Our rating method

This page formalises and replaces our earlier descriptions of these criteria. Scores across the site are gradually being recalculated with this framework, and every profile shows the date it was last updated.

How we score brands

Every brand gets a score out of 10, a weighted average of five criteria. The same framework applies to every brand we feature: partners, brands we have ties with, and brands we have no relationship with at all. No brand can buy its score, its position or a label.

Why these weightings

Formulation carries the most weight (35%) because it is what defines a food supplement: what it actually contains, in what quantity, and whether the manufacturer proves it. It is also the most discriminating criterion on the market, because many brands never publish their dosages.

Proven quality (20%) is our objective stand-in for “effectiveness”, which European regulations do not allow us to promise: since we cannot measure effects, we measure the evidence, meaning certifications, lab analyses and traceability.

Price (20%) only means something once it is brought back to the dose: comparing a 100 g pouch and a 240 g pouch on headline price tells you nothing. And because we are funded in part by affiliate commissions, we structurally refuse to score promotions: a discount code can never improve a rating.

Reviews (15%) reflect real satisfaction, but they depend on how many a brand has collected and how long it has been trading: a meaningful weight, never a dominant one. Guarantees and service (10%) count towards the buying experience, but stay secondary to the product itself.

What this framework deliberately does not score: packaging, branding, how broad the range is, or the quality of the online shop. A comparison that rewards marketing is no longer comparing products.

The scale for each criterion (0 to 10)

Formulation & verifiable dosages (35%)

• 10: every individual dosage published AND confirmed by lab analyses you can access; actives at the levels used in published studies; form specified (extract, ratio, standardisation).
• 8 to 9: every individual dosage published, at studied levels, form documented, but no accessible analytical confirmation.
• 6 to 7: most dosages published, or a total active content given with partial detail.
• 3 to 5: partial dosages, “proprietary blend”, or percentages with no 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 it publishes its dosages or its analyses later, its score is recalculated at the next update, in either direction.

Proven quality & traceability (20%)

• 9 to 10: batch analyses published or accessible (named laboratory, dated batches) plus documented manufacturing; the 10 comes with a verifiable certification (organic, GMP and so on).
• 6 to 8: partial evidence, such as a named independent laboratory with no accessible analyses, a certification on its own, or documented traceability without analyses.
• 3 to 5: quality claims with no supporting document available.
• 0 to 2: no evidence at all, or inconsistencies between the claims and the documents.

Price per dose (20%)

Scored relative to the category panel, on standard public prices at the date recorded: 9 to 10 for the best quarter of the panel in €/dose (and €/mg of active where it can be calculated), 6 to 8 for the middle half, 3 to 5 for the bottom quarter, 0 to 2 when the gap exceeds twice the median. The full calculation is shown in every comparison.

Customer reviews (15%)

Starting point: the third-party platform rating, capped by 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 count for two thirds of their value. The source and the date recorded are shown on every profile.

Guarantees & service (10%)

• 9 to 10: a money-back guarantee of 30 days or more, valid on opened products; fast delivery and clear terms; customer service you can reach, with published opening hours.
• 5 to 8: the statutory right of withdrawal applied properly, terms published and no hidden fees.
• 0 to 4: restrictive terms (unopened products only, fees deducted), or no information published at all.

Our data rules

• Sources: manufacturers’ product pages and official information, plus public review platforms. Every profile and every comparison shows the date its data was recorded, and screenshots of the sources are archived.
• Missing data: we write “Not disclosed”. Never an estimate, never an extrapolation.
• One score per product: the score produced by the framework is the same everywhere the product appears on the site.
• Labels: “Best choice” marks the highest overall score in the category; “Best value” the highest score on price per dose among products rated 7 or above. Each label matches a criterion in the framework, and no label is awarded outside it.
• Right to correction: any brand can report inaccurate data to hello@le-meilleur-complement.fr. We correct it after verification and date the correction on the profile.

What the score is not

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

Transparency and commercial interests

LMC has commercial interests with some of the brands featured here, including Mush N Go, Primal Supplements, Arrow and others.

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, and those brands are flagged on every page where they are scored or ranked.

That is exactly why this framework exists and is public: whether a brand is connected to us, a partner, or has no relationship with us at all, it is assessed against the same criteria, the same scales and the same dated sources. No brand can buy its score or its position.