Scoring model v1.0
Every provider is scored 0–100 on 8 factors. A weighted average produces the final editorial score. Weights reflect what matters most to the broadest range of VPS buyers.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 25% | CPU benchmark documentation, NVMe vs SATA, network throughput per provider specs |
| Reliability / Uptime | 15% | Published SLA, uptime guarantee strength, historical status page data |
| Value | 15% | Price per vCPU/GB RAM, included bandwidth, free credits, money-back guarantees |
| Developer Experience | 10% | API quality, Terraform support, documentation depth, 1-click apps, managed services |
| Global Reach | 10% | Number of data centre regions and geographic distribution |
| Support | 10% | 24/7 availability, documented response time SLAs, support channel breadth |
| Privacy / Jurisdiction | 10% | Corporate jurisdiction, GDPR compliance capability, US CLOUD Act exposure, ownership transparency |
| Ease of Use | 5% | Control panel quality, onboarding friction, documentation accessibility for non-experts |
Version lock: Scoring weights are locked at v1.0. Any change to weights requires a version increment documented in ethics.html. This prevents retroactive score manipulation.
Data sources
Every score is derived from publicly available, independently verifiable information. We do not run first-person speed tests or lab benchmarks. Sources include:
- Provider pricing pages and published SLA documentation
- Independent benchmark reports from published research (Geekbench, cloud benchmark databases)
- Provider status pages and historical uptime records
- Official Terraform/API documentation
- GDPR and jurisdiction documentation from provider legal pages
- Independent community reviews and forum data (used directionally, not as primary source)
Each VPN record in our data includes a sources object with one URL per scoring category — accessible via the compare modal on the main page.
What scores represent
Scores are editorial assessments based on public data — not first-person measurements. A Performance score of 90 means the provider's published specs and available benchmark documentation indicate strong performance relative to peers. It does not mean we ran a 30-day speed test from our own servers.
We use framing like "per independent benchmark reports" and "per provider SLA documentation" — never "we tested" or "in our lab."
Provider selection
The 16 providers included are selected for relevance to a general developer/business audience: they must offer publicly available VPS products, have verifiable public pricing, and be actively operated as of the data verification date. Discontinued or shadow-discontinued providers are marked accordingly.
Update cadence
Scores and pricing are verified against provider sources and updated periodically. The dataLastVerified date in our site config reflects the last full verification pass. Individual record sources are linked for readers who want to check directly.
Independence
Best VPS Match has no affiliate income at launch (affiliateActive: false). No provider pays for placement, higher scores, or featured position. Rankings are driven entirely by the weighted score formula above. This is documented in our ethics policy.