What we score
Products are scored out of 100 across four weighted criteria. We score what is verifiable from the label, the manufacturer's published testing, and the clinical literature. We do not score subjective outcomes.
| Criterion | Weight | Scoring basis |
|---|---|---|
| Dose transparency | 30 | Full marks when every active carries an exact milligram figure. Proprietary blends score zero on this criterion regardless of what they contain. |
| Standardization | 25 | Full marks when every botanical extract names a marker compound and a percentage, or a defined extraction ratio. |
| Clinical dosing | 30 | Points allocated per active that falls within the dose range used in published human trials, weighted by the strength of the evidence for that compound. |
| Cost per studied dose | 15 | Monthly cost at the labelled serving, divided by the number of actives reaching a clinically studied dose. |
What we deliberately exclude
- Customer testimonials and star ratings. Unblinded self-report is not evidence of efficacy, and review counts are readily manipulated.
- Our own subjective trial. We do not run unblinded self-experiments and present them as findings.
- "Clinically proven" packaging claims. These attach to an ingredient in the abstract, not to the dose in the product.
- Brand reputation and marketing spend. Neither is informative about formulation quality.
How products are obtained
Products reviewed here are purchased at retail or from the manufacturer's own store at full price. We do not accept review samples, because a sample selected by a brand is not a random sample of production.
Commercial relationships
This site is reader-supported and some outbound links are affiliate links. Scores are finalised against the rubric before any commercial link is added to a page, and the presence or absence of an affiliate relationship does not alter a score. Our full affiliate disclosure sets out how this works.
Corrections
Formulations and prices change. When we learn that a reviewed product has been reformulated, we re-score it and update the page date. Factual errors are corrected in place with a note. If you believe something here is wrong, tell us and include the documentation.