Reviewers rarely talk about reliability. Owners bring it up twice as often

A few weeks ago we compared how negative Reddit owners and YouTube reviewers are about the same products. This time we looked at what they talk about. Across 657 products in 19 categories, owners brought up reliability, durability and customer support twice as often as reviewers did, and they were far more critical of the apps that now come with almost everything.

Reliability, durability and support: share of each side's opinions

Reviewers (YouTube)Owners (Reddit)

Self-cleaning litter boxesReviewers 3% · owners 39%

Laser engraversReviewers 14% · owners 41%

Robot lawn mowersReviewers 9% · owners 27%

Robot vacuumsReviewers 1% · owners 18%

Robot pool cleanersReviewers 9% · owners 25%

3D printersReviewers 11% · owners 22%

Portable power stationsReviewers 10% · owners 21%

Electric bikesReviewers 5% · owners 11%

Electric scootersReviewers 13% · owners 19%

Smart glassesReviewers 1% · owners 5%

Smart locksReviewers 6% · owners 10%

Coffee machinesReviewers 17% · owners 18%

Smart ringsReviewers 10% · owners 11%

Tennis ball machinesReviewers 16% · owners 13%

0%15%30%45%60%

The numbers behind the chartShare of opinions about reliability, durability and support, by category and platformCategoryReviewers (YouTube)Owners (Reddit)Self-cleaning litter boxes3% (5 of 181)39% (23 of 59)Laser engravers14% (15 of 106)41% (30 of 74)Robot lawn mowers9% (23 of 259)27% (32 of 117)Robot vacuums1% (12 of 975)18% (84 of 466)Robot pool cleaners9% (31 of 337)25% (13 of 53)3D printers11% (87 of 762)22% (103 of 465)Portable power stations10% (113 of 1,126)21% (57 of 275)Electric bikes5% (75 of 1,527)11% (84 of 782)Electric scooters13% (71 of 551)19% (61 of 329)Smart glasses1% (2 of 276)5% (11 of 215)Smart locks6% (10 of 170)10% (11 of 109)Coffee machines17% (63 of 375)18% (70 of 394)Smart rings10% (21 of 205)11% (15 of 138)Tennis ball machines16% (8 of 50)13% (12 of 91)

Across these 14 categories: 7.8% of reviewer opinions vs 17.0% of owner opinions. Owners bring it up more in 13 of the 14; tennis ball machines are the exception, with only 91 owner opinions. 6,900 opinions from YouTube reviews and 3,567 from Reddit threads. Left out: video doorbells, smart thermostats, mechanical keyboards and 3D scanners, where reliability isn't a topic of its own (it's folded into a broader one such as "Connection, Reliability & Support"), and pickleball machines, which have no Reddit threads yet.

Reviewers and owners talk about apps, software and connectivity about equally often (8.2% vs 9.4% of opinions). They don't agree on them: 21% of reviewer opinions on apps are negative, compared with 71% of owner opinions.

Categories with at least 20 positive or negative owner opinions on apps. Owners are more negative in all eight.

BettaScore ranks products by what public reviews say about them. No brand pays to be listed or to rank higher, and our shopping links earn nothing.

Each ranking shows what owners and reviewers say about every model, reliability included, with the quotes behind each score.