Digital Ocean vs Hostwinds: Final verdict
Looking over DigitalOcean vs. Hostwinds, DigitalOcean offers superior performance and infrastructure while Hostwinds caters well to non-technical users with user-friendly features.
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DigitalOcean (Overall grade: 8.3)
provides a high-performance hosting solution with a focus on reliability, uptime, and customizable server environments. With features like DDoS protection, cloud firewalls, and a 99.99% uptime SLA across its 14 globally distributed data centers, it’s well-suited for high-traffic and multimedia websites. Its Droplets offer scalable and flexible cloud hosting, and the thorough documentation and community support cater to users ready to manage their infrastructure. However, DigitalOcean doesn’t include a website builder or email hosting, positioning itself more toward technically adept users rather than those seeking plug-and-play solutions.
Hostwinds (Overall grade: 7.1)
distinguishes itself with comprehensive support and user-friendly options geared toward both individuals and businesses. The hosting service includes a website builder, unlimited email accounts, and easy migration services, making it accessible to users with minimal technical expertise. Performance measures like SSD storage and Cloudflare CDN contribute to respectable speed and uptime. Hostwinds also provides a robust customer support experience with 24/7/365 live chat and phone support. Although it lags behind DigitalOcean in terms of advanced infrastructure and customization options, it excels in ease of use and support, making it an excellent choice for users seeking straightforward web hosting solutions.
 Overall grade:8.3 |
 Overall grade:7.1 |
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|---|---|---|
| Uptime and Availability | 9.2 | 7.2 |
| Hosting Performance | 8.8 | 8.4 |
| Hosting Security | 9.1 | 8.0 |
| Price | 8.7 | 8.5 |
| Hosting Features | 6.9 | 7.7 |
| Ease Of Setup | 8.2 | 8.7 |
| User Management | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| Customer Support | 7.8 | 8.0 |
| User feedback | 4.6/5 | 4.9/5 |
Hosting types offered
Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.
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|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | ||
| Cloud hosting | ||
| WordPress hosting | ||
| Ecommerce hosting | ||
| VPS hosting | ||
| Dedicated hosting |
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
Uptime and availability
Evaluates the average uptime statistics, uptime guarantee and overall availability of the hosting
provider
Score Components:
- Uptime percentage (30%): evaluates the uptime statistics in given period of time
- Uptime guarantee (20%): Assesses if the platform offers an uptime guarantee and
whether the actual uptime matches the promised guarantee. - General performance (25%): Evaluates how fast is the average response time and overall
it’s stability. - Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Availability (25%): Reflects the total downtime and number of outages.
9.2
7.2
🏆 Winner
DigitalOcean: Offers comprehensive uptime monitoring and superior infrastructure for higher availability.
DigitalOcean stands out with a suite of features that ensure uptime and availability. Its real-time alerts for endpoint status monitor slowdowns and issues across global regions, while customizable alerts notify users of latency, downtime, and SSL expiry. The platform’s automated uptime checks and 24/7 monitoring guarantee swift issue resolution. DigitalOcean’s high-quality infrastructure, including multiple data centers and load balancers, further enhances service reliability.
Hostwinds, while providing a fair uptime of 99.89% and a 99.99% uptime guarantee, faces challenges in maintaining consistent response times and international loading speeds. Hostwinds operates data centers in Seattle, Dallas, and Amsterdam, offering 24/7 cloud server monitoring. Despite claims of fully redundant infrastructure, Hostwinds’ performance in availability lags behind compared to DigitalOcean, impacting overall user experience.
Which one has better hosting performance?
Score Components:
- Hosting speed (30%): This includes SSD quality, Load times, PageSpeed score ranges,
additional information on website speed, built-in plugins for performance enhancement, available caching
methods, and CPU/RAM options - CDN (20%): Considers whether CDN is available or not, whether it’s free or paid, and
the quality of the CDN service - Available data centers (30%): Evaluates the number of data centers and their locations
globally. - Scalibility (20%): Looks at whether elastic scaling is available, the process required
to scale (manual upgrade vs. automatic scaling), the presence of dedicated servers, and the costs
associated with scaling.
