Our approach
How we choose and rank pet products.
Every guide starts with one question: what’s actually worth buying for your pet in Australia?
We’re pet owners too. We’ve shared our homes with many pets over the years, and we write for the owner standing in front of the options, wondering which one is right. No brand pays for a place in our guides.
What we look at
Five questions we ask of every product.
Whether it’s a kibble, a harness, a litter box or a fish tank filter, the same questions decide what makes it into a guide.
- ✓
What is it designed to do, and do the details back that up?
- ✓
Is it safe and suited to the pet it’s made for?
- ✓
Is it good value at its current Australian price?
- ✓
Will it suit a real Australian home, with its climate, space and mess?
- ✓
Would we happily point a friend with the same pet to it?
How a guide comes together
From the shelf to our shortlist, step by step.
Each product guide follows the same steps, so nothing important gets skipped.
We come back to guides to keep them current. The “Updated” date on a guide is the last time we checked it.
- Start with what you can buy here — we currently only compare products sold on Amazon Australia, so every pick is one you can order.
- Dig into the details — specs, materials, sizing, ingredients and safety information.
- Compare side by side — what each product is designed to do, who it suits and its known drawbacks.
- Weigh up value — build quality, how long it’s made to last, and running costs like refills, filters and replacement parts.
- Pick the four worth your money — one Best overall, plus picks for specific needs such as a budget, a large dog or a small space.
How we score
Four things behind every Petterly score.
Performance
What the product is built to do, and how well its design and specs support that.
Build & safety
Materials, construction, ingredients and safety information, and the drawbacks that come with them.
Suitability
Which pets and homes it suits, and which it doesn’t.
Value
What you get for the price, including running costs, compared with the other options.
Every product gets a Petterly score out of 5. These are our own ratings. “Best overall” is our top pick from the products we compared in that guide, and the other picks are labelled for the need they suit best.
Our editorial principles
Five principles on every Petterly page.
Product features, ingredients and claims often come from the product’s maker. We show prices as a guide rather than an exact figure: $ is under $25, $$ is $25 to $59, $$$ is $60 to $149 and $$$$ is $150 or more, based on the price when we last checked. Prices change often, so check the current price before you buy, and ask your vet about anything health-related.
A note on commissions
How we make money
Petterly is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. No brand pays for a place in our guides, and commissions don’t decide our picks or our scores.
Spotted something off?
Tell us — we’ll take another look.
Our methodology is only as good as how honestly we apply it. If a guide feels out of date, a recommendation doesn’t sit right, or you’ve spotted something we’ve missed, we genuinely want to hear about it.