The short version: same compound, same laboratory, same method, ideally same week — otherwise you are comparing laboratories rather than suppliers.
Content is the more discriminating measurement than purity for supplier comparison, because purity clusters tightly among competent suppliers and content does not.
Compare documentation on a fixed checklist rather than by impression: lot specificity, method section, chromatogram availability, quantified content, water and counter-ion figures, and whether the code is on the vial.
Comparisons drawn from different laboratories at different times are weaker evidence than most people treat them as.
One laboratory, one method, one submission. Otherwise it is not a comparison.
edited 10 Jul 2026 by tobias_maartens — reworded for clarity after a comment
7Is there a sensible order size where independent testing stops being a large surcharge? – rhian_prydderch 9 months ago add a comment