8.8
8.4
🏆 Winner DigitalOcean: DigitalOcean provides flexible and scalable cloud hosting solutions with an emphasis on uptime and security.
When considering general performance, DigitalOcean boasts a 99.99% uptime SLA across its 14 globally distributed data centers, ensuring reliable access from various locations. The provider uses SSD storage, offering fast content retrieval and database operations. Performance-enhancing features like the Content Delivery Network (CDN) and caching mechanisms are integrated to improve load times. Additionally, DigitalOcean supports CPU and RAM scaling through its virtual machines, known as Droplets, which are customizable and flexible. Meanwhile, Hostwinds also employs SSD drives, Litespeed Web Server, and Cloudflare CDN for enhanced speed. Their route optimized networking and continuous monitoring contribute to rapid response times. Hostwinds supports the latest PHP versions, which adds to the hosting efficiency. However, DigitalOcean’s uptime and comprehensive caching options offer an edge in performance.
Website Speed
DigitalOcean excels in website speed with its integrated CDN, SSD storage, and efficient caching mechanisms. Droplets allow for customizable environments, ensuring that web applications can run smoothly. The App Platform is a fully managed solution that helps deploy applications without infrastructural complexities, further speeding up the hosting process. On the other hand, Hostwinds incorporates Litespeed Web Server, SSD drives, and Cloudflare CDN to ensure swift content delivery. Their constant and website-specific monitoring ensures optimal speeds.
Scalability
DigitalOcean offers robust scalability features with Droplets, allowing for elastic scaling without the need for plan upgrades. Horizontal scaling and load balancing are available to handle increased traffic efficiently. The pricing is transparent, starting from $4 per month, making it cost-effective to scale as needed. For Hostwinds, they provide quick upgrades to server resources and support instant scalability. Their enterprise-level support offers dedicated servers and various tools for cloud management, but specific details on scaling costs are not disclosed.
Overall, DigitalOcean’s performance and flexibility make it the go-to choice for scalable and reliable hosting.
Which one has better security features?
and regulatory requirements
Score Components:
- Technical security measures (40%): This includes encryption, firewalls, DDoS
protection, secure configurations, server monitoring, access control and availability of security addons
(e.g Sitelock security). - Operational security measures (30%): Encompasses data privacy, backups and data
redundancy. - Compliance and certifications (20%): Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
(e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and possession of certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2). - Business and reliability (10%): Factors in the provider’s reputation, uptime
guarantees, and customer support.
9.1
8.0
🏆 Winner
DigitalOcean: Provides a comprehensive suite of security features and multiple compliance certifications.
Both DigitalOcean and Hostwinds, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.
Technical security measures:
DigitalOcean offers a broad range of technical security measures such as DDoS protection, web application firewall (WAF), cloud firewalls, SSH access, and two-factor authentication (2FA). Hostwinds also provides SSL certificates, Litespeed web server, Cloudflare CDN, and route optimized networking to enhance load times and security. Both providers support various PHP versions, ensuring that the latest patches and updates help maintain security. However, DigitalOcean outshines with additional features like VPC and managed databases with TLS/SSL encryption.
Operational security measures:
DigitalOcean features automated backups, data encryption both at rest and in transit, and constant monitoring, combining to provide a robust operational security framework. Hostwinds, on the other hand, offers nightly backups, continuous website monitoring, and full management support to address any issues promptly. Despite Hostwinds’ thorough operational security, DigitalOcean’s use of advanced measures like virtual private clouds (VPC) and load balancers gives it an edge in terms of operational resilience and redundancy.
Compliance and certifications:
DigitalOcean meets several regulatory requirements, including GDPR and PCI compliance, and holds multiple certifications like SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, CSA STAR Level 1, and APEC CBPR PRP certification. Hostwinds’ compliance specifics are not explicitly mentioned, but it is recommended to contact them directly for details on GDPR and PCI compliance. This extensive list of certifications and regulatory adherence makes DigitalOcean stand out significantly.
