We scraped VPS prices nightly for up to 196 nights. 273 plans never moved, and our first query missed a 40% increase

Description and use

The nightly VPS price scraper missed a 40% price increase at netcup due to a generation swap. After updating the logic, the scraper correctly identified the increase and price changes at other providers.

Problem

A nightly VPS price scraper initially missed a 40% price increase at netcup because the increase was a generation swap rather than a price change on existing plans.

Outcome

The updated scraper accurately captured a 40% price increase at netcup and identified price changes at Hetzner, OVHcloud, IONOS, Hostinger, and Contabo, while confirming 273 plans remained price‑stable across five US clouds.

Workflow

• 1. Run nightly price scraper for all tracked plans.
• 2. Store nightly readings in a time‑series database.
• 3. Compare each plan’s current price to its previous night’s price.
• 4. Flag any price change or generation swap.
• 5. Generate a report of unchanged plans and any detected changes.
• 6. Cross‑check flagged changes against provider announcements or price‑adjustment pages.
• 7. Update the first‑query logic to treat generation swaps as new rows rather than price changes on existing rows.

Evidence

Our first query said netcup changed no prices in September. That was wrong.

Source

netcup replaced its G12 plans with a G12.5 generation that costs 40% more on the x86 VPS line and has half the disk

Source

The table shows one example plan from each, with its billing term.

Source