Some guides end with a Review box: a star rating, a one-line verdict, and what we liked and didn’t. This page explains how those ratings are decided.
The rules
- Hands-on only. We only rate a product, app or service we used ourselves on our own devices for long enough to judge it (at least a few days of normal use). Spec sheets and other people’s reviews are never enough.
- No self-serving reviews. We never rate our own products or services, or those of a company that pays us, and we never rate a product to promote an affiliate link.
- No paid ratings. Companies can’t pay for a review or a better score, and they don’t see a review before it’s published.
- Disclosed loans and gifts. If a company lent or gave us the product, the review says so.
- Dated and versioned. Every rating is tied to the version we tested and the date, shown in the Tested on box. Apps change: if an update makes a real difference, we re-test and update the rating and the update history.
- Not tested, not rated. iPhone and Mac apps covered from Apple’s documentation don’t get a star rating.
What we judge
- Does it do the job? Tested on the real tasks the guide is about.
- Ease of use for a non-expert.
- Privacy and security: permissions it asks for, data it collects, account requirements.
- Value: what the free tier includes, the real price, and how it compares with free or built-in options.
- Reliability: crashes, bugs and anything that failed during testing.
The rating scale
Ratings go from 1 to 5 stars in half-star steps. A half step means the product sits between two descriptions.
| Stars | What it means |
|---|---|
| 5 | Outstanding. Does the job better than the alternatives, with no meaningful downsides for most people. |
| 4 | Very good. We’d recommend it; the downsides are real but minor. |
| 3 | Fine. Works, but a free or built-in option may do as well, or it has notable trade-offs. |
| 2 | Weak. Hard to recommend; only worth it in a narrow situation we describe. |
| 1 | Avoid. Doesn’t do what it claims, or has privacy, security or reliability problems. |
Questions about a rating, or think we got one wrong? Tell us. See also How we test and our corrections policy.