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|---|---|---|
SSL certificate |
Yes |
Yes |
Additional security features |
Yes |
Yes |
PHP versions |
Various supported |
Latest supported |
GDPR compliance |
Yes |
Not specified |
HIPAA compliance |
Not specified |
Not specified |
PCI compliance |
Yes |
Not specified |
Hosting features
Score Components:
- Domains (20%): Assesses the availability of a free domain, domain purchase options, and
pricing - Email (15%): Considers if the provider offers full email hosting, or is reselling
third-party service, and if the email is only transactional or not - Website builder (15%): Checks if website builder is available, and it’s user
friendliness and overall the level of customization allowed. - Staging environment (20%): Determines if a staging environment is available, allowing
for testing changes before going live. - FTP & SFTP accounts (10%): Evaluates if and how easily users can access FTP and
SFTP accounts - Git and SSH access (20%): Assess whether Git is integrated into the hosting service and
if SSH access is provided
6.9
7.7
🏆 Winner Hostwinds: A versatile hosting solution offering greater features for diverse user needs.
DigitalOcean and Hostwinds both provide robust hosting services but cater to different user preferences. DigitalOcean is known for its high-performance infrastructure with features such as DDoS protection, cloud firewalls, and a 99.99% Uptime SLA across 14 globally distributed data centers. Their managed WordPress and Kubernetes solutions make it an attractive option for developers seeking reliable and scalable environments. Although it supports SFTP through SSH, its focus remains on infrastructure and flexibility rather than user-friendly website management tools.
In contrast, Hostwinds stands out with a strong emphasis on ease of use and comprehensive web hosting features. With a free website builder like Weebly, unlimited email accounts, and dedicated IP addresses, it simplifies the process for both personal and business users. Hostwinds also offers unique selling points such as free website migration, nightly backups, and a Cloudflare CDN for enhanced speed and security. The combination of full management services and ready-to-use applications makes it an ideal choice for users seeking both simplicity and extensive support without the need for deep technical know-how.
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|---|---|---|
Free domain |
No |
No |
Free SSL |
Yes |
Yes |
Email hosting |
No |
Yes |
Website builder |
No |
Yes |
Staging environment |
No |
No |
FTP & SFTP accounts |
Yes |
Yes |
Git and SSH access |
Yes |
Yes |
Free backup |
Yes |
Yes |
Money back guarantee |
No |
No |
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 Example hosting one and Example hosting two 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:
DigitalOcean does not offer email hosting, focusing more on infrastructure services. Hostwinds, however, provides unlimited email accounts for users to set up their own campaigns directly. Additionally, Hostwinds includes transactional email capabilities with its hosting plans, making it a comprehensive solution for users requiring robust email functionalities alongside web hosting.
Price
Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
8.7
8.5
🏆 Winner
DigitalOcean: Offering diverse hosting plans at competitive pricing, their reliability and robust features make them a standout choice.
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.
DigitalOcean and Hostwinds both present various hosting options but differ significantly in pricing and features. DigitalOcean offers WordPress hosting at an entry price of $4/month, compared to Hostwinds’ managed options starting at $8.24/month. Shared hosting with Hostwinds begins at $5.24/month with extensive features, against DigitalOcean’s $4/month for basic website hosting. For cloud hosting, both providers bring different plans, but DigitalOcean’s DigitalOcean Droplets starts more affordably. Notably, Hostwinds provides vast scalability ranges within their VPS and dedicated server plans, offering higher-tier enterprise solutions. Both providers offer transparent pricing and robust support.
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Basic Droplet $4/month
1 Website, Scalable Storage, Unlimited Bandwidth, Free SSL, Automatic Backups, DDoS Protection, 24/7 Support Value for price:9.0
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Managed Hosting $8.24/month
1 Website, 30GB Storage, Unlimited Bandwidth, Free SSL, Automatic Backups, Free Website Transfer, 24/7 Support Value for price:8.5
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Basic Droplet $4/month
1 Website, Scalable Storage, Unlimited Bandwidth, 99.99% Uptime SLA, 24/7 Support Value for price:8.8
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Basic Plan $5.24/month
1 Domain, Unlimited Disk Space, Unlimited Bandwidth, Free SSL, Free Dedicated IP, Weebly Site Builder, 24/7 Support Value for price:9.0
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|---|---|
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Cloud Droplets $0.007/hour
1 Website, Scalable Storage, Transparent Pricing, NVMe SSDs, DDoS Protection, 24/7 Support Value for price:9.0
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Cloud Servers $0.006931/hour
1 Website, 30GB Storage, 1TB Bandwidth, Solid State Drives, 99.9999% Uptime, Free Transfer, 24/7 Support Value for price:9.0
|
As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.
