How to benchmark a VPS in 15 minutes (and what three budget plans scored)

A repeatable sysbench + fio routine and sample results for three 2 vCPU / 4 GB plans.

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    Sample content: placeholder text for layout review. Names, numbers and claims are not real.

    Plan pages list vCPUs and gigabytes, not how fast a server really is. This guide shows a simple, repeatable way to benchmark a VPS in 15 minutes, and what we got on three budget plans.

    Key findings

    • Same advertised specs, up to 25% difference in CPU score (sample).
    • Run each test three times at different hours; single runs mislead.

    What you need

    • A fresh VPS with Ubuntu 24.04
    • sysbench and fio (both free)
    • 15 minutes

    Step by step

    1. Install the tools: apt install sysbench fio
    2. CPU: sysbench cpu --threads=2 run
    3. Disk: fio --name=rand --rw=randread --bs=4k --size=1G
    4. Repeat three times and keep the median.

    Our results

    ProviderPlanCPU events/sDisk MB/sPrice / month
    Provider A2 vCPU / 4 GB1,180412$6.00
    Provider B2 vCPU / 4 GB1,045388$5.50
    Provider C2 vCPU / 4 GB1,310455$8.00
    Table 1. Median of three runs, 2026-10-10 (sample numbers).

    Limitations

    • Shared servers change performance over time.
    • Network speed is not covered.

    References

    1. sysbench https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench
    2. fio https://github.com/axboe/fio

    How to cite

    Sample Author (2026). How to benchmark a VPS in 15 minutes (and what three budget plans scored). Horizon Test Lab. https://horizontestlab.com/en/how-to-benchmark-a-vps/

    Disclosures

    • Analysis and writing assisted by AI; data and conclusions verified by the author.
    • The author reports no conflicts of interest.
    • Featured image: Photo: Derrick Coetzee, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Changelog

    • : First version (sample)