{
  "source": "besthostingmatch.com",
  "description": "Independent web hosting comparison. 22 providers scored across 8 weighted factors using public, verifiable data. Serves beginners and professionals.",
  "methodology": "https://besthostingmatch.com/methodology",
  "last_updated": "2026-06-12",
  "affiliate_disclosure": "No affiliate income at launch. affiliateActive: false.",
  "editorial_policy": "Scores based on published specs, SLA documentation, and public benchmark data. No first-person lab tests.",
  "scoring_weights": {
    "performance": 0.25,
    "uptime_reliability": 0.2,
    "price_value": 0.2,
    "support": 0.15,
    "security": 0.1,
    "ease_of_use": 0.05,
    "scalability": 0.03,
    "developer_features": 0.02
  },
  "true_3yr_cost_formula": "(entry_price * 12) + (renewal_price * 24)",
  "providers": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "id": "kinsta",
      "name": "Kinsta",
      "score": 89,
      "category": "wordpress",
      "entry_price_usd": 35,
      "renewal_price_usd": 35,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 1260,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "MyKinsta (custom)",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 96,
        "uptime": 92,
        "price": 68,
        "support": 96,
        "security": 95,
        "ease_of_use": 88,
        "scalability": 90,
        "dev_features": 92
      },
      "best_for": "Premium WordPress performance",
      "url": "https://kinsta.com",
      "tags": [
        "wordpress",
        "premium",
        "developer",
        "staging",
        "high-performance"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "id": "cloudways",
      "name": "Cloudways",
      "score": 89,
      "category": "cloud",
      "entry_price_usd": 11,
      "renewal_price_usd": 11,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 396,
      "uptime_sla": 99.99,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "3-day trial",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Cloudways Platform",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 92,
        "uptime": 95,
        "price": 82,
        "support": 88,
        "security": 88,
        "ease_of_use": 80,
        "scalability": 94,
        "dev_features": 88
      },
      "best_for": "Agencies, developers, high-traffic WordPress",
      "url": "https://www.cloudways.com",
      "tags": [
        "cloud",
        "wordpress",
        "developer",
        "agency",
        "staging",
        "high-performance",
        "nvme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "id": "siteground",
      "name": "SiteGround",
      "score": 88,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 3.99,
      "renewal_price_usd": 14.99,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 408,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Site Tools (custom)",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 92,
        "uptime": 96,
        "price": 72,
        "support": 96,
        "security": 90,
        "ease_of_use": 88,
        "scalability": 82,
        "dev_features": 78
      },
      "best_for": "Sites that need top-tier support",
      "url": "https://www.siteground.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "developer",
        "premium",
        "staging"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "id": "hostinger",
      "name": "Hostinger",
      "score": 87,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.99,
      "renewal_price_usd": 9.99,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 276,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "hPanel (custom)",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 82,
        "uptime": 90,
        "price": 92,
        "support": 85,
        "security": 88,
        "ease_of_use": 92,
        "scalability": 85,
        "dev_features": 75
      },
      "best_for": "Beginners & budget sites",
      "url": "https://www.hostinger.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "budget",
        "beginner",
        "wordpress",
        "nvme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "id": "digitalocean",
      "name": "DigitalOcean",
      "score": 87,
      "category": "cloud",
      "entry_price_usd": 6,
      "renewal_price_usd": 6,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 216,
      "uptime_sla": 99.99,
      "free_ssl": false,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "No",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "DigitalOcean Console",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 86,
        "uptime": 94,
        "price": 86,
        "support": 82,
        "security": 80,
        "ease_of_use": 80,
        "scalability": 94,
        "dev_features": 96
      },
      "best_for": "Developers building custom applications",
      "url": "https://www.digitalocean.com",
      "tags": [
        "cloud",
        "developer",
        "vps",
        "nvme",
        "high-performance"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "id": "vultr",
      "name": "Vultr",
      "score": 87,
      "category": "cloud",
      "entry_price_usd": 6,
      "renewal_price_usd": 6,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 216,
      "uptime_sla": 99.99,
      "free_ssl": false,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "No",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Vultr Console",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 90,
        "uptime": 93,
        "price": 88,
        "support": 76,
        "security": 80,
        "ease_of_use": 78,
        "scalability": 92,
        "dev_features": 90
      },
      "best_for": "High-performance global deployments",
      "url": "https://www.vultr.com",
      "tags": [
        "cloud",
        "developer",
        "vps",
        "nvme",
        "global",
        "high-performance",
        "gpu"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "id": "linode",
      "name": "Linode (Akamai)",
      "score": 87,
      "category": "cloud",
      "entry_price_usd": 5,
      "renewal_price_usd": 5,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 180,
      "uptime_sla": 99.99,
