Pair.com vs Hostens: guide for 2024

Pair.com vs Hostens: Final verdict

Looking over Pair Networks 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.

• 
  Hostens (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  shines with its cost-effective pricing and comprehensive data center infrastructure built to TIER III standards, distinguishing itself for users prioritizing affordability and flexibility. It offers a wide range of hosting options, including VPS and eCommerce hosting, making it suitable for various businesses. Hostens guarantees 99.95% uptime and prides itself on quick response times with 24/7 support. However, its absence of WordPress hosting and limited phone support options may be drawbacks for users seeking specific requirements in those areas.
• 
  Pair Networks (Overall grade: 7.9)
  
  stands out for its extensive global reach and specialized WordPress hosting. Known for its reliability and high customer satisfaction, it offers features like SSD-equipped servers, custom control panels, and free malware scanning tools. Pair Networks employs a strong security focus, including automatic malware scanning and multiple PHP versions support. However, with a steeper pricing structure and certain limitations in hosting types—such as the absence of eCommerce hosting—it may not always be the most economical choice for users looking for more budget-friendly 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 Hostens: Provides slightly better uptime and a wide range of features that cater to various hosting needs.

Both Hostens and Pair Networks offer impressive uptime and stability for hosting services. Hostens guarantees 99.95% uptime, showing minimal downtime over a year, while Pair Networks promises an uptime well above 99.9%. Both providers implement redundant power supplies and network connections to minimize service interruptions. Daily backups are an added layer of reliability with each company.

Where Hostens stands out is its data center infrastructure built to TIER III standards, with facilities in Lithuania, the USA, and Singapore. Pair Networks impresses with its global reach, hosting clients in over 150 countries on six continents. Both offer 24/7 support; however, Hostens offers more comprehensive uptime monitoring and slightly edges out with quicker response times and performance grades. This makes Hostens a preferable choice for those prioritizing maximum uptime and feature diversity.

🏆 Winner: Pair Networks: Superior in performance and customer satisfaction.

Pair Networks and Hostens offer robust hosting solutions, but Pair Networks stands out with its extensive global reach, custom control panel, and long-standing reputation. Pair Networks’ shared and managed hosting delivers seamless performance, thanks to SSD-equipped servers, 24/7 monitoring, and significant experience since 1996. Hostens, centrally located in Lithuania, focuses on cost-effective hosting with impressive data center infrastructure. Pair Networks also includes free malware scanning tools, SSL certificates, and enhanced development environments, which are more catered to high-end users seeking premium service.

Website speed

When it comes to website speed, Pair Networks uses all-SSD servers, ensuring quick load times and efficient data transfer. Their custom control panel is designed for high performance and security, which makes managing websites fast and straightforward. Hostens, with its Tier III data centers and SSD RAID storage, also ensures swift website speeds, but lacks specific performance plugins or built-in caching methods that enhance speed further. Both providers offer free SSL certificates; however, Pair Networks offers more robust performance-focused features.

Scalability

Pair Networks offers a more flexible approach to scaling with easy plan upgrades and specific managed VPS hosting starting at $25/month. Their unlimited domain hosting and widespread customer support make scaling straightforward but not entirely automated. Hostens, on the other hand, provides an elastic approach in VPS hosting with a vast range of CPU and RAM configurations. However, specific details about automatic scaling or associated costs are not provided. Information regarding dedicated servers is limited, making it challenging to ascertain scaling options fully.

🏆 Winner
Hostens: Provides a comprehensive range of security features, advanced PHP support, and robust compliance protocols ensuring high reliability.

Both Pair Networks and Hostens, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Pair Networks offers various types of SSL certificates with encryption strength up to 256-bit, along with specific warranties ranging from $50,000 to $1,750,000. Conversely, Hostens also provides 256-bit SSL certificates but focuses on compatibility and an automated issuance process. Pair Networks supports multiple PHP versions but the exact details are unspecified, while Hostens offers broad support for PHP versions from 5.6 to 8.1, with available advanced PHP functions like `exec` and `shell_exec`. Both providers include free SSL certificates, with Hostens using Let’s Encrypt, complementing their automated approach.

