In the highly competitive VPS market, Raksmart, a long-established provider with over 20 years of history, has consistently attracted attention with its aggressive pricing strategy. Its recently launched $0.99/month Silicon Valley VPS plan, featuring “1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 50GB NVMe storage, 100Mbps bandwidth, and unlimited traffic,” has quickly gained widespread interest.
The price is unbelievably low, but how does it actually perform in real-world usage? This review provides a comprehensive, data-driven evaluation of this VPS from multiple perspectives, helping you determine whether this $0.99 plan is truly worth it.
RAKsmart official website:
www.raksmart.com
Limited-Time Promotional VPS Deals
In addition to the $0.99/month entry-level plan featured in this review, Raksmart also offers multiple upgraded configurations with expanded storage. These plans are suitable for both individual developers and small businesses. (Requires semi-annual or annual billing)
| Plan | CPU | RAM | Disk | Bandwidth | Price | Link |
| Basic Plan | 1 Core | 1GB | 50GB NVMe | 100Mbps | $0.99/month | Buy |
| Advanced Plan | 4 Cores | 4GB | 100GB NVMe | 100Mbps | $3.99/month | Buy |
| Premium Plan | 8 Cores | 8GB | 200GB NVMe | 100Mbps | $9.99/month | Buy |
1. Basic Configuration and Hardware Performance
Test results confirm that the VPS matches its advertised specifications. It runs on an Intel Core Processor (Broadwell, IBRS) with 1 core at a stable 2.2GHz. It includes approximately 990.9 MiB (~1GB) RAM and 50GB NVMe storage.
- CPU performance:
- SysBench single-core score: 655, which is average and expected for an entry-level VPS.
- Geekbench 5: 515 (single-core), 520 (multi-core). Suitable for basic hosting, personal blogs, and lightweight applications.
- Disk I/O performance:
- NVMe storage delivers excellent performance.
- Fio test shows up to 4.16 GB/s mixed read/write speed, with average IOPS reaching 777.3 MB/s.
Summary: Despite being an entry-level VPS, its hardware—especially NVMe storage—is surprisingly strong for the $0.99 price point.
2. Network Performance: Ping and Routing Analysis
- Ping latency:
- Mainland China average: 193ms. Shanghai Unicom can reach as low as 134ms, Guangdong around 160ms, while remote regions can go up to 298ms.
- Global average: 150ms. Los Angeles as low as 18ms; Europe and Asia around 100–200ms.
- Routing:
- Return routing:
- Bandwidth tests:
- Download speeds commonly exceed 100Mbps, sometimes reaching 200Mbps+.
- Upload speeds range from 1–30Mbps depending on region.
Summary: Strong but uneven networking. Best performance for China Telecom users; Unicom and Mobile users may experience variability.
3. Streaming Unlock and Application Support
- Netflix: US library unlocked
- YouTube: YouTube Premium supported (San Jose CDN)
- TikTok: US region unlocked
- Bilibili China: Not accessible
- ChatGPT: Fully functional (US region detected)
Summary: Exceptional streaming and AI unlocking capabilities for a $0.99 VPS.
4. Final Conclusion and Recommendation
Strengths:
- Extremely low price ($0.99/month)
- High-performance NVMe storage
- Stable 100Mbps bandwidth
- Strong performance for China Telecom users
- Excellent streaming and AI unlocking (Netflix, ChatGPT, YouTube)
Weaknesses:
- Weak CPU performance (not suitable for heavy workloads)
- Routing instability for some China Unicom and Mobile users
Overall, Raksmart’s $0.99/month Silicon Valley VPS is a highly cost-effective but clearly trade-off product. It is not suitable for high-performance computing or ultra-low-latency applications such as gaming acceleration.
However, it is an excellent choice for:
- Budget users building personal websites or learning projects
- Users needing high-speed storage and bandwidth for downloads
- Streaming users requiring US Netflix, ChatGPT, and similar services
Given its extremely low price, it delivers outstanding value for lightweight workloads, as long as users accept occasional routing limitations.
