Real testing behind an affiliate paywall of conflict. Good work, mixed incentives.
What it's really for A buy-this-one recommendation service. Testing to crown one pick is the job, but it earns a commission when you buy that pick.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its single 'best' pick per product category, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
- Operating since
- 2011 (15 years)
- 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
- Affiliate commissions on purchases, plus NYT subscription. Earns when you buy through its links.
- What they do
- Genuine hands-on product testing with a documented process, reported within the Times.
- What to watch for
- It crowns one "best" pick and gets paid when you buy it, so it is thin on edge cases and quiet about anything it cannot easily earn a commission on.
- Composite score
- 4.00 / 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
- Generated more than $20M/year in affiliate revenue by 2018; the Times reports it inside an "Affiliate, licensing and other" line rather than breaking it out. Source: Nieman Lab →