HostPapa is a budget-friendly web hosting service that prides themselves on being easy to use and incredibly reliable. It’s difficult to find a web host when you’re just starting out. In this HostPapa review, we will go over all the features that HostPapa offers and give some sound recommendations for you. Once By the end, you will know if HostPapa is the right host for your website project.
HostPapa Overview
HostPapa has an incredible uptime of 99.98%. This is well above the industry’s average of 99.94%. Unfortunately, their page load speeds are way too slow for their uptime to be of much use. Speed tests on sites hosted by HostPapa show page load speeds of around 11.2 seconds. Studies show that after 5 seconds most visitors will bounce.
What they lack in speed, they make up for in features. They offer Unlimited bandwidth on all of their shared hosting plans, and unlimited websites and storage on their top two shared hosting plans. In addition to this, they have a 1-click marketplace, PayPal integration, Zen Cart, and OS Commerce options for eCommerce websites.
Pricing Information
If you’re on a budget, HostPapa’s shared hosting may be what you need. Prices start at $3.95/month on their start-up promotion and range all the way to $24.99/month. Their VPS hosting starts at $19.99 but jumps to $49.99 after the first month. Their best VPS hosting plan starts at $249.99 for the first month and goes to $299.99/month. If you’re looking for a Reseller account, HostPapa has 5 reseller plans ranging from $19.95/month to $75.95/month.
| Package Name | Dedicated to | Price | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Websites | Hosting Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Basic Sites | $3.95-$9.99/mo | 100GB SSD | Unlimited | 2 | cPanel |
| Business | Small Sites/Agencies | $3.95-$14.99/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | cPanel |
| Business Pro | Medium-Large Online Business | $12.95-$24.99/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | cPanel |
| Plus VPS | Large Business | $19.99-$49.99/mo | 50GB | 1TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Pro VPS | Large Business | $39.99-$79.99/mo | 100GB | 2TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Premium VPS | Large Business | $109.99-$149.99/mo | 200GB | 2TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Ultra VPS | Large Business | $149.99-$199.99/mo | 500GB | 4TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Extreme VPS | Large Business | $249.99-$299.99/mo | 1TB | 8TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Bronze – Reseller | Small Agencies | $19.95 | 50GB | 500GB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Silver – Reseller | Medium Agencies | $27.95 | 80GB | 700GB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Gold – Reseller | Growing Agencies | $39.95 | 120GB | 1TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Platinum – Reseller | Large Agencies | $59.95 | 160GB | 1.2TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
| Titanium – Reseller | Large Agencies | $79.95 | 200GB | 1.4TB | Unlimited | cPanel/WHM |
Security & Risk
HostPapa offers the standard security on their shared hosting accounts. They also offer a state-of-the-art server-side firewall, 24/7 server monitoring, and intrusion protection. For their Business Pro plan includes Domain Privacy, SSL certificates, Automated backups, and SiteLock Detect plans. VPS plans come with brute force protection and DDoS attack response protocols. HostPapa’s Reseller accounts also include an IP deny manager, RAID redundancy, and SiteLock website protection.
Usability & User Friendliness
HostPapa uses the Softaculous application marketplace, which gives customers access to over 400 scripts, applications, and CMS platforms. They also have an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop website builder with tons of templates to use. While the starter version limits the number of pages you can have, customers without access to the full version can purchase the full version if needed.
Reseller customers also benefit from a customizable, brandable control panel for their own clients. This gives a more professional look to a Reseller’s hosting package.
Customer Support & Additional Info
Customer service is offered 24/7/365 with HostPapa via phone, chat, email, and their ticket system. They offer one-on-one support to get you started. If you need more assistance they have step-by-step tutorials and weekly webinars that you can join.
There are many reviews online that state that their support is lacking in professionalism, and their chat wait time is about 15 minutes. They do have a 30-day money back guarantee, so if try out their services and find that you’re not impressed, you can get a full refund before those 30 days are up.
HostPapa Overall Rating
Now that you’ve read this HostPapa review, here’s what we took away from our research.
What we like:
- Great Uptime Track Record – 99.98% is a great Uptime for a budget-friendly hosting service like HostPapa.
- Great Security Features – Even with the lowest plan, HostPapa offers more security than many hosts within the same price range.
What we don’t like:
- Painfully Slow – Page load speeds are a big issue for HostPapa. Upgraded services and CDNs would be the best way to fix this.
- Unprofessional Support – Long wait times and limited responses are not good when one needs help.
Rating
Web Hosting Plans & Prices: 5/5
Security & Risk: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Customer Support: 2/5
HostPapa Top Alternatives
If HostPapa isn’t for you, check out these competitors. They have similar features, but may offer exactly what you need.
- Bluehost – Bluehost offers everything that HostPapa does, plus WordPress and dedicated server options. They are faster than HostPapa, but their uptime is less than stellar.
- GoDaddy – Similar to Bluehost in what they offer. They have decent page load speeds and their uptime is about average for the industry. They are also the most popular for purchasing domains.
- TMDHosting – TMDHosting is one of the fastest hosting companies around. They also offer a wide range of hosting options just like GoDaddy and Bluehost. Their uptime is almost perfect and their customer service is more than acceptable.
Our Verdict
Unless you’re willing to invest in CDNs and other optimization services, HostPapa should be passed up. We love their uptime record, but it makes no difference if your potential customers won’t stick around to see what you offer because of slow page load speeds.
Are you a HostPapa customer or have used their services in the past? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your questions and comments below!
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