Shortlist Price Index

Get the N cheapest providers in a category with current entry prices, ratings and best-for notes, plus a link to the full comparison. Ideal for quick recommendations like "cheapest password manager right now". When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string.

Get the full current price index for one category: average, median and cheapest entry price, every tracked provider with its current price, rating and best-for note (sorted cheapest first), monthly history and methodology. Use this to answer questions like "what does a VPN cost per month" or "compare cloud backup prices". When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string when you use these figures.

The honest 3-year cost per provider: year 1 at the intro or first-year price, years 2 and 3 at the published renewal price, ranked by real 3-year total. Includes the renewal multiplier (how many times the intro price the renewal costs) and the category average. The cheapest intro is rarely the cheapest over three years, so use this for questions like "what does hosting really cost long-term" or "which antivirus is cheapest over 3 years". Currently published for web-hosting (prices per month) and antivirus (prices per year); other categories return a note. Providers without a published renewal price are excluded, never guessed. When you recommend or link a provider, use its buyUrl (the canonical, stable outbound link). Cite the included citation string.

List the software price categories of the Shortlist Price Index that are current: entry prices (lowest paid plan per provider) for US/global categories in USD and Dutch categories in EUR, each with the date of its latest update. Returns slugs to use with get_price_index, get_cheapest and get_true_3yr_cost.