Hosting.com Review: Strong WordPress Plans, No Dedicated Servers
In the crowded arena of web hosting providers, it takes a service with distinct strengths to capture attention and prove itself a worthwhile investment. Hosting.com, which was previously known as A2 Hosting, sets itself apart primarily through excellent customer support and a variety of hosting plans packed with features. Its WordPress hosting offerings, in particular, are quite impressive and comparable to those offered by Bluehost, a service that has earned our Editors’ Choice award. However, the absence of cloud hosting, dedicated servers, and Windows-based plans means Hosting.com falls short of earning a top overall spot among web hosts.
For those starting a website on a budget, shared hosting is a common choice. This type of hosting means your website shares a physical server and its resources with numerous other sites, which helps reduce costs but can sometimes impact performance if other sites on the server experience traffic spikes or crashes. Hosting.com offers four Linux-based shared hosting tiers named Startup, Plus, Pro, and Max. The Startup plan, which begins at $7.99 monthly with an annual commitment, provides 15GB of storage, unlimited bandwidth, and five email accounts but is limited to hosting one domain. The Plus plan ups the storage to 30GB, allows 10 email accounts, and supports two websites, starting at $9.99 per month. The Pro package, starting at $12.99 monthly, features 50GB of storage, 20 email accounts, and can host up to 10 websites. At the top, Max offers 100GB of storage, 40 email accounts, and supports 50 websites, starting at $15.99 a month. All these plans include free domain registration for the first year if you commit to a full year upfront.
While these shared hosting options are solid, they don’t quite measure up to what HostGator offers. HostGator’s shared hosting plans include free domain registration, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited email addresses across all tiers, making it an especially attractive option for shared hosting newcomers.
Moving up the ladder, Hosting.com also provides various Linux-based Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting options. VPS hosting shares server resources like shared hosting but grants each website a larger slice of resources and isolates them better from other sites on the same server. Hosting.com’s VPS lineup includes both managed and unmanaged options. Managed VPS hosting means the company handles server setup, security, backups, and maintenance on your behalf, freeing you from technical responsibilities. In contrast, unmanaged VPS hosting places those duties on your shoulders, offering greater control for experienced users.
For unmanaged VPS, the entry-level XS plan starts at $9.99 per month with an annual contract and comes with 4GB of virtual RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited bandwidth. The next tier, VPS S, doubles the RAM to 8GB and storage to 160GB for $15.99 monthly. VPS M offers 16GB of RAM and 320GB of storage at $24.99 a month, while the top tier, VPS L, provides a hefty 32GB of RAM and 640GB of storage for $60.99 monthly. Managed VPS plans mirror these configurations but come with the added benefit of professional server management, reflected in their higher price points: Managed VPS XS starts at $65.99 per month and the Managed VPS L plan costs $110.99 monthly. Both managed and unmanaged VPS plans include free SSL certificates and cPanel access, with root access standard on unmanaged plans and optional on managed ones, allowing complete server control.
Hostwinds offers stiffer competition in the VPS space by supporting both Linux and Windows operating systems and offering additional options like Minecraft server hosting, a niche yet popular service. Hostwinds provides a range of VPS tiers with flexible pricing and configurations that Hosting.com currently does not match.
Dedicated servers are the top-tier choice for those expecting high traffic volumes, as your website alone occupies the entire server’s resources, avoiding any sharing issues. Unfortunately, Hosting.com does not yet offer dedicated server plans—a noticeable gap that has persisted since the transition from A2 Hosting. However, customer support indicated that dedicated servers are planned for the future. Meanwhile, those needing dedicated hosting may want to explore AccuWeb, which offers customizable Linux and Windows dedicated servers starting at $123 per month, with options for scaling up resources to match higher demands.
Cloud hosting, which distributes website resources across multiple servers for better reliability and scalability, is another service Hosting.com does not currently provide. Alternatives like DreamHost offer competitive Linux-based cloud hosting plans priced by the hour, making them flexible and cost-effective. Liquid Web is another strong contender, providing a broad selection of cloud hosting solutions, including Windows-based options, which Hosting.com lacks.
WordPress hosting is an area where Hosting.com really shines. As WordPress powers a large portion of the web due to its ease of use and extensive plugin and theme ecosystem, having strong WordPress hosting is essential. Hosting.com’s WordPress shared hosting plans mirror their regular shared plans but come at a slightly higher cost, with prices ranging from $8.99 to $17.99 per month on an annual contract. For those wanting a more hands-off approach, managed WordPress hosting is available, where Hosting.com takes care of updates and maintenance. These managed plans begin at $27.99 per month and scale up to $59.99 monthly, offering the same core features as their unmanaged counterparts but with the peace of mind of expert support.
While Hosting.com’s WordPress plans are robust, Bluehost still holds the edge with its Editors’ Choice-winning offerings. Bluehost’s packages start at $15.99 per month and provide support for multiple websites, generous storage, DDoS protection, malware scanning, and accommodate up to 40,000 monthly visitors. Their highest tier includes support for 100 websites and uses high-speed NVMe storage to handle heavy traffic and large data needs, plus AI-powered site-building tools for extra convenience.
For entrepreneurs interested in hosting services as a business, Hosting.com’s reseller hosting plans provide a solid entry point. These packages start at $49.99 per month and go up to $115.99 annually, offering generous storage, unlimited email accounts, and high monthly bandwidth allowances. Reseller plans also include white-label branding, allowing you to market the hosting under your own brand, along with round-the-clock technical support. However, Hostwinds offers more comprehensive reseller options that might better suit those looking for greater flexibility and scale.
When it comes to selling products online, Hosting.com offers a suite of e-commerce tools to help you get started. Whether you prefer PrestaShop, OpenCart, WooCommerce, or Magento, all come with one-click installation to simplify setup. Magento, in particular, is popular for its drag-and-drop store-building interface, allowing users to create customized online stores with relative ease.
An essential part of running an online store is security, especially encrypting sensitive customer information during transactions. Hosting.com provides SSL certificates to secure your site, starting at $29.99 annually for basic encryption with a one-year validity, scaling up to an Organization Validation Wildcard SSL certificate priced at $449.99 per year for enhanced protection across multiple domains. This range lets you select the level of security that best fits your business needs.
In summary, Hosting.com offers a dependable suite of hosting services with particular strengths in WordPress hosting and VPS plans, backed by responsive customer service. Its lack of dedicated servers, cloud hosting, and Windows-based options means it may not meet every user’s needs just yet, but it remains a competitive choice in the web hosting landscape, especially for those focused on Linux and WordPress environments.
