How AI wants cloud storage & web hosting
Cloud Storage & Web Hosting is decided on affinity: Cloudflare indexes 121 there against Terabox at 74, a 47-point spread. Cloudflare holds the strongest overall profile, indexing 119 against the category average: ahead on all three. But the brand assistants name most often is Google Drive, not the category's market leader: being desired and being named are not the same measurement. Across these 66 brands, attachment tracks being named most closely (rank correlation 0.63).
66 brands · 60 AI answers · 991 dimension scores · measured, never estimated
100 = the average brand in the same category.100 = the average brand across every category in the index.
Cloud Storage & Web Hostingupset
| # | Brand | Attraction | Affinity | Attachment | Summary | Named in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloudflare | 121129 | 121124 | 109114 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 10% |
| 2 | Vercel | 120127 | 118121 | 109114 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 12% |
| 3 | Google Drive | 113120 | 118121 | 116121 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 53% |
| 4 | Netlify | 117124 | 114117 | 109114 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 10% |
| 5 | GitHub Pages | 116123 | 115119 | 111115 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 17% |
| 6 | AWS | 113120 | 114117 | 109114 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 8% |
| 7 | Nextcloud | 119126 | 118121 | 96100 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 3% |
| 8 | Proton Drive | 112119 | 121124 | 103107 | Credible, not first choiceAhead on all three | 10% |
| 9 | Google One | 112119 | 118121 | 115120 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 27% |
| 10 | Microsoft OneDrive | 108115 | 114117 | 113118 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 48% |
| 11 | Apple iCloud | 108115 | 115119 | 113118 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 50% |
| 12 | Backblaze | 111117 | 111114 | 105110 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 15% |
| 13 | Replit | 113120 | 105108 | 105110 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 2% |
| 14 | GitHub Codespaces | 112119 | 111114 | 102106 | Noticed, not returned toAhead on all three | 5% |
| 15 | CodeSandbox | 113120 | 105108 | 102106 | Noticed, not returned toAhead on all three | 2% |
| 16 | Hetzner | 108115 | 111114 | 96100 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 0% |
| 17 | Google Photos | 105112 | 105108 | 109114 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 35% |
| 18 | pCloud | 105112 | 106109 | 103107 | Credible, not first choiceAhead on all three | 15% |
| 19 | DigitalOcean | 105112 | 107110 | 105110 | Ahead on all threeAhead on all three | 3% |
| 20 | Tresorit | 105112 | 107110 | 102106 | Credible, not first choiceAhead on all three | 2% |
| 21 | Dropbox | 101107 | 105108 | 109114 | Relied on, not excitingAhead on all three | 42% |
| 22 | Hostinger | 103109 | 102105 | 107111 | Relied on, not excitingAhead on all three | 10% |
| 23 | Namecheap | 101107 | 105108 | 109114 | Relied on, not excitingAhead on all three | 5% |
| 24 | SiteGround | 100106 | 101103 | 115120 | Relied on, not excitingChosen, not loved | 8% |
| 25 | Modal | 108115 | 101103 | 9296 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 3% |
| 26 | Daytona | 107113 | 101103 | 9296 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 2% |
| 27 | Mega | 101107 | 101103 | 102106 | Average on all threeChosen, not loved | 7% |
| 28 | Box | 99105 | 105108 | 105110 | Credible, not first choiceAhead on all three | 7% |
| 29 | OwnCloud | 104110 | 105108 | 9296 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 0% |
| 30 | NordLocker | 101107 | 105108 | 96100 | Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice | 0% |
| 31 | Icedrive | 104110 | 101103 | 96100 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 2% |
| 32 | OVHcloud | 101107 | 101103 | 102106 | Average on all threeChosen, not loved | 0% |
| 33 | Indifferent Broccoli | 101107 | 98101 | 105110 | Relied on, not excitingChosen, not loved | 0% |
| 34 | StackBlitz | 105112 | 98101 | 96100 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 2% |
| 35 | E2B | 107113 | 99102 | 9296 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 3% |
| 36 | Northflank | 104110 | 101103 | 96100 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 3% |
| 37 | Sync.com | 99105 | 105108 | 96100 | Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice | 50% |
| 38 | Linode | 99105 | 101103 | 102106 | Average on all threeChosen, not loved | 2% |
| 39 | Vultr | 99105 | 101103 | 102106 | Average on all threeChosen, not loved | 0% |
| 40 | Krystal | 97103 | 105108 | 102106 | Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice | 2% |
| 41 | Amazon Photos | 99105 | 105108 | 102106 | Credible, not first choiceAhead on all three | 10% |
| 42 | Arq Backup | 99105 | 105108 | 9599 | Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice | 2% |
| 43 | Wasabi | 101107 | 98101 | 9296 | Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to | 3% |
| 44 | DreamHost | 95100 | 101103 | 102106 | Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting | 0% |
| 45 | Idrive | 96102 | 99102 | 99103 | Credible, not first choiceAverage on all three | 12% |
| 46 | HostArmada | 95100 | 98101 | 102106 | Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting | 0% |
| 47 | DatHost | 95100 | 9194 | 96100 | Behind on all threeNoticed, not returned to | 0% |
| 48 | Jottacloud | 9298 | 98101 | 9296 | Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen | 0% |
| 49 | Kinsta | 9298 | 9497 | 96100 | Behind on all threeAverage on all three | 2% |
| 50 | Bluehost | 9298 | 8790 | 102106 | Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting | 7% |
| 51 | GoDaddy | 8995 | 9194 | 103107 | Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting | 3% |
