Nexcess vs Hostwinds: guide for 2024

Nexcess vs Hostwinds: Final verdict

Looking over Nexcess vs. Hostwinds, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.

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  Nexcess (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  
  is a reliable choice for specialized hosting services, particularly well-suited for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento. Its strengths lie in the robust performance, high uptime, and comprehensive security measures, including compliance with standards like PCI DSS and GDPR. Nexcess provides daily backups, expert support available 24/7, and a proprietary CDN that boosts site speed. However, it lacks shared and VPS hosting options, which may limit flexibility for some users. It’s ideal for agencies, eCommerce platforms, and high-traffic websites needing advanced features like autoscaling and malware monitoring.
  
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  Hostwinds (Overall grade: 7.1)
  
  
  is recognized for its extensive hosting types and cost-effective solutions. Its shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting options make it versatile for various needs. Hostwinds offers features like unlimited disk space and bandwidth on most plans, free SSL, a user-friendly control panel, and the Weebly site builder. While their performance and uptime are commendable, they can be inconsistent. Hostwinds also has a mixed record regarding customer support and compliance transparency. This service is beneficial for multimedia websites and budget-conscious users seeking varied hosting plans and straightforward scalability options.
  

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in
certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: Nexcess offers strong transparency and consistent global performance.

Nexcess achieved an uptime of 99.88%, experiencing 10 hours of downtime in the past year. With 10 data centers worldwide, their average load time is 1.56 seconds, supported by a proprietary CDN. The company is transparent about their system status and uses site-monitoring software that pings every 15 minutes, promising and delivering 100% uptime during testing. Their additional features include daily backups, PCI compliance, and 24/7/365 expert support.

Hostwinds had an uptime of 99.89% with a single outage lasting 19 minutes during nearly two weeks of monitoring. Their average response time of 945ms falls below the market’s average. They have three data centers in Seattle, Dallas, and Amsterdam. While they promise a 99.99% uptime guarantee, reports indicate this can be inconsistent. Hostwinds employs continuous monitoring and a 2N redundancy infrastructure to handle any failures efficiently.

🏆 Winner: Nexcess: Offers superior performance and advanced features for agencies, enterprises, and eCommerce platforms.

When comparing Nexcess and Hostwinds, both offer excellent hosting services, but Nexcess edges out with a slightly higher performance. In terms of general performance, Nexcess offers 99.998% uptime and auto-scaling features for handling traffic surges, supported by Nginx and Redis caching. Hostwinds utilizes SSDs and Litespeed web servers, providing reliable speed, teamed with Cloudflare CDN for better load times. Nexcess has solid storage and bandwidth options, and employs a dedicated Global CDN powered by Cloudflare. Data centers for both hosting providers are optimized for high availability, but specific locations are not provided.

Website speed

When it comes to website speed, Nexcess stands out with its lightning-fast WordPress sites and integrated caching methods powered by Nginx and Redis. This ensures a speedy experience even under heavy traffic, thanks to auto-scaling PHP resources. Hostwinds, on the other hand, benefits from using solid-state drives and the Litespeed web server, resulting in quicker load times. Both services offer CDN through Cloudflare, which reduces latency and improves website performance.

Scalability

Scalability is another key area where Nexcess excels. It offers free autoscaling for every site, automatically deploying extra PHP resources during traffic surges, thus providing elastic scaling without manual intervention. Hostwinds also allows for quick upgrades to server resources, ensuring scalability based on needs. Both providers offer dedicated servers, but cost specifics for scaling are not available for Nexcess. Hostwinds’ plans are more straightforward with immediate scalability options.

Winner Nexcess: A reliable and comprehensive hosting service with robust security features and compliance certifications.

Both Nexcess and Hostwinds, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Nexcess offers a variety of SSL certificates, including Standard SSL, Premium SSL, and Extended Validation (EV) SSL. Nexcess also includes security measures such as daily malware scans, web application firewalls, and automatic OS updates. Hostwinds provides AutoSSL for free and options to purchase RapidSSL and WildCard SSL certificates. For additional security tech, Hostwinds employs Cloudflare CDN and Litespeed Web Server for faster and secure content delivery. Nexcess provides advanced security hardening and proactive monitoring, whereas Hostwinds ensures constant monitoring and nightly backups.

