Top Picks, explained: how ConsumerAffairs ranks the best in every category
In early 2025, we moved to a fully objective, standardized scoring model. Placement is now determined by overall performance across every key criterion, not by individual superlatives.
What are Top Picks?
Top Picks are the badges ConsumerAffairs awards to the highest-performing brands on our buyers guides on categories spanning home warranties to moving companies. Each and every Top Pick is based on the same standardized methodology.
How we determine Top Picks
The same three principles apply in every category, regardless of what you sell.
Review substance over volume
Recency and quantity matter, but the substance of what your customers actually say is the biggest driver of where you land.
The product itself, not just satisfaction
Objective attributes like cost, availability, and eligibility count too because consumers care whether a product fits their needs.
Star rating is a factor, not the formula
Your star rating is a genuine advantage. However, it's one factor and not the sole determinant of your placement.
How to increase your chances of becoming a Top Pick
Ways to climb the rankings toward Top Picks.
Our credibility as an independent reviews site depends on rankings that reflect real customer experience and real product value. We are fully committed to helping our partners:
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Keep collecting high-quality, detailed reviews. The more real customer voices we have to score, the more accurately your Top Picks performance reflects who you are today.
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Address the friction reviewers name most. Themes that show up again and again in critical reviews feed directly into your score and resolving them is the fastest lever you control.
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Work with your Client Success Manager on product fit. They can walk through where competitors are winning on cost, coverage, or eligibility, and where you have room to close the gap.
Frequently asked questions about Top Picks
Does review quantity determine my Top Picks placement?
Review content carries more weight than review quantity. Recency and quantity matter, but the substance of what your customers say is the most significant driver of where you land.
Does my star rating determine whether I'm a Top Pick?
Star rating alone does not determine Top Pick placement. Your rating is important and visible to consumers, and a strong rating is a real advantage, but the Top Pick methodology also weighs objective product attributes like cost, availability, and eligibility. Consumers care not only about customer satisfaction but about whether the product itself fits their needs.
Can ConsumerAffairs’ Marketplace team move my Top Picks ranking?
No. As much as it would be convenient for our marketplace team to influence editorial outcomes, our credibility as an independent reviews site depends on rankings that reflect true customer experience and product value. Editorial and Marketplace are kept separate for that reason.
What’s the fastest way to move up in Top Picks?
Three things move the needle: keep collecting high-quality, detailed reviews; address the themes reviewers name most often as friction; and work with your Client Success Manager to compare your product against competitors and close the highest-impact gaps.
Talk to an Aspect expert
Your Client Success Manager can show you exactly where your Top Picks score has room to grow.