A2 Hosting vs Atlantic.net: guide for 2024

A2 Hosting vs Atlantic.net: Final verdict

Comparing A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net, both providers stand out in different areas, but one might edge out the other based on specific user needs.

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  Atlantic.Net (Overall grade: 8.2)
  
  excels in providing a wide range of cloud hosting options and maintaining stringent security measures, making it suitable for enterprises and users with high security and compliance requirements. Their commitment to high performance and flexibility, highlighted by a 100% uptime SLA, and extensive support for HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI compliance make it a strong choice for medical-related sites and large organizations. However, Atlantic.Net’s higher pricing plans and lack of free website migration might be drawbacks for some users.
• 
  A2 Hosting (Overall grade: 8.1)
  
  offers a diverse range of hosting solutions that cater to beginners, small to medium businesses, and WordPress users. With Turbo Cache, NVMe drives, and LiteSpeed Web Server, A2 Hosting guarantees faster page loading times and superior performance. Their wide array of hosting plans, free site migrations, and user-friendly features, including pre-installed WordPress, make it a reliable option. However, some users might find the higher renewal prices and occasional support delays inconvenient. Overall, A2 Hosting provides excellent value with extensive features and reliable customer support.

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 A2 Hosting: Demonstrating outstanding uptime performance with near-perfect percentages and reliability.

A2 Hosting has consistently showcased exceptional uptime, achieving 99.99% in 2020 and 2022, and 99.98% in 2021. Their reliability is further highlighted by their 99.9% uptime guarantee, and tests showing perfect 100% uptime during specific periods. Such performance indicates a dependable option for businesses seeking nonstop availability and minimal downtime.

Atlantic.Net offers a compelling 100% uptime SLA, ensuring network, hardware, and infrastructure availability with a money-back guarantee. Their SOC 2 TYPE II and SOC 3 TYPE II certified data centers, combined with 24/7/365 monitoring, provide a solid foundation for uninterrupted service. Their average response time of 452ms further emphasizes their commitment to swift performance and reliability.

🏆 Winner: Atlantic.Net: Strong overall performance with flexible custom plans.

When comparing the general performance of A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net, several aspects stand out. A2 Hosting boasts a speed-enhanced LiteSpeed Web Server, Turbo Cache, NVMe Drives, and faster page loading times due to advanced caching techniques like Turbo Cache & APC/opcache. Atlantic.Net, on the other hand, focuses on a variety of optimized plans for storage, memory, and compute needs, arguably maintaining an edge in customization and flexibility. A2 Hosting provides free basic CDN services, while details about CDN availability for Atlantic.Net are less clear. Both have a strong global presence, but A2 Hosting specifically mentions the choice of data center location within its plans.

Website Speed

A2 Hosting’s strengths lie in its Turbo plans, marketing up to 20x faster performance owing to its Turbo Cache, NVMe drives, and enhanced CPU performance. Users can expect lower bounce rates, better SEO rankings, and higher conversion rates. Atlantic.Net provides competitive options optimized for memory and compute with up-to-date technology stacks but does not extensively detail speed enhancements equivalent to A2 Hosting’s Turbo plans. A2 Hosting also features ready-to-use performance-enhancing plugins like the A2 Optimized Plugin for WordPress, adding a further boost to website speed.

Scalability

Scalability is seamlessly addressed by both providers. A2 Hosting offers scalable plans across various hosting types, from Shared Hosting to Dedicated Servers, allowing users to upgrade as required. Atlantic.Net impresses with its custom larger plans and range of virtualized environments suited for different needs, but specifics on plan upgrades or automatic scaling are not mentioned. Both A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net have dedicated server options. A2 Hosting’s Dedicated Server Hosting starts at $79.99/month, while Atlantic.Net’s pricing specifics for dedicated hosts are not detailed, indicating custom pricing might be required.

🏆 Winner
Atlantic.Net: Offers a more extensive suite of security features tailored for higher compliance standards.

Both Atlantic.Net and A2 Hosting have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

A2 Hosting provides extensive technical security measures including free SSL certificates, Imunify360, ModSecurity, and Virus Scanner. They support current TLS versions (1.2 and 1.3) and various PHP versions, adding layers of security and compatibility. Atlantic.Net also offers SSL certificates and advanced encryption options like encrypted VPN and backups. Their managed firewall and intrusion prevention services are robust, and they offer a comprehensive log management system and multi-factor authentication. These additional layers of security make Atlantic.Net an appealing choice for high-security requirements.

