HostMonster is a simple, easy-to-use, budget hosting service offering numerous premium features including website marketing extras to help small businesses promote their product and services and compete commercially without having to be internet-savvy. Read our HostMonster review below.
OverviewLike WebHostingHub, HostGator, iDomain, and BlueHost, HostMonster is a brand in the Endurance International Group (EIG). It offers Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Dedicated hosting services at a lower price than more up-market brands. It does this is by taking advantage of the tools, expertise and services made available to it by its siblings, and the business acumen afforded by EIG.
At a glance, HostMonster and BlueHost are identical twins with one twin just a lot more popular (BlueHost is the recommended hosting provider at WordPress.com). For instance, the two have the same physical address in Utah and offer pretty much the same product, albeit couched in different marketing terms.
They both use the same support and management teams. They are also both accused of CPU throttling (this is when a website uses too many resources, as determined by the host, and its CPU time and memory is cut back or limited to the extent that customers start complaining.)
But, dig a bit deeper and some interesting differences make HostMonster a contender in the hosting stakes. The racehorse analogy is deliberate; HostMonster is an outsider but with some form.
History
It’s one of the oldest hosting companies out there (circa 1996), so it’s experienced in the hosting game; it’s one reason many customers chose them in the first place.
So, what exactly does HostMonstor offer?
The popular website building tool, Weebly; one-click WordPress installation; Shared, VPN and Dedicated hosting options; unlimited domain hosting, unlimited disk storage and unlimited GB of site transfer; Secure Shell (SSH) access; add-on domains, parked domains and sub domains; SSL secure server for E-commerce sites; a variety of simple website scripts for mailing lists, survey software, message forums, etc; MySQL and PostGresQL support; PHP 5; and 24/7 network monitoring – in short, all the features you need to get your website up and running.
Specialization
While HostMonstor arguably specializes in budget hosting, its add-ons can become costly, especially if you’ve signed up for the cheapest plan. To take advantage of low Shared hosting prices you need to sign up for anything between one and three years and when that term ends the monthly premium goes up to a regular rate which is often more expensive than other budget hosting companies.
Typical user
A typical user profile is that of someone who wants to save money and doesn’t know very much about websites and web hosting. HostMonster is a viable option if you’re a small business that plans on growing it, and your security requirements are not too stringent (e.g. you store sensitive client data), and you just want to experiment with creating a decent website exploring different features you might need in the future.
For a home-based business that is considering a web presence, HostMonster is an easy-to-use platform to get started.
Scalability
HostMonster is scalable on different levels. Mojo Marketplace allows you to install popular applications – like WordPress, social networking, forums, website builders, E-commerce solutions, etc. – with just one click. You can also add themes, branding, and various add-ons to improve functionality.
And if you don’t like your Shared hosting plan, “existing HostMonster customers wishing to upgrade to VPS or Dedicated hosting can use the HostMonster control panel to do the upgrade. By doing so, all customer data and domains from the existing account are easily migrated to the new hosting service.”
Support
HostMonster can be contacted via telephone, email (in reality, a contact form), or online live chat. Customers on average give support thumbs down in terms of time wasted trying to get in touch with HostMonster but thumbs up for support quality.
Money-back guarantee
HostMonster has a 30-day money-back guarantee, prorated if cancelation is more than 30 days after the beginning of your term. Add-ons are not refundable, and neither is a domain name if you registered it with HostMonster.
Upsides
So, how is HostMonster a contender?
For one, they offer a free, live demo of their cPanel, i.e. you can try-before-you-buy. This is rare in the industry.
For another, this back-end interface also allows you to view the limits of your “unlimited” features, so you know exactly what you’re getting into. For a small business that simply wants a web presence or an entrepreneur with a limited budget, these two features are powerful pluses.
Third, they offer free advertising credits for Google AdWords and Facebook advertising, and free search engine submission, which will get you started with marketing your site. You can also sign up for Constant Contacts, an “affordable email marketing” toolkit.
Key FeaturesExperts see HostMonster as a bit of a middle of the road service: nothing really to hate about it, but there are certainly other web hosting services out there that trump it, even within the EIG group.
The experts liked:
Here’s what they had to say about the service’s bad points:
The experts don’t generally recommend HostMonster over the other platforms that you can check out instead. The mediocre reviews make it one hosting service that you should likely avoid, and continue to keep shopping around a little further to find a better provider.
For the customers that haven’t experienced the issues plaguing HostMonster, they seem happy. This is perhaps those that haven’t experienced (or noticed?) site downtimes, and for those that haven’t needed to chat to customer service.
While HostMonster used to have a good reputation among its customers, they now report various issues that seem to have amplified after the company was bought out by EIG group.
Reliability & UptimeHostMaster has full UPS power back-up, a backup generator and what they call an OC-48 backbone Internet connection which claims to exceed a 2 GB/second transfer speed. It claims to be an “All American” outfit that doesn’t outsource staff. It uses Dell servers, Cisco for network switching and OpenStack and KVM for enhancements and upgrades.
The servers are regularly updated with the latest versions of PHP, Python, MySQL, etc. to keep on top of security issues.
There is an automatic backup system which covers customers for accidental loss of data, but there are no guarantees. This data is stored for about 30 days, but generally, customers are responsibility for their security and backup unless they pay extra.
According to our tracking, HostMonster’s server uptime was 99.63% in February 2016 with the average response for a HostMonster-hosted website 1582ms.