Operational security measures:

Nexcess demonstrates a strong operational security framework with features like enterprise server monitoring, automatic OS updates, and daily backups stored for 30 days. They offer proactive measures such as advanced security hardening and malware removal. Hostwinds focuses on operational security through services like nightly backups, full management support, and business website monitoring. Hostwinds also provides round-the-clock support through multiple contact channels, ensuring issues are promptly resolved. Nexcess employs features like enterprise bot mitigation and DDoS protection to counteract high-level threats.

Compliance and certifications:

Nexcess shines in regulatory compliance, being fully compliant with PCI DSS, SSAE-18, and GDPR. Nexcess is recognized by the Visa Global Registry of service providers for its security practices. Hostwinds, on the other hand, does not specify details on PCI or GDPR compliance. For exact compliance details, especially for PCI and GDPR, it’s advisable to contact Hostwinds directly. Nexcess thus clearly delineates its adherence to high security and compliance standards.

🏆 Winner: Hostwinds: Hostwinds provides a broad range of versatile hosting options with dedicated support and extensive features that cater to various business needs.

When comparing Nexcess and Hostwinds, both offer robust services tailored to different hosting needs. Nexcess excels in specialized hosting, such as WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento, providing features like WooCommerce automated testing and plugin performance monitoring. They also bring value with free features such as unlimited email, free migrations, and daily backups. This makes Nexcess appealing for businesses focused on e-commerce and specific CMS platforms. Hostwinds, on the other hand, offers a more universal approach with SSD drives, the latest cPanel, and an all-inclusive service that includes free dedicated IP, free SSL certificates, and unlimited subdomains and email accounts. Hostwinds also boasts unlimited FTP accounts and Weebly Site Builder, making it easier for users to create and manage their websites.

Another key difference lies in the availability of advanced features and user-friendly interfaces. Nexcess provides a range of cloud hosting capabilities with serverless infrastructure and PCI compliance, along with tools like visual compare and PHP compatibility checkers. Hostwinds stands out by offering snapshots, instant scalability, and consistent monitoring, and its business hosting plans even include Nightly Backups and Cloudflare CDN. For those prioritizing user-friendly experiences, the Weebly Site Builder in Hostwinds delivers simplicity and quick setup, while Nexcess’s free staging sites and more technical tools might appeal to those needing more advanced customization.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both Nexcess and Hostwinds offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

Nexcess provides free unlimited email hosting with no additional costs, ensuring users can manage their email campaigns directly. Hostwinds, similarly, offers unlimited email accounts, enabling users to create a substantial presence. Both providers do not mention transactional email capabilities explicitly but include comprehensive email hosting options. Neither offers third-party email service reselling, such as Google Workspace.

🏆 Winner Hostwinds: Offering competitively priced hosting plans with a plethora of features and a higher overall rating.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

When comparing the pricing plans of Nexcess and Hostwinds, the differences are evident. Nexcess offers a variety of plans catering to different needs, including Cloud Hosting, WordPress Hosting for Agencies, and Managed WordPress Hosting. Their plans come with extensive features such as 24/7 support, daily backups, and disaster recovery assistance. On the other hand, Hostwinds provides Shared Web Hosting, Business Web Hosting, Dedicated Servers, and VPS Hosting amongst others. Hostwinds plans are highly competitive, with unlimited bandwidth and disk space on most offerings. Given their lower prices and comprehensive features, Hostwinds presents a more cost-effective solution for a wide range of users.

Enterprise plans

Nexcess enterprise plans offer comprehensive hosting solutions with high storage capacities, extensive bandwidth, and a plethora of premium features tailored for large-scale operations. Their high-end plans, such as the Enterprise Plan at $1095 per month, support up to 250 sites and offer substantial storage and bandwidth, focusing on critical features like disaster recovery and performance monitoring. Hostwinds, conversely, offers the Enterprise Dedicated Servers at $122 per month, supporting customizable server drives, RAM, and a choice of operating systems, geared towards scalability, and including full management and nightly backups. Hostwinds emerges as the more budget-friendly option with flexibility and extensive feature offerings suitable for demanding enterprise environments.

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: Nexcess provides an extensive range of expert-managed services tailored for seamless website setup and migration.

Both Nexcess and Hostwinds utilize cPanel, ensuring accessibility and ease of use for both technical and non-technical users. Nexcess also incorporates a drag-and-drop builder for WooCommerce setups, which is particularly advantageous for users who prefer a visual approach without delving into code. Hostwinds includes the Weebly website builder, another user-friendly option that allows easy customization without technical skills. Nexcess offers additional pre-installed applications, while Hostwinds relies on Softaculous for one-click installations, both making the setup process straightforward. Overall, both panels are equipped with comprehensive features, but Nexcess stands out with its advanced features like the visual compare tool and staging sites.

