1. A2 Hosting
" Best all-rounder "
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Storage20-250 GB
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Bandwidth2-9 TB
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Uptime99.9%
Things we liked / disliked:
- Very affordable
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Highly customizable
- No unlimited option
Things we liked / disliked:
- Very affordable
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Highly customizable
- No unlimited option
-
Storage20-250 GB
-
Bandwidth2-9 TB
-
Uptime99.9%
If you need the best VPS hosting with a lot of customization options, look no further than A2 Hosting. This hosting provider is a favorite among many web developers and website owners due to its affordable plans and plethora of options for customizing the VPS.
Features
A2 Hosting offers both managed and unmanaged servers. Therefore, the company provides multiple hardware combinations to suit everyone’s needs. The hardware configurations start with single-core virtual machines that include 512 MB of RAM and 20 GB of SSD storage.
That doesn’t sound very impressive, but the company’s secret weapon is the configurator tool available directly from its website. Granted, it’s not available for managed server hosting, since those plans are fixed. But in case you prefer to manage your own server, this is the tool for you. With these sliders, you can get up to 12 CPU cores, 32 GB of RAM, and 250 GB of high-speed storage space. There’s even an option for increased monthly bandwidth, although there’s no option for the unmetered plan. A2 also offers several OS options, including CentOS and several popular Linux distributions, optional cPanel and Webuzo licenses, and server location selection.
With managed server hosting, you’re losing root access, but benefiting in other ways. These VPS hosting plans come with SSL encryption, free cPanel license, and transfer tools for quick and easy website migration. Security features include a firewall and DDoS protection, as well as automated backups. Some competitors might offer better uptime, but at 99.9% it’s still a highly stable service.
Plans & pricing
All of the plans at A2 are constrained by monthly bandwidth. While this can be mitigated by switching to an unmanaged plan and upgrading to a higher tier, it’s still a far cry from the highly popular unlimited plans.
VPS hosting pricing plans are straightforward. The plans start at a very affordable $5 per month for unmanaged hosting and $25 for managed servers. There are no hidden costs and no sneaky upsells – what you see is what you get. Of course, if you want your VPS to pack a bit more horsepower and you want to add more sliders, the price can rise pretty quickly. The great thing is that you make all of these adjustments from the shopping cart, so there’s no need for any back and forth when placing an order.
Like many of the best VPS hosting services, A2 Hosting also offers a handful of add-ons and licensed software. First up is cPanel, which comes with a license for five accounts and bumps up the price by $15. It will cost you another $15 for CloudFlare firewall, and there are two additional turbo boosts that go up to about $30 per month. For managed servers, there are a few more add-ons, mainly the upgraded cPanel licenses for up to 100 users and five additional IPs. Overall, the cost of these extra features is fair and with multi-year plans, you can save a lot of money.
A2 Hosting is one of the best web hosts when it comes to refund policies, too. The company has an anytime money-back guarantee, offering a full refund if you cancel within your first month or a pro rata amount after the initial 30 days. It’s a truly risk-free service.
Final thoughts
Whether you’re starting a website or looking for an upgrade of your existing hosting server, A2 Hosting will provide you with some of the best tools and servers in the industry to ensure that your project is a success.