Our Rating Methodology

This page formalizes and replaces any earlier description of our criteria. Scores across the site are progressively recalculated against this grid; every brand page shows the date of its last update.

How we score brands

Each brand receives a score out of 10, a weighted average of five criteria. The same grid applies to every brand featured: partners, related brands, or brands with no connection to us. No brand can buy its score, its ranking, or a badge.

Why these weights

Composition carries the most weight (35%) because it is the essential characteristic of a supplement: what it actually contains, in what amount, and whether the manufacturer proves it. It is also the most discriminating criterion on the market: many brands do not publish their dosages.

Proven quality (20%) is our objective substitute for effectiveness, which no supplement brand can legitimately promise: since we cannot measure effects, we measure evidence: certifications, lab analyses, traceability.

Price (20%) only makes sense per dose: comparing a 100 g and a 240 g pouch at face price tells you nothing. And because we are partly funded by affiliate commissions, we structurally refuse to score promotions: a promo code can never improve a score.

Reviews (15%) reflect real customer satisfaction but depend on a brand's volume and age: a significant weight, never a dominant one. Guarantees and service (10%) matter for the buying experience but remain secondary to the product itself.

What this grid deliberately does not score: packaging, branding, range variety, or the quality of the online store. A comparison that rewards marketing no longer compares products.

How each criterion is scored (0 to 10)

Verifiable composition & dosages (35%)

• 10: every individual dosage published AND confirmed by accessible lab analyses; actives at the levels used in published studies; form specified (extract, ratio, standardization).
• 8 to 9: every individual dosage published, at studied levels, with a documented form, but without accessible analytical confirmation.
• 6 to 7: dosages mostly published, or total actives disclosed with partial detail.
• 3 to 5: partial dosages, proprietary blends, or percentages without milligrams.
• 0 to 2: no usable dosage information.

A brand is scored on what it publishes: we never extrapolate, and we display Not disclosed. If a brand later publishes its dosages or lab analyses, its score is recalculated at the next update, upward or downward.

Proven quality & traceability (20%)

• 9 to 10: batch analyses published or accessible (named laboratory, dated batches) plus documented manufacturing; reaching 10 requires an additional verifiable certification (organic, GMP, third-party tested).
• 6 to 8: partial evidence: a named independent laboratory without accessible analyses, or a certification alone, or documented traceability without analyses.
• 3 to 5: quality claims without accessible supporting documents.
• 0 to 2: no evidence, or inconsistencies between claims and documents.

Price per dose (20%)

Scored relative to the category panel, using standard public prices on the date of collection: 9 to 10 for the best quarter of the panel in price per dose (and per milligram of active ingredient when it can be calculated), 6 to 8 for the middle half, 3 to 5 for the bottom quarter, 0 to 2 when the price exceeds twice the median. The detailed calculation is shown in each comparison.

Customer reviews (15%)

Base: the third-party platform score, capped by review volume: under 50 reviews, capped at 6; 50 to 500 reviews, capped at 8; over 500 reviews, capped at 10. Reviews hosted on the brand's own site are weighted at two thirds of their value. The source and collection date are shown on every brand page.

Guarantees & service (10%)

• 9 to 10: a money-back guarantee of 30 days or more, valid on opened products; fast shipping with clear terms; reachable customer service with published hours.
• 5 to 8: a standard return policy applied cleanly, with published conditions and no hidden fees.
• 0 to 4: restrictive conditions (unopened products only, deducted fees), or no published information.

Our data rules

• Sources: manufacturers' official product pages and information, and public review platforms. Every brand page and comparison shows its collection date; screenshots of sources are archived.
• Missing data: we write Not disclosed. Never an estimate, never an extrapolation.
• One score per product: the score produced by the grid is identical everywhere the product appears on the site.
• Badges: Best pick designates the best overall score in the category; Best value the best score on the price-per-dose criterion among products scoring 7 or higher. Every badge maps to a criterion of the grid: no badge is ever awarded outside of it.
• Right of correction: any brand can report inaccurate data at hello@the-best-supplement.com. We correct after verification and date the correction on the brand page.

What the score is not

The score does not measure a product's physiological effectiveness: supplements are not medicines, and we do not run clinical trials. It measures the transparency, density, and evidence behind the formula, the real price, and each brand's verifiable commitments: everything a consumer can objectively compare before buying.

Transparency and conflicts of interest

The Best Supplements has economic relationships with some of the brands featured on this site.

In practice: the site is funded by affiliate commissions paid by partner brands when you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. These brands are identified on every page where they are scored or ranked.

This is exactly why this grid exists and is public: whether a brand is related to us, a partner, or completely unconnected, it is evaluated against the same criteria, the same scales, and the same dated sources. No brand can buy its score or its position.