Hostmonster vs Fastcomet: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over HostMonster vs. FastComet, both hosting providers offer solid services, but there are distinct advantages to each.

• 
  FastComet (Overall grade: 7.7)
  
  
  shines with its exceptional performance, thanks to top-tier hardware like AMD EPYC processors, NVMe SSDs, and the LiteSpeed Enterprise web server that significantly boost website speed and reliability. It also excels in security through Imunify360, Web Application Firewall, free unlimited SSL certificates, and daily off-site backups. The cost-effective plans come with reliable uptime, faster load times, and comprehensive support, including specialized assistance and a flexible Cloud hosting option which makes FastComet highly suitable for ecommerce and scalable businesses.
  
• 
  HostMonster (Overall grade: 7.4)
  
  
  provides a user-friendly hosting experience, especially for high-traffic and multimedia websites with unmetered bandwidth and advanced multimedia support. It offers reliable uptime with excellent MAC uptime and basic email services. Although the company provides substantial features like unlimited email accounts, site builder, and a one-year free domain, the interface can be challenging for non-technical users. The post-initial-term price hikes and lack of free site migrations or daily backups are noted downsides, making it less flexible compared to FastComet, particularly for businesses looking for extensive scalability and security.
  

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

SECTION-1:

🏆 Winner
FastComet: Reliable with advanced performance metrics and extensive monitoring capabilities.

FastComet’s uptime and availability are supported by a 99.9% uptime commitment and proactive monitoring across multiple global locations. The hosting includes 24/7 support and a generous compensation plan for downtime. FastComet offers extensive data center and CDN access point coverage, ensuring optimal website performance and network reliability. Automated service recovery mechanisms further enhance uptime.

HostMonster delivers excellent uptime and reliable website performance. Testing over 14 days showed zero downtime, with only two minor outages, each under five minutes, in over a month of monitoring. The hosting package includes reliable customer support and security features, although pricing increases post the initial term. A 30-day money-back guarantee adds value but lacks month-to-month billing flexibility.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: For users who prioritize speed and advanced technological infrastructure, Sitrground is more suitable for high-demand websites that require reliable and fast global access.

FastComet shines with its top-tier hardware and impressive data center network. Utilizing AMD EPYC processors and NVMe SSDs, users experience significantly faster load times and query speeds. Its LiteSpeed Enterprise web server enhances WordPress performance. FastComet provides a free CloudFlare CDN for swift content delivery and boasts 11 strategically placed data centers. In contrast, HostMonster offers standard and high performance across its plans, with unmetered bandwidth and maxed at 150 concurrent MySQL connections.

Website Speed

FastComet excels in website speed with an LCP time of 872ms, significantly outperforming HostMonster’s 1.8 seconds. Although both fall within the acceptable range of LCP (up to 2.5 seconds is considered good), FastComet’s website speed is notably better, indicating a more efficient user experience.

Website speed

FastComet’s website speed is astonishing, powered by LiteSpeed Enterprise web server, known to be 12x faster than traditional NGINX and 84x faster than Apache. Its integration with WordPress LiteSpeed Cache (LSCWP) and automatic malware scans further optimize load times. HostMonster, while reliable, doesn’t match FastComet’s speed, offering standard and high performance on their tiers, utilizing dual quad processor servers, and custom Apache web servers.

Scalability

Both hosting providers offer scalability options tailored to varying needs; however, FastComet provides a more customized approach with its custom cloud plans where resources can be configured to user requirements. HostMonster also offers a variety of hosting types, including shared and dedicated servers, with tiered pricing to accommodate different user levels.

FastComet provides seamless scalability with its cloud options, allowing users to increase CPU, RAM, and storage on the fly through a one-click purchase, no downtime involved. HostMonster scales via plan upgrades from Basic to Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro, with differing degrees of performance and resources. Pricing to scale with FastComet is straightforward with their scalable cloud, whereas HostMonster would require moving to higher tiers, which might not be as flexible.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: A robust hosting provider with extensive security features and compliance measures.

