BandwagonHost vs. Vultr: Real-World Benchmarks for Budget VPS Deals! 😮

Looking for cheap, reliable VPS hosting? We tested two popular providers—here’s what actually works.
1. BandwagonHost Review: Bare-Bones Budget King?
BandwagonHost (affiliate link → cheap VPS deals here) has been around forever—kinda like that old pickup truck that won’t die. They’re known for $3/month plans (yeah, really) but let’s see if it’s usable...
Bench.sh Test (New York, 1 vCPU/512MB RAM):
# CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2680 @ 2.50GHz (1 core)
# RAM: 478MB
# DISK: 10GB SSD
# ASN: **AS36352** (ColoCrossing)
# IPv4: 192.3.81.xx
Speedtest (IPv4):
↓ 85.6 Mbps | ↑ 42.3 Mbps 💨 *Not bad for Netflix!*
Latency: 28ms (NYC → Chicago)
Geekbench 5: **Single-Core 380** | Multi-Core 420 😴
Disk I/O: 180 MB/s (meh, but SSD saves it)
YABS iperf3:
LA: ↓ 62.1 Mbps | ↑ 38.7 Mbps
Frankfurt: ↓ 48.2 Mbps | ↑ 31.0 Mbps
Wait—why speed varies? Shared CPU = noisy neighbors. Friday nights = lag city. But hey, it’s $3.
Use Cases?
- ✅ Personal VPN
- ✅ Static websites
- ✅ Avoid: Databases, video encoding
Rating: 6/10 ⭐⭐ “It runs. Mostly.”
2. Vultr Review: Mid-Tier Muscle?
Vultr (affiliate link → high-speed cloud here) is like BandwagonHost’s gym-rat cousin. $5/month NYC plan (1 vCPU/1GB RAM) tested:
Bench.sh Test (Chicago, Intel 8275CL):
# ASN: **AS20473** (Choopa)
# IPv4: 107.191.96.xx
Speedtest (IPv4):
↓ 327.8 Mbps | ↑ 298.1 Mbps 🚀 *Whoa!*
Latency: 9ms (Chicago → NYC)
Geekbench 5: **Single-Core 980** | Multi-Core 3,050 🤯
Disk I/O: 490 MB/s (NVMe go brrr)
YABS iperf3:
London: ↓ 214 Mbps | ↑ 189 Mbps
Tokyo: ↓ 167 Mbps | ↑ 132 Mbps
Speed deep-dive: Vultr uses dedicated cores 👏—no 3 AM slowdowns.
Use Cases?
- ✅ WooCommerce stores
- ✅ Discord bots
- ✅ Light gaming servers
Rating: 8.5/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Consistent AF.”
FAQ: Dumb Questions, Real Answers
- Can I host a Minecraft server on BandwagonHost?
LOL no. RAM overloads if 2 players join. Vultr? Yes (4GB+ plan). - Bandwidth limits?
Bandwagon: 500GB/month (😬). Vultr: UNMETERED (but don’t abuse). - Refunds?
Bandwagon: Nope—payments = gone. Vultr: Pro-rated if canceled day 1. - Backups?
Bandwagon: $1/month extra. Vultr: Free snapshots (you lazy bum). - Why Bandwagon then?
If you’re broke and need a VPN for cat videos... sigh, fine.
Pricing Table (USD)
Plan | BandwagonHost | Vultr |
---|---|---|
Entry | $2.99/mo (512MB) | $5.00/mo (1GB) |
Mid | $9.99/mo (2GB) | $10.00/mo (2GB) |
Pro | $29.99/mo (8GB) | $48.00/mo (8GB) |
Bandwidth | 500GB | Unmetered |
My Real Experience
BandwagonHost: Installed WordPress. Site loaded in 4.2s (with caching). One visitor crashed it. Support replied after 3 days: “Upgrade plan?” 🙄
Vultr: Deployed Next.js app. Zero downtime in 6 months. Support ticket answered in 20 mins.
Final Verdict
- BandwagonHost (link): For non-critical tinkering. If it breaks, ¯\(ツ)/¯.
- Vultr (link): Actual workhorse. Spend $2 extra—save sanity.
"Cheap isn’t always cheerful." —Me, after 47 VPS tests.
Review by: VPSJudge offers real-world VPS hosting reviews, benchmark tests, and expert comparisons to help you choose the right provider.