Consumer and lifestyle · Tier one
How to get featured in Wirecutter
How to get featured in Wirecutter: how The New York Times review team tests and picks products, how it handles samples, and why brands cannot pay their way in.
- Website
- nytimes.com
- Owner
- The New York Times Company
- Lead time
- Guide updates: weeks to months of research and testing. Shorter pieces: varies by assignment.
- Last verified
At a glance
Audience. Shoppers who want rigorously tested, independent product recommendations before they buy, from appliances to everyday gear.
- Home and appliances
- Kitchen
- Tech and electronics
- Sleep and bedding
- Health and fitness
- Travel and outdoor gear
- Gifts and deals
- Staff reporting
- Staff writers and editors research, test, and retest products for long-form guides across more than 1,000 categories. Assignments are driven by reader need, data, and editorial judgment.
- Contributed articles
- Wirecutter does not publish brand-contributed content. It accepts pitches from freelance journalists for shorter reported pieces, odes, and how-tos, and it does not take cold pitches for long-form reviews.
- Opinion and op-eds
- There is no op-ed channel. Reader feedback goes through Wirecutter's feedback page.
- Press releases
- Releases do not lead to coverage on their own. Wirecutter decides which products to test based on its own research, and it buys many test units itself.
Pitching Wirecutter, step by step
Read the current Wirecutter guide for your category, including the competition and testing sections, to see what the picks are measured against.
Identify the writer who covers that category from the guide's byline.
Send a brief, factual note about what is new or materially better, with specifications and pricing, and offer a test unit only if they want one.
Expect Wirecutter to request units, buy its own, or decline; it states it never decides what to test based on getting a free unit.
Make sure the product is easy to buy from reliable retailers and that customer support and warranty terms are clear.
How Wirecutter decides what to cover
Wirecutter is the product recommendation service of The New York Times, acquired in 2016. Its About page says it works with total editorial independence and will not post a recommendation unless writers and editors have judged something the best through reporting and testing. It earns money through subscriptions and affiliate commissions, and it notes that if a reader returns a product, Wirecutter earns nothing.
Assignments are driven by what readers need advice on, informed by data and common sense. Most reviews and updates are written by staff. A guide can take weeks or months of research, expert interviews, and hands-on testing.
How to pitch Wirecutter
There is no product submission form for brands. Wirecutter’s own “How to pitch” page is for freelance journalists, not companies. For brands, the realistic route is to make sure the right writer knows a product exists and why it might matter.
Read the current guide for your category, including the sections on the competition. Find the writer from the byline and send a short, factual note: what changed, the specifications, the price, and availability. Wirecutter explains that it either requests test units from companies or buys them, and that it never decides what to test based on getting a free unit. If a company sends a unit, Wirecutter offers to return it and otherwise donates or recycles it.
Silence is common. If your product is not tested this cycle, it may be considered when the guide is next updated.
Contributed articles and op-eds
Wirecutter does not accept contributed content from brands. Its pitch page explains that it takes freelance pitches for shorter reported pieces, odes, and how-tos about products it already covers, introduced by email with “Freelance pitch:” in the subject line, and that it does not accept cold pitches for long-form reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pay to be featured in Wirecutter?
No. Wirecutter says its picks are driven by editorial and testing standards, not deals or advertising relationships.
Does Wirecutter accept guest posts?
No. It works with staff and assigned freelance journalists, and brand content is not published.
Who should I pitch at Wirecutter?
The writer responsible for your category’s guide, identified from the byline. Keep it to facts and offer a unit only if they ask.
A PR-led agency treats Wirecutter as a testing lab, not a pitch target: the job is to make the product easy to evaluate and let it compete. Our media relations work applies that discipline for consumer brands.
Mistakes that get pitches ignored
- Sending unsolicited samples and then asking for a review
- Raising affiliate rates or advertising with editorial staff
- Pitching a long-form review as a freelancer or brand, which Wirecutter does not accept
- Pushing for a decision; guides take weeks or months of testing
Keep going
Related outlets
Sources for this profile (3)
- Wirecutter: About us
- Wirecutter: How to pitch stories to Wirecutter
- Wirecutter: Yes, I work at Wirecutter. No, we don't get a bunch of free stuff.
Profiles describe public editorial processes and are reviewed periodically. Digitize is not affiliated with Wirecutter. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].