A member-funded nonprofit that buys products at retail and tests them in its own accredited labs — about as close to unbuyable as consumer reviews get.
What it's really for A member-funded Australian testing nonprofit; the detailed ratings sit behind membership.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its lab-tested product ratings for Australia, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Members pay the most through subscription fees, and by CHOICE's own disclosure the separate "CHOICE Recommended" licence fee is paid only after a product is already recommended and does not buy placement or influence ratings.
Source →- Operating since
- 1959 (67 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Partly paywalled Some content is free, but the full reviews or detailed ratings sit behind a paid subscription.
- How they make money
- A not-for-profit funded mainly by paid member subscriptions, with smaller income from affiliate links and brands licensing the "CHOICE Recommended" logo, while it refuses advertising.
- What they do
- CHOICE independently buys consumer products and services on the open market and tests them hands-on in NATA-accredited laboratories to rate and recommend the best for Australian consumers.
- What to watch for
- Most detailed ratings and reviews sit behind a paid membership, and it covers the Australian market rather than products sold elsewhere.
- Composite score
- 4.70 / 5.00 → grade A+
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- CHOICE buys all the products it tests on the open market and does not accept advertising; its research, testing and recommendations are independent and member-funded since 1959. Source: CHOICE — How CHOICE is funded →
- Brands can apply for a non-exclusive licence to use the CHOICE Recommended logo only if a product is already recommended; fees are negotiated case-by-case, and CHOICE states funds from licence fees don't influence its ratings. Source: CHOICE — The CHOICE Recommended program →
- CHOICE conducts hands-on testing, with roughly 70% done in-house in its NATA-accredited labs and the rest outsourced but overseen by in-house experts and verifiers; founded 1959 as the Australian Consumers' Association. Source: Wikipedia — Choice (Australian consumer organisation) →