Nexcess on the other hand, offers a dual interface that combines a custom dashboard with full cPanel access, catering to both beginners and technically advanced users. The platform includes a comprehensive help center filled with a wide variety of guides and tutorials, aimed at assisting users in managing and optimizing their websites effectively.

Both Nexcess and Hostwinds offer migration services for websites, but their approaches and costs differ. Nexcess provides free managed migrations performed by professionals and allows for unlimited transfers, making the process effortless for the user. Hostwinds also provides free migrations, but the lack of professional hands-on management like Nexcess may require more user involvement. Both hosting companies ensure a smooth transition from your previous provider, but Nexcess provides an extra layer of ease with its professional service.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Hostwinds offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Nexcess also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner: Nexcess: Distinguished for sophisticated user management features accommodating varied roles and permissions.

Nexcess offers a multilayered approach to user management compared to Hostwinds. With distinct roles such as Superuser, Billing, and Technical, Nexcess provides nuanced control over portal functionality. Additionally, it allows the creation of custom teams, enabling administrators to tailor permissions based on specific needs, which lends itself to a highly adaptable user management system. On the other hand, Hostwinds lacks specified user roles and permissions, which may limit flexibility and granular control over user access. This marked absence underscores Nexcess’s superior configuration and personalization capabilities.

Nexcess’s user interface for managing users is straightforward and intuitive, ensuring streamlined creation and modification of teams and permissions. Tasks like creating a team, editing team names, and assigning team members are executed with minimal steps, making the process efficient. The Nexcess Client Portal is easily accessible via their main website, simplifying user onboarding and management. Hostwinds lacks comparable detailed tools and features, making Nexcess a more user-friendly option for managing user roles and permissions.

When it comes to managing access control and handling an increasing number of users, Nexcess stands out with its comprehensive approach. The platform supports custom-created account permissions and does not impose a hard limit on permissions, which ensures scalability. Nexcess’s support for multiple users managing client sites collaboratively further demonstrates its capability to adapt to expanding teams. In contrast, Hostwinds does not provide detailed information on its access control measures or scalability, making it harder to evaluate their effectiveness in managing user growth.

Nexcess User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner Nexcess: Nexcess stands out with its superior customer support features and numerous additional benefits, making it a top choice for users seeking comprehensive support.

Nexcess and Hostwinds both offer extensive customer support options, but Nexcess provides a more consistent and comprehensive service. Nexcess boasts 24/7/365 availability across all support channels, including phone, chat, and email, with an additional proactive monitoring service. They also ensure users receive help with troubleshooting, infrastructure issues, applications, plugin conflicts, and security problems, but they don’t cover web development or SEO. Their customer portal offers easy ticket creation and resource access, coupled with a solid money-back guarantee and managed migrations.

Hostwinds also offers 24/7/365 support but focuses more on immediate assistance through live chat and phone, with support tickets available to paying customers. They respond promptly to emails and provide extensive tutorials and product documentation. Although both providers offer free migration and nightly backups, Hostwinds’ customer reviews and the verification process can be mixed. Despite these issues, Hostwinds guarantees quick responses to issues, ensuring no customer waits long for support. Nonetheless, Nexcess’ wider range of support features makes it the more attractive option for comprehensive and reliable customer assistance.

Nexcess vs Hostwinds: User feedback

User feedback on Nexcess hosting is highly polarized. Positive reviews frequently commend the platform’s knowledgeable and responsive customer support, emphasizing swift issue resolution and a user-friendly interface. However, negative reviews highlight significant issues with the backup system, slow migration processes, and unreliable server performance, causing operational disruptions and reputational damage. Many users note the decline in service quality following the company’s acquisition, culminating in mixed recommendations.

Hostwinds hosting provider receives high praise for its exceptional customer service, prompt support, and reliable performance, with many users reporting significant improvements in site speed and uptime. Customers especially value the knowledgeable and responsive support team, finding them instrumental in resolving issues quickly. The user-friendly control panel and fair pricing further enhance their experience, though some note that the service can be pricier compared to competitors. However, a couple of reviews highlight issues with site migration and technical support, advising caution for WordPress users. Overall, the positive feedback significantly outweighs the negative, making Hostwinds a highly recommended choice for web hosting.

Nexcess vs Hostwinds: FAQ