Hostwinds Review: Is This Budget Hosting Service Worth It?
Product Name: Hostwinds
Price: starts at $3.29/mo
Rating: 8.7 out of 10
Verdict: A good hosting service that is competitively priced, perfect for small to medium enterprises.
In today’s review, we’re going to change it up a little bit and review a hosting company instead of the usual affiliate marketing programs that you’re used to reading about here.
The name of the company is Hostwinds and it’s quickly becoming popular because their services are way cheaper than most popular hosting services available. In this review, I am going to determine if this ‘cheapness’ comes with a cost (no pun intended). Plenty of companies offer cheap cost but they come with broken reliability. Does this company suffer from the same fate?
Usually, companies that offer cheaper rates have worse service than those who offer above-average pricing, but that isn’t always the case. Before this review ends, I will have determined if this hosting service provider is one of those rare companies that can offer top-notch service at budget prices.
Shall we begin?
What Is Hostwinds?
Hostwinds is not exactly a new company, having been founded in 2010. It’s not the most popular hosting service available and will almost always be overlooked by bigger websites looking for hosting services.
Hostwinds is more popular with small to medium websites and there are plenty of reasons why. First of all, of course, it’s because of the pricing. They way they price their packages are very competitive. To give you an idea of how ridiculously cheap their offers can get, you can get your website hosted for just as little as $2.69/month.
For reference, the average hosting price per month is about $10. Of course, as the price goes up, the bigger the storage and bandwidth capacity of the site will have. But for a standard comparison, the $10/month rate should provide a good idea of how much to expect.
Another popular reason why Hostwinds is the first choice by many small to medium companies is they have an impressive 99.999% uptime, which is a mighty high number.
What Will You Get From Hostwinds?
Full disclosure – I don’t really use Hostwinds as my hosting service provider. That means that anything good I say about it, I say in good faith. Anything bad I say against it can be taken as a slight to it, I understand, but that’s not going to be the case here. I will be as just and unbiased as possible.
Based on many reviews on Hostwinds, it seems like this hosting service is doing something right. The combination of being one of the cheapest options available and the remarkable 99.999% uptime is good enough to make it the first choice for many first-time website builders.
Another thing that’s good about this company is they offer a 60-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If you are unhappy in your 60 days of using the program, they’ll give you a refund. The usual money-back guarantee is only for 30 days but this company went beyond that and basically double the time you’re eligible for it.
How Much Is Getting Hostwinds?
Hostwinds have several packages that you can choose from, depending on the size of your website. As I’ve said, this company is popular with small to medium website owners but there are several packages available to big companies as well.
I will put up a screenshot of their pricing to give you a better idea of what they’re offering.
Other Services
If you are also looking for other hosting related services like dedicated server plans, you’re in luck because they also have that. Their dedicated server plans start at $99/month which is one the lower side of things, speaking of prices.
They also have VPN hosting plans available which starts at $5.17/month and can go up to $26.32/month, depending on the add-ons you opt for. Just like most of their service, it is also on the lower end in terms of pricing.
Hostwinds give its users access to cPanel, which is a web-based control panel that gives users an easier-to-understand interface which makes changing in your website a breeze. With cPanel, you can easily manage the technical aspect of your website in an easily digestible manner.
What I Like About Hostwinds
As you can probably tell from the way I talk about this company, there are many things to like about it. They seem to do many things right.
Having said that, I think presenting the pros of this product in a list would make the most sense, in terms of showing the actual benefits of using this hosting service.
- Good reliability
- Cheaper than most competitors
- Great support staff
- Easy to use
These qualities are what make this company a good choice for many start-up websites. Of course, if your website requires more bandwidth and you have the budget, you will have plenty of other options with better reliability. But as for getting value for your money, this company is one of the better choices out there.
What I Don’t Like About Hostwinds
Even the best companies in the world will have a bit of shortcomings. But those shortcomings are easily bested by the good qualities it has going for it. This company is no different. It still has some issues but I must point out that these issues are minute to the point that you can easily ignore them.
- Affiliate program is a bit weak
- Website transfer can be a bit tricky
- Reports of corrupted website
The Verdict – Is Hostwinds A Good Hosting Service Provider?
The short answer is YES.
Hostwinds is a good hosting service provider. In fact, it’s one of the best in the business. The value you get for your money with this company is up there with the best. Far too many companies price their service way too high for the average businessmen, which is why I will always have a soft spot for companies that are willing to lower their price for small-to-medium companies.
I am saying this as a small business owner. You can take that I am being biased but it’s the truth. For the majority of consumers, the price is the first thing that they consider. I am guilty of this as well.
Overall, Hostwinds is one of the few companies that does not sacrifice much of its reliability for its price. If you are looking for your website to get started, you should definitely take a gander of this company.
Now, if you are a bit curious about how I make my money, I can point you in the right direction. As I’ve said above, I am a small business owner and this business is internet-based. Yes, I basically earn through the internet. If you want to learn more about how I do it, click my how to make money online guide.