Pagely vs Hostens: guide for 2024

Pagely vs Hostens: Final verdict

Looking over Pagely vs. Hostens, 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.

• 
  Pagely (Overall grade: 8.1)
  
  offers high-end, performance-centric hosting solutions, excelling particularly in WordPress and Ecommerce hosting.
  Its key strengths lie in superior managed DevOps, robust disaster recovery features, and advanced security measures.
  Customers benefit from a 99.99% uptime guarantee, global data centers, and automatic load balancing, making it a prime
  choice for high-traffic and mission-critical websites. However, the premium features come with a steep pricing structure,
  which might be a deterrent for smaller businesses or individual users.
• 
  Hostens (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  presents a strong, budget-friendly alternative, ideal for small businesses and individual projects. Standout features include
  a range of affordable hosting plans, ample free services like domain registration, and comprehensive email hosting. Hostens
  provides good value with a 99.95% uptime guarantee and TIER III standard data centers. While it may lack some of the advanced
  performance optimizations and global reach of Pagely, its user-friendly interfaces and economical pricing make it an accessible
  option for those with less demanding requirements.

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 Pagely: Known for its unparalleled uptime and scalability.

Pagely shines with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and advanced high availability architecture. Its global data centers and multi-region redundancy ensure optimal service and uptime. Pagely’s disaster recovery features and built-in emergency fallback solutions offer additional layers of protection. Moreover, the 24/7 uptime monitoring and automatic load balancing attributes make it a dependable choice.

Hostens offers a strong competition with its 99.95% uptime guarantee and TIER III standard data centers. Its infrastructure includes robust power and cooling systems. Hostens provides essential features like free SSL certificates, numerous PHP versions, and proactive support. However, it slightly lags behind Pagely with an average response time of 256ms compared to Pagely’s 211ms.

🏆 Winner: Pagely: Premium performance and advanced features for mission-critical sites.

Comparing the general performance of Pagely and Hostens reveals a stark contrast in their offerings. Pagely’s high-end plans start at $375/mo and can go up to $2500/mo, featuring SSD storage, decoupled databases, and uncapped PHP workers. This is bolstered by superior caching and CDN technology, leveraging Amazon AWS for fast load times and reliability. On the other hand, Hostens offers economical plans starting from just $2/mo. Its data center in Lithuania is built to TIER III standards, with a focus on reliability and redundancy. However, Hostens lacks the built-in performance plugins and advanced caching methods that Pagely provides. Pagely also has multiple global data centers through AWS, while Hostens has data centers in Lithuania, the USA, and Singapore.

Website Speed

When it comes to website speed, Pagely’s advantage is undeniable. Utilizing Amazon AWS infrastructure, Pagely ensures swift load times, with SSD storage and CDN technology playing crucial roles. Hostens, despite its solid foundation with SSDs and a robust data center, doesn’t match the performance optimization that Pagely offers through advanced caching and uncapped PHP workers. This makes Pagely more suitable for high-traffic sites requiring rapid, reliable performance.

Scalability

Scalability is a strong point for Pagely, offering flexible configurations and custom plans up to the Performance+ and Scale tiers, with prices from $999/mo to $2500/mo. These plans accommodate businesses with growing demands and include dedicated databases and flexible resource allocation. Pagely’s high availability plans ensure maximum uptime and are particularly attractive for mission-critical applications. Hostens provides VPS hosting with dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, but it’s unclear how seamlessly you can scale without upgrading. Overall, Pagely offers more comprehensive and elastic scaling options for businesses needing to expand their digital footprint.

Winner: Pagely: A hosting service that prioritizes comprehensive security and operational measures.

Technical security measures:

Pagely supports both Let’s Encrypt and custom SSL certificates, while Hostens offers only 256-bit encryption SSL certificates with different validation levels (DV, OV, EV). Pagely employs advanced DDoS protection with AWS Shield Standard and a proprietary web application firewall, which provides robust protection against threats. Hostens offers 24/7/365 network monitoring and ensures its network’s security, but doesn’t specify against DDoS attacks or provide specialized web application firewalls. For PHP versions, both providers support up to PHP 8.1, but Pagely offers long-term support for PHP versions 7.4 or newer through Zend.

