Comparison is a fundamental online activity. Before committing to a purchase, signing up for a service, or even contacting a business, users frequently engage in comparing options. This comparison process is often crucial for users to make informed decisions and take desired actions on a website.
However, vital comparative information is often scattered across various detail pages. This forces users to juggle multiple tabs or rely on their memory, creating a frustrating experience. This is precisely where the Compare And Contrast Table becomes an indispensable tool.
In This Article:
Definition of a Compare and Contrast Table
A compare and contrast table is a structured grid that organizes products or services in columns and their attributes in rows. This format enables users to quickly and easily evaluate the features and characteristics of different offerings side-by-side.
A basic compare and contrast table in the most common layout: distinct columns for each product and rows for each product characteristic.
When is a Compare and Contrast Table Necessary?
While often associated primarily with e-commerce, particularly for electronics and mid-to-high-range consumer goods like appliances, fitness trackers, or vehicles, the utility of compare and contrast tables extends far beyond online shopping. They are equally effective for comparing:
- Services
- Membership Tiers
- Pricing Plans
- App Functionalities
- Educational Costs
- Geographic Locations
These tables can be used to juxtapose similar offerings from a single organization or to contrast a company’s products with those of competitors. The compare and contrast table is a surprisingly versatile tool that is often underutilized.
Understanding Decision-Making: Compensatory vs. Noncompensatory
When faced with numerous choices, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each option can become overwhelming. Consequently, individuals often resort to noncompensatory decision-making. This involves using a single, decisive factor to narrow down choices.
For instance, someone seeking a new vehicle might eliminate all options exceeding a $30,000 budget, even if some are only slightly above this limit. This non-negotiable criterion helps streamline the selection process.
However, when evaluating a smaller set of alternatives (typically fewer than 5-7), people tend to engage in compensatory decision-making. This approach involves examining the individual strengths and weaknesses of each item, weighing their pros and cons across multiple criteria.
For example, a user researching laptops might consider a slightly heavier model if it offers superior battery life and processing power.
Filters and facets are effective tools for supporting noncompensatory decision-making. Conversely, compare and contrast tables are ideally suited for facilitating compensatory decision-making. They provide users with a clear, at-a-glance view of multiple important attributes, enabling easy comparison across options.
Situations Where a Compare and Contrast Table is Not Ideal
Despite their broad applicability, compare and contrast tables are not always necessary. Beyond noncompensatory decision scenarios, you likely don’t need a compare and contrast table if the items are:
- Not Mutually Exclusive
- Simple
- Inexpensive or Easily Replaced
- Unique or Difficult to Compare
Outside of these exceptions, the potential applications of compare and contrast tables are vast. Whenever users need to choose between similar options, especially when multiple factors influence their decision, a compare and contrast table can be a valuable asset.
Not Mutually Exclusive Items
Similar items are not always mutually exclusive. While a consumer may only need one microwave or laptop, this isn’t true for items like apparel, toys, or light bulbs. For example, a compare and contrast table is generally unnecessary for choosing a dress, as customers often purchase multiple items.
❌ amazon.com: A compare and contrast table for similar dresses is not needed.
✅ amazon.com: Instead of a compare and contrast table, this Amazon dress product page offered a quick and easy way to add a similar dress to your order.
Simple Items
For very simple products or services, users don’t need to analyze numerous attributes. A coffee mug, for instance, lacks many meaningful, comparable features. Someone shopping for a mug online might be interested in style and size but likely won’t want to compare numerous attributes across different mugs.
Compare and contrast tables are often unnecessary for items chosen primarily for aesthetic reasons, such as furniture, home décor, clothing, or accessories.
Inexpensive or Easily Replaced Items
When a product or service is inexpensive or easily replaceable, users are likely to engage in satisficing behavior and avoid extensive analysis of alternatives. Consumers don’t typically compare various brands of paper towels in detail.
❌ jetpens.com: Comparing this many factors for a simple, inexpensive item like a plastic pen is unnecessary.
Unique, Hard-to-Compare Items
Finally, products or services that are unique and defy easy comparison with others are not well-suited for compare and contrast tables. For example, creating a set of attributes to compare different works of art would be challenging.
Two Main Types of Compare and Contrast Tables
There are two primary types of compare and contrast tables:
- Static compare and contrast tables: These contain pre-selected products and are best suited for comparing a small number of items (under 5).
- Dynamic compare and contrast tables: These allow users to select the items they wish to compare and are ideal for larger product selections.
Static Compare and Contrast Tables
If you offer a limited number of products that users commonly compare, creating pre-built, static compare and contrast tables can be highly effective.
