How we work

The short version: we compare padel racket prices from UK shops, we earn a commission when you buy through our links, and we try to be useful enough that you come back anyway.

Where the prices come from

Retailers publish product feeds for sites like this one, and some run public product listings. We read those once a day, match each listing to the racket it actually is (by barcode where the retailer gives one, otherwise by name), and record the price. Every price on the site shows when it was last checked. If a retailer’s price has not been refreshed within 24 hours we stop showing it rather than guess.

We show the total with delivery, not just the sticker price, because a racket shipped from Spain with a £12 delivery charge is not cheaper than one £8 dearer from a UK warehouse. Delivery is the retailer’s standard UK rate where we know it. Check it at checkout; retailers change these and we can be behind.

We do not track every shop in the country. The list of retailers we compare is on each racket page. If a shop you use is not there, tell us.

Where the specs come from

From the brands first, cross-checked against retailers. Brands and retailers disagree with each other more often than you would think, particularly about balance and player level, and when they do we go with the brand and say so in the notes. Weights are the manufacturer’s range; the racket in your hand will vary by a few grams.

The review summaries

We have not hit a ball with most of these rackets. Where a racket page shows “What reviewers say”, it is a summary, generated with AI and then read by a person, of reviews published elsewhere: named YouTube reviewers, forum threads, and customer reviews on retailer sites that allow it. Each summary says how many reviews it drew on and lists the sources. It is a way of reading forty reviews in a minute, not a substitute for a first-hand test, and we label it as such.

Owner reviews on this site are from people who have bought the racket. We ask for proof of purchase and we do not accept reviews from retailers, brands or their agencies. We do not pay for reviews and we do not remove negative ones.

How we make money

When you click through to a shop and buy something, the shop may pay us a commission. It does not change the price you pay, and it does not change which shop we show as cheapest: the table is sorted by total price, full stop. Some shops we list pay us nothing at all; they are there because they sell the racket.

Who is behind it

Padeal is run by Steven Mather, a solicitor in Leicestershire who plays racket sports badly and buys kit too often. It is a small independent site, not owned by a retailer or a brand. Questions, corrections and grumbles to hello@padeal.co.uk.