Reviews and advice People trust Which? because they know our point of view is rooted in robust analysis

Which? fryer tests measure oil temperature

No other organisation tests as thoroughly as Which? does

You can be sure that Which? provides you with advice based on the highest standards of testing, because no other organisation investigates as thoroughly as we do.

Every month, we conduct independent and extensive tests on hundreds of products and services. Every aspect of product performance and specification – price, running costs, efficiency and reliability – is compared against exacting criteria. 

Say, for example, you wanted to purchase a digital camera. We would look at the technical features, image quality, ease of use, battery life and guarantee. 

The highest-scoring products or services are awarded Which? Best Buy status, and the test results are published in the magazine and on Which.co.uk.

Importantly, we don’t just reveal if a product or service delivers well - we also expose any shortcomings or faults it may have. The advantage of using our research is that you can avoid products and services which are overpriced or more likely to underperform. 

And, as we can help you make the right decisions first time around, you could save time, hassle and money.

How we test

Behind one four-page report is often months or years of work by whole teams of Which? research and editorial staff. They go to great lengths to put products and services to the test.

  • Testing takes time: we played 2,000 hours of music to test MP3 players; we ran digital camcorders for 84 hours to test battery life; and our panel listened to 136 music and speech tracks to test digital radios
  • As part of a series of reports on estate agents, Which? researchers put their own houses on the market to get an overall impression of how home movers are treated
  • To test washing machine cleaning power, we used a spectrophotometer to measure how much light is reflected from a piece of washed clothing (previously covered in chocolate, oil, blood and red wine marks). The more light reflected, the better the machine is at removing stains.

Reliability surveys

Our reliability surveys are among the biggest in the UK. Their unique scoring system does not just take account of a product breaking (although our scoring gives these problems more weight) but also any other problems encountered. 

This year’s reliability score is based on the proportion of machines in the survey which have experienced problems, and the severity of these. Within each category, each problem is weighted based on how likely it was to lead to the machine requiring repair, so more serious problems have more impact on the score.

All scores are adjusted to account for the age of the machines included in the survey, meaning that a brand won’t be unfairly penalised if a lot of owners have five- or six-year-old models. There must be at least 50 owners of a brand for it to receive a score, but all brands are included in the category averages.

The Which? customer score is a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely a product owner says they are to recommend that brand to a friend. To receive a Which? customer score, brands must have a minimum of 30 owners.

Only brands with both a reliability score and a customer score appear in the tables.

Audiovisual reliability 2011

In February and March 2011, we sent 35,000 questionnaires to Which? members asking about the reliability of their audiovisual goods up to six years old. A total of 9,637 members responded. 

We asked them about a wide range of audio visual products, all of which have separately been through our rigorous and independent testing:

White goods reliability 2012

In July 2011, we sent 35,000 questionnaires to Which? members asking about the reliability of their domestic appliances up to six years old. A total of 10,538 members responded. 

We asked about this wide range of white goods, all of which have separately been through our rigorous and independent testing:

Small kitchen appliances reliability 2012

In November 2011, we invited 37,067 members to take part in our survey asking about the reliability of the small kitchen appliances they own, and the ones they’ve had to replace due to a fault or a breakdown within the last six years (10 years for breadmakers and food processors). A total of 12,848 members responded.

The reliability score is based on the lifespan of current and previous appliances and is a score for the expected lifetime of the appliance.

We asked about a range of small kitchen appliances, all of which have separately been through our rigorous and independent testing:

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