About
How we rank products.
Every ranking on LavaPicks is built from real Reddit discussions, read and analyzed by AI, scored by a transparent weighted formula. We publish every source. We pay nothing for placement.
The pipeline
Collect
Automated pipeline searches 90+ subreddits using intent-based queries — "best", "recommend", "vs", "alternative to". Only threads that meet quality thresholds (upvotes, comments, length) pass through.
Extract
Google's Gemini AI reads each comment and extracts: product name, brand, sentiment (positive/neutral/negative), supporting quote, pros, and cons. Not keyword matching — contextual understanding.
Map
Mentions are matched to known products with multi-layered fuzzy matching: model number recognition, brand-aware scoring, Levenshtein distance, substring similarity. Handles abbreviations, typos, and informal names.
Rank
Transparent weighted formula. No single factor dominates — a product needs genuine, broad community support to rank highly.
The formula
rank_score = 0.30 × mentions + 0.25 × sentiment + 0.20 × upvotes + 0.15 × threads + 0.10 × recency- 30%
- Mentions
- 25%
- Sentiment
- 20%
- Upvotes
- 15%
- Threads
- 10%
- Recency
How often recommended
Positive vs negative takes
Comment quality
Discussion diversity
Data freshness
Our principles
No sponsored rankings
No brand can pay to influence their position. Ever.
Real Reddit, real people
Every data point traces back to a real comment. We do not generate fake reviews or scrape marketing copy.
Transparent methodology
Our formula, weights, and sources are published on this page.
Continuous updates
Pipeline runs daily to capture new discussions and shifting sentiment.
FAQ
How often are rankings updated?
Our data pipeline runs daily. Products that receive new Reddit mentions or shifting sentiment see their rankings adjust accordingly.
Can brands pay to be ranked higher?
No. Rankings are calculated algorithmically from Reddit data. Our revenue comes from affiliate commissions on purchases, completely separate from how products are ranked.
How do you handle fake or astroturfed Reddit posts?
Quality filters (minimum upvotes, comment count, thread length), cross-thread analysis, and Reddit's own community moderation help surface genuine content.
Why Reddit specifically?
Reddit communities like r/headphones or r/MouseReview create uniquely honest product discussions with knowledgeable members giving detailed, experience-based opinions.
What if a product isn't listed?
We cover the most discussed products in each category. New products are added automatically as they receive enough community mentions.
Affiliate disclosure
LavaPicks participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you click a product link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Affiliate relationships never influence our rankings. Products are ranked solely by Reddit community data using the formula above.
Sources we track
Now — go browse.
Rankings backed by real Reddit data. Or ask the advisor for personalized picks.