#Comparisons

When you are weighing options, Nourva lays them out side by side against the things you actually care about — so the right choice is the one you can see.

#Overview

A comparison puts several options next to each other and scores them against the criteria that matter to you. Instead of reading three separate write-ups and holding the differences in your head, you get one structured view where every option is measured on the same terms.

This is one of the eight ways Nourva presents results. Arachne chooses it automatically when your request is fundamentally a choice between alternatives — products, plans, approaches, tools, places — and the decision turns on how each one stacks up across a few dimensions.

#What you can do

• See options laid out side by side, each measured against the same criteria.
• Compare on the dimensions you care about — price, features, speed, reach, whatever the decision actually hinges on.
• Scan a single structured view instead of reassembling separate descriptions yourself.
• Ask for the criteria to change — add a dimension, drop one, or reweight what matters most.
• Add or remove options as your shortlist shifts.
• Trace the comparison back to where it came from when it is built from research, through the gathered source pack.
• Switch to a different format — a table or a report, for instance — when that fits the decision better.
• Keep the comparison as an artifact you can reopen, refine, and reuse later.

#How to use it

1. Describe the decision in plain language and name the options if you already have them — or ask Arachne to find the candidates worth comparing.
2. Say what matters to you. The clearer you are about your criteria, the sharper the comparison: tell Arachne the dimensions you weigh a choice on.
3. Read across, not just down. Each row or column is one option; each criterion is measured the same way for every option, so a difference you see is a real difference.
4. Adjust the criteria in plain language. Ask to add a dimension you forgot, remove one that does not apply, or focus on the few that decide it for you — Arachne rebuilds the comparison to match.
5. Narrow or widen the field. Drop an option that is out, or add one you want considered, and the side-by-side updates.
6. When you have what you need, keep it. The comparison is saved as an artifact you can reopen, build on, or export.

#Examples

What you ask:

Compare the three project tools I shortlisted on price, collaboration features, and how steep the learning curve is.

What you see: A comparison with your three tools side by side, each scored on price, collaboration features, and learning curve, so the trade-offs are visible at a glance.

What you ask:

Now add offline support as a criterion and drop the learning curve.

What you see: The same comparison, rebuilt — offline support added as a new dimension, learning curve removed — with every option re-measured on the updated criteria.

What you ask:

Find the best three options for a small standing desk under my budget and compare them on price, height range, and stability.

What you see: Arachne researches the candidates, then presents the three strongest side by side on price, height range, and stability, with the references it used gathered into a source pack you can check.

#Tips

• Lead with your criteria. Naming the dimensions you decide on up front gives you a comparison built around your actual question, not a generic one.
• Keep the criteria to the few that genuinely matter. A focused side-by-side is far easier to act on than one crowded with columns you will ignore.
• When a comparison is built from research, open the source pack to confirm where a number or claim came from before you commit to it.
• If the decision is really a single ranked list or a body of structured detail rather than a head-to-head, ask for a table or a report instead — the format follows the work.

#Related

• How results are presented
• Tables
• Source packs
• Researching a topic
• Using Arachne well