to us — we will review the channel manually. If you are the owner, verify the channel via the datool.ru bot: it adds trust points and unlocks detailed statistics.
Methodology version 1.2, October 2026.