Operational security measures:

Pair Networks employs additional security measures like automatic malware scanning, proprietary ticketing system for customer support, and enhanced security for email hosting. They also offer VPS hosting with dedicated file systems and managed WordPress hosting integrated with WordFence. Hostens has 24/7 network monitoring and a data center in Vilnius meeting TIER III standards, offering daily and weekly backups within all plans. Both providers prioritize data protection, but Hostens’ operational security measures are structured with an emphasis on compliance, round-the-clock monitoring, and optimized data center infrastructure.

Compliance and certifications:

Pair Networks and Hostens meet GDPR compliance requirements, ensuring user data is processed, stored, and retained according to legal obligations. Both providers act as data controllers and processors, with protocols for data retention and user privacy. For PCI compliance, Pair Networks uses Stripe for secure payment processing, whereas Hostens’ detailed PCI compliance status is unspecified. Neither provider mentions HIPAA compliance, focusing instead on GDPR and PCI protocols for securing user data.

🏆 Winner
Hostens: Exceptional features with flexible pricing and a user-friendly approach.

Pair Networks and Hostens both offer compelling hosting services, but their distinct features cater to different user needs. Pair Networks offers WordPress hosting with added security plugins, site staging, and custom email hosting for certain plans. Their shared hosting ensures robust email hosting and malware scanning, accompanied by 24/7 support. A key highlight is the availability of SSH and SFTP access for shared hosting. Hostens, on the other hand, provides a user-friendly website builder for shared hosting, 99.95% uptime, and free SSL certificates for their professional hosting. Both providers offer free SSL certificates and daily or weekly backups, but Pair Networks includes these in the basic plans, while Hostens charges an additional fee for some features such as VPS backups.

While Pair Networks focuses on developers and small business owners looking for versatility and security, Hostens aims to provide easy access and setup with features like full root access for VPS hosting and proactive support. Hostens’ Unique Selling Points (USPs) include a free domain with an annual billing cycle and a dedicated server environment under professional hosting. Pair Networks distinguishes itself through features like configurable automatic site backups and tailored email hosting plans. Pricing and plan flexibility could sway your decision depending on how you weigh upfront costs versus long-term value.

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 Pair Networks 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:

Email services at Pair Networks include up to 500 email addresses in their shared hosting plan, while Hostens doesn’t specify a limit. Pair Networks offers transactional email capabilities and custom email hosting for certain plans, with options to integrate third-party services like Google Workspace. Hostens focuses on essential email hosting without emphasizing reselling third-party services, supporting users in setting up comprehensive email campaigns easily.

🏆 Winner Pair Networks: Offers diverse hosting plans with distinct features catering to various 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. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Pair Networks and Hostens provide a variety of hosting plans, each with its own unique offerings. Pair Networks’ shared hosting options range from $7.95/mo to $31.95/mo, focusing on disk space and MySQL databases, while Hostens offers shared hosting from $2.80/mo to $11.20/mo, emphasizing bandwidth and multiple site hosting. For managed WordPress hosting, Pair Networks prices start at $14.95/mo without site limits in the highest tier, contrasted with Hostens’ fixed number of sites but lower entry prices. Their VPS hosting plans reflect flexible pricing, with Pair Networks starting at $25/mo and Hostens providing a more segmented pricing strategy based on the duration. Finally, professional hosting plans at Hostens include higher RAM and CPU cores, ideal for enterprise clients.

Enterprise plans

Pair Networks and Hostens both offer compelling enterprise options. Pair Networks stands out with its managed WordPress plans, featuring up to unlimited WordPress sites, substantial disk space, and advanced support. Hostens’ professional plans provide high RAM and CPU configurations, unlimited bandwidth, and enterprise-specific features such as Cloudlinux OS.

🏆 Winner
Pair Networks: Offers easy setup and migration with excellent support resources.

Pair Networks utilizes its custom-built Account Control Center (ACC) over the traditional cPanel. ACC is specifically designed for intuitive use, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users. It emphasizes straightforward navigation and security, which enhances user confidence while managing sites. Hostens, on the other hand, uses the standard cPanel interface, known for its widespread familiarity and ease of use. While cPanel offers a comprehensive range of features suitable for various levels of technical expertise, it lacks the streamlined customization that ACC boasts. Both platforms aim to provide user-friendly admin panels, but Pair Networks’ ACC offers a more tailored and secure experience.

