Every cell signal booster gets a score from 0 to 100% built from five factors, which maps onto the 5-point rating shown on the site (a 0% score would be 1.5 stars; a perfect score, 5). Each factor is scored against fixed reference points, not against the other products in the list, so adding a new model never moves another model’s rating. Boosters are grouped by use, home, vehicle and RV, and price and gain are scored on a scale for each use.
| Factor | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | price of the kit with its antennas | 25% |
| Gain | maximum system gain | 20% |
| Uplink power | maximum uplink output | 15% |
| Bands | number of cellular bands boosted | 15% |
| Warranty | warranty length | 25% |
Where the numbers come from
Gain, uplink and downlink power, bands, coverage, cable and warranty come from the maker’s product page, spec sheet or installation guide. Prices are checked at Amazon and the maker’s own store, and the lowest price at a store the page links to is used.
The factors
Price is the current price of the kit with its antennas, on a log scale, so halving the price always counts the same. For home boosters $1,300 scores zero and $300 full marks; for vehicle boosters $600 scores zero and $150 full marks; for RV boosters $1,000 scores zero and $300 full marks.
Gain is the maker’s maximum system gain. For home boosters 60 dB scores zero and 72 dB, the FCC limit, full marks. For vehicle boosters 40 dB scores zero and 50 dB, the mobile limit, full marks. For RV boosters 45 dB scores zero and 72 dB full marks, so a parked only RV kit that publishes more gain scores higher than one at the mobile limit.
Uplink power is the strongest output the booster sends back toward the tower. Where a maker publishes output for each band, the strongest band is used. 20 dBm scores zero and 30 dBm full marks.
Bands is the number of cellular bands boosted, counting 12/17, 25/2 and 4/66 each as one: 3 bands score zero and 5 bands, which cover every major US band, full marks.
Warranty is the maker’s warranty: 1 year scores zero and 3 years full marks.
What isn’t scored
Downlink power, the list of bands, the maker’s coverage claim, the outside antenna type, the length of cable included, automatic gain control, app support and the release date are listed but not scored. Coverage claims depend on the signal outside, so they aren’t comparable from one maker to another.
Missing data
If a figure isn’t published, that factor gets the neutral middle score (50) and the product page marks it as estimated. The exception is warranty: a maker that doesn’t publish one gets no warranty counted, so that factor scores zero, the same as the shortest warranty on the scale, and is marked estimated.
Ties and discontinued models
Products are ranked by score within each group. Discontinued models stay listed but rank below every current model and can be hidden with the “Hide discontinued” filter.