Hostwinds vs Fastcomet: guide for 2024

Hostwinds vs Fastcomet: Final verdict

Looking over Hostwinds vs. FastComet, 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.

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  FastComet (Overall grade: 7.7)
  
  
  shines with its advanced security features, including daily malware scans, DDoS protection, and Imunify360. With a 99.9% uptime guarantee and extensive monitoring capabilities, FastComet demonstrates excellent reliability. The integration of NVMe SSDs, AMD EPYC processors, HTTP/3 support, and a broad global presence of 11 data centers enhance both speed and scalability. FastComet offers competitive pricing, particularly for shared hosting, and includes several valuable features such as free daily backups, CDNs, and domain registration. Their customer support is highly praised for quick resolution times and thoughtful escalation levels.
  
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  Hostwinds (Overall grade: 7.1)
  
  
  provides a wide array of hosting types, catering well to agencies and high-traffic websites with dedicated servers and white-label reseller hosting. Utilizing SSD drives, Litespeed web servers, and Cloudflare CDN, Hostwinds ensures reliable speed performance. Although their 99.99% uptime promise fell short during monitoring, leading to 99.89% actual uptime. The hosting provider includes user-friendly migration tools, extensive support resources, and a Weebly Site Builder for easy website creation. While pricing for VPS and dedicated plans is competitive, its performance consistency and customer reviews are somewhat mixed, making it a solid but not superior choice compared to FastComet.
  

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
FastComet: Superior uptime and monitoring features.

FastComet stands out with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and extensive monitoring capabilities. They check site status every 60 seconds from 7 locations across 4 continents and compensate users with credits if downtime occurs. FastComet also promises 100% public network uptime, further boosting reliability.

Hostwinds, though competitive with its 99.99% uptime promise, reported only 99.89% uptime during monitoring. The response time is below market average at 945ms, and international loading times can vary significantly. Hostwinds offers consistent monitoring and redundancy but falls short in consistency and speed when compared to FastComet.

🏆 Winner: Leading the pack with advanced hardware and global data centers.

When comparing Hostwinds and FastComet, several aspects stand out. Both use advanced technologies to enhance speed and reliability, but FastComet edges ahead slightly. Hostwinds utilizes SSD drives, Litespeed web servers, and Cloudflare CDN, while FastComet employs AMD EPYC processors, NVMe SSDs, and HTTP/3 support. FastComet has a significant advantage with 11 data centers globally and 200+ CDN access points, ensuring coverage in more regions compared to the unspecified number of data centers by Hostwinds.

Website Speed

Both hosting services offer strong website speed performance. Hostwinds employs SSD drives and Litespeed web servers, ensuring rapid content delivery. FastComet takes it a step further with NVMe SSDs and AMD EPYC processors, significantly boosting query and file access speeds. With HTTP/3 support and WordPress LiteSpeed Cache, FastComet can potentially deliver much faster load times and better PageSpeed scores.

Scalability

FastComet’s scalability is seamless, allowing for instant upgrades in CPU, RAM, I/O, and storage with a simple click, without downtime. Hostwinds also offers quick scalability based on resource needs but requires a manual upgrade of server resources. Both services provide dedicated servers, but specific cost details for scaling weren’t available. FastComet’s straightforward and automatic approach gives it a slight edge in flexibility and ease of scaling.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: FastComet offers a broader range of security features and compliance measures, ensuring comprehensive protection and support.

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

Technical security measures:

Hostwinds provides AutoSSL for free on shared and business web hosting accounts and offers RapidSSL and WildCard SSL certificates for purchase, suitable for encrypting data and enhancing trust. It uses the LiteSpeed Web Server for fast content delivery and offers nightly backups. In contrast, FastComet offers unlimited free SSL certificates and a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that shields websites from various threats. FastComet further enhances security with daily malware scans, IP reputation guard, and file base vulnerabilities protection.

Operational security measures:

Both Hostwinds and FastComet have partnered with Cloudflare for content delivery network (CDN) services to enhance site load times and security. Hostwinds monitors websites around the clock and provides full management support for any issues. FastComet goes a step further by implementing Imunify360, an all-in-one security platform that offers advanced traffic monitoring, botnet blocking, and DDoS protection. FastComet also provides an account isolation feature, ensuring that individual accounts are protected from cross-account vulnerabilities.

Compliance and certifications:

Hostwinds does not specify GDPR or PCI compliance directly and suggests contacting their support for detailed information. FastComet guarantees GDPR compliance by default for data protection of EEA customers and offers domain privacy to mask personal WHOIS data. PCI compliance is not explicitly mentioned for either provider.

🏆 Winner: FastComet: A versatile hosting provider with comprehensive features suited for various user needs.

