How We Rate Hosting Providers
Our ratings combine hands-on checks, price benchmarking, and real-world support tests. Every score is built from the same rubric so you can compare providers with confidence.
Score Weighting
We adjust weights only when hosting trends or user expectations shift.
The Five Scoring Pillars
Each pillar has defined checks and scoring criteria.
Performance
Uptime history, IO throughput, sustained CPU, and network stability.
Price & Value
Intro vs renewal, setup fees, refund terms, and value per resource.
Features
Backups, panels, snapshots, SSL, region choices, and add-on pricing.
Support
Ticket response times, solution quality, and availability of channels.
Ease of Use
Dashboard clarity, docs quality, and onboarding flow for new users.
Consistency Checks
We re-score after major price changes or infrastructure updates.
How the Score Is Calculated
- 1 Collect pricing, specs, refund terms, and promo inventory from official sources.
- 2 Run baseline tests (deploy, panel access, IO, and network checks).
- 3 Score each pillar against a consistent rubric and normalize the result.
- 4 Apply weights and audit for outliers or missing data.
- 5 Publish updates and document major changes in the provider review.
Data Sources
- Official pricing pages and product specs.
- Hands-on deployments and panel walkthroughs.
- Support response sampling via ticket/chat.
- Industry benchmarks and verified user feedback.
We never accept paid placement or score adjustments.
Score Scale (1–5)
- 5 — Exceptional across all pillars.
- 4 — Strong performance with minor trade-offs.
- 3 — Average; good for basic needs.
- 2 — Weak value or inconsistent quality.
- 1 — Not recommended.
Affiliate & Editorial Policy
Some outbound links are affiliate links. This never changes our scores. Providers cannot pay to improve rankings, remove negative notes, or influence reviews.
If a provider’s pricing or quality shifts, we update scores regardless of partnerships.
Update Cadence
We monitor pricing weekly and re-check promos during high-traffic seasons. Major provider changes trigger an immediate review and score recalculation.
VPS Picks Based on This Methodology
- CPU: 1 vCPU
- Memory: 2 GB
- Storage: 50 GB SSD
- Bandwidth: 3 TB @ 1 Gbps
- CPU: 4 vCore (KVM)
- Memory: 8 GB DDR5 ECC
- Storage: 512 GB NVMe
- Bandwidth: Traffic Flatrate
- CPU: 2 vCPU
- Memory: 2 GB
- Storage: 50 GB SSD
- Bandwidth: 3 TB/mo
- CPU: 4 vCPU
- Memory: 8 GB
- Storage: 200 GB SSD
- Bandwidth: 32 TB traffic