I’ve Been Lying to You for Affiliate Money. That Ends Today.

For years, I ran WebsiteRating.com like most other “independent” review sites: I ranked online tools by how much they paid me, not how good they actually were.

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ExpressVPN paid ≈$95/sale? #1 recommendation, glowing review, “best VPN for privacy”, “top rated VPN!”.

Bluehost paid ≈$100/sale? Top-rated host, “perfect for beginners/ recommended by WordPress,” ignore the CPU throttling and 5xx errors.

Cloud storage providers with sketchy privacy paid big commissions? Featured prominently. Transparent alternatives? Buried.

Mullvad paid $0/sale. Hetzner paid $0/sale. Never mentioned. Why would I? No money in it.

I was part of the scam I was supposed to be warning you about. 🚨

The Industry is Corrupt (And I Participated)

Here’s what I knew while I was doing this:

The VPN industry is a fucking joke:

  • Kape Technologies (formerly Crossrider, an alleged ex-malware company) owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, ZenMate, AND the “independent” review site vpnMentor
  • Ziff Davis (parent company of PCMag, CNET) owns IPVanish, StrongVPN, and several other VPNs they “independently” review
  • NordVPN and Surfshark pretend to compete but are owned by the same parent company
  • Almost every “top 10 VPN” list is just the 10 VPNs that pay the highest commissions

The hosting industry is the same shit:

The cloud storage racket:

I knew all of this. I recommended them anyway because they paid me.

What Changed

I realized the hosts I was recommending for $100 commissions had terrible performance, sites going down during critical sales periods, CPU throttling, hidden renewal price hikes 3-4x the first-year rate. The VPNs I pushed for $100+/sale were owned by companies with questionable histories.

I was potentially screwing real people, developers, small business owners, people who trusted my “reviews” - so I could make an extra $50-100 per sale.

I couldn’t be part of the cesspool anymore.

Am I Still a Hypocrite?

Yes. Absolutely.

I still use affiliate links. I need to eat. Running this site, doing actual testing, writing honest reviews, that takes time.

I’m still biased. Products that pay me get more exposure than products that don’t.

Here’s the difference:

Before:

  • Ranked by commission
  • Hid the money trail
  • Pretended to be unbiased
  • Recommended products I knew were garbage

Now:

  • Rank by quality (even when it pays less)
  • Show exact commission rates
  • Admit I’m biased
  • Reject higher-paying garbage
  • Recommend products I actually use and trust

Integrity level: 6/10

Not perfect. Not claiming to be. Just better than the sites that claim 10/10 while ranking ExpressVPN #1 because Kape pays them ≈$95/sale.

What I’m Doing Now

I’m going through every category on this site and re-ranking by actual quality instead of commission rates.

For VPNs:

  • Mullvad is #1 (pays me $0, accepts cash, proven privacy by police raid)
  • ProtonVPN is #2 (pays me ≈$25, Swiss laws, transparent company)
  • NordVPN is #3 (pays me ≈$40, only recommended for streaming because they hid a breach for 18 months)
  • I reject ExpressVPN (pays me ≈$95, owned by Kape/ex-Crossrider, I’m leaving $70/sale on the table)

For hosting:

  • Hetzner is #1 (pays me $0, I use it)
  • Scala Hosting and ChemiCloud (pay me ≈$100, I use it)
  • GoDaddy, Bluehost, HostGator rejected (higher commissions, garbage products that screw customers)

For cloud storage:

  • pCloud is #1 (pays me 35%, established 2013, defines “lifetime” as 99 years, Swiss-based)
  • Icedrive is #2 (pays me 20%, cheaper but newer company with pricing flip-flop history)
  • I reject Degoo (pays commission, “100GB free” is a SCAM - deletes files, impossible to use)
  • Warning about rug pulls: Ganso and ThunderDrive both offered “lifetime” plans, took customers’ money, then shut down completely. Customers lost files AND money.
  • Calling out “lifetime” = company lifetime, not your lifetime (pCloud at least defines it as 99 years)

The math that proves it:

  • If I ranked by commission: ExpressVPN (≈$95) + Bluehost (≈$100) = ≈$195/sale
  • What I actually rank: Mullvad ($0) + Hetzner ($0) = $0
  • I’m choosing less money to rank honestly

What to Expect from This Site

Transparency:

  • I’ll tell you exactly what I make from each product
  • I’ll show you which higher-paying products I rejected and why
  • I’ll document industry conflicts (companies owning review sites, fake competition)

Documented anger:

  • Every claim backed by sources, court documents, public records
  • I’ll call out scams, but I’ll show you the receipts
  • Legally defensible (Australian jurisdiction, fact-based with opinion markers)

Real testing:

  • Performance benchmarks, speed tests, actual usage
  • I use these products myself (or have used them)
  • No fake TrustScore manipulation bullshit

Honesty about the compromise:

  • I’m swimming in the same affiliate cesspool as everyone else
  • I’m just the only one admitting the water’s dirty
  • I’m part of the problem, just a smaller part

Don’t Trust Me. Verify Everything.

Seriously. I’m showing you the sources. Look them up yourself.

  • Check Kape’s ownership of ExpressVPN and vpnMentor (public SEC filings)
  • Check Ziff Davis owning PCMag and VPN companies (public corporate records)
  • Check NordVPN and Surfshark’s common ownership (2022 merger, publicly announced)
  • Check commission rates on affiliate networks (join the programs yourself)
  • Test the products I recommend (most have money-back guarantees)

If I’m full of shit, you’ll find out. That’s the point.

The Bottom Line

I used to be part of the scam. Now I’m trying to be part of the solution — while still making enough money to survive.

I’m not the hero of this story. I’m just the least dishonest villain.

If you can accept that compromise, stick around. If you can’t, I get it.

About me

Matt here — I used to rank tools by commission. I flipped it. Now I rank by value, disclose rates, and say no to bigger offers when they don’t deserve it. Still biased. Just honest about it.

  • Accepted: ProtonVPN (≈ $25/sale), Scala Hosting, ChemiCloud (≈ $100/sale)
  • Rejected: ExpressVPN (up to $95/sale), CyberGhost (up to $135/sale), GoDaddy (up to $100/sale)
  • Non‑affiliates ranked #1 when deserved: Mullvad, Hetzner
  • Verify me: Spreadsheets

Formula: “in my opinion” + documented sources + verify yourself (trust no one!)

Have a question for me? See something wrong or incorrect? Have a horror story to share? Contact me with sources and I’ll investigate.