Enterprise plans
DigitalOcean’s dedicated CPU droplets start at $42/month, offering options for memory-optimized and storage-optimized droplets at higher price ranges. Hostwinds provides managed Linux VPS hosting plans with enhancements such as server monitoring and nightly backups, starting at $8.24/month but extending to high-tier options like their $395.24/month dedicated server hosting plan. Both providers deliver reliable enterprise solutions, with DigitalOcean focusing on high memory and storage optimization, and Hostwinds providing extensive scalability and managed services.
Digital Ocean vs Hostwinds: Ease of setup
platform.
Score Components:
- Site migration (25%): Assesses whether the provider offers tools for site migration,
either automated or manual, and whether these services are free or require a fee. - Admin panel usability (35%): Evaluates the type of admin panel provided, such as the
standard cPanel or a custom solution, focusing on its accessibility and user-friendliness for both
technical and non-technical users. - Setup features (20%): Examines the availability and ease of use of various setup
features, including FTP accounts, file managers, email account setup, PHPMyAdmin, and easy CDN
configuration. - Help center quality (20%): Measures the quality and accessibility of the provider’s
help center resources, including articles and tutorials.
8.2
8.7
🏆 Winner Hostwinds: User-friendly, feature-rich hosting tailored for both individuals and businesses.
DigitalOcean utilizes a mix of admin panels. Its proprietary Droplets offer a flexible, customizable experience for technical users familiar with SSH and command-line operations. For simpler management, DigitalOcean provides a straightforward control panel to manage Droplets and other resources. The 1-Click Apps feature simplifies installations, and the App Platform offers a PaaS option for those seeking minimal infrastructure management. On the other hand, Hostwinds employs the widely recognized cPanel for its shared and business hosting plans, which is accessible to even non-technical users. The drag-and-drop Weebly Site Builder and Softaculous Apps Installer make website creation and management straightforward, ensuring ease of use for beginners.
Both hosting providers focus on making their platforms accessible and user-friendly, but their approaches diverge. DigitalOcean’s Droplets provide a more customizable environment suited to developers, whereas Hostwinds’ reliance on cPanel and Weebly aims to cater to a broader range of users, including those with limited technical skills. Hostwinds’ comprehensive integration of cPanel across its offerings, coupled with automated installer tools, renders it more accessible for those without in-depth technical knowledge, whereas DigitalOcean’s advanced options benefit users seeking more control over their server environments.
When it comes to migration tools, both DigitalOcean and Hostwinds offer strong support. Hostwinds provides free website migration for all its plans, handled by their support experts, making the transition smooth and hassle-free. This service includes shared web hosting, business hosting, reseller hosting, and cloud servers. DigitalOcean, while not offering a free migration service, allows users to create Droplets from snapshots, making manual migration more manageable for those familiar with server management. Cloudways, a managed service by DigitalOcean, also offers free website migrations.
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. DigitalOcean 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.
User management
accessibility.
Score Components:
- Role customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
8.0
0.0
🏆 Winner
DigitalOcean: A user-friendly platform with comprehensive user management features.
DigitalOcean offers extensive flexibility in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility. It provides three distinct roles: Owner, Biller, and Member. Both the number of members and the roles they can occupy are unlimited. Owners have full access, Members can handle shared resources, and Billers focus on billing information. On the other hand, Hostwinds lacks specific details regarding user management and user roles, making it impossible to assess its capabilities in this area.
DigitalOcean’s user interface facilitates efficient user management by allowing team owners to easily invite new members, manage roles, and view membership tables. Members’ roles and invitation statuses are clearly displayed, and owners have an additional insight into sign-in methods. This streamlined, user-friendly interface ensures that all members can see their own roles and those of their teammates.
