Directnic vs ScalaHosting: guide for 2024

Directnic vs ScalaHosting: Final verdict

Comparing Directnic to ScalaHosting, ScalaHosting clearly offers superior features, performance, and overall value.

• 
  ScalaHosting (Overall grade: 8.8)
  
  stands out with its extensive range of hosting options, including cloud, VPS, and WordPress hosting, which are optimized for high performance and advanced management features. Its 99.9% uptime guarantee, backed by a detailed compensation scheme, surpasses the industry standard and ensures reliability. ScalaHosting’s proprietary tools, like SPanel and SShield, offer enhanced security and user management, making it an appealing choice for those seeking robust hosting solutions. Although its pricing may seem higher, ScalaHosting justifies the cost with advanced features, global data center availability, and superior customer support.
• 
  Directnic (Overall grade: 6.8)
  
  provides a more basic set of hosting services, focusing mainly on shared hosting plans that come with domain registration and SSL certificates. Its 99% uptime guarantee, although dependable, doesn’t match the higher standards set by its competitors. While Directnic is praised for its stability and budget-friendly plans, it lacks the advanced hosting options and higher performance features that ScalaHosting offers. For users looking for affordable and straightforward hosting with minimal requirements, Directnic can be a solid choice, but it falls short for those needing more advanced and reliable hosting solutions.

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 ScalaHosting: ScalaHosting offers superior uptime and performance for your hosting needs.

ScalaHosting guarantees a 99.9% uptime, significantly higher than Directnic’s 99%, and backs it with a detailed compensation scheme. Its uptime testing results are impressive, maintaining 100% uptime throughout. ScalaHosting’s unique mix of proprietary tools like SPanel, which optimizes cloud VPS hosting, and SShield for security furthers its lead. With global data centers and fast loading speeds, ScalaHosting is well-positioned to provide reliable and faster hosting services.

Directnic offers a 99% uptime guarantee, which is below the industry standard. While customers appreciate its stability and available technical support, it doesn’t match ScalaHosting’s track record. Directnic comes with features like domain registration and SSL certificates, but lacks the advanced hosting options ScalaHosting provides. For those prioritizing uptime and performance, ScalaHosting stands out as the better choice.

🏆 Winner: ScalaHosting: High-performance infrastructure with versatile and reliable services.

When it comes to general performance, ScalaHosting edges out with faster speeds and advanced hardware. ScalaHosting leverages industry-leading web servers like OpenLiteSpeed and LiteSpeed Enterprise, which enhance load times and PageSpeed scores. They provide a free Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve website performance globally, while Directnic Hosting offers a CDN but with a focus on improving SEO performance. ScalaHosting benefits from numerous data center locations worldwide, including native data centers in the U.S. and the EU, with integration of AWS data centers across multiple regions.

Website Speed

ScalaHosting holds an advantage in website speed thanks to the advanced web servers and high-performance hardware they use. Their infrastructure ensures rapid load times and improved PageSpeed scores efficiently. Directnic Hosting also offers satisfactory speed with a 99% uptime, which is dependable but doesn’t quite match the premium speed features of ScalaHosting. Both services provide different caching methods to enhance website performance, with ScalaHosting standing out due to its efficient integration of these technologies.

Scalability

ScalaHosting delivers flexible and on-demand scalability, allowing users to adjust resources with a single click. Their customizable configurations cater to specific needs, and dedicated resources for managed VPS ensure exclusive CPU and memory allocation. The cost for scaling is clear and straightforward, described within their server plans. On the other hand, Directnic Hosting requires users to upgrade plans to scale which might not be as seamless. Additional costs for scaling aren’t provided for Directnic Hosting.

In conclusion, ScalaHosting emerges as the winner with superior website speed, comprehensive CDN coverage, and a more flexible approach to scalability. Directnic Hosting provides a solid alternative, particularly for those seeking cost-efficient introductory plans with robust support.

🏆 Winner ScalaHosting: ScalaHosting offers a superior range of security features, advanced compliance standards, and proactive monitoring.

