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The configured source value 7 is provenance only and must never be described as the number of platforms studied.","The finalrankingtable is the sole authority for rank, platform mentions, platform share, average rank, and best rank. Ignore any conflicting value embedded in a entity evidence bundle.","The Consensus Ranking table must contain exactly one row per finalrankingtable entity, in that order, using that exact entityname. Never split one ranked entity into two product, model, SKU, or product-line rows, and never add another ranking row for a brand already listed. Put recommended products or plans inside that entity's ranked section.","Platform mentions count only ranking-discovery mentions. Do not substitute the number of platforms that later completed a fit assessment.","Citation IDs inside each entity bundle are local to that entity. Consolidate sources by URL using the supplied source catalog.","The URLs were collected from platform responses and were not independently validated by either writer stage.","Each fitreviewurlorplaceholder is the final site-relative CMS path for that entity's review. Link the entity name to that exact path exactly once in its ranked prose section, outside tables and headings. Never replace it with a run ID, report ID, UUID, or local output path.","Use the exact entity-namespaced citation IDs from the source catalog (e.g. e1:); never transfer a citation between entities."],"methodology":{"fit_rating_contract":["strong","good","mixed","weak","uncertain"],"included_valid_platform_count":7,"maximum_finalists":10,"minimum_mentions":2,"name":"Hosting Consensus Index cross-platform AI consensus analysis","platforms_included":["anthropic","deepseek","google","grok","kimi","openai","perplexity"],"platforms_queried":["openai","anthropic","deepseek","grok","perplexity","kimi","google"],"stages":["ranking_discovery","fit_assessment","normalization","editorial_synthesis"],"version":"alias-table-1"},"provenance":{"generated_at":"2026-10-03 22:37:12.567526+00","research_date":"2026-10-03","source_snapshot_sha256":"73d45ec29154753fbe22d1b02af148e3324ca69c4f63ce4ec3c8cc5c40d04231","verification_scope":"public_verification"},"ranking":{"candidates_evaluated":34,"qualified_finalists":9,"ranking_unit":"VPS, cloud, or dedicated server hosting provider"},"schema_version":4,"summary":"Vultr is the consensus leader for budget VPS hosting aimed at small Minecraft and community game servers, named by 4 of 7 platforms (57.1%) at an average listed position of 4.75. Godlike (3 mentions, 42.9%, average 4.33) and Contabo (3 mentions, 42.9%, average 4.67) are the strongest alternatives for distinct buyer needs: Godlike for buyers who want included DDoS protection and game-oriented templates at very low headline prices, and Contabo for buyers who want the most RAM and bandwidth per dollar and will accept a long prepaid term. BuyVM, Hetzner Cloud, Hostinger, Ucartz Game VPS,…","target_buyer":"An individual gamer or a small online community that wants to self-host their own game server affordably rather than paying for a dedicated game hosting service.","topic":{"base_category":"VPS, Cloud and Dedicated Server Hosting","category_criteria":["price per resource for game hosting","included DDoS protection","low-latency regional availability","ease of setup for game server software","community support resources"],"geography":"United States","slug":"best-budget-vps-hosting-for-small-minecraft-and-community-game-servers-with-ddos-protection","title":"Best Budget VPS Hosting for Small Minecraft and Community Game Servers with DDoS Protection","use_case":"budget VPS for small game servers"}}