# TestedActually newsletter, issue 001: Six free hosts tested, and the crawlers vendors actually block

> The first issue: our free-hosting benchmark, the voice-agent head to head, and the crawler matrix asking which AI vendors let answer engines read their sites.

Human page: https://testedactually.com/newsletter/2026-09-24-free-hosts-and-crawler-access/
Mirror: https://testedactually.com/newsletter/2026-09-24-free-hosts-and-crawler-access.md
Published: 2026-09-24

## In this issue

- **[Best free web hosting for SPAs (tested)](https://testedactually.com/free-spa-hosting/)** (Comparison) - Cloudflare Pages is the default free host for most SPAs: unlimited bandwidth, functions included, no trial clock. Vercel wins for non-commercial Next.js, Netlify for workflow extras. Mirror: https://testedactually.com/free-spa-hosting.md
- **[AI crawler access test: can answer engines read these vendors?](https://testedactually.com/free-spa-hosting/benchmarks/free-spa-hosting-ai-crawler-access/)** (Original data) - Six free hosts, probed on 2026-09-20: median TTFB, robots policy for AI crawlers, and who ships an llms.txt. GitHub Pages answered fastest at 21ms median. Mirror: https://testedactually.com/free-spa-hosting/benchmarks/free-spa-hosting-ai-crawler-access.md
- **[Vapi vs Retell - raw control or a builder that ships](https://testedactually.com/ai-voice-agents/vapi-vs-retell/)** (Head to head) - Raw API control or a builder that ships: which team shape fits Vapi, which fits Retell, judged on inbound and outbound calling, campaign dialing, and whether a no-code builder exists. Mirror: https://testedactually.com/ai-voice-agents/vapi-vs-retell.md
- **[Research: how AI companies treat each other's crawlers](https://testedactually.com/research/vendor-crawler-matrix/)** (Research note) - Eight AI vendors against eight answer-engine crawlers, robots policy and live status per cell, from a datacenter vantage. OpenAI serves GPTBot a 200 while 403-challenging ChatGPT-User, its own fetcher.

New issues land here first. Subscribe at the site footer; every comparison cited above carries dated, sourced claims.