Affiliate disclosure
Quick answer
CookwareCalc is reader supported. Some links on this site are affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy something after following one, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. The price you pay is identical either way.
The short version
CookwareCalc is reader supported. Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, which means that if you follow one and buy something, we may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing. The price is identical whether you arrive through a link here or go to the retailer directly.
What an affiliate link is
An affiliate link carries a tracking identifier that tells the retailer the visit came from here. If a purchase follows within the retailer's attribution window, a small percentage of that sale is paid to us out of the retailer's own margin. Nothing is added to your price, no code is required, and the product, warranty and returns policy are exactly what they would be otherwise.
On this site, product cards, product names and buy buttons are affiliate links. They carry a sponsored attribute in the markup, which is the standard machine-readable way of declaring the relationship. Internal links between pages here are not affiliate links.
Why it does not change the recommendations
The honest answer to "how do I know this is not just pushing expensive things" is to look at what the pages actually conclude. A $48 chef knife is recommended as the right answer for most people. The expert tier of every roundup contains an explicit statement of who should not buy it. The performance knife kit says plainly that anyone who does not already sharpen on a stone should not buy it at all. A cheap disc-base stockpot is recommended over an expensive clad one because only the base does any work when boiling water.
Recommendations here are researched from published specifications, material properties and owner reports. A commission does not enter that process, and the site is more useful, and therefore more valuable, if the advice is correct.
Prices
Product prices come from live retailer data at build time. They move constantly, which is why every card carries a note saying so. Use the figures here to compare options and to understand the shape of a category, then check the current price on the retailer's own page before buying.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, the contact page reaches us. For how figures are sourced and what is deliberately not claimed, see how we research.
Common questions
Does an affiliate link cost me anything?
No. The price you pay is exactly the same whether you arrive through a link here or go to the retailer directly. The commission comes out of the retailer's margin, not out of your purchase. There is no surcharge, no code to enter and no difference in the product, the warranty or the returns policy.
Does it change what you recommend?
No, and the clearest evidence is what the recommendations actually say. Several pages here conclude that a $48 chef knife is the right answer for most people, and the expert tier on every roundup states plainly who should not buy it. A commission structure that rewarded pushing the expensive option would produce very different pages.
Which links are affiliate links?
Product links to retailers, including every product card, product name and buy button. Internal links to other pages on this site are not affiliate links, and neither are links to manufacturer documentation. Product links carry a sponsored attribute in the markup, which is the standard way of declaring the relationship.
Why is the disclosure in the footer rather than at the top?
Because it needs to be present and findable on every page carrying affiliate links, which it is, and repeating it four times per page does not make it more honest. It appears once in the footer of every page and links here for the full explanation. That satisfies both the requirement and the reader.
Are the prices on the site current?
They come from live retailer data at build time and they change constantly, which is why every product card carries that warning rather than presenting a figure as fixed. Always check the current price on the retailer's own page before buying. Prices shown here are useful for comparing options, not as a quote.