Operational security measures:

Pagely’s security measures include customizable two-factor authentication (2FA), anti-spam filtering, real-time malware scanning, and round-the-clock uptime monitoring. Hostens focuses on traditional methods with 24/7 network monitoring and has robust data center security in Vilnius built according to TIER III standards. Pagely also offers resource isolation and vulnerability patching, providing a more proactive approach to maintaining secure server environments. Hostens ensures data security by revising internal processes and staff awareness, offering daily and weekly backups.

Compliance and certifications:

Pagely is compliant with SOC 2 Type I & Type II, PCI-DSS, and GDPR standards. Hostens, on the other hand, is predominantly GDPR compliant, aggressively updating legal documents and internal processes, but lacks certification for SOC 2 and PCI-DSS standards. Pagely’s extensive set of certifications ensures comprehensive regulatory alignment, surpassing Hostens in certifications and overall compliance focus.

🏆 Winner Hostens: Offering a wider range of affordable hosting solutions catered to diverse needs.

Availability of Website Builder and Customization:
Hostens stands out with its user-friendly website builder included in its shared hosting plans. It’s an excellent option for beginners as it allows quick setup and ease of use for those without technical knowledge. Pagely does not mention offering a website builder, focusing instead on high-performance and developer-friendly environments. While Pagely may cater more to advanced users who prefer to work with SSH, GIT, and WP-CLI, Hostens’ website builder provides convenience and accessibility to users who prioritize simplicity and quick deployment.

Free Services and Domain Registration:
Hostens provides a free domain with an annual subscription to its shared hosting plans, making it an attractive option for small businesses or personal blogs looking to save on initial costs. On the other hand, Pagely does not offer free domains but excels in advanced features like managed WordPress upgrades, automated backups, and superior caching technologies. Hostens allows flexibility with server management using a control panel or terminal, while Pagely emphasizes high availability and redundancy through AWS-powered infrastructure. Hostens’ affordability and ease of use appeal more to budget-conscious users, whereas Pagely is more suited for those requiring robust security, scalability, and advanced support.

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 Pagely and Hostens 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:

Pagely does not offer email hosting services, focusing instead on performance and security features. Hostens provides comprehensive email hosting services, allowing users to set up their own email campaigns and manage transactional emails. Hostens also supports third-party email services like Google Workspace, increasing flexibility for businesses needing robust email solutions. Pagely’s focus on high-performance hosting might necessitate separate email hosting, while Hostens offers an all-in-one solution with integrated email capabilities.

🏆 Winner Hostens: Hostens scores slightly higher overall, mainly due to the robust features included in their plans and the transparency of what’s included.

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.

Pagely offers premium-managed WordPress hosting with extensive features, including decoupled database resources and managed DevOps support, starting at $199. In contrast, Hostens provides affordable shared hosting beginning at just $2.80 per month with a free domain and extensive email support. While Pagely focuses on high performance and flexibility, Hostens caters to budget-conscious users with essential tools and daily/weekly backups. Additionally, Hostens provides multiple hosting types, including reseller and VPS hosting, with competitive pricing compared to Pagely’s higher-end offerings.

Enterprise plans

Pagely doesn’t have enterprise plans, but their VPS and dedicated hosting plans may be suitable the needs of larger businesses or enterprises. Hostens does not have dedicated or VPS hosting options, however the platform offers Reseller Hosting and plans for specifically for agencies, which can be suitable for enterprises.

🏆 Winner Hostens: Easy and quick setup with minimal effort and immediate usability.

Pagely uses a custom solution tailored specifically for managing WordPress sites. The admin panel offers a user-friendly experience primarily for WordPress management, making it straightforward for users with varying technical backgrounds. Access to a robust set of tools (PressCACHE, PressCDN, PressDNS) is seamlessly integrated into the interface, reducing the need for third-party plugins. While it provides a lot of advanced features, beginners may take some time to get accustomed to such a specialized environment.

Hostens, on the other hand, utilizes the standard cPanel interface, which is widely recognized and user-friendly both for technical and non-technical users. The presence of the Installatron tool further simplifies the process, allowing users to install, update, and backup over 100+ scripts and CMS with ease. Hostens’ admin panel offers immediate accessibility and is more intuitive for users who are familiar with the standard cPanel setup.

