How we earn — and why it doesn't change what we write

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is an arrangement where we earn a small commission when a reader clicks one of our links and then purchases a product or service. The price you pay is the same — the commission comes from the provider's marketing budget, not from your pocket.

This is how most independent review and comparison sites fund themselves without charging readers subscription fees.

Which links are affiliate links?

Any link that goes to a hosting provider's website may be an affiliate link. Affiliate links are tracked through referral parameters in the URL. We do not hide this tracking or disguise affiliate links as plain URLs.

Links to informational resources, research, and third-party tools that we don't have affiliate arrangements with are not tracked.

Which providers do we have affiliate relationships with?

We have or may have affiliate arrangements with providers we review and compare. The existence of an affiliate relationship is not a reason to recommend a provider — nor is the absence of one a reason to avoid recommending it.

We do review providers we have no affiliate relationship with, and we publish those reviews with the same rigour as any other.

How commissions affect our editorial process

They don't — by design. Writers and reviewers do not have access to affiliate commission rates while writing or scoring a review. Ratings are calculated from test data, not from revenue potential. A provider that pays a 40% commission gets exactly the same testing methodology as one that pays 10%.

If a provider scores poorly in testing, we publish that score and those findings. Negative reviews stay published. No provider can pay to have a negative review removed.

FTC compliance

In accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials (16 CFR Part 255), we disclose material connections between ourselves and companies whose products or services we mention. This page serves as our site-wide disclosure. Individual articles where affiliate links are present also include an inline disclosure note.

Accuracy of information

We strive to keep all pricing, features, and specifications current. Hosting products change frequently. Always verify current pricing and terms directly with the provider before purchasing.