When a site numbers things one through ten, the only honest move is to show the formula. This page is that formula — the five factors, their exact weights, and the checks inside each one. Every score in every comparison table, offer card, and review on this site was produced by this rubric and nothing else. If a future ranking ever deviates from it, this page will say so first.
The raw material of a score
Scores are assembled from the public record: what a provider publishes about its own prices and policies, plus what third parties — complaint databases, verified-review platforms, regulators, the press — have documented about how it behaves. That is a deliberate boundary. We do not buy, inject, and review these prescription products first-hand, and we will not dress editorial research up as product testing. The paper trail happens to be the thing that predicts most buyers' experience anyway: the bill, the fine print, and the company's track record when something goes wrong.
Five factors, fixed weights
| Factor | Weight | The questions we score against |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 30% | Can a visitor learn the true recurring price before entering payment details? Are promotional and ongoing prices visually separated, or blurred together? If the price steps up with dose, is the full ladder published? Do billing complaints contradict the advertised numbers? |
| Total cost of treatment | 25% | What does a realistic 6-month and 12-month journey cost once membership fees, intake or consult charges, shipping, and dose escalation are added — as opposed to the starter-dose figure in the banner ad? |
| Safety & sourcing disclosure | 20% | Is the dispensing pharmacy named, and is its type (503A/503B) stated? Does the provider plainly admit compounded products are not FDA-approved? Does intake actually screen medical history and contraindications, or rubber-stamp everyone? |
| Service & flexibility | 15% | How painful is cancelling or pausing? Is there a refund policy worth the name? How many states are covered, how fast is shipping, and can you reach a clinician after your first prescription ships? |
| Reputation & track record | 10% | BBB grade and whether complaints get answered, scores on verified-review platforms, how long the company has operated, and any regulatory or press history that matters. |
From checklist to number
Each factor earns 1–10 points against its questions; the weighted sum becomes the overall score out of 10. Labels translate the ranges: 9.0+ Excellent, 8.0–8.9 Very Good, 7.0–7.9 Good, 6.0–6.9 Fair, under 6.0 Weak. Default list order follows overall score. The exception is purpose-built lists — a "best under $150" page sorts by that constraint and announces it in the intro, so a cheaper program with a lower overall score can legitimately sit higher there.
The commission question, answered head-on
Some ranked providers pay us referral commissions; that revenue is the site's business model, and it determines which companies we invest research time in. It has no path into the arithmetic above. A partner's complaint record counts against it exactly as a non-partner's would, and brands with no relationship to us are scored on the same sheet. Details live in the advertising disclosure; the non-negotiables live in the editorial policy.
When numbers move
Prices and promos rot quickly in this market, so money pages sit on a re-verification rotation. A provider that publishes new pricing, accumulates complaints, or genuinely fixes a flagged problem will see its score change at the next check, and the page's updated date will move because a real re-check happened — never to fake freshness. Think a score has drifted from reality? Say so; reader flags routinely trigger early re-checks.
What this rubric cannot tell you
It measures companies, not bodies. It can identify the program that charges honestly and answers its support tickets — it cannot determine whether GLP-1 therapy is safe or sensible for you, which depends on your medical history and belongs with a licensed clinician. Every ranking on this site sits under our medical disclaimer, including the one you trust most.