How we model VPS costs

Catalog scope

This catalog records 12 providers and 68 documented configurations. Each provider, product family, plan and management offer is described separately. Prices and specifications are dated snapshots linked to official sources; region inventory and checkout totals require confirmation. We do not claim comparable CPU performance or identical support.

RAM navigation units

The RAM bands use each provider’s published numeric value; GB and GiB are not converted for this navigation. A plan advertised with 4 GB and another with 4 GiB therefore fall in the same numeric band, even though GB and GiB are not identical units and their actual capacities differ.

Price types

Published monthly caps and effective prepaid promotional rates are different billing models. Hostinger’s initial monthly equivalent is tied to a 24-month prepaid term; its initial cash figure is an estimate until checkout. IONOS has a three-month introductory price within a 12-month term; the remaining months use the published ordinary rate, while payment timing and renewal remain unverified. Ordinary monthly and renewal prices are stored separately. A management package supplement is added to the referenced base plan only when its rate is verified.

Unknowns and estimates

Zero means a verified included or zero-priced item. “Unverified” means we have no verified plan-specific figure; it is never treated as zero. The total cost tool sums known charges and labels an incomplete result whenever a selected extra lacks a verified rate. Taxes, currency conversion, coupons, performance, region-specific inventory and setup fees are excluded unless explicitly shown.

Calculations

For full months, server cost equals introductory months × initial monthly rate, remaining committed months × ordinary monthly rate, plus later months × renewal monthly rate. If a required rate is unverified, the estimate is incomplete. Optional backup percentages, IPv4 and bandwidth overage use verified rates where available. Fixed-price add-ons that the calculator cannot model are listed in the catalog notes and are excluded from the estimate. The renewal tool shows whole contract terms. The backup planner and time-value comparison use user-entered scenarios and label them as estimates.

Documented facts and editorial labels

Plan specifications, prices, terms and management scope are linked to provider pages in the catalog. “Cloud VPS” and “Budget VPS” are editorial labels for discovery; they can overlap and do not measure performance, service quality or support. “Managed Hosting” describes a different operating model; products outside the VPS comparison group are kept separate. The fit assistant uses only the answers you enter and returns a service type with reasons; it does not rank providers. Confirm the exact contract and support boundary with the provider.

Review process

Catalog changes require updating data, source URL, verification date and calculation tests. Recheck prices before publishing or after provider changes. Inspect all plan sources