Every provider is scored across 8 weighted factors using public, verifiable data, true long-term cost, and practical project fit. No paid placement. No first-person lab tests.
Scoring rubric v1.0 locked 12 June 2026. Part of BestMatch Group.
Performance matters more than developer tooling for most users, so the score reflects real decision weight.
Intro price, renewal price, included features, and three-year cost all influence value.
The best host for a beginner is not automatically the best host for an agency or developer.
Affiliate status is separate from scoring. Paid placement is not accepted.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 25% | TTFB, Core Web Vitals, server response, CDN availability |
| Uptime / Reliability | 20% | SLA guarantees, historical uptime, redundancy |
| Price / Value | 20% | Entry price vs renewal price, included features |
| Support | 15% | 24/7 availability, channels, response-time reputation |
| Security | 10% | Free SSL, backups, DDoS protection, WAF, malware removal |
| Ease of Use | 5% | Control panel, one-click installs, onboarding |
| Scalability | 3% | Upgrade paths, resource limits, vertical scaling |
| Developer Features | 2% | SSH, staging environments, git, WP-CLI, API |
The weighted score is simply each factor's 0–100 score multiplied by its weight, summed, and rounded. A provider scoring 90 on Performance contributes 22.5 points (90 × 0.25) to its total.
The single most important number we show that almost nobody else does. Introductory prices are discounts to win new customers — the renewal rate is what you actually pay long-term, often 3–8× higher.
Example: Hostinger looks cheaper than SiteGround at the headline ($2.99 vs $3.99). But over three years: Hostinger $276 vs SiteGround $408 — the gap is real, and now you can see it before you buy.
| Scenario | How we score it |
|---|---|
| No published SLA | Score 70 (baseline), noted as "SLA not published" |
| No renewal price shown | Value scored lower, noted as "renewal price unclear" |
| No staging / dev-tool info | Developer Features scored lower |
| Conflicting data | Most recent or most authoritative source wins |
Every score links to its source from the comparison views. We draw on provider documentation, published SLA terms, independent benchmark reports, and public pricing pages. Data was last verified 12 June 2026.
Best Hosting Match uses the same operating philosophy as Best VPN Match and Best VPS Match: transparent weighted metrics, real costs, practical diagnostics, and no paid ranking control. Each vertical has its own weights because each decision has different risks.