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

Technical security measures:

Both HostMonster and FastComet offer comprehensive security measures, but there are key differences. HostMonster provides SSL secure servers and offers premium SSL certificates starting at $80.04 per year, whereas FastComet provides free unlimited SSL certificates with full ACMEv2 support. HostMonster supports PHP 5 and customization of PHP settings, while FastComet offers a wider range, from PHP 5.6 to 8.2. FastComet also includes an advanced Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against SQL injections and cross-site scripting attacks, which is not specified by HostMonster. Additionally, FastComet’s Imunify360 platform offers extensive security functionalities like traffic monitoring and IP reputation filtering.

Operational security measures:

FastComet includes daily and on-demand complete account malware scans and offers automatic application updates. HostMonster leverages SiteLock Security which provides daily vulnerability scans and automatic malware removal. FastComet also isolates accounts with CloudLinux to prevent cross-account vulnerabilities, a feature not mentioned by HostMonster. Off-site backups are another plus for FastComet, providing up to 30 daily backups, whereas HostMonster’s backup details are less specified. Lastly, both providers support two-factor authentication and spam protection; FastComet uses SpamExperts for advanced email filtering, while HostMonster uses Spam Assassin.

Compliance and certifications:

HostMonster complies with GDPR and PCI standards, offering detailed rights for EU residents and PCI compliance support for A and B standards. FastComet also adheres to GDPR, hiding personal data by default for EEA customers, but does not explicitly mention PCI compliance. Both do not specify HIPAA compliance, focusing more on general website security and privacy regulations essential for hosting.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: FastComet stands out with a wide array of advanced features that make it a versatile and powerful hosting option.

Both HostMonster and FastComet offer an array of features, but each provider has its unique advantages. HostMonster, powered by Bluehost, includes a free drag-and-drop site builder that makes creating a website straightforward and user-friendly, even for those without coding skills. Additionally, HostMonster offers unlimited disk storage and domain hosting, which can be quite appealing for users looking to host multiple websites. FastComet, on the other hand, emphasizes its strong security features like Imunify360, Web Application Firewall, IP Reputation Guard, and Malware Protection. FastComet also includes free Cloudflare CDN integration, which can enhance website speed and performance, especially for global audiences.

FastComet includes some unique selling points that can affect a customer’s decision. For instance, it provides up to 30 offsite backups daily, offering robust data protection. The hosting plans are competitively priced, with a low entry cost and significant discounts on the first-year subscription. HostMonster also offers valuable features like unlimited email accounts, add-on domains, and subdomains. However, the lack of an email autoresponder feature might be a downside for some users. FastComet’s plans come with free domain registration, unlike HostMonster, which provides the domain free only for the first year. This makes FastComet more attractive for long-term savings.

Email services:

HostMonster provides unlimited POP3/IMAP email support with three different webmail solutions and unlimited forwarding email accounts. FastComet also offers email hosting with integration options for mail notifications and management tools, but it does not specify unlimited email accounts like HostMonster. Both providers do not mention offering transactional email capabilities or reselling third-party email services like Google Workspace or Outlook, making them largely comparable in this respect.

🏆 Winner FastComet: FastComet provides a higher value plan with extensive features and superior performance.

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.

When comparing HostMonster and FastComet, FastComet’s plans offer a cost-effective solution with many included features such as CDN integration and daily backups, even in its basic shared hosting. HostMonster offers higher-priced plans with certain features such as free domain registration and unmetered bandwidth, but lacks the comprehensive security suite provided by FastComet. FastComet’s dedication to ultra-fast SSD storage and 24/7 support also make it an attractive option for those looking for affordability without compromising on essential features.

Enterprise plans

HostMonster offers the Pro Plan with high performance, unmetered website space, and advanced features such as dedicated IP and Positive SSL starting at $33.99 per month. On the other hand, FastComet’s DS 8 Plan features 56 CPU cores, 256 GB RAM, 5000 GB SSD storage, and 11 TB bandwidth at $1772.95 per month, including DDoS protection and Imunify360 Security. While FastComet’s enterprise plans provide more computing power and enhanced security, HostMonster remains a solid option for businesses requiring robust web hosting without extensive compute requirements.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: Offers a quick setup with comprehensive features and free services that make it a strong choice for website hosting.

When comparing the admin panels of HostMonster and FastComet, HostMonster utilizes the standard cPanel, known for its familiarity and ease of use among web hosting users. It provides an intuitive interface that even non-technical users can quickly grasp. The cPanel is highly accessible, offering various tools and features that simplify website management tasks such as email setup, file management, and domain management.