      "free_ssl": false,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "No",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Linode Console / Akamai Cloud",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 86,
        "uptime": 94,
        "price": 84,
        "support": 86,
        "security": 84,
        "ease_of_use": 80,
        "scalability": 90,
        "dev_features": 88
      },
      "best_for": "Enterprise infrastructure with CDN edge",
      "url": "https://www.linode.com",
      "tags": [
        "cloud",
        "developer",
        "vps",
        "nvme",
        "high-performance"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "id": "wpengine",
      "name": "WP Engine",
      "score": 86,
      "category": "wordpress",
      "entry_price_usd": 20,
      "renewal_price_usd": 20,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 720,
      "uptime_sla": 99.95,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "60 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "WP Engine dashboard",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 92,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 72,
        "support": 86,
        "security": 92,
        "ease_of_use": 85,
        "scalability": 88,
        "dev_features": 90
      },
      "best_for": "Enterprise WordPress, eCommerce",
      "url": "https://wpengine.com",
      "tags": [
        "wordpress",
        "premium",
        "developer",
        "staging",
        "ecommerce",
        "high-performance"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "id": "rocketnet",
      "name": "Rocket.net",
      "score": 86,
      "category": "wordpress",
      "entry_price_usd": 30,
      "renewal_price_usd": 30,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 1080,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Rocket.net dashboard",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 94,
        "uptime": 90,
        "price": 70,
        "support": 86,
        "security": 96,
        "ease_of_use": 84,
        "scalability": 82,
        "dev_features": 80
      },
      "best_for": "Security-focused, high-speed WordPress",
      "url": "https://rocket.net",
      "tags": [
        "wordpress",
        "premium",
        "high-performance",
        "staging",
        "nvme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "id": "liquidweb",
      "name": "Liquid Web",
      "score": 86,
      "category": "dedicated",
      "entry_price_usd": 150,
      "renewal_price_usd": 150,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 5400,
      "uptime_sla": 100,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "No",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Liquid Web console / cPanel / Plesk",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 92,
        "uptime": 96,
        "price": 58,
        "support": 98,
        "security": 94,
        "ease_of_use": 80,
        "scalability": 88,
        "dev_features": 86
      },
      "best_for": "Mission-critical applications needing best-in-class support",
      "url": "https://www.liquidweb.com",
      "tags": [
        "dedicated",
        "premium",
        "high-performance",
        "enterprise"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "id": "pressable",
      "name": "Pressable",
      "score": 85,
      "category": "wordpress",
      "entry_price_usd": 25,
      "renewal_price_usd": 25,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 900,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Pressable dashboard",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 88,
        "uptime": 90,
        "price": 74,
        "support": 88,
        "security": 88,
        "ease_of_use": 86,
        "scalability": 84,
        "dev_features": 82
      },
      "best_for": "WordPress sites wanting Automattic reliability",
      "url": "https://pressable.com",
      "tags": [
        "wordpress",
        "premium",
        "developer",
        "staging"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "id": "flywheel",
      "name": "Flywheel",
      "score": 85,
      "category": "wordpress",
      "entry_price_usd": 15,
      "renewal_price_usd": 15,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 540,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "Flywheel dashboard",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 86,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 76,
        "support": 88,
        "security": 86,
        "ease_of_use": 90,
        "scalability": 86,
        "dev_features": 82
      },
      "best_for": "Freelancers and agencies managing client sites",
      "url": "https://getflywheel.com",
      "tags": [
        "wordpress",
        "agency",
        "developer",
        "staging"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "id": "hetzner",
      "name": "Hetzner",
      "score": 85,
      "category": "cloud",
      "entry_price_usd": 4,
      "renewal_price_usd": 4,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 144,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": false,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "No",
      "support_24_7": false,
      "control_panel": "Hetzner Cloud Console",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 85,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 96,
        "support": 70,
        "security": 88,
        "ease_of_use": 72,
        "scalability": 86,
        "dev_features": 84
      },
      "best_for": "European developers wanting best price per spec",
      "url": "https://www.hetzner.com",
      "tags": [
        "cloud",
        "developer",
        "vps",
        "nvme",
        "budget",
        "eu",
        "gdpr"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "id": "a2hosting",
      "name": "A2 Hosting",
      "score": 83,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.99,
      "renewal_price_usd": 11.99,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 324,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": false,
      "money_back": "Anytime money-back",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 86,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 78,
        "support": 82,
        "security": 84,
