Set For Set produces credentialed, fitness-expert-authored equipment content and discloses its affiliate and free-product arrangements, but publishes no auditable ranking methodology and earns commissions from every major affiliate network covering the products it ranks, which structurally compromises independence regardless of the stated intent to stay unbiased.
What it's really for Content marketing hub that drives affiliate revenue by ranking and recommending fitness equipment to home gym buyers.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about Home gym and strength training equipment: power racks, dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, treadmills, and related gear., not everything the site does.
Medium Scoring Confidence Mostly sourced, but a detail or two still needs a primary source, so the grade could shift slightly.
Set For Set's disclosures page states it participates in affiliate programs including Amazon, ShareASale, Avant Link, Impact, CJ, Refersion, and Fanfuel, earning commissions on purchases made through product links. It also accepts free products for review and runs sponsored content. All three revenue streams tie financially to the same product makers and retailers being ranked.
Source →- Operating since
- 2018 (8 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Affiliate commissions (Amazon and multiple networks), sponsored content, and direct sales of branded workout programs and supplements.
- What they do
- Staff fitness experts and certified trainers write equipment reviews and ranked "best of" lists for home gym gear including power racks, dumbbells, kettlebells, treadmills, and barbells, alongside workout programs and nutrition content.
- What to watch for
- The methodology for how products are scored and ranked is not published in a specific, reproducible form. The site discloses that it receives free products from vendors and earns affiliate commissions on purchases, but provides no auditable controls explaining how those relationships are kept from influencing final rankings.
- Composite score
- 2.40 / 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
- Set For Set's disclosures page explicitly states it earns affiliate commissions through Amazon, ShareASale, Avant Link, Impact, CJ, Refersion, and Fanfuel, and that it 'sometimes receive[s] free products from companies who want us to review their products.' Source: Set For Set Disclaimers & Disclosures page →
- The About Us page identifies co-founders Sam and Kiel, Chief Fitness Expert Garett Reid (MSc, CSCS, CISSN), and a roster of credentialed collaborators including NSCA-certified coaches and registered dietitians, supporting a claim of genuine fitness expertise on staff. Source: Set For Set About Us page →
- The disclosures page states 'this will never influence our rating methodology' regarding free products, but no methodology document is linked or published on the site to substantiate that claim. Source: Set For Set Disclaimers & Disclosures page →
- The site sells its own branded supplements and workout programs directly alongside reviewing and ranking third-party equipment in the same fitness categories, creating an additional commercial interest layer beyond affiliate commissions. Source: Set For Set homepage →