Frequently Asked Questions
How Labcritics works, how coverage is decided, and how vendors can take part.
About Labcritics
What is Labcritics?
Labcritics is an independent news, review and buyer-intelligence site for lab technology. We cover the instruments, consumables and software that research teams are choosing between — what the specifications mean in practice, what they cost to run, and where the trade-offs sit.
Who writes for Labcritics?
Working researchers and science writers, most of whom have spent time at the bench. Every article carries a byline linking to that author’s profile and their published work — see the team page.
How does Labcritics make money?
Advertising, sponsored placements on our guides, enhanced directory listings, and affiliate links on some vendor pages. All of it is disclosed. Our editorial policy and disclosure page set out exactly what commercial relationships exist and what they do not buy.
Coverage and reviews
How does a manufacturer or distributor get a product reviewed?
Get in touch through the contact page. Products listed on the site carry aggregated reviews; for an in-depth review we usually need access to the instrument or a licence for the software. Supplying a review unit gets it assessed — it does not get it praised.
Who writes the reviews, your team or users?
Both. Product pages combine our own hands-on assessments with reviews from researchers, service providers and technicians who use the equipment day to day.
Can a company pay for a favourable review?
No. Advertisers and sponsors have no influence over what we conclude or when we publish, and no company gets approval rights over coverage before it goes live. Sponsorship buys visibility and association, never the verdict.
Could a competitor get a rival’s reviews falsified?
No. Contributed reviews are checked against real, identifiable sources before they are published, and anything that looks coordinated is removed.
How do you decide what to cover?
We prioritise what readers are actively evaluating — new launches, significant updates, and categories where a buying decision is expensive or difficult to reverse. Reader questions and tips influence the agenda directly.
I have found a mistake. How do I report it?
Tell us and we will fix it openly. Our corrections policy explains how errors are handled and logged.
Buying guides and the editorial calendar
What are the buying guides?
Long-form, independently researched guides to a single buying decision — a comparison matrix, total cost of ownership, and the questions to ask a vendor before you sign. You can see what is coming on the buying guides page.
When does the first guide publish?
The first lands in October 2026. 10 guides are scheduled through July 2027, in publication order.
What is the editorial calendar?
The full publishing programme — 64 topics grouped by theme, of which the dated ones carry publication months and sponsorship deadlines. It is aimed at vendors and media buyers planning a year: see the editorial calendar.
Why do some topics have a date and others do not?
The dated ones are committed and in production. The rest are planned but unscheduled — they get a date when there is enough reader demand or sponsor interest to bring them forward.
Can I suggest a topic?
Yes, and reader requests genuinely shape the schedule. Readers can send a suggestion; vendors and marketers can propose one on the editorial calendar. Tell us the decision you are trying to make and why existing coverage does not answer it.
Do sponsors get to decide what a guide covers?
They can raise questions they think the guide should answer, at the scope stage roughly eight weeks before publication. They do not decide the conclusions, the ranking, or which products are recommended. We commission the topic, never the verdict.
Advertising and sponsorship
Can we sponsor a guide?
Yes. Each topic carries one presenting sponsor, up to three section sponsors attached to individual chapters, and an open number of enhanced directory listings. Availability per topic is shown on the editorial calendar.
What are the booking deadlines?
Booking closes about four weeks before publication and creative is due two weeks after that. Each topic on the calendar lists its own two dates. Sponsors who book before the scope call get to weigh in on the questions the piece sets out to answer.
Is sponsored content labelled?
Always. Sponsored posts, press releases and guest contributions are labelled as such and kept separate from newsroom reporting. Press releases in our PR section are supplied by third parties and are not independently verified unless we say so.
How does the product directory work?
Your catalogue sits on products.labcritics.com as permanent, indexed pages carrying specs, imagery and direct links. The platform also connects by API to whichever LIMS a lab runs — it is vendor-agnostic — reads the experiments that lab has under way and has planned, works out what those runs will need, and surfaces matching equipment and consumables against them. The effect is that your products appear while a requirement is forming, rather than once a shortlist already exists.
What is the cost-per-lead plan?
An alternative to a flat placement fee: you are billed on qualified enquiries we pass to you rather than on impressions served. It suits advertisers who want to see how this audience converts before committing to a fixed spend, and it puts the onus on us to send buyers worth having. Ask us for current terms.
What can we advertise on besides the guides?
Launch coverage and press distribution, newsletter placements, enhanced company and tool directory profiles, and run-of-site or category-targeted display. These run continuously and can be layered onto any topic booking.
How do we get rates and the media kit?
Rates, formats and audience data are in the media kit, linked from the advertise page. For availability against a specific topic, use the enquiry form on the editorial calendar — we reply within one business day.
For readers
Is Labcritics free to use?
Yes, entirely free for readers.
Who is Labcritics for?
Anyone choosing, running or paying for lab equipment — principal investigators, core facility managers, lab heads, procurement teams, and the postdocs and students who will actually be using the kit.
How do I send you a tip?
Through the submit a tip page. New instruments, price changes, service problems and things that quietly stopped working are all useful.
Still stuck? Ask us directly — we answer every message.