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If you’re looking for a good web hosting provider, chances are you’ve read about the four crucial aspects to consider: speed, security, scalability, and support. These four S’s give websites a competitive edge, allowing them to manage the influx of traffic they expect.
There are a number of web hosting providers in the market that offer plans with prices ranging from $4 to $100 per month. However, there are a dozen other considerations for choosing which plan is perfect for your business, including the four S’s mentioned above, but pricing is a good place to start. Once you have determined the budget, the expected amount of traffic can be determined or estimated, as well as the preferred server type.
If you’ve narrowed down your choices to two of the top European web hosting providers, Hostinger (opens in new tab) and SiteGround (opens in new tab)this article will show you why the pair are worthy contenders.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Key Similarities
Both Hostinger and SiteGround offer 100% uptime, making them some of the most reliable web hosting providers out there. Both also guarantee support to ensure help is always available 24/7/365. Users will also find the free drag-and-drop website builder that both companies offer, making building a website from scratch not only possible, but a surprisingly simple task.
Since over 60 million of today’s websites currently use WordPress, Hostinger and SiteGround are excellent choices if you’re leaning towards a WordPress account. Hostinger offers one-click WordPress installation. Although SiteGround’s WordPress installation involves three more steps, it is still quite simple, which also makes it a great hosting option for WordPress sites.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Price Comparison
Key factors such as pricing and speed appear to differ significantly between the two hosting giants. For example, Hostinger’s basic plan starts at $1.39 per monthwhile SiteGround is not so lean $4.99 per month. Premium plans go just a bit higher for Hostinger, that’s about it $2.59 until $3.99while Hostinger’s top plans are higher than $7.99 and $14.99 per month respectively.
Kickstarting a website sometimes involves testing which features are likely to be needed. It’s helpful to have free trials in cases like this, rather than having to pay straight up for a plan that might not work. However, both Hostinger and SiteGround offer free plans. These plans come with compromises such as ads and limited bandwidth (Hostinger) or referrals from friends (SiteGround).
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Domain Names
SiteGround allows you to use a domain (opens in new tab) you own or register a new one when you activate a hosting account. The price depends on the extension you choose, ie for a .com domain, the cost is $15.95/yearwhile a .net domain costs $17.95/yearand so on.
Although it used to be, SiteGround no longer offers free domain names with their hosting plans. This may sound like bad news, but SiteGround’s transparency lets users know this rather than misleading information that makes them think otherwise.
On the other hand, Hostinger gives users who subscribe to the annual premium or business hosting plans a free local domain name. It can be a .com, any local or a .net domain.
However, the domain will only be free for the first year, after that a .com will cost $8.99 per yeara .online cost $0.99, and so on. Hostinger is known for offering the cheapest domains available today.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Web Hosting
SiteGround’s plans include the essentials for a great hosting service, including 10 GB of web space, a website, free site builder, etc. These features aim to give users an edge for their site and business. With its competitive pricing on monthly and annual plans, a handful of free services for subscriber users, features that business-related sites can rely on, and remarkable customer support, SiteGround and its shared web hosting plans has earned its place among the most trusted web hosting providers today.
Hostinger’s shared hosting (opens in new tab) plans offer features for beginners, personal websites, and small businesses alike. Features include from a single website (basic plan) to up to 100 websites, huge storage, free SSL, unlimited bandwidth (for premium plans) and much more. As expected, the premium and business shared hosting plans get more features than the basic plan, which includes a free domain for a year. That said, the basic plan still offers a great hosting platform for a website startup.
Other hosting services that SiteGround offers include WordPress hosting (opens in new tab)WooCommerce Hosting (opens in new tab)Reseller Hosting, Cloud Hosting and Enterprise Hosting, while Hostinger has managed WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Cloud Hosting (opens in new tab) with a premium domain name, email hosting, and web design services in the form of a custom website builder included with all hosting plans.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Account Setup
Hostinger’s hPanel allows users to set up their hosting accounts relatively quickly. Completing the order takes less than a minute. After completing the order, members can easily navigate to the members area which contains all the necessary tools for configuring the hosting account.
On the other hand, SiteGround’s setup wizard offers an on-boarding solution to make setting up a less tedious experience for the user. Whether setting up a new site or migrating a site, a single login is required, giving access to the backend section making site management quick and easy.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: cPanel Comparison
SiteGround has site tools that are as easy to use compared to cPanel as Hostinger’s hPanel. SiteGround’s site tools are essentially the website’s control panel, which can be accessed on the dashboard after logging in. It completely replaces the cPanel, which works well for users who find it difficult to use.
hPanel, on the other hand, is described as a more comfortable version of cPanel, made exclusively for Hostinger. It is available with all of Hostinger’s web hosting plans and is comprehensive and easy to use, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. hPanel comes with a menu where users can access and manage their website’s settings.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Website Builder
Hostinger recently launched its own website builder – a fast, easy and powerful alternative for creating complex websites that require coding skills. The site building tool that comes with web hosting is a drag and drop platform.
SiteGround also has a free drag and drop website builder that also requires no technical skills. This website builder comes with responsive themes and storefront themes and payment options for ecommerce sites. Accessing this website builder is as easy as clicking the user area of the control panel and clicking Sitebuilder. Thanks to SiteGround’s Sitebuilder, building a website on the platform can be done in five easy steps.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Customer Support
Both Hostinger and SiteGround are known for their exceptional customer support. This includes expert and fast support teams and fast response time.
Hostinger’s 24/7 support line can be reached in several ways: live chat, email, and a ticket system, but users are also encouraged to use self-help channels, such as the help page and activating the AI chatbot.
It’s also 24/7 for SiteGround’s “insanely fast and notoriously competent” hosting support with a friendly and helpful team. Channels available include live chat, phone support, and help desk tickets, and there are also self-help options with a smart AI chatbot, help pages, and automated solutions.
Hostinger vs SiteGround: Verdict
For a third of the cost of SiteGround’s plans, Hostinger isn’t a bad choice overall. It offers the same unlimited bandwidth and storage space for the premium plans, a simple hPanel control system, free website migration, free domain for a year, and better performance with an average load time of 1.5 sec.
SiteGround doesn’t lag, optimizing WordPress sites and offering above-average speeds as well as a handful of features that come in handy. Since both offer the same excellent customer support, 99.99% uptime, easy and user-friendly website building interfaces, and fast page speed, the only major difference to consider is the price. Hostinger definitely takes the lead.