Methodology
How every score on this site is computed, where the data comes from, what we will never do, and how the site makes money. Last updated 2026-06-09.
What ReimaginedArena is
ReimaginedArena is a data-comparison engine. We collect published manufacturer specifications and, wherever they exist, independent third-party measurements (RTINGS, TechPowerUp, Artificial Analysis, HL Planet and similar test labs) for every product in a category, then score and rank them with one transparent, auditable formula. The same engine renders every category — the scores you see in the charts are the same scores in the crawlable tables and the structured data.
What we are not: we do not hands-on test hardware in a lab, and we never claim to. Where a number is independently measured by a test lab we label it measured and cite the source; where it is a manufacturer claim we label it claimed. That distinction is visible on every product card.
Capability score (0–100)
Each category defines a small set of axes — the dimensions that actually matter for that product type (for keyboards: responsiveness, switch & typing quality, build, connectivity, customization…). Each axis has an ordered table of tiers with explicit criteria, kept in one auditable vocabulary per category rather than scattered judgment calls. A product's spec text (its published specs plus any independent measurements) is matched against those tiers; axis scores are summed and normalized to 0–100.
Every category page lists its axes and per-axis scoring notes in the page itself (see "How we score" on each category page), so you can check exactly why a product scored what it did.
Value score (capability² ÷ price)
Value is capability squared, divided by price — not raw capability-per-dollar. Raw capability/price rewards cheapness: a weak $24 accessory would "win value" over everything, which is false. Squaring capability makes a capable mid-priced pick beat a cheap weak one, while a genuinely strong product stays competitive. Products with unverified prices get no value score rather than an invented one.
Data provenance & honesty rules
- Nothing is fabricated. Every product record carries its source URLs. Numbers we could not verify are labeled (
price unverified,claimed), never guessed. - Measured beats claimed. When independent lab measurements exist, they feed the score and are labeled with their source. Manufacturer claims are flagged as claims.
- Freshness is visible. Every category shows its data as-of date. Prices move constantly — re-check the retailer before buying.
- Scores are an index, not a guarantee. They compress many specs into one number to make comparison possible; your use case may weight things differently, which is why the radar and filter views exist.
Update cadence
Categories are refreshed on a rolling basis (target: monthly) — prices re-verified, new products added, the as-of date bumped. The sitemap's lastmod dates reflect actual data changes, not cosmetic edits.
Affiliate disclosure — how this site makes money
Some outbound retail links on this site are, or may become, affiliate links — including eBay, Skimlinks/Sovrn-monetized merchant links, and "try / subscribe" links to AI services. If you click one and buy or subscribe, ReimaginedArena may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Commissions never influence scores or rankings. Every score is computed by the formula above from specs and benchmarks, and the scoring pipeline has no knowledge of which retailers pay commissions. Products are never added, removed, or re-ranked for commercial reasons. Where a "Where to buy" link exists for one product and not another, that reflects retailer availability — not preference.
Disclosure appears next to the links themselves on every page, per FTC guidance — this page is the long-form policy.
Corrections
Accuracy is this site's #1 rule. If you find a spec, price, or score that's wrong, the fastest fix is to check the cited source on the product card — and if we got it wrong, it gets corrected and the as-of date bumped.