Le Jouteur
Dan, fullstack dev, ex-L'Oreal. I write Joute under the pen name Le Jouteur.
Joute is written by one person, under the pen name Le Jouteur. The real human behind it is called Dan, a fullstack dev with a product background including a stint at L'Oreal. The premise is simple: most AI tool comparators copy-paste product marketing pages, give five stars to everyone, and pocket the commission. I test. For real.
Not a five-minute demo: weeks of daily use, on real projects, from Paris. I pay my subscriptions. I note what works, I say what does not, and I give a blunt verdict, even when it upsets people.
My background
Twelve years in product dev, seven in technical teams on high-traffic web and mobile projects in France (including a stint at L'Oreal on the digital platforms side), five as an independent on data and automation topics. Worked for French startups (B2C ecommerce, B2B SaaS), large European companies, and several DTC brands at launch.
Today I spend most of my days with AI tools: coding with Cursor and Claude Code, automating via n8n and Lovable, analyzing data with Julius, producing visual content with Midjourney and Flux. It is that daily practice that feeds Joute, not passive scrolling on Twitter.
Why a pen name
My name is Dan in real life. Le Jouteur is a character and a promise: every comparison is a duel, and there is a winner. The pen name is not opaque anonymity, it is an assumed editorial line. The method is fully public, every test is sourced, every price is verified monthly, and publishers who contest a score have an email to reach me (hello@joute.io).
The pen name also has a practical reason: avoiding reverse name-and-shame. When I rate a tool 4/10 publicly, I prefer the discussion to focus on the arguments, not on me personally. Le Jouteur stays an editorial voice, Dan stays the professional you can write to privately.
Paid accounts (proof)
The usual criticism of anonymous comparators: “they have never used the tools they rate.” Here is the list of subscriptions currently paid out of my own pocket to fuel Joute. I can provide invoice screenshots to any publisher or journalist who doubts it.
| Tool | Plan | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Pro | €18/mo |
| Claude | Pro | €18/mo |
| ChatGPT | Plus | €20/mo |
| Midjourney | Standard | €27/mo |
| ElevenLabs | Creator | €20/mo |
| Lovable | Pro | €25/mo |
| Perplexity | Pro | €18/mo |
| GitHub Copilot | Pro | €9/mo |
| Monthly total | €155/mo | |
List updated monthly. Tools tested temporarily (one or two months, then cancelled) appear in the changelog, not here.
Public presence
The official account to follow Joute releases, flag an error or discuss a test: @joute_io on X. I post new comparisons, real updated prices, and tools leaving the catalogue (acquisition, closure). For press requests or publishers who want to contest a score: hello@joute.io.
Independence, concretely
Joute earns money via affiliate links. When you sign up for a tool via Joute, the site gets a commission, at no extra cost to you. This commission never changes a score or a ranking. When a tool is bad, I write it, even if it earns me money. Non-negotiable.
To make this independence concrete, I published on the affiliation page the list of tools I actively recommend without being affiliated (DeepSeek, NotebookLM, Ollama, etc.) and the list of affiliation programs I refused for ethical reasons. That is the most direct proof that money does not drive recommendations.