FastComet also offers cPanel for its users, which ensures a consistent and user-friendly experience similar to HostMonster. It allows both technical and non-technical users to manage their websites with relative ease. FastComet enhances the user experience with its Smart Control Center, which provides detailed information about billing, account status, current resource usage, and site traffic. This extra layer of transparency helps users stay informed and in control of their hosting environment.

For site migration, both hosting providers offer effective solutions. HostMonster doesn’t specify free migration services, which could imply an additional fee or restrictions on this service. On the other hand, FastComet provides free website and server migrations with no downtime included in all its plans. FastComet’s express transfer feature ensures a fast and painless process, making it an attractive option for those looking to switch hosts easily.

Evaluating the quality and accessibility of help center resources, HostMonster has a comprehensive help center filled with articles, guides, and video tutorials. Their resources cover a wide range of topics useful for beginners and advanced users alike. The 24/7 support via phone and chat also provides immediate assistance. FastComet’s knowledge base, while extensive, is structured into numerous specific categories, with 3000+ pages of tutorials to get users started. Both providers offer live chat support, but FastComet stands out by also including instant mail notifications for full communication history.

🏆 Winner HostMonster: HostMonster offers customizable user management through a modified cPanel, enhancing user control.

HostMonster employs a modified version of cPanel for user management, offering possibilities for role-based access and permissions, although specific details are lacking. FastComet, by contrast, does not provide detailed information regarding user management features. HostMonster’s cPanel could imply greater flexibility in defining and managing user roles, whereas the absence of details for FastComet makes it difficult to assess their capabilities comprehensively. Consequently, HostMonster appears better equipped for establishing defined user roles and permissions.

HostMonster integrates a modified cPanel, facilitating user management through an intuitive interface, which probably includes user-friendly tools for setting permissions and roles. FastComet’s user management tools remain unspecified, making HostMonster’s cPanel an attractive choice for a clear and structured interface. The emphasis on managing users through a familiar and widely-used cPanel interface likely makes HostMonster more accessible for a broad range of users, from novices to advanced web administrators.

HostMonster’s cPanel likely supports effective access control measures, essential for securely managing multiple users and permissions. The modified cPanel’s versatility suggests it can handle a growing number of users efficiently, addressing evolving business needs. FastComet’s capabilities in this area are unspecified, leaving its effectiveness and scalability unexamined. HostMonster, therefore, suggests a more reliable and scalable solution for businesses anticipating growth and increased user management needs.

HostMonster user roles table:

🏆 Winner
FastComet: Offering an extensive array of customer support options and ensuring swift resolution of support requests.

HostMonster provides a variety of support channels, including 24/7 technical phone support, live chat, and a detailed knowledgebase to assist with common inquiries. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and include SSL certificates and a free domain name for one year with their hosting plans. While they ensure basic customer service availability, there is no emphasis on priority support or immediate escalation for complex issues.

FastComet excels with its comprehensive support system available 24/7/365, demonstrating efficiency by resolving most issues within 15 minutes. They offer specialized support levels and priority assistance which ensure a competent response to customer needs. Their service includes free site migrations, off-site backups, and an extensive 45-day money-back guarantee. FastComet’s proactive uptime commitment and downtime compensation policy also ensure reliability.

User feedback

HostMonster receives mixed reviews from users, with positive feedback highlighting its affordable pricing, reliable uptime, and quick website loading times. Users also appreciate the extensive range of features such as addons for security, easy integration with MySQL, and a generally good customer service experience. However, many users find the user interface to be difficult to navigate, particularly for non-technical individuals, and note that technical support can be inconsistent, often more focused on sales than solving issues. Additionally, unexpected costs and technical limitations like frequent PHP updates and challenges with deploying large applications have also been pointed out as significant drawbacks.

Fastcomet’s hosting services receive high praise for their reliability, speed, and exceptional customer support. Users appreciate the extensive feature set, user-friendly control panel, and uptime consistency, making it an excellent choice for personal and small business websites. However, some users find the price point to be higher than certain competitors, and a few have encountered issues with disk space limits, email services, and occasional downtime. Overall, Fastcomet is recommended for its robust support and high-quality performance, though potential customers should weigh the cost and specific feature needs.

FAQ