Why You Should Read Past the Picks of a Wirecutter Guide

There’s more to a Wirecutter guide than the main picks. To find the things that work the best for the most people, we do tons of research and testing. But there are times when you might be looking for something a little more specific. Maybe you want a sleeker-looking rice cooker or earbuds that are better at canceling noise. Take a page from Wirecutter fanatics—and members of our staff—by looking beyond the top recommendations to find choices that might better suit your needs. We highlight these options in our “Other good” section. And sometimes you will find the item you want in the Competition section. This is where we list all of the contenders we considered that didn’t rise to the level of a pick (though we don’t like Competition items quite as much as we do “Other good” options). Here’s why both of these sections can still be useful to you.

The options in our “Other good” and Competition sections feature items that didn’t quite make it as picks. But just because something isn’t a pick, that doesn’t mean it isn’t the best for you. We do extensive research to set the criteria in our reviews, based on what we think most people may want from a product. But our idea of what makes a great drip coffee maker may not align perfectly with yours. It’s a good idea to check out the “How we picked” section of our reviews with your personal needs in mind. If it seems as if we aren’t on the same page, read past the picks! The “Other good” section might have just the right model for you.

For instance, when we highlight “Other good Android phones” or “More kids face masks we like,” those options aren’t necessarily worse than our top picks—they may just be more expensive than we think is necessary, or they may be a better fit for specific uses. Here we list some of the reasons you should consider scrolling to these sections—and beyond.

Our picks are out of stock

Many of the seasonal products we recommend, like the best air conditioners and artificial Christmas trees, sell out every year. If you can’t wait for them to be restocked, the range of options in the “Other good” and Competition sections give you a better chance of finding something decent (or at least serviceable).

You’re willing to pay more (or want to pay less)

Sometimes we think products are more expensive than their performance justifies or that their makers are charging too much for extraneous features. But if a high price doesn’t bother you, you may find exactly what you want in the “Other good” section. Several of the noise-canceling headphones we tested—like the AirPods Max—are pretty great, yet we think they cost too much. And although there are many things we like about the new M1 iMac, it’s important to remember that the configuration we’d recommend costs three times as much as our favorite all-in-one Windows computer. (Of course this touches on other issues we’ll get to later, like design and compatibility.)

The Technivorm Moccamaster is another great example. It’s legendary for good reason, and we praise it highly as another good option. But we think it costs more than most people are willing to pay for a drip coffee maker.

For reference, if price is the sole reason a contender we mention isn’t a pick, our Deals team will monitor the price of that model and post deals on the item whenever the deal price makes the plunge worth it. (For more information on how our Deals team works, see this comprehensive explanation of how we define a “deal” and evaluate the reliability of various retailers.)

And sometimes if our main picks are too expensive, something in the “Other good” or Competition sections could be cheaper and decent enough to fit what you’re seeking (though normally we’d hope that the budget pick would check this box for you). Less expensive items sometimes come with more compromises, so they might end up unused or in the trash, which isn’t great for your wallet, either. If cost is an issue, we also suggest that you consider buying our picks refurbished.

You might have limited mobility or other distinct needs

We do our best to establish and adhere to criteria that matter for as many people as possible, but individual must-haves and dealbreakers can vary widely. While we’re working on better serving a wider range of our readers in our main picks, our “Other good” and Competition sections are still great places to find information on models that might be a better fit for your specific circumstances.

Although the Irwin Ergonomic Multi-Pliers are expensive, we think people who have issues with hand strength or wrist strain might prefer them over our top-pick needle-nose pliers. Similarly, we recognize that the twisting action on a lot of pepper mills (including our picks) might be difficult on hands and wrists. So in addition to the electric one we recommend, we also point out a manual option—the Kuhn Rikon Adjustable Ratchet Grinder—which we like as another good option within that guide.

When we learn about a challenge readers are having with a product or category, we look for potential solutions in new rounds of testing and update our guides with what we learn. For example, some people are allergic to the water-resistant coating in Beats and AirPods, and senior editor Lauren Dragan, our headphones expert, is looking for an alternative. If Lauren finds something good for that purpose, you’ll find it under “Other good wireless earbuds.” This is also why we encourage you to leave comments in our reviews, to tell us if there’s a specific problem you need solving.