For example, Apple, with its recent release of only three Apple Watch models, provides a static table directly comparing them for users making a purchase decision.
✅ apple.com: With only 3 recent Apple Watch models, Apple provides a compare and contrast table encompassing all of them.
A general guideline is to consider this approach when you have 5 or fewer offerings. However, the complexity of the information also plays a role, and even 5 options might be too many in some cases. Static compare and contrast tables often work well for comparing membership levels or pricing packages.
This type of implementation allows for precise control over information display. You can tailor the text to fit within cell constraints. However, static tables are less scalable than dynamic tables. Adding a new product or service requires manually updating the table.
✅ apple.com: Ensure users can find static compare and contrast tables by including a link in your information architecture, alongside product menus. Apple placed a link to its static compare and contrast table within the Watch secondary navigation menu, next to links for individual Apple Watch models.
Dynamic Compare and Contrast Tables
Dynamic tables empower users to choose which items to include in the comparison. They are appropriate when you offer more than 5 products or services.
While dynamic compare and contrast tables scale efficiently as your offerings expand or change, they typically utilize a flexible layout, and their visual appearance may be less refined than static tables.
✅ tesla.com: Tesla’s website enables users to compare different Tesla models using a dynamic table.
Item Selection in Dynamic Compare and Contrast Tables
Two common methods for allowing users to select items for a dynamic table are compare buttons/checkboxes and direct manipulation.
Compare Buttons or Checkboxes
Compare buttons or checkboxes are usually integrated directly into listing pages. Users select items of interest and then navigate to a dynamically generated comparison page.
Checkmarks (left, homedepot.com) and buttons (right, lowes.com) are the two most common ways for users to select items for an interactive compare and contrast table.
Product listing pages can be visually dense, so a key challenge is making the Compare buttons noticeable without dominating the page. A safe approach is to position Compare buttons as secondary actions, either at the top or bottom of the page, or beneath product descriptions.
Direct Manipulation of Items
This method allows users to directly click or drag products to add them to the compare and contrast table. Often, this functionality is enabled by a dedicated Compare mode that disables the standard click action on a product, as seen in the Garmin example below. Alternatively, a separate Compare page, as shown in the bottom right of the example, can be used.
❌ garmin.com: Although the grey ghost button blended into the UI and was not highly visible, this Garmin example had merit. It featured a COMPARE button at the top of its product listing page. When activated, it added the product to a compare and contrast table instead of linking to a detail page.
A benefit of direct manipulation is separating the comparison activity from the product listing page, maintaining a cleaner listing view.
A dedicated comparison page (like Fitbit’s) is a good option when your product or service range doesn’t warrant a traditional listing page in the first place.
Best Practices for Effective Compare and Contrast Tables
Regardless of the type of compare and contrast table you choose, adhere to these best practices to optimize user decision-making.
Limit Compare and Contrast Tables to a Maximum of 5 Items
Compare and contrast tables support compensatory decision-making, which is most effective when users have a manageable number of options. When comparing more than 5 items, incorporate mechanisms like filters to help users narrow down the selection to 5 or fewer.
For static compare and contrast tables, prioritize simplicity. If you cannot limit a static table to 5 or fewer comparable options, reconsider using a static format. Depending on information complexity, even 5 options might be excessive.
For dynamic tables, ensure the layout remains effective with up to 5 items if users can freely select them. Most dynamic tables accommodate 3-4 items. Consider the amount of text for attributes and its impact on layout and readability.
Also, factor in device and browser screen size. You might need to limit comparisons to two items on mobile devices. Conversely, don’t restrict users to just two items if screen space allows for more.
❌ Apple’s dynamic compare and contrast table for Mac computers unnecessarily limited comparisons to two items, even on large screens (shown on a 3008×1692 resolution monitor).
Clearly communicate item limits to users to prevent confusion. And ensure users can easily remove items as they refine their choices.
Maintain Consistency in Data
The primary issue with most compare and contrast tables is not design, but content. Missing, incomplete, or inconsistent attribute information across similar offerings renders even well-designed tables ineffective. This is particularly problematic for dynamic tables dealing with numerous offerings and varying metadata availability.
❌ bestbuy.com: This compare and contrast table displayed attributes for two cameras sold by Best Buy. The Sony Alpha 7 camera had significantly richer metadata. Maintaining consistent and up-to-date metadata, especially across numerous products from diverse manufacturers, is challenging. However, incomplete information across compared products negates the value of the table.
❌ smugmug.com: This compare and contrast table detailed features for SmugMug’s four membership levels. However, the “Ads and spam” attribute used values like “Zip, Zero, Zilch, and Nada,” introducing unnecessary site personality. Compare and contrast table values should be consistent and avoid distracting users from key differences.
