How we score
Every verdict answers one question: is the expensive one worth it? This is where the answers come from and how the numbers are made. Today that covers 54 splurges and 86 cheaper alternatives.
Only hands-on tests of both products
Scores come from independent testers who used both the splurge and the alternative. So far that's America's Test Kitchen (74 pairs), Tom's Guide (11 pairs), Prudent Reviews (6 pairs) and TechRadar (6 pairs).
A tester counts only if it rated both products, in one head-to-head test or in its own reviews of each. We never combine one outlet’s review of the splurge with another outlet’s review of the alternative. An alternative only appears when a tester actually compared it.
Every test we use is linked next to the score it supports. Before a page goes live, every quoted phrase is checked word for word against its source.
Two scores, never blended
Performance is how well the alternative did the job in that tester’s tests, compared with the splurge. 10 means as good or better. Durability is what the tester found about how it holds up. We keep them apart because a knife that cuts as well but chips sooner is a different deal.
A score is our reading of the tester’s results, so the tester’s own words and star ratings sit next to it for you to check. When an outlet gives each product an overall star rating, the score is the alternative’s stars as a share of the splurge’s: 3.5 stars against 4 is a 9.
With more than one tester, a page shows the rounded average and each tester’s own score under it. Our rule is two testers per score. Today 75 of 86 pairs have one, and those are labeled “From 1 tester” until we find a second.
Worth it, Skip it, It depends
Worth it means the splurge earns its price. Skip it means a cheaper alternative does the job. It depends means the cheaper one suits most people, and we say who should still splurge. Right now the count is 3 worth it, 23 skip it and 28 it depends.
The pick is our call, made from the tests. It isn’t computed: when two alternatives score the same, we read what the testers said.
Cost per year
Price divided by how long the product should last. Lifespans are our estimates, and each page says what every estimate is based on, under “How we estimate lifespan”. When no tester looked at durability, we show no cost per year rather than invent a lifespan.
Prices
Amazon prices come straight from Amazon, refresh about every 12 hours, and are shown with the time they were fetched. Sales move them, so no verdict rests on a dollar gap. Products not sold on Amazon show the maker’s price.
How we make money
As an Amazon Associate we earn a share of qualifying purchases. The rate is the same whichever product you pick, but it’s a percentage, so a splurge earns us more than its cheaper alternative. A “Skip it” costs us money, which is why we only give one when the tests back it.
Products sold direct, like Goldilocks cookware, earn us nothing, and we still pick them when they win. No brand deals and no paid rankings.