I’ve noticed that when using the Upgrade Finder or the Gear Check, the azerite level is not taken into account. For example, the upgrade finder is telling me that an azerite piece that requires azerite level 30 is better than my piece simply because it contains traits that I don’t currently have access to. This means that the upgrade list is flooded with high level azerite gear that won’t necessarily be an upgrade once my azerite level is factored in.
The upgrade finder does factor in your heart of azerite level – it will only score the item with the powers you are able to unlock.