Our independence: how to check it

A comparator is worth only what it refuses. This page sets out what money can buy here, what it cannot buy, and how to check it without taking our word for it.

What money cannot buy

The order of results. Ranking follows merit and nothing else: a site whose operator is registered and whose price is confirmed appears above a listing nobody has claimed. No payment, no subscription and no commercial relationship moves a listing within that order. It is a rule written into our published decisions, not an intention.

What money can buy, and what we flag

An operator can buy a featured placement. Three rules frame it, and they are written into the site’s code rather than into a charter:

• Two at most on a results page. Not three, and no more on request.
• One per owner. Placements are de-duplicated by operator: the same party cannot take both slots, however much it pays.
• Flagged. They carry a « paid placement » label, and they are added to the list without changing the order of the rest.

Where each figure comes from

The worth of a price, a certification or a carrier presence depends on its source. Every piece of data therefore carries its origin:

• Declared by the operator itself, with its date.
• Recorded in a public registry you can consult.
• Observed from the outside, and presented as such.

An estimate is never presented as a confirmed price, and a calculation shows the assumptions it rests on.

What we refuse, with examples

The rule fits in one sentence: we do not invent data to fill a gap. Two concrete cases, verifiable on the site:

• We publish no energy efficiency ranking. One French listing in 247 declares its own figure: a ranking built on that would be an invented ranking.
• We publish no average price for on-site interventions. The rates in our catalogue carry neither source nor date, and an average calculated on values of unknown origin would be false precision, not information.

Nor do we publish anything in an operator’s name without its validation. Unclaimed listings are flagged as such.

How to check us

• Our calculation methods are published, formulas included. You can redo our figures by hand.
• The score on our badges rests on a public scale.
• Our provider directory knows no paid influence.
• If you measure something other than what we calculate, write to us. The method is published precisely for that.

See the calculation method →   The price barometer