Domain.com vs Contabo: guide for 2024

Domain.com vs Contabo: Final verdict

Looking over Domain.com vs. Contabo, Contabo emerges as a stronger contender given its superior performance and extended feature set.

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  Contabo (Overall grade: 7.6)
  
  
  offers a range of VPS, cloud, and dedicated hosting plans with high-performance specs like AMD EPYC processors and NVMe storage. It boasts a robust uptime guarantee (99.996%) and extensive security measures, including DDoS protection and two-factor authentication. Contabo’s global data centers and scalable VPS options make it suitable for high-traffic and multimedia-heavy websites. However, it lacks shared and WordPress-specific hosting, and its control panel, while highly functional, may be daunting for less technical users. Customer support is limited compared to some competitors, with no 24/7 chat and a more technical orientation that might deter beginners.
  
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  Domain.com (Overall grade: 6.2)
  
  
  focuses on user-friendly shared and WordPress hosting, with services like a drag-and-drop website builder and Google Workspace integration suited for agencies and less tech-savvy users. It falls short in uptime reliability and lacks the advanced infrastructure and global reach found with Contabo. Domain.com provides a free domain for the first year and strong email hosting, but its overall feature set is more limited. While it offers extensive 24/7 customer support and clear refund policies, the performance lags due to slower response times and the absence of advanced storage options and scalable VPS 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
Contabo: Contabo excels in uptime and availability, making it the preferred choice.

Domain.com promises a 99.99% uptime guarantee, yet actual tests reveal a significant gap between claims and performance. Tests showed Domain.com’s uptime at just 99.11% over two weeks and 98% in another test, lagging behind expectations. Additionally, Domain.com’s response time averaged 2.97 seconds, with reliability issues under load.

Contabo’s uptime guarantee stands strong at 99.996%, coupled with fast and responsive processors. The provider has multiple data centers globally, ensuring better availability and performance. Furthermore, Contabo offers comprehensive security features including DDoS protection and enforced two-factor authentication. Overall, Contabo consistently delivers in uptime and response time, positioning it well ahead.

🏆 Winner: Contabo: Offers advanced infrastructure with an impressive uptime guarantee.

Comparing the general performance of Domain.com and Contabo reveals significant differences. Contabo’s hosting stands out with AMD EPYC 7282 16-core processors and offers storage options including SSDs and PCIe NVMe SSDs, ensuring rapid data access and improved load times. They provide a connection speed up to 10Gbit/s and come with unlimited inbound data transfer and 32TB outgoing traffic, making it a top choice for speed. Contabo has multiple data centers worldwide, including in the US, UK, Germany, and Singapore. Domain.com, on the other hand, provides unmetered bandwidth and a 99% uptime guarantee but lacks the advanced processor and high-speed storage options that Contabo offers. Domain.com features a single centralized service without a CDN.

Website Speed

In terms of website speed, Contabo takes the lead with its top-tier AMD processors and high-speed SSD and NVMe storage, which ensures quick load times. Their 10Gbit/s connection speeds also contribute to faster page delivery. Domain.com offers adequate speed with unlimited bandwidth and a 99% uptime but does not match the hardware performance levels seen with Contabo. The scalable bandwidth on Domain.com helps maintain speed during traffic spikes but is limited to 1Gbit/s connections.

Scalability

Scalability is another area where Contabo excels. Their VPS plans allow for flexible upgrades without causing downtime or affecting availability. Contabo provides dedicated server options and seamless scaling by enhancing existing plans or switching to higher plans. Details on the cost of scaling Domain.com’s services are unavailable, and it seems to lack the automatic elastic scaling offered by Contabo. Domain.com users may need to manually upgrade plans to access more resources, whereas Contabo offers more streamlined scaling pathways.

🏆 Winner
Contabo: Offering a robust set of security features and excellent protections, Contabo stands out as a leading hosting provider.

