We work out the deal. Not just the shelf price.

1. Exact product matching

A comparison is only fair when it is the same product. We match retailer listings to one canonical product using, in strict order: a valid GTIN/EAN barcode, then brand plus exact manufacturer part number, then brand plus exact model. Similar titles alone never merge two products; they only flag a candidate for a person to check. Bundles, multipacks, refurbished and open-box units are kept separate from the standalone new product. When we are not sure, we leave a listing out rather than risk a false match.

2. Pay Today

The number we rank on is what you would pay at checkout right now for one item:

• the retailer’s current price
• plus delivery, only when the retailer states it (unknown delivery is shown as unknown, never as free)
• plus any mandatory charges the retailer states
• minus a discount applied automatically at checkout
• minus a voucher code we have verified is live and applies with no unmet conditions

Cashback, loyalty points, trade-in credit and any discount we cannot verify are never subtracted. Where they exist we show them separately as possible later value. We never assume a retailer allows two promotions to stack unless both are marked as stackable.

3. Ranking

Offers are ordered by Pay Today, lowest first, within these tiers:

• in stock, delivery confirmed, price confirmed within the last 48 hours: eligible for #1
• in stock but delivery not confirmed: listed, but never #1
• price not confirmed recently: listed with a warning, never #1
• out of stock: listed last, never #1

Ties break on the larger verified discount, then retailer name, so the order is the same every time. Retailer commission is not an input to any of this: the ranking code cannot see it.

4. Why #1?

Every recommended offer carries a plain-English explanation generated from the same numbers you see on the page: the Pay Today, the gap to the next best complete offer, delivery, any verified discount, stock and when the price was last confirmed.

5. Price history

We record a new observation every time a retailer’s price, delivery or stock changes, from the first day we track a product. History is never reconstructed or estimated, and a retailer’s own “was” price is never treated as history. A “lowest in 30 days” or “lowest in 90 days” label is only shown when we have genuinely observed that long; we never say “lowest ever”. Improved retailer coverage is not the same as the market moving, and we keep the two apart.

6. Freshness and mistakes

Prices are as last observed and can change at the retailer at any moment. Every offer shows when it was last confirmed. If you spot something wrong, report it and a person will look.

7. How we make money

Some retailer links are affiliate links and may earn us a commission. This never affects which offer ranks first. Details are in our affiliate disclosure.