Method
How we compare programs
The method in full: what counts as a price, how a cadence is recorded, when an all-in figure is withheld, and how the publisher sets its scores and positions.
01
What counts as a price
Only a published charge on a provider page counts. A manufacturer list price does not count. A price quoted in a sales call does not count. A prepaid multi-month discount is recorded as a note, and the recurring rate is the figure we use.
02
The charge carries its cadence
Every charge is stored with its own billing interval. A cadence registry holds the interval read from the provider page, keyed by provider and product. If no interval is published, the record is marked not established and no monthly figure is derived. It is never defaulted to 28 or 70 days.
03
The monthly equivalent
For a fixed-days cadence: charge × 365.25 ÷ 12 ÷ days. For a monthly charge: the charge itself. For a quarterly fee: the amount ÷ 3. For an annual fee: the amount ÷ 12.
Twelve 28-day cycles make 336 days, not 365. That is why a 70-day charge recurs about 5.21 times a year rather than 5.2 or 2.5.
04
Fee buckets
| Bucket | Meaning | Effect on the figures |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed mandatory | Required, with an amount and a cadence | Counted in known-charge and all-in |
| Unresolved required | Required, with no published amount | Withholds the all-in figure entirely |
| Optional | Available but not required | Never counted |
05
The publisher score
The buyer guide is the only ranked page, and it is a commercial publisher ranking. The publisher sets each score (0–100) and each position by hand in a single configuration file. Nothing is calculated from a price, a fee, a billing interval or a completeness count, and a price correction never reorders the list.
A score is a promotional judgement about how attractive the publisher considers a program, and it is published as exactly that. Compensation, advertising relationships and publisher ownership may influence a score or a position. A provider holding a contracted paid placement is labelled “Sponsored” beside its score and position, and its outbound links carry rel="sponsored nofollow noopener". Active paid entries are identified where they appear.
Bands only group the publisher’s own numbers for display: Leading 85+, Competitive 70–84.9, Standard 55–69.9, Developing 40–54.9, Entry under 40. A band is not an evidence grade and not a quality grade.
The sourced prices, fees and commitment terms are recorded independently of the score. They carry their own arithmetic in the cost tables and the cost study, and they never set a score or a position.
A score is not a clinical judgement. Where clinical questions are handled instead.06
Sorting and filters
The ranked list is ordered by the publisher’s configured position. A duplicate position breaks deterministically on provider slug, so the order never flickers between builds. Filters run after ranking and never re-rank: a filtered list keeps the scores and the positions it had. The ledger everywhere else is alphabetical by default, never by price.
07
When a figure changes
Records are corrected, never overwritten. When a provider changes a price, the record is updated and the change is logged with the date, the field and the previous value. A reader can see what the record said before.
Method
Questions about this page
Each answer is dated to the record dates behind it. Nothing here is a clinical answer.
Why not simply list the cheapest first?
Because this is not a price list. The ranked page is a commercial publisher ranking, and its order is the publisher’s own judgement rather than a sort on price. The sourced prices sit beside each row for a reader who wants to compare cost directly, and they are never adjusted to fit the ranking.
Checked Oct 23, 2026
Why does a supply period never set the cadence?
Because a 10-week vial can be billed monthly. Supply and billing are separate facts, and only one of them determines when money leaves the buyer’s account.
Checked Oct 23, 2026
How are ties broken?
A duplicate position breaks deterministically on provider slug, so two providers sharing a position always appear in the same order. The rule is published so it cannot be applied selectively.
Checked Oct 23, 2026