Our Rating Methodology
Every provider rating on Find Me a Web Host is computed from real data, never from human opinion. Here's exactly how it works.
Overall Rating (0-10)
The overall rating is a weighted average of five sub-ratings. Each sub-rating is derived only from structured data fields on the provider record — never from manually entered scores.
| Sub-Rating | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 25% | Uptime SLA, CDN inclusion, datacenter diversity |
| Value | 25% | Intro price, renewal price ratio, included features (SSL, domain, backups, storage, bandwidth) |
| Features | 20% | SSH access, Git deploy, free SSL, backups, domain, PHP versions, language support, control panel |
| Support | 15% | Available channels (live chat, phone, email, ticket), 24/7 availability, channel diversity |
| AI Tools | 15% | Derived from the AI Readiness Score (see below) |
Performance Rating (0-10)
The performance sub-rating is computed from three infrastructure signals:
- Uptime SLA (0-5 points): 99.99%+ earns 5 points, 99.9% earns 4, 99% earns 3. No published SLA earns just 1 point.
- CDN Included (0-2.5 points): Having a CDN bundled with hosting earns full points.
- Datacenter Diversity (0-2.5 points): More datacenter locations mean better geographic coverage. 10+ locations earns full points.
Value Rating (0-10)
Value is derived from the cheapest active hosting plan. It considers three factors:
- Intro Price Tier (0-4 points): Plans under $2/mo earn 4 points. The cheaper the plan, the higher the score.
- Renewal Price Ratio (0-2 points): A low renewal/intro ratio earns full points. Aggressive price jumps at renewal are penalized.
- Feature Bonuses (0-4 points): Free SSL, domain, backups, generous storage, and bandwidth each contribute bonus points.
Features Rating (0-10)
Features are scored based on developer-friendly infrastructure:
- SSH access: 1.5 points
- Git deploy: 1.5 points
- Free SSL: 1.5 points
- Free backups: 1.5 points
- Free domain: 0.5 points
- PHP version support: up to 1 point
- Language diversity: up to 1 point
- Control panel quality: up to 1.5 points (well-known panels like cPanel score higher)
Support Rating (0-10)
Support is measured by channel availability and responsiveness:
- Channel points: Live chat (2), phone (2), email (1.5), ticket (1)
- 24/7 availability: 2 bonus points
- Channel diversity: Having 3+ distinct channels earns an additional 1.5 points
AI Readiness Score (0-100)
The AI Readiness Score is a separate 0-100 composite score that measures how well a hosting provider supports AI and machine learning workloads. The AI Tools sub-rating in the overall rating is derived directly from this score (score / 10).
Six dimensions are scored independently:
| Dimension | Max Points | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| AI Builder Tools | 20 | No-code AI features, AI website builders, content generators |
| LLM API Access | 25 | Bundled LLM credits, API integrations, OpenAI/Anthropic partnerships |
| GPU/Compute | 20 | GPU instances (A100, H100, etc.), ML frameworks, compute scaling |
| AI-Friendly Stack | 15 | Python support, Docker, Jupyter notebooks, ML libraries |
| AI Platform Features | 10 | Vector databases, model registries, AI-specific caching |
| AI Support Quality | 10 | Staff AI knowledge, AI-specific documentation, developer community |
Key Principles
- No manual overrides: Ratings are always computed from structured data. An admin cannot manually set an overall rating.
- Automatic recomputation: Ratings recompute whenever underlying data changes. There are no stale cached scores.
- Value from live plans: The value rating is derived from the cheapest current hosting plan. If a plan changes, the value rating updates automatically.
- Transparency: This methodology page documents every input and weight. No black boxes.
Questions?
If you have questions about how we rate providers or believe a rating is incorrect, please contact us. We take data accuracy seriously.