Both Directnic and ScalaHosting, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Directnic provides comprehensive security features such as SSL certificates, with options like Basic, Premium EV, and Wildcard SSL, along with advanced malware detection and 24/7/365 web security protection. ScalaHosting, on the other hand, includes additional SSL options such as GeoTrust and Symantec certificates, and offers a more advanced SShield real-time malware protection claiming to block 99.998% of attacks. Both support various PHP versions, but ScalaHosting clearly lists versions from 5.6 to 8.2, offering a broader selection.

Operational security measures:

Both Directnic and ScalaHosting offer robust operational security measures. Directnic boasts a Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) with 24/7 surveillance, a dedicated web application firewall (WAF), and extensive DDoS protection. ScalaHosting counters with SShield Security System, proactive 24/7 monitoring, automated backups, and a free dedicated firewall with custom security rules for specific CMS platforms. ScalaHosting’s inclusion of disaster recovery backups provides an added operational advantage.

Compliance and certifications:

Directnic does not list explicit details about GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI compliance. ScalaHosting, however, touts compliance with NIST, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GLBA, SOC 1 and 2, SSAE 18, ITAR, and EU-US Privacy Shield, indicating a more fortified stance with regulatory requirements.

🏆 Winner
ScalaHosting: A high-performance hosting provider with comprehensive features and advanced developer tools. Both Directnic Hosting and ScalaHosting offer a range of features designed to cater to diverse user needs, but they each have distinct advantages. Directnic stands out with its free domain registration and 24/7 technical support across all plans, offering user-friendly cPanel hosting that simplifies website management. The Lite Plan is budget-friendly at $2.48 per month, making it an attractive choice for beginners or those with modest website needs. ScalaHosting, on the other hand, shines with its more developer-focused offerings, such as multiple PHP versions, Python support, and integrated GIT and SVN. This makes it an appealing option for users who require more advanced customization and flexibility. ScalaHosting also supports the latest software and offers SSH access on all plans, ensuring robust security and operational versatility.

Availability of a website builder can significantly impact a user’s experience. Unfortunately, the provided details do not explicitly mention if Directnic offers an in-built website builder. ScalaHosting also does not list a dedicated website builder but makes up for it with advanced tools like WordPress cloning and staging. This feature is particularly useful for users aiming to create complex websites with ease. Unique selling points include Directnic’s money-back guarantee and the significant storage and bandwidth offered even at its lower-tier plans. ScalaHosting, however, excels with its global datacenter locations, providing high-speed performance across the US, Europe, and Asia. These distinctive benefits help clarify which hosting provider might align better with specific user needs.

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 Directnic Hosting and ScalaHosting 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:

Directnic provides up to 250 POP3 email accounts on its Deluxe Plan, making it suitable for users requiring substantial email hosting capabilities. However, there is no indication of support for transactional email services or reselling third-party email services. ScalaHosting matches this by allowing users to add or remove email accounts and manage various settings, including email forwarders and autoresponders. Both providers offer comprehensive email hosting, but Directnic appears to have a focus on volume, while ScalaHosting emphasizes ease of management and configurability.

🏆 Winner ScalaHosting: Offers more extensive features and competitive pricing, providing exceptional value for web 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. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Comparing Directnic and ScalaHosting, ScalaHosting provides a broad range of offerings across its plans, allowing for greater flexibility and customization. Directnic offers competitive pricing, particularly on its entry-level plans, but ScalaHosting stands out with unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificates, and free daily backups across most plans. ScalaHosting’s inclusion of advanced security features and priority support, even in lower-tier plans, presents higher value and comprehensive service. Addition of free domains and more extensive plan features also position ScalaHosting as the more advantageous choice for diverse hosting needs.

Enterprise plans

Directnic lacks specific enterprise-targeted hosting plans, limiting scalability and resource allocation for larger businesses, making ScalaHosting the optimal choice for enterprise-level hosting needs.

🏆 Winner ScalaHosting: ScalaHosting has managed to provide a more streamlined and beginner-friendly hosting solution, along with comprehensive support and user-friendly migration services.

Directnic utilizes cPanel, a widely recognized control panel known for its intuitiveness and broad range of functionalities. It offers a drag-and-drop SiteBuilder by Weebly, making it accessible even for users with no technical background. On the other hand, ScalaHosting employs SPanel, which similarly provides an all-in-one solution for managing websites, domains, emails, and more. SPanel eliminates the need for additional licensing fees, which could be a decisive factor for many users. Both panels facilitate easy script installations, but SPanel’s custom-built environment is specifically optimized for efficiency and ease of use.