You’re looking for aesthetic alternatives

When we’re forced to choose between form and function, we choose function. (We can’t tell you how many people have tweeted about the need for “Wirecutter but for stuff that looks good.”) If you’re willing to compromise some performance for aesthetics, and you aren’t pleased by the main picks, the Competition section might include something more appealing. We’d suggest that you pay attention to the potential drawbacks, to be sure you’re willing to live with them before you buy.

Our review of alarm clocks already provides a variety of recommendations, instead of just a few picks. And this is an approach we commonly take in categories where subjective preferences might play a larger role in the final decision, such as sandals and notebooks. But in addition to the abundance of alarm clocks we vouch for, the Competition section features contenders like the MoMA Alume Cube Clock, which—even with its limited features—fans of Platonic solids might prefer above all others. (Personally, a cube wouldn’t get me to shell out the extra cash, but a dodecahedron … now that would be tempting.)

You have more space (or less)

What works in rural life can differ from what works in a studio apartment. A large coffee grinder might be a huge inconvenience for people in smaller dwellings. But if you’re a suburban coffee aficionado, and counter space isn’t such a limited commodity in your home, the larger, more heavy-duty Eureka Mignon Filtro Coffee Grinder (a grinder from the “Other good” section of that guide) might be perfect.

The Competition section can provide more-suitable alternatives for use in smaller spaces, too. For instance, in our guide to soundbars, senior staff writer Brent Butterworth reports that the Sonos Arc (a runner-up pick) has a bigger, more powerful sound than the Sonos Beam. Yet for smaller rooms, Brent thinks the Beam, in the Competition section, might actually be a better choice.

You’re a pro user

We don’t think experienced users need our advice as much as newbies do. You may have a more-developed sense of what you want from a speaker system or a mechanical keyboard, based on deep knowledge or years of experience. And if that’s the case, our main picks may not be best for you. The Competition section might list more-complex contenders with a steeper learning curve, or it might highlight models with advanced features that you’d appreciate more than a novice would. Take, for example, the Ooni Karu pizza oven. We dismissed it in the Competition section of our guide to pizza ovens because we found that baking pizza in the Karu took more time and effort than most people might prefer. But if you love building wood or charcoal fires, and you like your pizza on the smokier side, you might not mind the extra effort.

Wirecutter staffers often use each other’s guides this way. Editor Joshua Lyon recently picked up the Fully Cooper from the Competition section of our guide to standing desk converters. The guide noted that most people might not want the Cooper’s extensive adjustability, but that happened to be exactly what Joshua was looking for.

You want compatibility with stuff you already own

If you’ve already got an electric cordless leaf blower, you may want to get a string trimmer that uses the same batteries. If a generous relative has given you an infant car seat, you may want to choose a stroller with compatibility in mind. And if you own a KitchenAid stand mixer, you may want to blow past our top ice cream maker picks and read about the pros and cons of the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment in the Competition section. In many cases, we may have tested a model that would be a better match for your circumstances than our primary picks.

You’re looking for a former (or future) pick

When our picks are dethroned by fresh testing, we often explain in our “Other good” or Competition sections why our previous favorites lost out. Sometimes we dismiss former picks due to their having a bad track record in customer service or a genuine decline in quality. But sometimes picks get demoted simply because other, new contenders had a slight but meaningful edge in terms of performance. In situations like that, a former pick can still be a great buy.

It’s also possible for products to ascend to pick status from the Competition section. Senior editor Harry Sawyers brought up the Coway Airmega 200M Air Purifier as being an example of a model that spent a year as a Competition item, until a price change made it a better value on a par with our other favorite purifiers. The Wiz smart bulb is another example. We relegated it to the Competition section following our first evaluation, but after Philips implemented a few updates, the Wiz claimed the top spot in our guide to the best smart LED light bulbs.

You like Easter eggs

There’s some strange and fascinating information buried in our guides. In the Competition section of our guide to robot vacuums, there’s a subsection called “Roborock alternatives: Ecovacs, Proscenic, and an enemy of the state,” and it describes concerns about the 360 brand of robot vacuums that might belong in a spy thriller. Our guides can be dry, we know. But if our research uncovered something weird and delightful, you just might find it in the Competition section.