Operational security measures:

A2 Hosting implements practical security features like reCAPTCHA, SSH for secure file transfers, and Patchman to manage WordPress vulnerabilities. They also offer features like two-factor authentication and hotlink protection. Atlantic.Net operates with managed firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and onsite/offsite backups to ensure catastrophe recovery. Their multi-factor authentication and use of anti-malware tools, like Trend Micro Deep Security Suite, provide a higher level of operational security, making Atlantic.Net superior for environments needing stringent security protocols.

Compliance and certifications:

Both hosting providers comply with GDPR but neither is HIPAA compliant, which may be a critical factor for businesses in healthcare. A2 Hosting offers PCI guidance but does not support HIPAA or SSAE 16 compliance, whereas Atlantic.Net complies with multiple standards, including PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2 and SOC 3, making them a suitable choice for industries with stringent regulatory requirements.

🏆 Winner
A2 Hosting: Offers comprehensive hosting solutions with a wide range of features tailored for diverse user needs.

A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net both present robust hosting offerings but cater to slightly different needs and preferences. A2 Hosting spans a wide spectrum, from affordable shared hosting suitable for beginners to resource-intensive dedicated servers. Their managed WordPress hosting is particularly noteworthy, coming with pre-installed WordPress, automatic updates, and a dedicated TurboHub dashboard—all elements that make management easier for users. They also include free website migration, a free SSL certificate, and Turbo Servers that claim to offer up to 20x faster page loads. All these features create a seamless and user-friendly experience, particularly for WordPress users.

On the other hand, Atlantic.Net stands out with its one-click WordPress VPS hosting, which promises a quick launch in less than 30 seconds. This hosting provider is flexible, offering a variety of pricing terms and hosting configurations, including large storage and memory-optimized plans. Atlantic.Net also excels in support services, providing detailed server management assistance for both Linux and Windows systems and maintaining HIPAA-compliant hosting for medical-related sites. Their focus is more on power users who need high customization and compliance features. However, unlike A2 Hosting, they don’t prominently highlight a free website migration service or free backups, which might be a deciding factor for some users.

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 A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net 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:

A2 Hosting offers email hosting powered by Titan, allowing users to manage multiple accounts, access webmail and mobile apps, and share contacts—ideal for comprehensive email management and campaign setups. They don’t appear to resell third-party email services. Atlantic.Net supports transactional emails and email hosting but doesn’t emphasize multifaceted email management or campaign setups. They also don’t highlight partnerships with third-party email services like Google Workspace.

🏆 Winner A2 Hosting:A comprehensive range of affordable plans with extensive features and flexibility, making it a solid choice for numerous hosting needs.

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. Although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, separate tables have been created for each to enhance clarity.

A2 Hosting offers diverse pricing plans, starting as low as $2.99/month for shared hosting with robust features like free SSL certificates and site migration. Atlantic.Net’s plans are relatively higher-priced, especially for VPS and dedicated hosting, but provide higher storage capacities and extensive data transfer options. A2 Hosting’s unique features, such as Turbo Boost for speed, make it attractive for small to medium businesses, while Atlantic.Net appeals to enterprises needing significant resources and custom configurations.

Enterprise plans

A2 Hosting caters to enterprises with its Warp 1 dedicated server, offering high-performance specifications at a competitive price of $79.99/month. This includes comprehensive server management and security features. Atlantic.Net counters with a more extensive array of dedicated servers, ranging significantly in price and specifications to meet the rigorous demands of large organizations. Their highest-tier plans provide substantial RAM and storage, essential for intensive applications and huge data requirements, albeit at higher costs, offering great flexibility for custom deployments.

🏆 Winner: A2 Hosting: Offers a streamlined setup process with pre-installed WordPress and one-click software installations.

A2 Hosting leverages the familiar cPanel for administrative tasks, making it accessible for users at all experience levels. Beginners benefit from the intuitive layout, while advanced users appreciate the depth of features available. Softaculous within cPanel allows for easy installation of various applications, enhancing user experience. The TurboHub, a dedicated WordPress control panel, simplifies site management even further by consolidating necessary tools in one place. The WordPress Toolkit available in managed plans offers yet another layer of user-friendly site administration.