Pagely provides manual site migration services, which may require additional fees depending on the complexity and requirements. The migration is supported by their comprehensive guides available in the knowledge base, which can assist users through the process. Hostens offers similar migration tools and services. The use of Installatron makes the migration of various CMS straightforward and quick, typically at no additional cost, enhancing the overall experience.

The help centers of both hosting providers are well-equipped with detailed resources. Pagely’s knowledge base covers extensive categories from WordPress basics to advanced deployment and security, providing a complete guide for users of all expertise levels. Hostens has a similarly thorough knowledge base, addressing a wide range of topics like website building, SEO tools, and billing queries. Both platforms ensure quality support through their detailed documentation and support channels.

🏆 Winner Pagely: Pagely provides advanced user management along with extensive permissions for various roles.

Both Pagely and Hostens offer user management capabilities, but Pagely stands out with a broader array of user roles and more granular control over permissions. Pagely categorizes users into seven distinct roles, each with specific access and management capabilities, from Account Owner to App-Only-Minimal. This segmentation allows for detailed control over what users can access and manage. In comparison, Hostens categorizes users based on their hosting type—such as cPanel Admins for shared and reseller hosting and full root access for unmanaged VPS hosting—providing less granular role distinctions. While Hostens focuses on broad categories, Pagely’s more detailed approach provides better flexibility for large teams or enterprises needing precise access control.

Pagely’s user interface supports managing diverse roles and permissions efficiently, providing tools that cater to varied access levels. Users can manage sites, backups, SSH/SFTP keys, and even force 2-factor authentication through Pagely’s platform. On the other hand, Hostens’ interface centers around cPanel for shared and reseller hosting, which is familiar to many but lacks the same detailed control seen with Pagely. For unmanaged VPS, Hostens offers a client area for core management tasks but requires deeper technical expertise from the user. While cPanel is well-known and widely used, Pagely’s dedicated interface and management tools offer more detailed user management capabilities.

Access control in Pagely is highly effective, with user roles explicitly designed to handle a growing number of users securely. Each role comes with predefined permissions, ensuring users only have access to what they need, which mitigates security risks. Pagely allows for enforcing comprehensive 2-factor authentication across roles, adding another layer of security. Hostens enables solid access control as well, especially for users comfortable with cPanel and those managing their own VPS through root access. However, the broad approach of customer roles at Hostens means that as the number of users grows, managing permissions could become less efficient compared to Pagely’s more granular system.

Pagely user roles table:

Hostens user roles table:

🏆 Winner Pagely: Pagely offers exceptional customer support with tierless support from engineers and faster response times.

Pagely stands out for its extensive customer service options, including 24/7 availability for support tickets and live chat, a dedicated Slack channel, as well as phone support for select plans. Their customer service team is composed of engineers, ensuring issues are resolved promptly without the need for escalations. With a high customer satisfaction rating of 97%, Pagely’s support is efficient and highly rated by users.

Hostens provides continuous support through live chat, a ticket system, and email, ensuring that customers can get assistance anytime. Their knowledge base and blog offer useful information on various hosting topics. Although Hostens offers broad 24/7 support, it lacks personalized enterprise support and phone support. Despite being reliable for general customer inquiries, it doesn’t provide the specialized support some businesses might require.

Pagely vs Hostens: User feedback

Users highly appreciate this hosting provider for its exceptional reliability and top-notch customer support, often comparing it to having an on-call DevOps team. The platform is praised for its speed, security, and a suite of features designed specifically for WordPress hosting. Many find the management tools intuitive and effective, though some express a desire for improvements in specific areas like the Atomic dashboard and multi-user access. The main criticism revolves around the high cost, which is noted as a barrier for smaller operations, but many users agree the premium price is justified by the service’s quality and reliability.

Summary: Users generally appreciate the hosting provider for its reliable uptime and responsive customer support. Many reviewers highlight the ease of setup and user-friendly interface as significant positives. However, some users have expressed concerns over occasional slow server speeds and higher pricing compared to competitors. Overall, the hosting service receives favorable reviews, but there is room for improvement in performance consistency and cost efficiency.

Pagely vs Hostens: FAQ