| 52 | IONOS | 9196 | 9194 | 96100 | Behind on all threeRelied on, not exciting | 8% |
| 53 | BisectHosting | 8893 | 8891 | 102106 | Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting | 2% |
| 54 | A2 Hosting | 8792 | 8487 | 96100 | Behind on all threeRelied on, not exciting | 0% |
| 55 | InMotion Hosting | 8792 | 8487 | 96100 | Behind on all threeRelied on, not exciting | 0% |
| 56 | Apex Hosting | 8792 | 8688 | 9296 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 5% |
| 57 | GPORTAL | 8591 | 8487 | 96100 | Behind on all threeRelied on, not exciting | 3% |
| 58 | Nitrado | 8591 | 8487 | 9296 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 2% |
| 59 | GTXGaming | 8591 | 8487 | 9296 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 2% |
| 60 | Shockbyte | 8591 | 8284 | 8892 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 5% |
| 61 | Low.MS | 8591 | 8083 | 9296 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| 62 | VM6 Networks | 8489 | 8487 | 8892 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| 63 | EUGameHost | 8489 | 8083 | 8892 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| 64 | Iconic Servers | 8186 | 8083 | 8892 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| 65 | Terabox | 8489 | 7476 | 8387 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
| 66 | Gaming Deluxe | 8186 | 7880 | 8387 | Behind on all threeBehind on all three | 0% |
Indexed against the average of the 66 indexed cloud storage & web hosting brands, so 100 is the category average and a brand is read against the rivals it actually competes with.Indexed against the average of every indexed brand in the whole index — 1,605 brands across 61 categories — so 100 is the average brand anywhere here and a number reads the same on every board. 66 cloud storage & web hosting brands, measured across 60 AI answers in the latest weekly run.
Driver by driver
Where the category actually separates. A wide spread means assistants describe these brands very differently on that driver; a narrow one means it is table stakes.
Affinity
The widest field of the three: this is where the category separates.
Attraction
Real separation, but not the category’s defining contest.
Attachment
The tightest of the three: most brands land close together here.
Where each brand stands
Each brand's three indices, summed up in a line: which drivers it is ahead on, which it is behind on, and the one to build next. A brand that is noticed but not returned to has a different problem from one that is relied on but not exciting.
What assistants actually talk about
The sixteen dimensions underneath the drivers, scored 0–10 on how the answers describe each brand. Spread is the distance between the strongest and weakest brand: the widest are where a brand can still separate itself, the narrowest are the price of entry.
Where brands separate
| Dimension | Driver | Category avg | Strongest | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership & Momentum | Attraction | 7.5 | AWS 10.0 | 5.0 |
| Trust & Credibility | Affinity | 8.0 | Proton Drive 10.0 | 5.0 |
| Heritage & Authority | Attraction | 7.4 | AWS 10.0 | 5.0 |
| Style & Aesthetic | Attraction | 7.3 | Vercel 10.0 | 4.0 |
| Boldness & Creativity | Attraction | 7.1 | Nextcloud 9.0 | 4.0 |
Where everyone reads alike
| Dimension | Driver | Category avg | Strongest | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use & Onboarding | Attachment | 7.9 | Google Drive 9.0 | 2.0 |
| Innovation & Technology | Attraction | 7.4 | AWS 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Quality & Performance | Attraction | 8.0 | AWS 9.0 | 3.0 |
| Differentiation vs Sameness | Attraction | 7.4 | Backblaze 9.0 | 3.5 |
| Reliability & Consistency | Affinity | 8.0 | AWS 10.0 | 4.0 |
Does desire track being recommended?
Rank correlation between a brand's driver index and the share of answers naming it, across the 66 indexed brands in this category. A relationship inside one run's answers — descriptive, never causal, and easily moved by a single brand at this sample size.
Method & limitations
Every week, each category runs a fixed set of unbranded consumer prompts against ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. A separate model reads the answers and scores every brand named in them across 16 perception dimensions, 0–10. Those dimensions are grouped into the three Drivers of Desire from the Havas Science of Desire framework, and each brand's driver score is indexed against the average brand in its own category — 100 is the category average, 115 is fifteen per cent above it. The Vs all categories switch re-indexes the same scores against the average of every indexed brand across every category, so boards can be read against each other; the ranking inside a category is the same either way. Each category's own average, indexed against the whole index, is its place in the category table. The summary beside each brand describes where it stands on the three drivers against whichever benchmark is showing: above 104 counts as ahead, below 96 as behind.
This measures how AI assistants describe brands in their answers. It is not a survey of people, and it is not an endorsement: the scores are a reading of machine-generated text at the time of the run, and relationships between drivers and how often a brand is named are correlational. A brand needs at least six scored dimensions in a run to be indexed, and a category needs at least four such brands to get a board. See the full methodology.
Read the category report
Which cloud storage & web hosting brands the models recommend, the sources they trust and how often a brand page is read but not cited: Cloud Storage & Web Hosting · The Category Report.
Other categories
Where next
This edition measures what AI wants from these brands. These answer what comes next — which brands AI names, which websites feed those answers, and how any of it is counted.