Atlantic.Net also provides an easy setup process primarily through its One-Click WordPress VPS Hosting. Users can quickly launch a WordPress application into their cloud platform, which is integrated with essential tools like a secure MySQL database and Apache Web Server frontend. Similar to A2 Hosting’s cPanel, Atlantic.Net’s control panel offers comprehensive access to server settings, but with a greater focus on technical users who might want to manage the root access and customize configurations.

Both A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net offer migration services for websites, but their approaches and costs differ. A2 Hosting provides free site migration services which simplify the transition from previous hosts. This service minimizes downtime and allows users to move without additional costs. On the other hand, Atlantic.Net does not explicitly mention a free migration service, focusing more on their custom larger plans and server management services. Manual migration would likely require more user intervention and potentially incur additional costs.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. A2 Hosting’s help center is well-equipped with a wide range of articles and guides covering everything from getting started to advanced configurations. The 24/7/365 Guru Crew Support is available via various channels for immediate assistance. By contrast, Atlantic.Net offers 24/7/365 support but leans more on phone and email communications. Their support team has extensive experience but lacks an expansive knowledge base.

🏆 Winner:
Atlantic.Net: A comprehensive user management system with intuitive controls and extensive security features.

Both A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net offer comprehensive user management features, but they approach it differently. A2 Hosting uses Plesk as its control panel, providing a straightforward process for creating, managing, and removing user roles. Users can easily define specific permissions by granting or denying access to various services, offering a high degree of customization. On the other hand, Atlantic.Net focuses more on security and compliance with their user management approach, providing detailed role-based access controls and integrating multi-factor authentication. Atlantic.Net’s solution is particularly tailored for environments requiring stringent data protection, such as PCI and HIPAA compliance.

In terms of user interfaces, A2 Hosting’s Plesk control panel is known for its clean and user-friendly layout. The navigation is intuitive, allowing users to manage roles and permissions with minimal clicks. Plesk offers direct options for creating and customizing roles, making it easy even for those who are not highly technical. Atlantic.Net provides a different experience with powerful admin tools that facilitate bulk user import, self-enrollment, and API integrations. The interface is designed to support complex security requirements, making it slightly more sophisticated but also more secure.

Access control measures are another key differentiator between the two hosting providers. A2 Hosting via Plesk allows users to define service-level permissions, which offers significant flexibility for smaller-scale deployments. However, Atlantic.Net excels in implementing stringent access controls critical for compliance with industry standards like PCI and HIPAA. Features such as multi-factor authentication, endpoint access controls, and automated alerts for inactive accounts demonstrate Atlantic.Net’s capacity to handle large user bases securely and efficiently.

A2 Hosting User Roles Table:

Atlantic.Net User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner A2 Hosting: A2 Hosting offers superior customer support through multiple channels and a commitment to reliability, making it an excellent choice for users who value dependable service.

A2 Hosting and Atlantic.Net both offer 24/7 phone and email support, ensuring that customers can reach technical assistance whenever needed. A2 Hosting stands out by providing additional live chat support, though it can sometimes involve long wait times. Both services maintain extensive knowledge bases on their websites, which can be a helpful resource for users preferring self-service options.

Atlantic.Net has a diverse range of specific email addresses for varied issues, signifying a tailored approach to customer queries. A2 Hosting offers holistic support through their Guru Crew, known for handling a wide array of technical problems efficiently. Both providers exhibit strong customer service capabilities, but A2 Hosting edges ahead with more comprehensive support options and higher user satisfaction ratings.

A2 Hosting vs Atlantic.net: User feedback

User feedback on A2 Hosting is largely positive, highlighting its impressive website speed, reliable uptime, and exceptional customer support. Many users appreciate the ease of use, feature-rich plans, and the effectiveness of technical support, though a few reported prolonged resolution times and inadequate initial support knowledge. A common criticism is the higher-than-average pricing, especially upon renewal, yet users often acknowledge that the quality of service justifies the cost. Some isolated issues like service disruptions and inefficient overseas support were mentioned, but overall, A2 Hosting earns strong recommendations from its user base.

Users generally praise the hosting provider for its strong reliability, great value for cost, and high performance, particularly in maintaining uptime and fast network speeds. The customer portal and service tools are appreciated for their ease of use, although some customers find navigation to help pages cumbersome and suggest improvements in the console’s functionality. Support is often noted as responsive and helpful, although a few users desire faster response times and multilingual support. Some users also wish for expanded backup options and additional features in specific data centers but overall, find the service robust and dependable for their needs.

A2 Hosting vs Atlantic.net: FAQ