Real tech testing, but an affiliate model and a recent AI-content credibility hit.
What it's really for A consumer-tech publisher. It does real testing, but earns affiliate commission on the gear it recommends.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its hands-on reviews and 'best' lists for consumer tech, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
It earns affiliate commissions on the products it recommends, so the buy links carry a built-in incentive toward what pays.
Source →- Operating since
- 1994 (32 years)
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Affiliate commissions and advertising. Changed hands cheaply as affiliate media re-rated downward.
- What they do
- Tests and reviews consumer technology with hands-on coverage and "best" lists.
- What to watch for
- It earns on the gear it praises, and after its episode of quietly publishing AI-written articles, treat the buying advice as a lead to check, not a verdict.
- Composite score
- 2.70 / 5.00 → grade C+
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
- Red Ventures bought CNET for $500M in 2020 and sold it to Ziff Davis in 2024 for "more than $100M," an ~80% markdown reflecting affiliate-media decline. Source: Variety →