How we investigate and score supplements
Who we are
Clearcheck is a small independent publication operated by Clearcheck Media, LLC out of Austin, Texas. We have reviewed dietary supplements since 2022, with a particular focus on separating marketing claims from what a formula can actually support. Our editorial promise: we buy what we test with our own money, we investigate the advertising as carefully as the ingredient list, and we publish what we find, whether or not it's flattering to the brand.
Two layers to every review
Most reviews stop at the ingredient list. We add a step most competitors skip: before testing a product, we research the marketing claims surrounding it, including any celebrity, doctor, or media-outlet associations referenced in advertising. When a claim can't be independently verified, we say so plainly rather than repeating it as fact. This marketing-claims layer sits alongside, not instead of, our hands-on formula testing.
The hands-on layer follows a consistent protocol: a real order placed at the product's official store, a minimum eight-week period of use at the label dose, simple tracked measures appropriate to the category, and research of each labeled ingredient against public sources such as PubMed, NCCIH, and the FDA. We also test the practical parts of buying: shipping speed, support responsiveness and, where feasible, the refund process itself.
One honest boundary: we are investigators and reviewers, not a laboratory. We do not run chemical assays on samples, and our testing is structured personal use, not a clinical trial.
The seven criteria and their weights
Editorial scores are a weighted average of seven criteria, rated 1 to 5 in half-point steps:
| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | 30% | Did anything change during structured use, at the pace the category can honestly deliver? |
| Value for money | 15% | Cost per day against comparable formulas and pack options |
| Tolerability | 15% | Side effects in our test and in reader reports |
| Ease of use | 10% | Dosing schedule, format, and how hard the routine is to keep |
| Onset speed | 10% | Time to first honest signal versus the category norm |
| Label & marketing transparency | 10% | Published doses, ingredient disclosure, and whether advertising claims can be verified |
| Customer support | 10% | Shipping, responsiveness, and whether the guarantee holds up in practice |
Note that our transparency criterion explicitly includes marketing-claim verifiability, not just the Supplement Facts panel. A product with a fully-dosed label but an unverifiable celebrity endorsement can still lose points here.
Where the reader numbers come from
Next to the editorial score we publish an aggregated community rating, combining moderated reader submissions with our ongoing monitoring of publicly visible buyer feedback. The two numbers are kept separate on purpose: our editorial score reflects our investigation and test; the community rating reflects what buyers report, and the two do not always agree, particularly when marketing concerns pull our score down without necessarily affecting how individual buyers feel about the product they received.
Independence and how we earn
Clearcheck accepts no sponsorships, no free samples and no paid placements. The site earns through affiliate links: when a reader clicks through to a product's official store and buys, the seller pays us a commission at no added cost to the reader. Commissions are identical whether a review scores 2.1 or 4.8. Scores are locked before affiliate links are inserted, and negative findings, including marketing-claim concerns, have never been softened for revenue reasons. Full mechanics are in our advertising disclosure.
Corrections and updates
Pricing, guarantees, formulas and marketing campaigns change. We re-verify the commercial and marketing facts of each review on a rolling basis and stamp every page with its last update date. If you spot something outdated or plain wrong, email editor@sodafitreviews.com and we will check it and correct the page.