About 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 thousands of products across a wide range of categories to help Australians get clear on the options that offer strong value – whether this be a competitive price, strong features, great service or a combination.

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.

Put simply, 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 Australia. Star Ratings are more specific. They break categories down into particular segments, based on things like age group, state, account balance or spending level, so you can compare.  

What does Canstar rate?

Canstar compares the products and services our research team decide are most relevant across categories that matter most to Australian 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 most need to know.

What makes Canstar awards different?

We think differently when helping Australians 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 be honing in on lowest fees, certain features or exceptional customer service.

That’s why we have a range of awards that cater to these needs, as well as the ratings you can see on many of our comparison tables. 

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 like home loans and superannuation to electricity plans and insurance.
• Consumers: We also survey thousands of Australians on their experience with everyday products and services – from supermarkets to appliances—to show you how brands stack up in the eyes of consumers like you. This forms our consumer-led awards. The brands weighed up in our consumer awards are the ones customers tell us they’re using.

What type of awards does Canstar have?

Canstar offers a range of Awards to reflect different aspects of performance.

• Outstanding Value Awards – Recognise the brands that offer a strong balance between price and features for a particular category, based on our expert research team’s analysis. We weigh up critical factors like product features and customer support to find the products that deliver the best value.
• Most Satisfied Customers Awards – Highlights brands that perform best in the areas that matter most to customers. Every year we survey thousands of Australians and they rate the brands and services they use, weighing up key factors most relevant such as customer service and value for money. The weightings vary depending on the nature of the product being rated.
• Of the Year Awards – Recognise providers that perform strongly across multiple products or categories (such as car and home insurance), combining expert data with customer satisfaction results. We draw from the brands that have earned our Outstanding Value Awards during the year and overlay this with our Customer Satisfaction survey results to balance our expert data with the voices of the people using the products.
• Innovation Excellence Awards – Highlight products, services or initiatives that introduce meaningful improvements to the lives of Australians. Every year we look for standout breakthroughs to celebrate clever ideas and new technologies that are fundamentally improving the way we live, work and connect.
• Most Trusted Awards – Recognise the energy, mobile and internet providers that Australians trust most, based on annual survey data from the customers of those brands. These awards highlight the providers Aussies have told us they feel they truly rely on.

These awards all take a slightly different approach so you can weigh up various elements of product excellence in your search.

How do Canstar’s Star Ratings work?

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 some categories, like insurance, the price doesn’t tell the full story. That’s why not all Star Ratings include price.

You may see different types of Star Ratings on the Canstar website, each designed to highlight a specific aspect of performance. These include value ratings (which weigh up both price and features), features ratings (which assess a product or provider’s features separately from price), and cover ratings (which measure how comprehensive the cover is, particularly for insurance).

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

See all our Awards

• Outstanding Value Awards
• Most Satisfied Customer Awards
• Of The Year Awards
• Innovation Awards
• Most Trusted Awards

Meet our researchers

Keely Robinson
Ratings Manager

As Canstar’s Ratings Manager, Keely leads the team responsible for developing the methodologies behind our flagship Star Ratings and Awards. Since joining as a graduate, she has progressed to oversee ratings across wealth, insurance, banking, and utilities.

Meet the full Research team →