Hands-on hosting reviews with a clear methodology and visible affiliate disclosure, but it earns commissions on many of the very providers it ranks.
What it's really for An affiliate-funded web-hosting review and comparison site with hands-on tests.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its hands-on 'best web hosting' rankings, not everything the site does.
Medium Scoring Confidence Mostly sourced, but a detail or two still needs a primary source, so the grade could shift slightly.
Revenue comes from affiliate referral commissions paid by hosting providers; the site discloses it earns fees on recommended services but states opinions are from "independent reviewers" and does not claim vendors can buy a higher ranking.
Source →- Operating since
- 2007 (19 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- An affiliate-funded review and comparison site that rates and ranks web hosting providers.
- What they do
- It signs up for hosting plans, runs hands-on tests across categories like speed, support, security and value, and publishes scored "best web hosting" rankings and individual reviews.
- What to watch for
- By its own disclosure, you should assume nearly every outbound link is an affiliate link, so the site earns a referral fee from many of the hosts it recommends.
- Composite score
- 3.20 / 5.00 → grade B-
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Affiliate disclosure: "We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page... You should assume that every external link you click on our website is an affiliate link that leads to us being paid by our partner," while stating opinions are from independent reviewers. Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com affiliate disclosure →
- Stated hands-on methodology: "I signed up for a plan with each provider to test: Plan value, Ease of use, Support, Features, Security, Speed and uptime"; reviewers set up WordPress and measure Time to First Byte, with overall scores from category averages and a same-page "We earn a referral fee" disclosure. Source: Best Web Hosting Services ranking page →
- "Since launching in 2007, the brand has been featured in top tier media outlets such as The New York Times, Mashable, and Time." Source: WhoIsHostingThis.com PRWeb release (2020) →