Consumer Reports Labels Explained: Recommended, Top Pick, Best Brand, Best of, and Smart Buy

Consumer Reports (CR) uses several designations to help shoppers quickly identify products and services that rate well in our independent evaluations. When data is available, these designations also reflect predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. This FAQ explains what each label means, where you may see it online, in-store, or in print, and which recognitions may be eligible for licensing through CR’s Brand Licensing program.

What is a CR Recommended (CRR) product or service?

CR Recommended (CRR) products and services meet CR’s high evaluation standards, which may include benchmarks for performance, safety, predicted reliability, and owner satisfaction. Each category can have multiple CRR products or services. The CRR badge appears on all model pages, ratings charts, and product cards embedded in articles on ConsumerReports.org. The recommended mark also appears in Consumer Reports magazine. Manufacturers that earn the CRR distinction can license the badge through CR’s Brand Licensing program. Shoppers can browse CRR products at CR.org and look for the CRR mark in-store or online to help them find better, more reliable products.

What is a CR Top Pick?

CR Top Pick represents the highest distinction within a product category. These products and services excelled in CR’s evaluations, are shown to be reliable (where reliability data is available), and in some cases, meet additional safety requirements (e.g., safety standards for cars). Top Pick is the universal term for the top performer across all our evaluations. While we don’t currently use the CR Top Pick badge on our website or magazine, CR Top Pick badges and content are eligible for licensing opportunities, meaning shoppers may see them when they’re browsing products or services

What is a CR Best Brand?

A CR Best Brand is a brand that receives the highest overall score in its category based on the brand’s aggregate performance, reliability, and satisfaction data across all the models tested by CR. Brands earn additional credit for delivering high performance and reliability at a lower cost than competitors. Manufacturers can license their CR Best Brand recognition, and shoppers can use the CR Best Brand badge and content to find the brands that reliably deliver year after year. 

What is a CR “Best of”?

A curated list of the “best” products and services from a particular category that consumers can currently buy, shared in an article format. It typically consists of top-tier recommended products and services, including CRR products and CR Top Picks. These lists span a range of categories and are prominently featured across the website and in the magazine. There is no badge, but brand licensing is available for “Best of” article content.

What is a CR Smart Buy?

A CRR model that meets CR’s performance, safety, and reliability standards and is currently available at a lower price. The Smart Buy badge appears in the digital and print ratings charts in the price column to help shoppers spot better deals. There are no brand licensing opportunities for CR Smart Buy products.