VPS hosting test procedure at Hosttest

Here you will find all information about our procedure for the VPS test reports.

Key point up front:

The aim of our VPS test reports is to provide aspiring webmasters with transparent and clear guidance during the decision-making process for the right VPS.

The expert Hosttest editorial team conducts the VPS tests anonymously, neutrally and objectively. VPS providers have no influence whatsoever over the procedure or the outcome of the tests. Furthermore, there is no external financial influence. The VPS to be tested is ordered by the Hosttest editorial team at their own expense under normal retail terms and is then thoroughly examined.

Our approach to the VPS test reports

To ensure the various VPS offerings can be compared more easily and that interested parties can make an informed purchasing decision, we use standardised processes for our test reports.

So that you can precisely follow our procedure for creating the test reports, we present our standardised testing process here step by step in detail:

Our evaluation criteria for the VPS hosting test reports

To ensure optimal comparability between the individual web hosts and VPS, we adhere to fixed evaluation criteria in our test report. This allows interested parties to compare the different offers more easily and to make a purchase decision with greater confidence.

The evaluation criteria are divided into the following points:

Feature set (maximum 5 points)

Here we consider the scope of services of the selected Virtual Private Server. We not only cover the main criteria such as vCores, memory or storage space, but also provide information on other interesting features in the areas of technical aspects and security. For the rating, criteria such as the choice of available operating systems, the availability of backup options and DDoS protection or custom firewall settings also play an important role.

User-friendliness (maximum 5 points)

Here we guide prospective customers step by step through the ordering process and then form an impression of the usability of the management interface provided to customers. For the assessment, criteria such as the availability of various payment options, the time until the VPS is provisioned, or the ease of use of the management interface also play an important role.

Performance (maximum 5 points)

Once the VPS is set up, we take a closer look at its performance. As part of the Yet-Another-Bench-Script we use the benchmarking programmes Geekbench and Flexible I/O Tester to check the CPU performance and the disk speed of the VPS.

Customer service (maximum 5 points)

Here we look in more detail at the different options for customer support provided by the web host. We examine the FAQ sections on the host's website and also investigate the direct contact options for customer support. Our own experiences contacting customer support are also included in the evaluation.

Costs (maximum 5 points)

We then consider the costs and also the value for money of the VPS. We look in detail at the plan selection, optional additional costs and discounts such as time-limited offers or free trial accounts.

Test conclusion

The test conclusion provides a summary judgement of the offering. In addition, the points awarded for each evaluation criterion are added together (maximum 25 points) and divided by the number of criteria (5). This produces the overall rating of the review on a scale from 0.0 (worst) to 5.0 (best). At the end we convert this score into the familiar school grade system.

5.00 - 4.50 Very good
4.49 - 4.00 Good
3.99 - 3.00 Satisfactory
2.99 - 2.00 Sufficient
1.99 - 1.00 Poor

Our VPS Performance Test

To assess the continuous performance of the VPS instances in a meaningful way, we take measurements of four performance metrics for each VPS at three different times within a month and then calculate an average. This allows us to evaluate the performance of the web hosts over a longer period.

We use the following metrics:

Single Core CPU Value

What is Single Core CPU Value?

The Single-core CPU value describes the performance of a single CPU core. This metric is especially important when applications or processes run primarily on a single core and cannot benefit from parallel processing (multi-core performance).

How is the Single-core CPU value determined?

To determine the Single-core CPU value we use the well-known benchmarking program Geekbench

How are the measurements for the Single-core CPU value interpreted?

The measurement for the Single-core CPU value must be above 1250 to be rated as good. Values between 1250 and 1000 are rated as average. All values below 1000 are considered poor.

Multi-core CPU value

What is the Multi-core CPU value?

The Multi-core CPU value describes the performance of a CPU when multiple cores are used simultaneously. This metric is particularly important for applications and processes that are parallelised and benefit from the simultaneous processing of multiple tasks.

How is the Multi-core CPU value determined?

To determine the Multi-core CPU value we use the well-known benchmarking program Geekbench

How are the measurements for the Multi-core CPU value interpreted?

The measurement for the Multi-core CPU value must be above 2000 to be rated as good. Values between 2000 and 1500 are rated as average. All values below 1500 are considered poor.

More information on CPU performance with VPS hosting can be found in our article: Virtual cores, real performance: measuring, comparing and optimising CPU performance on VPS hosting

Disk read/write speed

What is disk read/write speed?

The read/write speed of a disk describes the rate at which data can be written to or read from the drive. This speed is an important performance indicator that influences the efficiency of a storage medium when transferring data and accessing stored information.

How is disk read/write speed determined?

To determine disk read/write speed we use the well-known benchmarking program Flexible I/O Tester

How are the measurements for disk read/write speed interpreted?

The measurement for disk read/write speed must be above 1500MB/s to be rated as good. Values between 1500MB/s and 1000MB/s are rated as average. All values below 1000MB/s are considered poor.

Disk Input/Output Operations

What are Disk Input/Output Operations?

Disk Input/Output Operations per Second (IOPS) is a metric that indicates the number of input and output operations a disk can perform per second. This metric is particularly important for assessing the performance of a storage system, especially in applications that perform many small data operations, such as databases or virtualisation platforms.

How are Disk Input/Output Operations measured?

To determine Disk Input/Output Operations we use the well-known benchmarking tool Flexible I/O Tester

How are the Disk Input/Output Operations measurements interpreted?

The Disk Input/Output Operations measurement must be above 25.000k IOPS to be rated as good. Values between 25.000 IOPS and 15.000k IOPS are rated as average. All values below 15.000k IOPS are considered poor.

More information on disk performance for VPS hosting can be found in our article: Faster storage, faster server: Measuring, comparing and optimising disk performance for VPS hosting

Performance evaluation

Ratings: Each of the four measurements should be classified into three categories: good, average and poor. Points are assigned to these categories:

• Good: 3 points
• Average: 2 points
• Poor: 1 point

Calculation of the total score: The total score is determined by adding the points from all four measurements. Since each measurement can have up to 3 points, the total score ranges from 4 (all measurements are poor) to 12 (all measurements are good).

Conversion to stars: The total score is now converted into a star rating. The following scale can be used:

• 4 points = 1 star
• 5-6 points = 2 stars
• 7-8 points = 3 stars
• 9-10 points = 4 stars
• 11-12 points = 5 stars

Our code of conduct regarding the VPS test reports

• In our test reports we cover both the strengths and the weaknesses of the offerings.

• We regularly review the offerings we test for currency and report these updates transparently.

• Our test results are not for sale and we categorically reject financial contributions from providers intended to influence our evaluations.

• We are neither invested in companies whose offerings we test, nor do we have external investors, in order to preserve our independence and avoid any conflict of interest.

• Feedback is always welcome! Both customers and providers can share their opinions on our content via our platform.

VPS providers tested so far

We publish several new test reports over the course of a year. In addition, we regularly update existing test reports and adjust any changes to the terms or other criteria relevant to the tests.

The following VPS providers have a detailed test report to date:

IONOS VPS hosting test

STRATO VPS hosting test

active-servers VPS hosting test

ST-Hosting VPS hosting test

Infomaniak VPS hosting test

netcup VPS hosting test

Updating the VPS test reports

As the web hosting market continuously evolves and providers constantly adjust their packages, we also carry out regular updates to our test reports. This usually takes place on an annual basis in January, when we re-examine the feature set, the terms and other test criteria and update the VPS test reports accordingly. This ensures our readers can always rely on up-to-date information about the tested VPS providers.

Update testing procedure:

None to date

Do you have any questions about our tests? Then please contact us.