The access control measures on DigitalOcean are effective and scalable. Team owners can invite an unlimited number of members and assign roles as necessary, which supports efficient management of a growing team. Owners also have the power to revoke or change roles as the team evolves. This adaptability ensures that access control remains robust, even as team sizes and structures change.
DigitalOcean user roles table:
| Role | Description | Access highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Full access to shared resources, billing information, and team settings. | Can change roles, remove members, and manage billing and team settings. |
| Biller | Full access to billing information only. | Cannot access shared resources or team settings. |
| Member | Full access to shared resources. | Excluded from billing information and team settings. |
Customer support
hosting provider.
Score Components:
- Support communication channels (30%): Measures the variety of customer support types
provided (live chat, chatbot, email, phone, etc.) - Availability (20%): Assesses the availability hours for each channel, including 24/7
support options. - Technical support quality (30%): Assesses whether the provider offers comprehensive
technical support, including hardware upgrades (e.g., HDD to SSD), software installations, and web
server configuration changes. - Enterprise support (20%): Checks if there are dedicated or priority support services
for enterprise-level customers.
7.8
8.0
🏆 Winner Hostwinds: Hostwinds offers a wider range of support channels and guaranteed response times for quicker problem resolution.
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Phone support |
||
Live chat support |
||
Chatbot |
||
Email/ticket support |
||
Enterprise support (dedicated agent, priority support) |
(SLA) |
DigitalOcean and Hostwinds both provide multiple support options, but Hostwinds offers a more extensive range. DigitalOcean provides support through email, 24/7 online ticketing, and live chat for premium users. Additionally, its knowledge base, tutorials, and community forum are valuable resources for troubleshooting. Registration is straightforward, and the control panel is user-friendly.
Hostwinds excels with its consistent 24/7/365 live chat, phone support, and guarantee of swift response times for both email tickets and live chat inquiries. It also offers comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and a community forum, ensuring multiple avenues for assistance. Hostwinds includes free website migration services for new customers and uses the latest cPanel version, making customers’ transition and management easier.
Digital Ocean vs Hostwinds: User feedback
DigitalOcean consistently garners praise for its simplicity, user-friendly interface, and transparent pricing, making it ideal for both beginners and experienced developers. Users appreciate the straightforward setup, reliable performance, and excellent customer support, highlighting features like one-click deployment and robust documentation. However, there are some minor criticisms, including a limited variety of server configurations compared to larger providers and occasional slow customer support response times. Despite these drawbacks, DigitalOcean is highly regarded for its cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and overall reliability, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses and startups.
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.
Digital Ocean vs Hostwinds: FAQ
Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites?
Hostwinds is better suited for hosting WordPress websites as it offers managed WordPress hosting with automatic backups and built-in security. DigitalOcean does provide WordPress hosting, but it is more geared towards users with technical expertise who prefer scalable and flexible cloud hosting solutions.
Are both platforms suitable for beginners?
Hostwinds is more suitable for beginners thanks to its user-friendly features, comprehensive support, and ease of use. It includes tools like a website builder and easy migration services, making it accessible to those with minimal technical expertise. DigitalOcean, on the other hand, is more suited for technically adept users who are comfortable managing their own infrastructure.
Which platform offers better customer support?
Hostwinds offers better customer support with 24/7/365 live chat and phone support, along with a user-friendly help center. While DigitalOcean provides support through email, an extensive knowledge base, and live chat for premium users, Hostwinds’ guaranteed response times and consistent support channels make it more accessible for immediate assistance.
Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites?
DigitalOcean offers robust scalability options with its Droplets, allowing for elastic scaling without needing plan upgrades. Features like horizontal scaling and load balancing are available to handle increased traffic efficiently. Hostwinds also provides quick upgrades and enterprise-level support for scalability, but DigitalOcean’s transparent pricing and flexibility offer a more comprehensive solution for growing websites.
Which service is more suitable for hosting a high-traffic website?
DigitalOcean is more suitable for hosting a high-traffic website with its high-performance VMs, global data centers, and DDoS protection. Its infrastructure ensures a 99.99% uptime SLA, making it well-equipped to handle high-traffic and multimedia websites efficiently.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
