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How we score
Every provider on this site gets an editorial score out of 10, and the formula that computes it is published below — weights, inputs, and every change we have ever made to it, with a written reason for each change.
A few rules we hold ourselves to:
- Scores are computed, not assigned. Nobody types a score in. The formula runs over verified attribute data and the same pipeline scores every provider — including any product owned by our parent company.
- Formula changes require a written rationale, recorded in the public change log below. A change is never made to move a specific provider.
- Missing data never helps. Where a value is unknown it is treated per the missing-value policy shown below, and we say so on the profile.
- Editorial score and user ratings are never blended. When user reviews launch, they will be shown alongside — never averaged in.
The live formula for each category follows. This section renders directly from the configuration that computes the scores, so this page cannot drift from reality.
Domains
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 18% |
| Free WHOIS privacy | WHOIS privacy | 18% |
| DNSSEC | DNSSEC | 14% |
| Free DNS included | Free DNS included | 14% |
| API available | API available | 12% |
| ICANN accredited | ICANN accredited | 8% |
| Support channels | Support channels | 8% |
| Refund terms | Money-back period | 8% |
Change log · 2
- v2 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for registrars. Rewards renewal honesty (no bait-and-switch), free WHOIS privacy, DNSSEC, free DNS, an API, accreditation, support and refund terms. Tune in the formula editor.
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Initial seed formula (v1 draft) for domain registrars. Weights favor developer-first, honesty-first traits: free WHOIS privacy, DNSSEC, free DNS, an API, accreditation, support and refund terms. Renewal-vs-intro honesty is shown per-TLD and will fold into scoring once price_value is wired. Starter values — tune in the formula editor.
VPS / VDS
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Uptime SLA | Uptime SLA | 22% |
| Support channels | Support channels | 20% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 15% |
| DDoS protection | DDoS protection | 15% |
| API / Terraform | API / Terraform | 15% |
| Refund terms | Money-back period | 13% |
Change log · 2
- v2 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for VPS/VDS. Rewards uptime SLA, renewal honesty, DDoS protection, API/Terraform, support, and refund terms — verifiable platform facts, pending measured uptime. Tune in the formula editor.
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Initial seed formula (v1 draft). Weights favor verifiable platform facts (SLA, refund terms, DDoS, snapshots, API) pending measured uptime data. Not published.
Dedicated servers
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 20% |
| DDoS protection | DDoS protection | 20% |
| Support channels | Support channels | 20% |
| Management tier | Management | 15% |
| Uptime SLA | Uptime SLA | 15% |
| Refund terms | Money-back period | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for dedicated servers. Rewards DDoS protection, management tier, support, renewal honesty, SLA, refunds. Tune in the formula editor.
Email hosting
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | Encryption | 25% |
| Open protocols | Protocols | 15% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 15% |
| Support channels | Support channels | 15% |
| Catch-all | Catch-all | 10% |
| Calendars & contacts | Calendars & contacts | 10% |
| Migration tooling | Migration tooling | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for email hosting. Rewards encryption (E2EE highest), open protocols, catch-all, calendars/contacts, migration tooling, support, renewal honesty. Tune in the formula editor.
SSL / TLS
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 40% |
| Support channels | Support channels | 30% |
| Refund terms | Money-back period | 30% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for SSL/TLS. Certificate specifics are plan-level; the score leans on renewal honesty and support until certificate-level scoring is added. Tune in the formula editor.
Managed databases
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Branching | Branching | 15% |
| Connection pooling | Connection pooling | 15% |
| HA / replicas | HA / read replicas | 15% |
| Point-in-time recovery | Point-in-time recovery | 15% |
| Free tier | Free tier | 15% |
| Regions | Regions | 15% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for managed databases. Rewards branching, connection pooling, HA/replicas, PITR, a real free tier, and regional spread. Tune in the formula editor.
Edge compute
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Cold start | Cold start class | 20% |
| PoPs / regions | PoPs / regions | 15% |
| Free tier | Free tier | 15% |
| KV store | KV store | 10% |
| Queues | Queues | 10% |
| Cron / scheduled | Cron / scheduled | 10% |
| Static assets | Static asset hosting | 10% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for edge compute. Rewards low cold starts, PoP footprint, primitives (KV/queues/cron/static assets), and a free tier. Tune in the formula editor.
CDN
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| PoPs | PoPs | 20% |
| Instant purge | Instant purge | 12% |
| Purge by tag | Purge by tag | 12% |
| WAF / bot tiers | WAF / bot tiers | 12% |
| Image optimization | Image optimization | 12% |
| Free tier | Free tier | 12% |
| Log delivery | Log delivery | 10% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for CDNs. Rewards PoP footprint, instant + tag purge, WAF, image optimization, log delivery, and a free tier. Tune in the formula editor.
DNS
| Component | Measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Anycast PoPs | Anycast PoPs | 20% |
| API / Terraform | API / Terraform | 18% |
| DNSSEC | DNSSEC | 16% |
| GeoDNS | GeoDNS | 12% |
| Latency routing | Latency routing | 12% |
| CNAME flattening | ALIAS / CNAME flattening | 12% |
| Renewal honesty | Renewal honesty | 10% |
Change log · 1
- v1 · 17 Jul 2026 — Seed formula (draft) for managed DNS. Rewards anycast footprint, API/Terraform, DNSSEC, GeoDNS, latency routing, and CNAME flattening. Tune in the formula editor.