We score hosting from public information using a published formula for each host type. The inputs cover pricing, plan hardware, developer features, regions, uptime commitments, incident reporting, support and refund terms. Code calculates the results using the weights and scales shown here. You can trace a score back to its inputs and judge whether those priorities fit your needs. Affiliate relationships and our own experience running production services never change a score.
| Criterion | Cloud VPS | App platform | Shared & WordPress |
|---|---|---|---|
| True price | 25% | 25% | 30% |
| Hardware per dollar | 20% | - | - |
| Developer features | 20% | 25% | 10% |
| Network & locations | 10% | 15% | 5% |
| Reliability | 15% | 15% | 15% |
| Support & policies | 10% | 10% | 20% |
| Renewal honesty | - | - | 20% |
| Free tier | - | 10% | - |
Each criterion scores 0 to 10; the overall score is the weighted average. A criterion the host does not publish is left out and the remaining weights are scaled up.
3-year cost incl. renewal and IPv4
We calculate the total cost of a reference plan across the full comparison period. That includes introductory pricing for as long as it applies, renewal pricing afterward and any charge for a paid IP address. A fixed scale for each host type turns that cost into a score. Adding another host never changes an existing host’s score.
vCPU, RAM and storage per unit of price
For cloud servers, we measure how much CPU, memory and storage the reference plan’s total comparison cost buys. The score uses a fixed scale, giving you a consistent way to compare hardware for your budget. It measures the resources listed in the plan, so it should be read alongside the other criteria when choosing a server.
Root, API, CLI, Terraform, snapshots, backups, Docker, databases
We check whether the host offers root or SSH access, an API, a CLI, Terraform support, snapshots, automated backups, Docker support and managed databases. Each feature is recorded as present or absent. These capabilities matter when you need to automate deployment, control your environment, recover data or reduce the amount of infrastructure your team manages.
Regions and continents covered
We measure the host’s region count and the continents those regions cover. The region component reaches full marks at a fixed threshold. Geographic choice matters when you want to place an application near its users or operate across different areas. This criterion describes available locations rather than measured connection speed.
Published SLA terms and incident history
We look at the host’s published uptime commitment, how high that commitment is and whether it covers all plans or only enterprise plans. We also check for a machine-readable incident history. These details help you assess the scope of the host’s promises and how openly it reports service problems. They do not guarantee future uptime.
Channels, refund window, lock-in
We check which support channels the host offers, including tickets, email, chat, phone and forums. We also account for a refund window lasting at least a month or billing with no lock-in. These details help you understand how you can seek help and how much flexibility you have if the service does not fit your needs.
How far renewal climbs above the intro price
For shared hosting, we measure how far the renewal price rises above the introductory price. A low advertised starting price can lead to a much larger ongoing bill. This criterion makes that increase visible, helping you judge whether the service will remain affordable after the introductory offer ends.
A free plan you can keep using
For app platforms, we check whether a free tier exists that you can keep using, rather than access that expires when a trial ends. An ongoing free tier can give you room to experiment or maintain a small project. Its availability does not mean every workload will fit within the platform’s free limits.
| Scale | Full marks | Lowest mark |
|---|---|---|
| True price, Cloud VPS (3-year cost, USD) | $150 or less | $1,500 or more |
| True price, App platform (3-year cost, USD) | $100 or less | $1,500 or more |
| True price, Shared & WordPress (3-year cost, USD) | $90 or less | $900 or more |
| Hardware per dollar ((vCPU + RAM GB / 2 + disk GB / 50) per USD a month) | 1.5 or more | 0.15 or less |
| Network, region part (60% of the network score; continents make up the rest) | 30 regions | 1 region |
| Support channels (ticket 1, email 1, chat 2, phone 2, forum 0.5 points) | 6.5 points | none |
Prices and hardware use logarithmic scales between those anchors. Hosts priced in euros or pounds are converted at European Central Bank reference rates from 2026-10-09: 1 EUR = 1.1206 USD, 1 GBP = 1.322 USD. Each review still shows prices in the host's own currency.
Our “Best hosting for” pages rank hosts for a specific job, such as running an AI agent, an automation service or a web application. For each host, we use the cheapest plan that meets the job’s minimum hardware requirements, then apply weights chosen for that job. This makes the ranking sensitive to what the workload needs and what a qualifying plan costs. A host’s position can therefore differ between jobs, even when its general review score stays the same.
| Job | Minimum | True price | Developer features | Network & locations | Reliability | Support & policies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenClaw | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 35% | 15% | 10% | 25% | 15% |
| Hermes Agent | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 35% | 15% | 10% | 25% | 15% |
| AI agents | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 30% | 20% | 10% | 25% | 15% |
| Claude Code | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 30% | 30% | 10% | 20% | 10% |
| n8n | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 35% | 20% | 10% | 20% | 15% |
| Coolify | 2 vCPU, 4 GB, root | 30% | 30% | 10% | 20% | 10% |
| Next.js | 2 GB | 25% | 30% | 20% | 15% | 10% |
| Vercel alternatives | 2 GB | 30% | 30% | 15% | 15% | 10% |
We recheck prices monthly. Where a host provides a public pricing API, we compare prices automatically. For other hosts, we check them by hand against the host’s pricing page. Every page shows when its prices were checked, so you can judge how recent the information is. Prices can change between checks, so confirm the current terms before buying.
Most hosts we list pay us nothing. Outbound links may carry affiliate tags in the future, allowing us to earn a commission when a reader buys through them. The scoring code never receives affiliate or commission fields. It calculates scores from the published criteria, so whether a host pays us cannot affect its score.
We run production services on some of the hosts we review. Where we do, the review includes a short note describing that experience. These notes give you context about our direct use of the service. They never add points, remove points or otherwise change the calculated score.
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