Ethos vs Buycott: private weights, or public campaigns?
Comparison based on publicly available information, as of July 2026
The key difference
Buycott organizes conscious shopping around campaigns. You join campaigns for causes you care about — many created by nonprofit organizations — then scan a product's barcode in the aisle. Buycott traces the product up its parent-company family tree and tells you whether that tree intersects a campaign you joined. Its barcode database is large (its site advertises a lookup database of over 600 million barcodes).
Ethos replaces campaign membership with private weights. It records dated, source-cited facts about a brand across 15 value axes, resolves the ownership chain the same way — brand, subsidiary, ultimate parent — and then scores the brand on your device against weights only you can see. Boycott lists appear in Ethos as information, with the list's name, orientation, and date; screens apply only if you turn them on.
Choose Buycott when
- You want to act with a group — joining named public campaigns is the point.
- You want an established, widely known scanning app that exists today on iOS and Android.
- A campaign-conflict yes/no at the shelf is all you need.
Choose Ethos when
- You want the record, not the campaign: dated facts, each with a source URL, across 15 axes — donations, environment, labor, campaigning, and more.
- You want your values applied privately, on your device, rather than expressed as public campaign membership.
- You want a score that reflects how much each issue matters to you, not only whether a campaign matches.
Feature comparison
| Dimension | Ethos | Buycott |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Private weights across 15 recorded value axes | Join public campaigns; scan to check for conflicts |
| Ownership tracing | Chain resolved brand → subsidiary → ultimate parent, each link sourced; free who-owns records on the web | Family tree of products and brands under the same parent company |
| Facts & sources | Every published fact carries a dated source URL; corrections contact on every record | Campaign descriptions and company information contributed around causes |
| Privacy of your values | Weights stay on your device; no public signal | Campaign membership is the organizing mechanism |
| Platforms | iOS (early access) | iOS and Android |
| Price | Early access — pricing announced at launch | See current store listings for pricing |
| Status | Waitlist open, iOS first | Available today |
Buycott facts are taken from buycott.com and its public app-store listings as of July 2026. Verify current details on their site. Corrections: [email protected]
Buycott: verified facts
- Barcode-scanning app for iOS and Android built around joining consumer campaigns.
- Shows a family tree of brands under a product's parent company and suggests alternatives.
- Its website advertises a UPC lookup database of over 600 million barcodes.
Ethos vs Buycott FAQ
- What is the main difference between Ethos and Buycott?
- Buycott is campaign-based: join public campaigns, scan, and check for conflicts in the product's parent-company tree. Ethos is weights-based: cited facts across 15 axes, scored privately on your device. No membership, no public signal.
- Do both apps trace who owns a product?
- Yes. Buycott shows the parent-company family tree. Ethos resolves brand → subsidiary → ultimate parent with a source for each link, and publishes free who-owns records on the web.
- Is Ethos available today?
- Ethos is in early access on iOS — join the waitlist. Buycott is an established app available today.
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Ethos is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Buycott. Word marks are used only to identify the products compared. This page records publicly available information and does not characterize either product beyond it.