How we work

Where product pages come from

Every specification on a product page (sizes, cushion material, declared noise, magnets, tube position) is taken from documents published by the manufacturer: user guides, fitting guides, technical sheets and safety notices. The sources consulted are listed at the bottom of each page.

When a piece of information could not be found in an official source, the field stays empty. We prefer a visible gap to an assumed value.

Pages marked "Analysis in progress" are not documented yet. They are open to reviews, but are left out of the MaskFinder and the comparisons.

The CPAP Ranker analysis

The summary, strengths, points to watch and target profile at the top of each page are an editorial analysis, written from those same documents. It is labelled as such and never presented as a patient review.

Safety warnings are reported without softening: magnetic masks and medical implants, machine recalls, with a link to the official notice.

The MaskFinder rules

The MaskFinder does not guess. It applies fixed rules to documented product pages, then ranks masks by points. Here they all are.

• Medical implant: only masks documented as magnet-free remain. A mask whose lack of magnets is not verified is excluded.
• Mouth breathing: only full face masks, classic or compact, remain.
• Nose breathing: nasal and nasal pillow masks earn points.
• Side, stomach or restless sleep: a tube on top of the head counts most, then the manufacturer's side-sleeping claim.
• Beard or mustache: nasal pillows and under-the-nose nasal masks earn points, as their seal avoids the chin and cheeks. A classic full face mask, whose seal runs over the chin, loses points.
• Fear of confinement: nasal pillows and compact full face masks, the least covering, earn points.
• Free nose bridge: one more point for masks that do not touch it.
• Beginner: a bonus for masks the manufacturer presents as easy to get started with.
• For Her versions and discontinued models: a small penalty, so they are not suggested first by default.

How ratings are calculated

Each review gives an overall rating out of 5 and, optionally, a rating per criterion: comfort, seal, quietness, maintenance. A product's rating is the simple average of published reviews, with no hidden weighting, and the number of reviews is always shown next to it.

No rating appears until a patient has rated the product. We do not invent stars to fill a page.

An account can publish one review per product. Points earned never depend on the rating given: a harsh review earns as much as an enthusiastic one.

Publication and moderation

A review is published as soon as it is sent from an email-verified account. It can be removed afterwards if it does not describe a real experience, is advertising, names a caregiver or contains another person's health data.

Neither manufacturers nor the commercial partner have any way to edit, hide or delete a review.

AI-generated summaries

Once a product has five reviews, an artificial intelligence model (Claude, by Anthropic) reads the published reviews and extracts the three most liked and the three most criticized points. The summary is regenerated as new reviews come in.

It is labelled as AI-generated and shows how many reviews it is based on. It only reflects what the reviews say: no outside information is added.

Who funds us

CPAP Ranker is published by ADLX Ventures and funded by VivaRespire, a Belgian CPAP equipment shop founded by the same entrepreneur, Andy Leleux. It is a direct commercial link, and we would rather say so plainly.

Product pages link to the product page at VivaRespire for visitors in Europe. This is what keeps the site free and ad-free.

The catalogue currently starts from the products sold by VivaRespire, the most common in Europe. It will grow to other models as the community asks for them.

Ratings, reviews, summaries and comparisons are never adjusted to favor a sale.

What we are not

CPAP Ranker is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. The choice of mask, pressure and settings is for your sleep physician and your equipment provider. The MaskFinder's suggestions help you prepare that conversation, not replace it.

Report a mistake

A wrong specification, an outdated source, a doubtful review: use the "Idea or issue?" button on every page, or write to hello@cpapranker.com. Corrections are applied to the product page concerned.