Methodology

Coverage metric definitions

• Product records: unique catalogue records, including records that temporarily have no in-stock price.
• Currently priced products: records with at least one price reported as in stock by the source.
• Comparable products: reliably matched records with current prices from at least two distinct sources.
• Active price sources: providers with an active feed and at least one included price. This is not the number of public provider profiles.

Sources

Current price feeds come from: De Online Drogist, Pazzox, Body & Fit, Supspace, Neapharma, Intoleran, Blue Skincare. The list includes licensed pharmacies and other established health and beauty retailers.

Source eligibility and provider type

A source must deliver to Belgium, provide usable product and price data, and be stable enough to monitor. We distinguish licensed online pharmacies from health, beauty and nutrition retailers. Only a provider classified as a pharmacy is described as one; the official FAMHP list is the external reference.

Identifiers and product matching

CNK and EAN/GTIN are the strongest identifiers. Where they are unavailable, we use brand, full product name, variant, strength, volume or unit count, and pack size. Different strengths, flavours, formats and multipacks remain separate. Uncertain links are not published as price comparisons.

Price normalisation and calculation

We use the displayed consumer price including VAT, in euros, for the identical pack. Shipping, coupon codes, subscriptions, loyalty benefits and total basket cost are excluded. Price difference is (highest price − lowest price) / highest price. A spread above a factor of five is excluded as unreliable.

Errors, stock and exceptions

Feeds can be delayed and a provider can change price or stock after our check. Invalid prices, missing pack information and suspicious matches are excluded or separated. The provider page remains the final source for price, stock, delivery and purchase terms.

Update cadence and dating

Sources are synchronised through partner feeds and public product data. Frequency can differ by source, so we do not claim that every record changes daily. Product pages and the Price Index show the latest available check time.

Corrections and contact

Report an incorrect match, price or provider classification through the contact page and include both the PharmaCompare and provider URLs. We review the source data, split incorrect matches and apply the correction in the next synchronisation—or sooner where misleading users is likely.

Data collection

Our systems synchronise partner feeds and public product data according to each source's cadence. We record price, stock status and product information. Prices include VAT and exclude shipping.

Product matching

Products are matched using CNK or EAN identifiers, product name, variant and pack size. Uncertain matches are separated to prevent misleading price comparisons.

Display

Prices are sorted from low to high. The cheapest retailer is highlighted. Savings are calculated only for reliable matches available from at least two retailers.

Limitations

Prices are indicative and may differ at purchase. Not every product from every retailer is included. Delivery costs and discount codes are not taken into account. Always check the current price on the retailer's website.