Nexcess vs Knownhost: guide for 2024

Nexcess vs Knownhost: Final verdict

Looking over Nexcess vs. KnownHost, 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.

• 
  KnownHost (Overall grade: 8.6)
  
  
  provides exceptional uptime of 99.996% and faster load times, which supports minimal website disruption and optimal user experiences. They include a robust array of features like DDoS protection, free SSL certificates, and automated backups, contributing to enhanced security and operational efficiency. The inclusion of NVMe storage, LiteSpeed, and LSCache further boosts performance, making it particularly appealing for high-traffic and multimedia websites. However, their pricing structure and some user reports of slow server speeds and unhelpful support do present areas for potential improvement.
  
• 
  Nexcess (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  
  excels with its tailored solutions for WordPress and eCommerce hosting, offering unique features like sales performance monitoring and free autoscaling. The integrated caching systems powered by Nginx and Redis and their proprietary CDN combine to deliver impressive speed and reliability, with uptime reaching 99.98%. Their comprehensive support, including daily backups and global data centers, adds significant value. Despite these strengths, Nexcess falls short in overall performance compared to KnownHost, particularly in uptime and speed, which are critical for many users. Furthermore, the lack of shared and VPS hosting options limits its versatility for a wider audience.
  

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
KnownHost: Exceptional uptime and faster load times.

KnownHost takes the lead with a stellar uptime of 99.996%, ensuring that websites experience minimal disruption. Their performance is impressive, with an average load time of 1.5 seconds, and they offer significant DDoS protection. They also include a range of free features, such as SSL certificates and automated snapshot backups, which enhance the overall hosting experience. Customer reviews indicate satisfaction with KnownHost’s performance and support.

Nexcess demonstrates reliability with an uptime of 99.88% and a commendable load time of 1.56 seconds. They provide daily backups, a proprietary CDN, and PCI-compliant environments, adding value to their hosting packages. With 10 data centers globally and transparent monitoring, Nexcess maintains high standards. Despite these strengths, Nexcess’s performance grade and uptime fall short compared to KnownHost, making it the runner-up in this comparison.

🏆 Winner: Nexcess: Superior performance and advanced features for agencies and enterprises.

When comparing general performance, both Nexcess and KnownHost offer compelling features. Nexcess takes the lead with its 99.998% uptime and lightning-fast WordPress sites, supported by daily backups and a Nexcess CDN powered by Cloudflare, ensuring quick page loads globally. KnownHost, with its top-tier hardware on the AMD EPYC platform and NVMe storage, achieves solid speeds, using LiteSpeed and LSCache instead of Apache for higher processing rates. KnownHost also boasts an impressive 99.99% uptime. While both offer CDNs, Nexcess includes this option powered by Cloudflare, tailored to enhance performance.

Website Speed

Nexcess is designed for speed, especially for WordPress sites. Its integrated caching powered by Nginx and Redis, combined with automatic performance enhancements during traffic surges, ensures consistent quick load times. KnownHost also aims for optimal speed using LiteSpeed and LSCache, which are known to offer faster request handling compared to traditional Apache servers. The choice of NVMe storage further boosts load times, making both providers strong contenders in this area.

Scalability

Nexcess excels with automatic scaling features, deploying additional PHP resources during traffic spikes without requiring manual upgrades. KnownHost is known for its flexibility in scaling, with varied options across Cloud Hosting, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting. While we’ve outlined specific scaling plans for Nexcess, KnownHost’s automatic scaling details are less defined. Both provide options to handle growing demands, but Nexcess’s transparent autoscaling gives it an edge in ease of use and cost management.

Winner: Nexcess: A hosting provider with a robust suite of security measures and advanced compliance levels.

Both Nexcess and KnownHost, 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 range of SSL certificates from standard to extended validation, including options for multiple domains and subdomains. KnownHost, while also offering free and premium SSL certificates, does not provide extended validation options. Both providers support PHP versions from 7 to 8+, but KnownHost has a broader range, including older versions like 5.6. Nexcess employs proactive security measures such as enterprise server monitoring, automatic OS updates, and malware removal tools. KnownHost includes Imunify360 for automated security, firewall setups, and DDoS protection. Notably, Nexcess integrates advanced web application security like Cloudflare-powered performance shields and bot mitigation.

Operational security measures:

Nexcess features daily server backups stored for 30 days and includes performance shielding, bot mitigation, and transaction security. KnownHost provides fully automated backups with off-server storage, ensuring data can be restored when needed. While both offer security hardening, firewall setups, and continuous monitoring, Nexcess stands out with its Object Cache Pro and Cloud Accelerator features that enhance site performance and security. Both use firewalls, but only Nexcess offers enterprise-level monitoring and F5 threat detection as optional.

Compliance and certifications:

Nexcess is fully compliant with several standards, including PCI DSS Level 1, SSAE-18, and GDPR, ensuring comprehensive data protection and security protocols. KnownHost, while ensuring GDPR and PCI compliance through SSL certificates, does not specify other certifications. Nexcess’s adherence to high compliance standards makes it favorable for businesses requiring stringent security and regulatory measures.

🏆 Winner
KnownHost: KnownHost offers a stellar combination of performance, security, and user-friendliness catering to diverse hosting needs.

Nexcess and KnownHost are reputable hosting providers, each bringing important features to the table. Nexcess excels in tailored hosting solutions for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento, optimizing each platform with specialized tools like sales performance monitoring and free autoscaling. KnownHost, on the other hand, provides comprehensive performance with their LiteSpeed and LSCache, as well as security through free DDoS protection and Imunify360. Nexcess impresses with its extensive support and robust free email hosting across plans, but lacks a dedicated website builder. KnownHost offers free domain privacy, cPanel for ease of use, and softaculous for effortless app installations.