Features & Tools | Feature | Overview |
|---|---|
| Control Panel | HostMonster uses the popular cPanel Control Panel. It has been customized with a Windows XP-style skin, so it’s more up to date than the standard cPanel which is looking, users agree, a bit tired. However, because the cPanel is highly customized, you can’t transfer easily to another host which is one of the perks of using the cPanel in the first place. |
| Bandwidth and Disk Space | These resources are offered in unlimited (within reason) supply but not for the Basic package. |
| Database Support | MySQL and PostgreSQL are supported. However, while up to 20 MySQL databases are allowed, no single database can exceed 2GB, and all of them together can’t exceed 3GB, so if you’re going to be storing big data like images and videos, this won’t work for you. |
| Free Domain | When registered, you get a free domain for as long as you use HostMonster. |
| WordPress Websites | WordPress powers about 17% of the web. HostMonster offers one-click installation for WordPress, but there isn’t a managed WordPress solution. |
| Multiple Domains | There is no limit to how many domains/ sub-domains you may add to your account for the Plus and PRO plans. |
| Data Backups | HostMonster does regular ad-hoc backups. |
| SSDs (Solid State Drives) | None that is referred to. |
| Web Applications | There are some add-ons including WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. According to pcthinks.com, the SimpleScripts installer is not quite as simple as it’s made out to be. |
| Email Accounts | HostMonster offers limited email accounts for its basic plan. |
| Security Features |
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| Website Builder | You can use MOJO Marketplace to download and install a website builder or CMS to help you get your site started. The popular drag-and-drop website builder Weebly can also be used. |
| Malware and Spam Protector | Basic malware and spam protection prevent viruses from entering your hosting account and spam from entering your emails. |
| eCommerce Solution | Mojo marketplace can be used to set up an E-commerce site and checkout counter. |
| Programming Languages Support | Python, Perl, PHP and Ruby on Rails are supported. |
| Additional Features and Tools |
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Plans & Pricing Special offers are limited-time promotional prices that are available to new customers and are valid for the initial term only, and not for successive or renewal periods, so it’s essential you research the “regular rate”.
Shared hosting
Basic:The best hosting plan for beginners is the basic Shared hosting plan starting at $3.95 a month. Remember; you need to sign on for all plans for at least a year and the regular rates apply from the end of that term. In this case, the regular rate is $7.99 which is double the introductory offer and not quite so cost-effective compared to similar sites. To make it more confusing, the regular rate of $7.99 is valid if you take a 3-year plan; it’s $8.99 if you only sign up for a year. This plan offers the beginner one website and one domain, 25 sub domains and five email accounts. To put this into perspective, iPage’s introductory offer is $1.99 with a regular rate of $11.99.
Plus:$5.95 on special gives you ten websites, one domain, 50 sub domains and 100 email addresses if you sign up for two years. To put this into perspective, AN Hosting offers some unlimited options for $3.95 a month, but you have to sign up for two years. The Plus plan includes a global CDN and anti-spam software, so it’s perfect for small businesses.
PROFor $13.95 a month you get unlimited websites, domains, subdomains and email addresses. To put this into perspective, a similar package from DreamHost, for example, will set you back $8.95, but you can sign up for it on a monthly basis and see if you like it. The PRO plan includes a dedicated IP and SSL, as well as SiteBackUpPro, so it’s suitable for high-volume E-commerce sites and advanced users.
Extras to consider:
Downsides
The simplest hosting plan HostMonster offers is Shared hosting which comes in Basic, Plus, and PRO flavors. Basic hosting is cheap, but you’ll pay for Plus features, including SSL certificates, additional domains, decent SPAM filtering, site backup, and restore, domain privacy, etc.
Complaints by customers of CPU throttling, SPAM, and missing data are dealt with by the HostMonster team by urging customers to upgrade.
In addition, HostMonster doesn’t offer month-to-month plans (for Shared hosting); you have to sign up for an annual plan (at least) which may be inconvenient if you’re a budget customer. In fact, to take advantage of its lowest prices, you are virtually locked in for three years.
For both VPS and Dedicated hosting, 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month plans are offered, and each package is charged half price for the first month. These rates are valid for the current term was chosen only. Account information and data is automatically protected with RAID 1.
Some extras for VPN and Dedicated hosting include:
Customer Support HostMonster offers 24/7 US-based technical support via phone, email (you submit a ticket on the website) and online chat (from their website).
A searchable knowledge base is available, online tutorials (claimed to be video but text-based) and a user forum. All channels offer pretty basic information but that’s perhaps a perception as a presentation of the information is not particularly user-friendly or attractive.
Phone – Main Line: 866-573-4678; Outside the U.S: +1(801) 494-8462
Web: https://www.hostmonster.com/contact_us (includes live chat)
Email: support@hostmonster.com
Status support: https://www.hostmonster.com/cgi/serverstatus/
Ease of Use HostMonster uses the popular cPanel, and you can take it for a spin on their website. This is a major plus, to be able to try before you buy.
Bear in mind HostMaster’s cPanel is customized to the extent that it’s not necessarily compatible with other cPanels if you should want to change hosts in the future.
There is a WebMail feature on the website, rather a unique feature, but it hasn’t received excellent reviews from users.
Conclusion HostMonster is great if you are starting a new business but estimate it may take you a couple of years before you get off the ground, and really need a functional but not award-winning website.
Some reasons not to choose HostMonster:
Alternatives
Expert Reviews
User Reviews