In terms of ease of migration, ScalaHosting clearly holds the advantage by offering free website migration services. Their technicians handle the entire process, ensuring a hassle-free transition, making it particularly convenient for users. Directnic provides comprehensive guides on how to manually transfer websites, which may be more suitable for those comfortable with the technical aspects. However, the lack of a free migration service could be a drawback for less tech-savvy users.

Directnic maintains an extensive knowledge base with articles on a variety of topics and offers 24/7 technical support through a Trouble Ticket System. ScalaHosting also provides a thorough knowledge base and ensures faster response times via live chat and ticket systems. Both offer a multitude of resources, but ScalaHosting’s emphasis on quick technical assistance enhances its overall support experience.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Directnic offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. ScalaHosting also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner
ScalaHosting: Efficient and comprehensive user management features.

When comparing the user management capabilities of directnic and ScalaHosting, ScalaHosting stands out due to its detailed and flexible approach to managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility. ScalaHosting enables the creation and modification of user accounts with specific limits on resources such as disk space, inodes, and databases. This contrasts with directnic, which lacks detailed information on these features. ScalaHosting’s ability to let users access their data via SSH further enhances its flexibility in managing user roles. Additionally, the ability to modify allocated server resources for each account adds a layer of customization and control not outlined for directnic.

ScalaHosting offers a user-friendly interface that includes a comprehensive set of tools for managing user accounts. Users can add or remove email accounts, domains, and FTP accounts, as well as manage DNS settings through an intuitive interface. The SPanel’s Admin Interface allows administrators to oversee and control various aspects of user accounts, contributing to a streamlined user management experience. The user interface for ScalaHosting includes features for backup and file management, providing a broad toolkit for administrators to manage users efficiently. In contrast, directnic’s user interface and tools are not detailed, making it hard to assess its capabilities.

ScalaHosting proves to be highly effective in access control measures and managing a growing user base. It allows administrators to suspend, unsuspend, and terminate accounts easily, ensuring efficient user management. The platform also includes two-factor authentication and CAPTCHA for different user groups, enhancing security. ScalaHosting’s ability to create additional Admin accounts and use API tokens for integration with third-party products further supports its capacity to handle user access control effectively. Moreover, the options to monitor server health and reboot services ensure that even with a growing number of users, the system remains stable and manageable.

ScalaHosting User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner
ScalaHosting: ScalaHosting offers excellent customer service with numerous support options and high customer satisfaction.

Directnic Hosting and ScalaHosting provide strong customer support, but ScalaHosting has a clear edge in customer satisfaction. Directnic offers 24/7 technical support across multiple channels including chat, email, phone, and a support ticket system. They also maintain a comprehensive knowledge base and offer video tutorials. However, they do not provide VPS or dedicated server hosting, and their uptime guarantee is slightly lower at 99%.

ScalaHosting, on the other hand, offers 24/7 technical support via email, live chat, and a ticket system with a quick 15-minute initial response time. Additionally, they boast high ratings from thousands of customer reviews and provide a 99.9% uptime guarantee. They also provide free website migration without downtime and have multiple global data centers. Special incentives for web design studios and more extensive support options make ScalaHosting the more reliable choice for customer service.

Directnic vs ScalaHosting: User feedback

The hosting provider has a long-standing history, with stable domain registration services that some users have relied upon for over 20 years. However, notable security issues, including breaches and leaked domain access, have been reported, with slow response times for resolutions. Additionally, users have criticized the provider for its slow server speeds and inadequate customer support, despite appreciating the simplicity of its user interface. Overall, the feedback points towards significant areas for improvement, leading to generally low ratings and recommendations against the service.

ScalaHosting has earned high praise from users for its exceptional customer support, reliable uptime, and innovative SPanel technology. Many reviews highlight the company’s fast and knowledgeable technical support team, which ensures a smooth and efficient experience for users. While some users feel the pricing could be more competitive, the overall sentiment is that the services offered justify the cost. Users appreciate the platform’s ease of use, robust security features, and the flexibility of hosting solutions, making ScalaHosting a top choice for web hosting needs.

Directnic vs ScalaHosting: FAQ