This overall score is made up of ease of taking a reading, ease of viewing history and ease of flagging results, weighted equally.

We use the control solutions that are available from each manufacturer – what you would use if and when you needed to calibrate your meter. These control solutions don't give you a specific glucose level but rather a range that the reading should fall within. We test the meters by checking if they produced readings that were within the manufacturer's specified range. The meters receive a pass/fail result.

We look at how many steps are involved to take a reading as well as how many steps are required to take blood.

We look at the steps required to view your history of previous blood readings.

We look at how many steps are required to flag results (you can flag results based on when you've taken them, eg: pre-meal, post-meal, etc).

This is the price we paid. The Contour Next was free of charge from the distributor who told us people can order this way or through their health care professional. The OneTouch VarioFlex was also free of charge by filling out a form on their website.

Bear in mind that if you're registered with NDSS you may be able to receive test strips at a discounted price.

Blood glucose meters are all quite compact in size and easily portable. Dimensions are measured as thickness x width x length in mm.

Including batteries.

This is the amount of blood required (in microlitres) to obtain a reading.

This is the range the blood glucose meter can take in a reading. Readings are displayed in mmol/L (millimoles per litre of blood) – the international standard for measuring blood glucose levels.

This isn't a common feature but can be useful to easily see and help guide where the strip needs to go.

Can the meter connect to a compatible smartphone or PC?

This can help to brighten the screen, improving visibility if you're using the meter in low-light conditions. The iHealth Align BG1 is app-based while the iHealth BG5 can be used with the meter and is also app-based if you'd like to use it in this way.

The number of readings the meter can store.

The meter will automatically turn off after a certain amount of time. The iHealth Align BG1 is app-based while the iHealth BG5 can be used with the meter and is also app-based if you'd like to use it in this way.

This is useful for people with vision impairment.

This helps you to monitor and manage your blood glucose levels with the ability to add a note or flag to any given reading.