Both providers guarantee excellent support and uptime. KnownHost’s AMD EPYC platform and NVMe storage ensure hardware reliability, while Nexcess focuses on scalability and multi-site support. Nexcess includes unique monitoring tools and automatic updates, which is particularly beneficial for those looking to manage complex eCommerce sites. On the other hand, KnownHost stands out with optional Imunify360 security and free SSLs for every hosting account.

Email services:

Nexcess offers free unlimited email hosting with transactional capabilities which is great for businesses focusing on operations like order notifications and user verifications. However, it does not integrate third-party email services directly. KnownHost also offers email hosting with flexibility for email campaigns and reselling options like Google Workspace and Outlook, making it versatile for both transactional and marketing needs.

🏆 Winner
[KnownHost]: KnownHost offers more cost-effective solutions with extensive features, outperforming Nexcess in overall service offerings.

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.

Nexcess offers a vast range of plans across different types of hosting, including cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, and shared hosting, but at higher price points. KnownHost stands out with more affordable plans, substantial storage options, and unlimited scalability in several categories. KnownHost’s managed WordPress hosting, in particular, is significantly more budget-friendly, making it a compelling choice for users seeking economical and scalable solutions without compromising essential features.

Enterprise plans

KnownHost’s Corporate WordPress plan and Nexcess’s Enterprise WordPress Managed and WooCommerce hosting plans cater well to businesses with high bandwidth and storage needs. KnownHost’s Corporate offering comes at a more affordable monthly rate of $19.98, with 150GB NVMe storage and unlimited premium bandwidth. Nexcess’s equivalent plan starts at $492.75/month for up to 100 sites, 500GB storage, and 10TB bandwidth, which, while adequately resourced, is substantially pricier.

🏆 Winner: KnownHost offers instant setup combined with top-notch customer support.

Nexcess features a versatile and user-friendly admin panel tailored for WooCommerce users and general website managers alike. This includes a drag-and-drop builder for WooCommerce and a Visual Compare Tool, aiding non-technical users significantly. The setup process is streamlined with professional email setup and fast DNS propagation, which seasoned users will appreciate for its efficiency. The client portal allows users to request migrations and other services, adding to its accessibility.

KnownHost utilizes the widely familiar cPanel, an industry standard known for its user-friendliness. It includes Softaculous for one-click application installations, making it accessible for users without technical expertise. The instant setup feature ensures that both tech-savvy users and beginners can quickly get their websites operational. The combination of quick responses and easy navigation makes KnownHost’s admin panel accessible and efficient.

Both Nexcess and KnownHost provide free migration services, but Nexcess offers unlimited managed migrations handled by professionals. KnownHost also offers this service with minimal downtime, yet Nexcess’s managed approach might appeal more to users looking for hands-off migration.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Nexcess provides additional resources like webinars and white papers, enriching its support framework. KnownHost is praised for the quick response times and detailed guides in its Knowledge Base. Both offer 24/7/365 expert support.

🏆 Winner
Nexcess: Known for its comprehensive user management features and flexibility.

When comparing Nexcess and KnownHost, Nexcess stands out for its detailed user management capabilities. Nexcess offers a variety of roles such as Superuser, Billing, and Technical, catering to specific user needs. Additionally, the ability to create custom teams with tailored permissions allows for significant flexibility. In contrast, KnownHost provides standard user management through its My KnownHost panel, focusing more on domain and account management without the granularity seen in Nexcess.

Nexcess provides a clear and intuitive interface for managing users and roles. The Nexcess Client Portal allows administrators to create and customize team roles, edit team names effortlessly, and assign team members with just a few clicks. In contrast, KnownHost’s My KnownHost interface provides essential functions like managing domains and WHOIS contact info, with guides available for user management. However, it lacks the extensive role customization options offered by Nexcess.

In terms of access control and managing a growing user base, Nexcess shines with its custom-created account permissions and the ability to add and remove permissions without any hard limits. It also supports multiple users having full portal access, which is beneficial for large teams managing multiple client sites. KnownHost, while providing fully managed services and 24/7 support, does not offer the same level of detailed user and permission management as Nexcess, making Nexcess a more effective solution for extensive user base management.

Nexcess user roles table:

KnownHost user roles table:

🏆 Winner
KnownHost: KnownHost stands out for its exceptional customer service and impressive performance.

Nexcess and KnownHost both offer 24/7/365 technical support to accommodate their customers. Nexcess provides multiple contact methods, including phone support, live chat, and email, and ensures rapid responses for troubleshooting, infrastructure issues, and more. Their additional features include free managed migrations and daily backups, catering especially to PHP-based applications like WordPress.

Similarly, KnownHost provides round-the-clock technical support with multiple contact options, including phone and email. They are noted for their fast response times and outstanding customer service, particularly praised by beginners. KnownHost also offers free SSL certificates and automated updates, enhancing their managed hosting services.

Nexcess vs Knownhost: 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.

KnownHost receives mixed feedback from its users. Many users praise its responsive and professional customer support, high uptime, and excellent technical infrastructure, particularly for managed WordPress and VPS hosting. However, there are significant complaints about slow server speeds, unhelpful support, and confusing user interfaces. Additionally, some users believe that the service is overpriced given the performance issues they have encountered. Overall, while KnownHost has loyal customers who appreciate its offerings, potential users should be aware of the varied experiences and evaluate if it meets their specific needs.

Nexcess vs Knownhost: FAQ