How we test

Every review on LeadInDigital is built on measurements we record ourselves, with the method written next to each result. This page explains what we measure, how we score and how we keep prices up to date.

Reviews and overviews

A review is a product we have tested. It shows our own results and a score out of 5. An overview is a product we have not tested yet: it covers the provider's published plans, prices, refund terms and features, has no score, and becomes a review once we add our own results.

What we measure

Each kind of product has its own measurements, recorded the same way for every product so the results compare fairly:

Web hosting

• Page load time.
• Uptime.
• Support reply time.
• Time to first byte. Server response time for the test site, from the same location and period.
• Visitors before errors under load. Simulated visitors added until pages start to fail.
• Setup time. Time from paying to having the product working as intended.

VPN

• Download speed loss. Speed with and without the VPN, same connection and server distance.
• Upload speed loss. Measured with the download test.
• Added latency. Ping with the VPN on, minus ping with it off.
• DNS, IP and WebRTC leak test. Pass only if no leak shows in any of the three tests.
• Connection time. Average time to connect, over ten attempts.
• Streaming services unblocked. Out of a fixed list of streaming services, tried from the same country.
• Support reply time. Time from sending a support question to the first useful human reply.
• Setup time. Time from paying to having the product working as intended.

Website builders

• Published page load time. The same five-page test site, measured from a fixed location.
• Mobile Lighthouse score. Median of five Lighthouse mobile runs on the test site, 0 to 100.
• Time to publish a five-page site. From a blank account to a live five-page site.
• Editor crashes or errors. Counted while building the test site.
• Support reply time. Time from sending a support question to the first useful human reply.
• Setup time. Time from paying to having the product working as intended.

Password managers

• Autofill success. Share of a fixed set of test login pages filled correctly.
• Import success. Share of entries imported correctly from a standard export file.
• Sync time between devices. Time for a new entry to appear on a second device.
• Independent security audit. Pass if a published third-party audit exists from the last two years.
• Support reply time. Time from sending a support question to the first useful human reply.
• Setup time. Time from paying to having the product working as intended.

How we score

The score out of 5 is our overall judgement of a product we have tested, based on its measured results, its prices at sign-up and at renewal, its refund terms and its features. A product we have not tested has no score.

Prices

We copy prices from each product's own checkout and recheck them at least every 30 days. We always show the renewal price next to the introductory one. You see prices in US dollars, pounds or Indian rupees depending on where you are, exactly as the provider charges them: we never convert one currency into another.

Results from other testers

Some pages also show results that independent testers published, under "What others measured". Each one names who measured it and links to their work. They are never presented as ours and never count towards a score.

How we write

We use AI tools to help draft some text. Every figure comes from our own data or a cited source, and an editor checks every draft against that data before it is published.

Corrections

If you think a result or a price is wrong, tell us. We check it and correct the page when we confirm the mistake.