HostTopPicksHow We Score & Compare Hosting
Independent reviews, Top Picks and daily verified deals — here is exactly how we do it.
The scoring formula
Every review scores a host on the same weighted criteria so comparisons stay fair:
| Factor | Weight | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 30% | TTFB, uptime over 30 days, real-world load times |
| Price-to-value | 25% | Intro vs renewal price, included features per dollar |
| Features | 20% | Storage, bandwidth, SSL, domains, backups, staging |
| Support | 15% | Response time, quality of answers, 24/7 availability |
| Ease of use | 10% | Control panel, onboarding, migration difficulty |
Data sources & verification
- Prices are checked directly on each provider's checkout page at least once a week.
- Uptime & speed are measured on our own test sites (not vendor-provided stats).
- Feature claims are verified against the live plan pages — screenshots kept on file.
- Every deal page shows a “verified” date so you know how fresh the offer is.
Editorial independence
HostTopPicks is reader-supported: when you buy through our links we may earn an affiliate commission — at no extra cost to you. Sponsors never influence rankings, reviews or deal verification. If a host pays us, we say so on the page.
We only recommend hosts we would use ourselves. Anything less gets cut from the Top Picks.
When we update
- Deals: verified daily; expired codes are removed automatically.
- Pricing tables: refreshed weekly.
- Full reviews: re-benchmarked every quarter or when a host changes plans.
Affiliate disclosure
Some links on HostTopPicks are affiliate links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission. This never affects our recommendations or the prices you see — it simply keeps the site independent and ad-light. You can always visit a provider directly instead.
Full details: Affiliate Disclosure · Advertise with us
Who is behind the site
Reviews, deal verification and benchmark testing are done by the HostTopPicks editorial team — a small group that runs real servers and re-tests what it recommends.
Meet the team: The HostTopPicks Editorial Team