Canstar's Star Ratings and Awards

Canstar designed its Awards and Star Ratings to give consumers a true read on financial products, utilities and everyday services. We analyse hundreds of products across a wide range of categories to help Kiwis get clear on the ones that offer strong value – whether that's a competitive price, strong features, great service or a combination of all three.

Our expert researchers not only select the products we rate, they also make sure our ratings and awards are supported by robust data, detailed analysis and, where relevant, customer feedback.

We scrutinise the products and brands on your list – plus some you may not have heard of yet – so you don’t have to. And because we don’t play favourites, you can be confident our ratings and awards reflect real value.

How are the two different? Our Awards look at the big picture – the providers that stand out in the market when we look at their suite of products, the types of customers they have and their performance across New Zealand.

Star Ratings are more specific: they break categories down into particular segments, based on things like age group, investment needs or spending level, so you can compare like for like.

What does Canstar rate?

Canstar compares the products and services our research team decide are most relevant across categories that matter most to Kiwi households, with a focus on finance and utilities brands, as well as household products and services.

Some of our awards are based on the findings of our experts, some are based on the experiences of consumers, and some weigh up both – it all comes down to the nature of the product and what consumers need to know most.

What makes Canstar awards different?

We think differently when helping consumers compare products. First and foremost, the products we rate for our expert ratings are chosen by our research team with no commercial influence whatsoever.

We also recognise everyone is looking for their ideal product through a different lens – whether that’s lowest fees, certain features or exceptional customer service – which is why we have a range of awards to match.

We weigh up products from two perspectives, depending on the category:

• Experts: our researchers crunch the numbers on price and features to find the best value, for products such as home loans, KiwiSaver and insurance products.
• Consumers: we survey thousands of everyday Kiwis on their experiences with everyday products and services – from appliances to household services – to show you how brands stack up in the eyes of consumers like you. This forms our consumer-led awards, weighing up the brands customers tell us they’re actually using.

We develop a detailed set of criteria tailored to each category, which may include things like features, coverage, flexibility and, in some cases, price – depending on what's most relevant for that product type. While saving money is important, it's not the only consideration when deciding on the right product. In categories like insurance, price doesn't tell the full story, which is why not all Star Ratings include it.

You may see different types of Star Ratings on the Canstar website, each designed to highlight a specific aspect of performance:

• Value ratings weigh up both price and features.
• Features ratings assess a product or provider's features separately from price.
• Cover ratings measure how comprehensive the cover is, particularly for insurance.

For consumer ratings, we capture real satisfaction scores from Kiwis on the brands they actually use, across a wide range of categories. A 5-star consumer rating means that brand has one of the highest average satisfaction scores from customers in its category.