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Does paying more get you better reviews? Rarely
Last month we asked whether pricier robot vacuums get better reviews. They mostly don't. This time we asked the same question across 15 kinds of products, from 3D printers to e-bikes to smart locks: 344 models, each with at least 10 public reviews.
We rank each product by what its public reviews say. In 9 of the 15 categories, the most expensive model ranks in the bottom half. In only one, 3D scanners, is the most expensive model also the top-ranked one.
Each dot is a model with 10+ reviews, placed by its rank. Tap a category for its ranking, or a dot for the model.
The numbers behind the chart
| Category | Most expensive model | Its rank | Top-ranked model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laser engravers | Glowforge Pro, $7,999 | last of 9 | Ortur Laser Master 3, $1,399 |
| Smart locks | Eufy FamiLock S3, $349 | last of 20 | Aqara U400, $269 |
| Robot pool cleaners | Beatbot AquaSense 2, $1,999 | #20 of 22 | Wybot C2 Vision, $629 (#2; the #1 has no listed price) |
| Electric scooters | Inmotion RS Lite, $2,599 | #25 of 32 | Navee ST3 Pro, $649 |
| Robot lawn mowers | Yarbo Lawn Mower Pro, $4,899 | #16 of 22 | Gardena SILENO minimo, $848 |
| Robot vacuums | Eufy Omni S1 Pro, $1,799 | #49 of 68 | MOVA V50 Ultra, $1,099 |
| 3D printers | MakerBot Method X, $8,829 | #38 of 53 | Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro, $379 |
| Smart glasses | RayNeo X3 Pro, $1,299 | #10 of 18 | Rokid Max 2, $529 |
| Portable power stations | EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra, $9,999 | #34 of 67 | EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic, $739 |
| Mechanical keyboards | Corsair K100 RGB, $330 | #26 of 66 | NuPhy Field75 HE, $199 |
| Smart rings | Samsung Galaxy Ring, $399 | #7 of 18 | Ringconn Gen 2, $299 (#2; the #1 has no listed price) |
| Self-cleaning litter boxes | Petkit Purobot Max Pro, $649 | #4 of 12 | Casa Leo Leo's Loo Too, $649 |
| Electric bikes | Tern GSD S10, $7,999 | #17 of 118 | Rad Power Bikes Radster Trail, $1,999 |
| Coffee machines | La Marzocco Linea Mini, $5,999 | #8 of 56 | De'Longhi Eletta Explore, $1,999 |
| 3D scanners | Revopoint MIRACO Plus, $2,199 | #1 of 13 | the same |
Most expensive among models with at least 10 public reviews. Ranks are out of every model in the ranking.
The same brand, a thirteenth of the price
The clearest case is portable power stations. EcoFlow makes both the most expensive well-reviewed model, the $9,999 EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra (#34), and the top-ranked one, the $739 EcoFlow DELTA 3 Classic. The big one isn't badly reviewed. It just isn't better reviewed than dozens of far cheaper ones, and most people don't need whole-home backup.
Cheap models sit near the top elsewhere too: the Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro ($379) is the #1 3D printer, the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra ($329) is the #3 3D printer, the Gardena SILENO minimo ($848) is the #1 robot lawn mower, the Niu KQi 100P ($269) is the #2 electric scooter and the Eureka J15 Pro Ultra ($499) is the #3 robot vacuum.
See the portable power stations rankingPaying more buys a little, not much
Cheapest third: 33%, median $449. Middle third: 37%, median $849. Most expensive third: 38%, median $1,949.
Split each category's models into price thirds. The most expensive third does a little better: 38% make the top quarter of their ranking, against 33% of the cheapest third, at about four times the median price. Within each category, price and rank barely move together in 7 of the 13 with enough models; in three, pricier models rank lower: robot lawn mowers, smart locks and 3D printers.
Why paying more doesn't buy better reviews
Expensive models aren't badly made. Most of the gap comes from what the extra money pays for:
- It mostly buys more, not better. The $9,999 EcoFlow holds about six times the energy of the $739 one. The $4,899 Yarbo is built for big yards and takes add-on modules such as a snow blower. Reviews ask whether a product does its job well, and a bigger machine doesn't do the basic job any better.
- More features, more to go wrong. Top models pack in docks, cameras and app features. Each is another part that can break or another update that can go wrong, which is what owners complain about most (see our reliability page).
- New tech lands in the priciest model first. Its first version often has bugs. By the time the feature reaches cheaper models, the problems have usually been fixed.
- Cheaper brands live on reviews. Several of the cheap models near the top come from brands that sell mostly online, such as Flashforge, Elegoo, Gardena, Niu and Eureka. Reviews are their main advertising.
Paying more does seem to help for smart rings, 3D scanners and coffee machines: there, pricier models rank higher, and the most expensive 3D scanner is #1.
If you're about to buy
Look at the top few models in your price range before you look up a price range. Pay for the expensive model's extras when you need them, such as whole-home backup or a big build volume, but don't expect better reviews. And check how many reviews a model has: a pricey model with two reviews is unknown, not bad.
The rankings
Now see who comes out on top
Each ranking lists every model with its price, its score and the quotes behind it.
- 1ORTUR Laser Master 3
- 2ATOMSTACK Hurricane
- 3WECREAT Lumos
- 1AQARA U400
- 2SWITCHBOT Lock Pro
- 3LEVEL Bolt
- 1WYBOT S2 Solar
- 2WYBOT C2 Vision
- 3DOLPHIN E10 Robotic Pool Cleaner
- 1NAVEE ST3 Pro
- 2NIU KQi 100P
- 3GYROOR C1 Plus
- 1GARDENA SILENO minimo
- 2ECOVACS GOAT O1000 LiDAR PRO
- 3ECOVACS A3000 LiDAR PRO
Method, caveats and data
- Who's in: 344 models on sale with at least 10 public reviews and a listed price, in the 15 categories with at least 5 such models (6,039 public reviews: YouTube videos, Reddit threads and review-site articles). Left out: pickleball machines, smart thermostats, tennis ball machines and video doorbells, which have fewer.
- Scoring: an AI model files each mention under a topic and marks it positive or negative; every opinion links back to the sentence it came from. A YouTube review adds or takes away 5 points on a topic, a written review or Reddit thread 1. Each review counts once per topic. Visitor votes add ±0.1. Ranks are among every model on sale in that ranking, including those with fewer reviews.
- Scores add up, so a model with more reviews can score higher. That's why we only count models with at least 10, and pricier models don't simply have more reviews: price and review count barely move together in 8 of the 13 categories.
- "Barely move together" means a Spearman rank correlation between price and score between −0.2 and 0.2, in categories with at least 8 compared models.
- Prices are current online list prices. We left out a few listings whose price was clearly wrong, such as a $20 keyboard that sells for about $200.
- Reviews aren't lab tests. We count what reviewers and owners say. Some YouTube reviews are sponsored; we count them like any other source and can't reliably tell which ones are.
- Reviews as of Oct 16, 2026.
- Download the data: one row per model (CSV): category, rank, brand, model, price, score and reviews. No quotes or usernames.
BettaScore ranks products by what public reviews say about them. No brand pays to be listed or to rank higher. See all 19 rankings on the home page.