Pair Networks provides free migration services, handling the transfer from an existing host to Pair at no extra cost. This migration is managed by experts, ensuring a smooth transition with minimum downtime. Hostens offers Installatron, a tool assisting users in migrating and managing various CMS and scripts, but it does not specify if professional migration support is free. While Hostens’ automated tools are useful, Pair Networks’ dedicated migration service can be more reassuring, especially for users unfamiliar with site transfers.

Pair Networks offers extensive help center resources, including written tutorials, FAQs, and video guides. Their 24/7 support with knowledgeable technicians ensures any issues are swiftly addressed. Hostens also provides a comprehensive knowledge base covering a wide range of topics from SEO tools to domain management. They offer multiple support channels, including live chat and email support. Both providers offer accessible and detailed help centers, but Pair’s continuous support and additional video tutorials provide an edge.

Pair Networks offers extensive help center resources, including written tutorials, FAQs, and video guides. Their 24/7 support with knowledgeable technicians ensures any issues are swiftly addressed. Hostens also provides a comprehensive knowledge base covering a wide range of topics from SEO tools to domain management. They offer multiple support channels, including live chat and email support.

🏆 Winner Hostens: A versatile hosting provider with extensive user management options.

Pair Networks’ WordPress hosting primarily offers a structured WordPress user role system, tailored around managing content and site functionalities. With distinct roles such as Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber, it allows for a granular division of responsibilities. On the other hand, Hostens offers a more varied user management system through its different hosting types—shared, reseller, and unmanaged VPS hosting. Hostens provides user roles that accommodate a wide range of needs from root access in unmanaged VPS to cPanel admin privileges in shared and professional hosting services. The flexibility in roles is better defined in Hostens, allowing users to scale from basic to more complex configurations as needed.

Pair Networks utilizes the WordPress dashboard, which is highly intuitive for managing content-based roles and permissions. Administrators can quickly navigate through settings to assign and modify user roles. Hostens employs cPanel and WHM, offering a control panel that is user-friendly for both beginners and advanced users. The interface includes useful tools like the Installatron for managing scripts and CMS installations, thereby simplifying administrative tasks. Hostens also provides access control for multiple cPanel accounts, which enhances user management efficiency.

Both platforms offer robust access control but differ in scalability and management of user expansion. Pair Networks is effective for sites that need defined content roles and user permissions within the WordPress ecosystem. Hostens, however, supports a wider range of user management scenarios from simple websites hosted on shared platforms to more complex environments through reseller and unmanaged VPS hosting. Hostens also excels in managing a growing number of users by providing tools to create and manage multiple cPanel accounts, offering scalability that Pair Networks inherently lacks.

Hostens user roles table:

🏆 Winner Pair Networks: Offering a comprehensive range of customer support options, Pair Networks excels in providing a seamless and reliable hosting experience.

Pair Networks provides a more diversified customer support structure, including phone support and enterprise support, that caters to clients requiring comprehensive assistance. Their proprietary ticketing system and no-cost site migration services, along with specialized WordPress support, set them apart. Users have praised the knowledgeable and swift technical support team, highlighting a seamless and efficient resolution process.

Hostens, while efficient, primarily offers online-based support through live chat, email, and a ticket system. Their comprehensive knowledge base and client area resources provide extensive self-help options. Hostens also facilitates prompt responses through their contact form, but they lack phone and enterprise support, which may be a consideration for businesses needing more immediate or high-priority support. Their straightforward support system, while effective, doesn’t match the breadth of services provided by Pair Networks.

Pair.com vs Hostens: User feedback

Users appreciate the reliability and security offered by this hosting provider, with many highlighting minimal downtime and robust email services. The technical support is frequently praised for being responsive and helpful, making tasks like website setup and migration smoother. However, some users note that the user interface can be clunky and outdated, and enhancements in spam filtering are needed. While the service is considered a bit expensive by some, most agree that its quality justifies the cost.

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.

Pair.com vs Hostens: FAQ