        "ease_of_use": 82,
        "scalability": 78,
        "dev_features": 74
      },
      "best_for": "Speed-focused shared hosting",
      "url": "https://www.a2hosting.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "developer",
        "nvme",
        "high-performance"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "id": "greengeeks",
      "name": "GreenGeeks",
      "score": 83,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.95,
      "renewal_price_usd": 10.95,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 298,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 80,
        "uptime": 89,
        "price": 82,
        "support": 84,
        "security": 84,
        "ease_of_use": 84,
        "scalability": 74,
        "dev_features": 68
      },
      "best_for": "Eco-conscious website owners",
      "url": "https://www.greengeeks.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "beginner",
        "eco"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "id": "bluehost",
      "name": "Bluehost",
      "score": 82,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.95,
      "renewal_price_usd": 11.99,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 323,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 78,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 80,
        "support": 82,
        "security": 82,
        "ease_of_use": 90,
        "scalability": 80,
        "dev_features": 70
      },
      "best_for": "New WordPress sites",
      "url": "https://www.bluehost.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "beginner",
        "phone-support"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "id": "dreamhost",
      "name": "DreamHost",
      "score": 82,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.59,
      "renewal_price_usd": 4.95,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 150,
      "uptime_sla": 100,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "97 days",
      "support_24_7": false,
      "control_panel": "Custom panel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 76,
        "uptime": 90,
        "price": 88,
        "support": 78,
        "security": 80,
        "ease_of_use": 84,
        "scalability": 78,
        "dev_features": 72
      },
      "best_for": "Budget-conscious WordPress sites",
      "url": "https://www.dreamhost.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "budget",
        "beginner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "id": "inmotion",
      "name": "InMotion Hosting",
      "score": 82,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 2.99,
      "renewal_price_usd": 8.99,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 252,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "90 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 78,
        "uptime": 90,
        "price": 80,
        "support": 86,
        "security": 82,
        "ease_of_use": 82,
        "scalability": 76,
        "dev_features": 72
      },
      "best_for": "US-based sites needing reliable support",
      "url": "https://www.inmotionhosting.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "wordpress",
        "beginner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "id": "ionosdedicated",
      "name": "IONOS Dedicated",
      "score": 80,
      "category": "dedicated",
      "entry_price_usd": 65,
      "renewal_price_usd": 65,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 2340,
      "uptime_sla": 99.99,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "IONOS Cloud Panel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 82,
        "uptime": 88,
        "price": 76,
        "support": 74,
        "security": 80,
        "ease_of_use": 75,
        "scalability": 78,
        "dev_features": 70
      },
      "best_for": "Budget dedicated — entry-level without the Liquid Web premium",
      "url": "https://www.ionos.com/servers/dedicated-servers",
      "tags": [
        "dedicated",
        "budget"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "id": "ionos",
      "name": "IONOS",
      "score": 79,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 1,
      "renewal_price_usd": 8,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 204,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "IONOS Control Panel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 70,
        "uptime": 85,
        "price": 92,
        "support": 72,
        "security": 75,
        "ease_of_use": 78,
        "scalability": 72,
        "dev_features": 65
      },
      "best_for": "Absolute budget minimum",
      "url": "https://www.ionos.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "budget",
        "beginner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "id": "hostgator",
      "name": "HostGator",
      "score": 78,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 3.75,
      "renewal_price_usd": 10.95,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 308,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 72,
        "uptime": 85,
        "price": 82,
        "support": 76,
        "security": 74,
        "ease_of_use": 82,
        "scalability": 74,
        "dev_features": 65
      },
      "best_for": "Simple, no-fuss shared hosting",
      "url": "https://www.hostgator.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "budget",
        "beginner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "id": "namecheap",
      "name": "Namecheap",
      "score": 78,
      "category": "shared",
      "entry_price_usd": 1.98,
      "renewal_price_usd": 4.48,
      "true_3yr_cost_usd": 131,
      "uptime_sla": 99.9,
      "free_ssl": true,
      "free_domain": true,
      "money_back": "30 days",
      "support_24_7": true,
      "control_panel": "cPanel",
      "scores": {
        "performance": 72,
        "uptime": 84,
        "price": 90,
        "support": 70,
        "security": 72,
        "ease_of_use": 80,
        "scalability": 70,
        "dev_features": 68
      },
      "best_for": "Ultra-budget first website",
      "url": "https://www.namecheap.com",
      "tags": [
        "shared",
        "budget",
        "beginner"
      ]
    }
  ]
}