How SetupArc scores products
Every product on SetupArc carries a single score out of 10, with a five-part breakdown behind it. This page explains exactly how that score is reached, what evidence sits behind it, and — just as importantly — what it does not claim to be.
What the SetupArc Score means
The score is a decision aid, not an absolute verdict. It summarises how well a product does its job relative to its own category and intended use: an 8.5 monitor and an 8.5 keyboard are not being measured against each other, and a gaming monitor is not marked down for being poor at colour-critical photo work. Read it as shorthand for “how strong is this within its class”, then look at the five criteria to see where that strength actually sits.
The five criteria
Every product is assessed against the same five criteria, each scored from 0 to 10. They appear on every product page as a breakdown beneath the overall score.
Performance
How well the product does its core job, judged from the specifications that genuinely affect that job — panel and refresh rate on a monitor, sensor and polling on a mouse, switch and actuation on a keyboard.
Raises it: Specifications at the front of its class, and capabilities that hold up under the product's intended workload.
Lowers it: Figures that trail current comparable models, or headline numbers that come with a caveat elsewhere in the spec sheet.
Features
What the product offers beyond the basics: connectivity, ports, software, adjustability, and the extras that change how it fits into a desk.
Raises it: Genuinely useful additions such as a built-in KVM, Ethernet, high-wattage charging or meaningful customisation.
Lowers it: A thin port selection, missing conveniences its peers include, or features that exist on paper but are limited in practice.
Design
Build quality, materials, ergonomics and the physical details you live with daily — stands, adjustment range, cable routing, finish.
Raises it: Solid construction, full ergonomic adjustment and considered details.
Lowers it: Limited adjustment, flimsy materials, or a design that compromises everyday use.
Compatibility
How widely the product works across the hardware people actually own — operating systems, connection standards, and the ports on a typical laptop or desktop.
Raises it: Broad platform support, standards-based connections and documented cross-platform behaviour.
Lowers it: Platform-specific limitations, non-standard requirements, or connections that need particular hardware to work fully.
Value
What the product delivers relative to its typical price and to what else that money buys in the same category.
Raises it: Capability that would normally cost more, or a price that undercuts comparable models without cutting the essentials.
Lowers it: A premium asked for features most buyers in that category won't use, or close competitors offering more for less.
How the overall score is reached
The overall score is an editorial judgement, not a calculation. There is no formula, no fixed weighting and no hidden multiplier: we do not compute the headline number by averaging the five criteria or by applying secret weights to them. It is a considered assessment made within the same five-criterion framework, by the same standards, for every product.
In practice the overall score and the breakdown stay close to each other, because they come from the same assessment — but they are recorded separately, and the headline figure reflects how the criteria come together for a real buyer rather than arithmetic. Where a product is exceptional at the thing it exists to do, that can carry more weight in the judgement than an average would allow; where a weakness undermines the whole product, the same applies in reverse. We would rather tell you that plainly than present a formula we do not use.
How products are evaluated
What goes into an assessment:
- Manufacturer specifications and documentation — the primary source for every stored spec, verified against the exact model and SKU.
- Reputable third-party sources — independent reviews, testing outlets and retailer product data, used to corroborate manufacturer claims and to flag conflicts. Where sources disagree, we record the disagreement rather than picking the flattering number.
- Current product positioning — where the product sits against its own current competition, not against models it replaced.
- Use-case fit — who the product is for, drawn from what it is actually built to do.
- Pricing context — our editorial typical price and range, used for the Value criterion and for budget pages. These are reference figures, not live retailer quotes.
When a specification is not available from a reliable source, we leave it blank and say “not recorded” rather than estimating it. You will see that on comparison tables across the site.
What SetupArc does not do
- We do not test products by hand. SetupArc has no lab, takes no measurements of its own, and does not claim hands-on experience with the products it scores. Assessments are built from specifications and published independent sources.
- Nobody pays for a score or a place on a list. There is no sponsored placement and no pay-to-rank.
- Affiliate commission does not affect scores or rankings. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links; that relationship has no input into the score, the ordering of any list, or which products we include. See our affiliate disclosure.
- We do not use retailer star ratings as our score. The SetupArc Score is independent of Amazon ratings or review counts.
SetupArc Score vs Finder match
These are two different numbers and it is worth keeping them apart.
The SetupArc Score (0–10) is our assessment of the product itself, as described above. It does not change based on who is reading it.
The Finder match (0–100%) is the opposite: it is algorithmic, and it measures how well a product fits the priorities you selected. The Setup Finder scores each candidate against your answers using a fixed rubric — budget and use case carry the most weight, then your chosen features, then size and resolution — with the SetupArc Score used only as a small tiebreaker between close matches. That is why the Finder tells you both why a product matched and what it is missing for you, and why a 9.2 product can show a lower match than an 8.4 one if the cheaper option fits your answers better.
Why scores are often close
Most products we cover are good; the catalogue is curated, so you will see a lot of scores between 8 and 9.5. A 0.2 difference is not a verdict that one product is better for you — frequently it reflects strength in a criterion you do not care about. Two examples: a monitor scoring higher on Features because it includes a KVM you will never use, or one scoring lower on Value because it is excellent but expensive.
When two products are close, read the five criteria rather than the headline, then check the “best for” and “who should skip it” lines on each product page. Those resolve more decisions than the decimal does.
How to use the score
- Productivity buyer: weight Compatibility and Features yourself — docking, ports and platform support matter more day to day than raw Performance.
- Gaming buyer: lead with Performance, and treat Features as the tiebreaker between panels that perform similarly.
- Value-focused buyer: compare the Value criterion across a shortlist rather than the overall score, then confirm the product is not weak on the one criterion your use depends on.
How scores change
A score is a snapshot of a product in its current market, so it can change when the facts do: when a manufacturer revises a specification, when a product's typical price moves enough to affect Value, when newer competitors change where it sits in its class, or when better evidence becomes available. We do not run scheduled re-scoring passes, and we do not claim a fixed update cadence — changes happen when there is a reason for them.
Questions or corrections
If you believe a specification or a score is wrong, tell us — corrections are welcome and we would rather fix an error than defend it. You can reach us via the contact page.