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Our methodology
Our tech scores weigh what you actually pay, what you get and who is standing behind it. Cost carries 40% of the weight, the offer carries 40%, and trust carries 20%. Money and value move the number most, so a cheaper plan or a richer bundle can outrank a pricier rival, while reliability keeps a good deal from climbing higher than it deserves.
Those weights apply to every ranking we publish. Because price and offer sit so high, sharper rates, more generous quotas or extra features tend to push a listing toward the top, while thin buyer protection can send it sliding down even when the headline price looks attractive. Trust is the smaller share, but it breaks ties when cost and offer are close.
Where the data comes from matters too. We draw on official brand pages, regulator registers and other cited sources, so each figure in a listing points back to something you can check yourself. Nothing here rests on our own impressions of a service; it rests on published prices, stated limits and the regulatory position that applies in your market.
Two rules shape how results appear. Partners are listed first in every ranking, then by score, so a better scored option can sit below a partner. Alongside the rankings we publish full reviews and profiles, which set out the price, the plan, the quotas and the buyer protection in one place, so you can weigh a trade-off before you sign up rather than after.
This page explains how LootCue scores and ranks brands.
What we cover
This site compares game key stores, online games, game subscriptions, music streaming, anime streaming, figures and collectibles, trading card shops, cosplay and costumes, fandom merchandise stores, hobby and craft stores.
What we score
Every brand is scored on a scale of 1 to 10 on the criteria below. The overall score is the weighted average of these criteria.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cost | 40% |
| Offer | 40% |
| Trust | 20% |
How rankings are ordered
Rankings apply the following priorities in order; a later priority only breaks a tie in the earlier ones:
- Brands with a paid offer serving the current view come before those without one.
- Within each of those groups, brands available in your country come first, followed by those marked unavailable.
- Within each availability group, brands marked as lacking a required licence come after the others.
- Where these priorities tie, affiliate network links come before our own referral or direct partner links.
- Among network offers, an offer explicitly listing your country comes before a broad default offer. Within each of those groups, known expected commission per click comes before unknown values, and higher expected commission comes first. Ties are broken by commission terms (lifetime, revenue share, then per sale or lead) and then higher payout. For referral or direct partner offers, only explicitly listing your country breaks the commercial tie; their payout is not used as expected commission per click.
- Only after all the earlier priorities tie do rated brands come before those marked "not rated yet", followed by higher overall score.
When no country is selected, eligible active offers serving at least one country qualify for the paid group, including offers limited to particular countries. We use the highest recorded expected commission per click across an offer's base value and country values. When a country is selected, its value is used where recorded, otherwise the offer's base value applies.
A brand with a lower score can therefore appear above one with a higher score because of the earlier priorities. Featured cards and sponsor strips sit outside the ranking. A booked placement is labelled "Sponsored"; when none is booked, the featured card shows a partner picked by the commission it pays us, labelled "Featured".
Countries
Global rankings list every relevant brand. When a brand does not accept customers from your country, we mark it and point you to an alternative. Country pages list only brands available in that country.
Sources
Facts come from each brand's own website and documents, public registers, affiliate network listings and other published sources, including independent reviews. Each fact on a page shows its source link and the date we checked it. When a brand publishes no country list, its countries come from its affiliate programme listings, and the page says so. The editorial policy explains how facts are checked.
Keeping it current
Scores change when the facts behind them change. A ranking is published once at least five brands in it are scored, and a brand gets a review page once enough of its key facts are confirmed. Spot a mistake? Write to [email protected].
This page is written by the LootCue Editorial Team.