Enhance Scannability for Quick Comprehension
Comparing product pros and cons is cognitively demanding. Make it easier for users to focus on essential information by ensuring the table is easily scannable for differences, similarities, and key terms.
Use the standard table layout: options as columns, attributes as rows, row labels on the left, and column labels at the top. Maintain consistent text alignment within columns.
❌ williams-sonoma.com: Williams Sonoma categorized pans effectively in this static compare and contrast table. However, non-standard horizontal row headers hindered scannability. The narrow paragraphs under DISTINGUISHING FEATURES are also not scannable or easily readable.
Keep text within compare and contrast tables concise. Avoid full sentences whenever possible.
Color-coding can improve scannability – either by lightly shading columns or coloring cell text. Ensure sufficient contrast and maintain readability.
✅ FitBit.com used distinct colors for each column’s checkmarks to help users differentiate product features. This color-coding approach is less effective for complex attribute values beyond simple checkmarks.
✅ techsmith.com used color-coded columns to highlight feature availability and platform compatibility across its software offerings.
Clearly delineate rows so users can easily identify attribute associations, especially when using symbols like checkmarks. Row borders, shading, or extra spacing can enhance row distinction.
Implement Sticky Column Headers
Especially with lengthy attribute lists spanning multiple screen heights, keep column headers fixed as users scroll. Human short-term memory is limited, and users can easily lose track of which column represents which product.
❌ adobe.com: Adobe’s static compare and contrast table for annual plans lacked fixed column headers. Users had to remember column names or scroll back up to verify column associations.
Utilize Meaningful Attributes
Your compare and contrast table should feature attributes relevant to user decision-making. Avoid overloading the table with every piece of metadata, as this complicates the comparison process.
Whenever possible, define unfamiliar terms within context and connect abstract attributes to concrete examples.
For instance, Anker’s compare and contrast table for portable power banks uses relevant attributes like battery capacity (mAh), charging speed, and weight. Crucially, it translates these into relatable terms for average consumers. Battery capacity is 3350 mAh, or roughly 1.2 iPhone 6 charges. Size is 3.5 x 0.9 x 0.9 inches—about the size of lipstick. Weight is 2.7 oz, comparable to an egg. While 2.7 oz might be abstract, the weight of an egg is easily visualized.
✅ amazon.com: The manufacturer’s product compare and contrast table translated technical attributes into consumer-friendly language.
Another effective approach to clarify obscure attributes is to include links to further information or in-context tooltips with definitions.
✅ dropbox.com: Hover-activated tooltips clarify attribute meanings without adding excessive text to the page.
Empower Users with Control over the Table
Even with scannable tables and sticky headers, comparing products with numerous attributes, especially across many screen views, can be challenging. Users might need to scroll extensively to compare pros and cons across different rows.
To improve manageability, consider allowing users to select which attributes are displayed. Collapsible rows are a straightforward implementation for this.
Alternatively, allow users to hide rows where all offerings are similar, focusing only on differentiating attributes.
✅ bestbuy.com: Users could easily identify product differences (highlighted in yellow) by activating the Highlight Differences switch on this compare and contrast table.
For simple static tables, consider presenting a simplified initial view with the most critical attributes and providing access to a more detailed table.
✅ smugmug.com: SmugMug presented a simplified “at-a-glance” compare and contrast table for its 3 plan options.
smugmug.com: The comprehensive full compare and contrast table was accessible on a separate page.
Optimize Mobile Compare and Contrast Tables
Some websites eliminate comparison functionality entirely for mobile devices. However, strive to support some level of comparison on mobile, even if you can only display 2 items at a time. Smaller screens limit visible rows, increasing strain on short-term memory. Therefore, scannability and user control over displayed attributes are even more critical on mobile.
If a full compare and contrast table is impractical for mobile, consider converting the table to tabs or lists. However, these formats are less effective for compensatory decision-making as users must rely more on memory to weigh pros and cons.
✅ shopify.com: Converting columns to tabs is one mobile-friendly strategy for compare and contrast tables. While side-by-side comparison is lost, users can switch between products more easily than with scrolling or mobile browser tabs.
The Core Principle of Compare and Contrast Tables
In essence, the guiding principle for compare and contrast tables is: prioritize user effort. Avoid cumbersome, non-standard, or overly lengthy tables with redundant information. Don’t burden users’ memory or require them to research unfamiliar terms.
Simplify user decision-making as much as possible. This user-centric approach will benefit both your users and your business.
