do DEX aggregators with smart routing actually give better rates?

I keep seeing aggregators claiming best price and smart routing everywhere, and at first I didn’t think much of it. I’d usually just swap on the biggest DEX and move on. But recently I started using Rubic more, mostly out of curiosity, and now I’m lowkey confused.

Sometimes it feels like I get a slightly better deal, other times it looks basically the same after gas, and then I’m sitting there refreshing the page like “did I actually save anything or am I just coping.” I’ve even caught myself opening two tabs to compare routes like it’s some kind of mini trading competition.

so now I’m wondering if anyone else has gone through this..... do aggregators actually help in the long run?