Both Domain.com and Contabo, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

Both Domain.com and Contabo come with strong SSL certificate offerings. Domain.com provides various SSL certificates catering to different needs, including Domain Validated, Organization Validated, eCommerce SSL, and Wildcard SSL, with varying warranties up to $1,750,000. Contabo also offers SSL certificates that are crucial for enhancing secure communications. Contabo allows customization of PHP versions, while the PHP support details are not specified for Domain.com. Additionally, Contabo includes Imunify AV with cPanel servers for added security, offering upgrades to Imunify AV+ or Imunify 360 for automated clean-up. Domain.com employs SiteLock Security that includes malware protection, removal, and continuous scanning on higher-tier plans, along with a Web Application Firewall and DDoS protection.

Operational security measures:

Domain.com provides round-the-clock support, domain privacy + protection, and automatic malware removal. Contabo, on the other hand, has more extensive operational measures, including always-on DDoS protection, 24/7 surveillance at their data centers, access control through magnetic cards, and Two-Factor Authentication for accounts. Contabo also offers advanced monitoring tools and comprehensive backup and recovery solutions, such as FTP backup and Object Storage options. These features ensure quick identification of potential threats and offer peace of mind to customers by allowing multiple backup solutions.

Compliance and certifications:

Both Domain.com and Contabo adhere to GDPR regulations. Domain.com ensures data protection under GDPR, offering several rights to EU residents and protecting WHOIS data of EU domain name registrants. Contabo is fully compliant with GDPR and follows strict procedures to safeguard user data. For PCI compliance, Domain.com explicitly mentions ensuring compliance with PCI regulations for handling credit card information, whereas Contabo implies industry-standard practices that support PCI compliance but does not explicitly state it.

🏆 Winner
Contabo: Offering robust performance and flexibility, Contabo stands out with its higher score and advanced features.

Both Domain.com and Contabo provide a range of hosting features designed to cater to various user needs. Domain.com focuses on a user-friendly experience with its drag-and-drop website builder, making it easy for beginners to create a site without extensive technical knowledge. It also offers unlimited bandwidth and storage, and a free domain for the first year. For those who need extensive support, Domain.com provides 24/7 chat support and several types of hosting services, including shared, dedicated, and WordPress hosting with curated themes and pre-installed plugins. One potential drawback is the lack of specific information on SSH availability, which could be a consideration for more advanced users.

Conversely, Contabo is tailored more towards users who need high-performance hosting and flexible control panel features. It utilizes powerful AMD EPYC processors and offers substantial traffic and storage options. Contabo’s website does not explicitly mention a website builder, which might be a limitation for users seeking an easy-to-use interface for website creation. However, Contabo supports full root access, implying SSH availability, which is crucial for advanced users. Additionally, it offers various managed and unmanaged services, multiple OS options, and extensive customer support options, including tickets and phone support. Its global data centers and comprehensive security measures, including DDoS protection and 24/7 monitoring, add a layer of reliability and performance many users may find appealing.

Email services:

Domain.com offers email hosting capabilities, allowing users to manage and secure email accounts. Specifics on transactional email capabilities or integration with third-party services like Google Workspace or Outlook are not detailed. Contabo, on the other hand, also supports email hosting and provides options for users to resell third-party services like Google Workspace. This makes Contabo a versatile option for users who need comprehensive email management and integration capabilities.

🏆 Winner
Reliable VPS hosting options with exceptional resources and value for money: Contabo: Reliable VPS hosting options with exceptional resources and value for money.

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.

Domain.com offers consistent pricing across its shared and WordPress hosting plans at $3.75 per month, providing limited storage and visitor capacity but including useful features like free domains and SSL certificates for the first year. Contabo provides a range of extensive VPS plans, starting from $3.99 per month, boasting high RAM, substantial storage options, and significant traffic capacity al benefits like DDoS protection and control panel choices.

Enterprise plans

Domain.com offers less substantial plans focused primarily on shared and WordPress hosting with modest resources at a competitive price. Contabo’s enterprise-level plans in their VPS and dedicated server offerings present robust configurations with high memory and storage capacity, catering to app development, database hosting, and large-scale eCommerce. This makes Contabo a superior choice for enterprise needs.

🏆 Winner: Domain.com: A user-friendly hosting provider with a seamless setup process and extensive support options.

