How we pick and score deals
BargainBreakdown looks for deals on software, AI tools, electronics and Apple gear, checks them and shows the ones we think are worth your money. This page explains how that works and how we earn money.
Where deals come from
We watch store and vendor price pages, affiliate network feeds and sale events like Black Friday and Prime Day. Software helps us find candidates and write the first draft of a deal page. An editor checks every deal before it goes live.
How we check a price
A deal is only as good as the price it is compared with. We use, in this order: the typical price from price history, the store's previous price, the vendor's regular price for the same plan, and the list price. Every deal says which one we used.
The deal score
Every deal gets a score from 0 to 100. It measures how good the deal is for you, and nothing else:
- Real discount, up to 35 points. The saving against the reference price. List prices that are rarely charged count less.
- Price history, up to 20 points. How the price compares with the lowest prices we know of.
- Quality, up to 20 points. Store ratings and how many there are. For software: user reviews and the company's track record.
- Value, up to 10 points. How much money you actually save, not only the percentage.
- Timing, up to 10 points. Limited-time offers and new lows score higher.
- Fair terms, up to 5 points. Refund window, renewal price, no hidden conditions.
We do not list deals that score below 55 or save you less than $20. A score above 80 is rare and usually worth a look. Store-wide sales, such as 10% off everything for a day, are the one exception: they show up as a sale event without a score, with the dates and the conditions.
What we do not do
We do not invent hands-on experience. If we have not tested a product ourselves, we say so and tell you what our verdict is based on. We do not publish deals we could not check, and stores cannot pay for a higher score.
How we make money
BargainBreakdown is reader-supported. Many links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking one, the store may pay us a commission. You do not pay more. Commissions can influence which deals we have time to cover, but they never change a deal's score. We also link to stores that do not pay us when that is where the better deal is.
Prices change
Prices and availability can change at any time. Each deal shows when we last checked the price. The price at the store when you buy is the one that counts.