A lab-driven laptop and gadget reviewer that publishes its own measurements and method; it earns affiliate commissions and ad revenue, and the same arm that sells its advertising also arranges the review samples.
What it's really for A device-testing site measuring display, battery, and thermals; ad and affiliate funded.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its lab-tested laptop and phone reviews, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Advertisers and retailers fund it most through display ads and affiliate commissions, which it discloses in a site-wide footer note. Separately, its imprint states that Notebookcheck Publishing GmbH 'organizes all advertising including advertorials and affiliate and coordinates the test sample supply for the creation of reviews' — so the commercial arm also controls access to the devices being tested. Nothing states that ranking or scores are for sale.
Source →- Operating since
- 2005 (21 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- It makes money through display advertising and affiliate commissions when readers buy through its links; its imprint also lists advertorials among the commercial formats it sells.
- What they do
- It runs hands-on, in-house lab tests (display, battery, thermals, noise, performance benchmarks) on laptops, phones and tablets and publishes scored, comparable reviews, with a published methodology article and a documented rating system.
- What to watch for
- It earns affiliate commissions on the products it reviews, and by its own imprint the company that organises its advertising, advertorials and affiliate business is also the one that coordinates the supply of test samples used in reviews. That arrangement is not repeated on the methodology page or beside individual reviews, where a reader would see it.
- Composite score
- 4.50 / 5.00 → grade A
- Last verified
- September 1, 2026 — when a human last checked this entry's facts, links, and grade against the live site.
- Citations checked
- September 1, 2026 — our automated check re-fetched all 7 sources cited on this page. All resolved. 1 block automated visitors and are checked by hand. This is a link check, not a re-grade — the “Last verified” date above is the one that covers the facts and the grade.
- Site confirmed live
- September 1, 2026 — our monthly automated check reached Notebookcheck and got a normal response.
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
- Notebookcheck was founded in 2005 as a hobby project of three Austrians; in 2007 the Vienna-based limited company was established to own the editorial licence. The site states its goal is 'Serious, journalistic, substantiated and - above all - independent reporting.' A site-wide footer note on this and every other page discloses: 'If you buy something via one of our affiliate links, Notebookcheck may earn a commission.' Page last updated 2026-02-18; re-read 2026-09-01. Source: Notebookcheck official About page →
- Notebookcheck's own Contact/imprint page names Notebookcheck Publishing GmbH (Vienna) as 'Responsible for advertising, webmastering, reviewing' and states: 'This company organizes all advertising including advertorials and affiliate and coordinates the test sample supply for the creation of reviews.' By its own account the same entity sells the advertising and advertorials and arranges the review units. Source: Notebookcheck Contact & Imprint →
- Notebookcheck publishes a detailed first-hand testing methodology (display measurements including PWM flicker, outdoor legibility, Wi-Fi throughput against a named router, battery runtime including a Cyberpunk 2077 gaming loop, thermals, noise and benchmarks) and a separate article explaining its v8 rating system, which lowered scores and added a sustainability assessment reported outside the overall rating. Re-read 2026-09-01; the methodology article carries an update date of 2026-02-18 and, as of that reading, does not state how review devices are obtained. Source: How does Notebookcheck test laptops and smartphones? →
- A third-party assessment by Gadget Review notes Notebookcheck generates income 'through affiliate partnerships and sponsored content, alongside advertising,' rating it a medium-trust reviewer with solid hands-on results in several categories and room to improve transparency in others. Source: Gadget Review publication assessment →