Domain.com provides a highly accessible admin panel, offering a custom control panel that is designed with non-technical users in mind. Their drag-and-drop website builder simplifies the process of creating and organizing a website, while their AI-powered website builder takes ease of use even further by automating much of the setup. Additionally, Domain.com integrates Google Workspace within their control panel, providing easy access to professional email and productivity tools. This makes it especially user-friendly for beginners or those who are not technically inclined.

Contabo, on the other hand, offers a more technical experience through their Control Panel. It provides comprehensive server management features, allowing users to manage their VPS and dedicated servers with ease. You can set up your server’s location, operating system, and control panel during the order process, and the panel includes tools for managing server status, reboots, snapshots, and OS reinstalls. While the Contabo Control Panel is powerful and detailed, it might feel overwhelming for non-technical users who are unfamiliar with server management.

When it comes to migration tools, Domain.com has an edge with its more accessible options. Domain.com provides WordPress hosting with pre-installed plugins, which can simplify the process of migrating a WordPress site. While it’s not explicitly stated whether these tools are free, the seamless integration suggests ease of use at minimal extra cost. Contabo, however, does not offer specific tools or services for site migration within the provided information. Users may need to handle migration manually, which could be challenging for less experienced users.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. Domain.com offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Contabo 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.

🏆 Winner Domain.com: Domain.com offers superior user management capabilities for WordPress users.

Domain.com provides a structured approach to user roles with predefined categories such as Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, and Subscriber. This makes it easy for administrators to assign roles based on the user’s responsibilities. On the other hand, Contabo focuses on client and server management rather than detailed user roles. While it allows users to authorize other people and access API credentials, it lacks the granular roles and permissions offered by Domain.com. This discrepancy highlights Domain.com’s focus on content management and Contabo’s broader server management services.

Domain.com’s WordPress interface allows users to manage and create roles easily through a well-organized dashboard. Adding a new user involves straightforward steps, ensuring administrators can quickly configure roles and permissions. Contabo’s control panel is also user-friendly but geared towards server control rather than individual content management. Users can manage personal information and security settings, but the focus is less on creating user roles and more on global account management, such as API access and security features.

Access control with Domain.com is effective, especially for content-driven websites needing detailed user role definitions. Its structure ensures that content management is direct and streamlined, which is ideal for growing sites needing clear content oversight. Contabo’s control mechanism provides robust security with mandatory two-factor authentication and DDoS protection, but its user management is less well-suited for sites requiring detailed content-related roles. Contabo excels in offering high-level server management, making it valuable for users focusing on server and security rather than content roles.

Domain.com user roles table:

🏆 Winner
Domain.com: Offers extensive 24/7 support and a clear refund policy.

Domain.com provides 24/7 phone, web chat, and email support, ensuring customer queries are addressed promptly. The web chat feature connects users with a technician usually within two minutes, although it requires personal information submission first. The ease of access to various support channels, along with a well-documented knowledge base and friendly customer service reps, ensures an overall pleasant support experience. Additionally, the clear refund policy adds to user confidence.

Contabo offers phone support limited to specific hours and days, no live chat, and varied email response times. While it provides a thorough knowledge base and a responsive support ticket system, the lack of around-the-clock support and a money-back guarantee are significant drawbacks. Managed services and emergency support upgrades are available, but these come at an extra cost. The emphasis on a 99.996% uptime guarantee and advanced features like free DDoS protection provide some balanced compensation for the customer support limitations.

Domain.com vs Contabo: User feedback

User feedback for this hosting provider reveals a mixed experience. Many users appreciate its user-friendly platform, straightforward domain registration process, and reliable customer support. However, significant criticisms include poor customer service practices, confusing pricing and add-ons, and outdated or slow web interfaces. While some users praise the affordability and efficiency of domain management, others warn of hidden costs and problematic service.

Contabo offers affordable and powerful VPS plans, which are particularly beneficial for running demanding software and complex tasks. Several users have praised the reliability, stability, and cost-effectiveness of the service, highlighting its great value for money. However, frequent downtime, limited customer support, and a somewhat outdated control panel have been significant points of concern. Some users have experienced slow response times and unresolved service requests, suggesting areas for improvement in customer service and operational transparency.

Domain.com vs Contabo: FAQ