Don't balk at paying the author a fee. He has spent a lot of personal time developing the program and they deserve some compensation. Frankly, trying to identify the so-called BEST program is a waste of time. Such discussions are full of subjective opinions and are not worthy of discussions. I never met a man who didn't think what he had or owned wasn't the Best in the World.
All popular programs receive good pictures under similar conditions.
However, some suppress or filter noise and QRM better than others. Subjective issues of this kind depend much on your mental makeup, education, aesthetic sense, work-related skills and training. Give preference to the program that always identifies who is sending the picture. Use only ONE WAY to identify, not two or three. As product consultant for thirty years, we try to give guidance based upon hands-on experience.