Hostwinds and FastComet both provide extensive hosting features, but they cater to different user needs. Hostwinds offers a broad range of hosting types including Web Hosting, Business Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Cloud Servers. Key highlights include unlimited FTP accounts, the latest cPanel, and a free dedicated IP with both their Web and Business Hosting packages. Hostwinds also provides full SSH access for VPS users, facilitating easier server management and customization. Its Weebly Site Builder, available across most plans, adds a layer of user-friendliness for those looking to quickly set up a website without extensive technical knowledge. Additionally, Hostwinds offers free website migrations and a friendliness guarantee, which underscores their emphasis on customer support and ease of transition.

FastComet, on the other hand, shines with its additional offerings and more comprehensive security measures. FastComet provides unlimited FTP accounts and free SSH access across all hosting plans, making it very accommodating for developers and advanced users. Unique selling points include a free domain name registration with every hosting account and off-site backups with up to 30 daily snapshots. Additionally, FastComet’s integration with Cloudflare CDN and robust security tools like Imunify360 and Web Application Firewall provide an added layer of security and performance enhancement. For users who value high security and easy scaling, FastComet’s services like free CDN integration and detailed daily optimization reports can be big determinants. Its user-friendly cPanel control and free website migration service further enhance its appeal.

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 Hostwinds and FastComet 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 Hostwinds offers unlimited email accounts as a standard feature across its web hosting packages, enabling users to set up their own email campaigns with ease. FastComet, likewise, provides email hosting but doesn’t specify transaction limitations, making it feasible for users to manage their emails effectively. Both providers ensure email hosting capabilities, but FastComet does not resell third-party services like Gmail or Outlook, unlike some specialized hosting providers. This makes both Hostwinds and FastComet suitable for personal and business email needs without external dependencies.

Winner FastComet: A leading choice due to its superior features and competitive pricing.

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 Hostwinds and FastComet hosting plans, FastComet emerges with competitive pricing and a wide array of features. FastComet’s shared hosting plans provide more storage options at lower prices and include several free extras, such as daily backups and CDN integration. Hostwinds, however, offers more extensive VPS and dedicated server options, suitable for businesses with higher demands. Both providers offer 24/7 support, solid-state drives, and free SSL certificates, but FastComet’s additional security and backup features present an enticing value. Hostwinds excels in its VPS and cloud offerings with greater scalability and customization.

Enterprise plans

For enterprises requiring significant resources, both Hostwinds and FastComet offer robust high-performance plans. Hostwinds’ Dedicated Server Hosting plans provide customizable options with up to 96 GB RAM and 750 GB storage starting at $122/mo. FastComet’s Dedicated CPU Servers offer more CPU cores and higher RAM at comparable prices, with the highest plan offering 56 cores and 256 GB RAM for $1772.95/mo. FastComet’s plans include additional features like DDoS protection, NVMe storage, and 24/7 system administration support, making it a solid choice for enterprise-level hosting.

🏆 Winner
Hostwinds: Offers user-friendly migration and setup tools with extensive support.

Hostwinds provides a standard cPanel interface across all its plans, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users. For Shared, Business, and Reseller Hosting, users get cPanel access, along with Softaculous for one-click app installations. The Weebly Drag-and-Drop Website Builder is an excellent feature for those without coding knowledge. For Cloud Servers, Hostwinds offers a Cloud Control Portal, which is user-friendly and provides comprehensive control over server management. This blend of features ensures that users of all technical levels can effortlessly manage their hosting services.

FastComet also uses a standard cPanel interface, making it straightforward for users accustomed to this control panel. Their one-click App Marketplace, which includes over 450 apps, significantly simplifies the setup process. FastComet’s Immediate Account Activation and Smart Control Center add to its user-friendliness, allowing users to quickly get started and monitor their hosting services efficiently. Both hosting providers offer intuitive and accessible admin panels, but the added Weebly Builder with Hostwinds gives it a slight edge for users seeking ease of website creation.

Both Hostwinds and FastComet provide free migration services. Hostwinds offers free website migration across all its hosting plans, handled by their support experts. FastComet also offers Express Transfer services as a standard feature in all its plans, ensuring smooth and quick migrations with zero downtime. The inclusion of free migration services by both providers makes site transfers hassle-free and convenient for users, distinguishing them as customer-friendly options.

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. FastComet 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
FastComet: A hosting provider focusing on user-friendly management tools and roles.

Comparing both platforms in terms of managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility reveals a lack of specific details for both Hostwinds and FastComet. Each provider does not offer detailed information on the flexibility of creating and defining user roles and permissions. Both platforms fall short in this respect, leading to an inconclusive comparison on this front.

When it comes to user interfaces and tools for managing users, neither Hostwinds nor FastComet provide comprehensive data. This lack of information makes it challenging to determine which platform offers a more intuitive or feature-rich user management interface. Both appear to provide basic user interaction without detailed tools or innovative interfaces.

Assessing the effectiveness of access control and the ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently, neither Hostwinds nor FastComet stands out due to the absence of specific data. Without detailed access control features or user management efficiency metrics, we cannot conclude which platform is better equipped to handle scalability or complex access requirements.

FastComet user roles table:

🏆 Winner
FastComet: An impressive customer support system with immediate response times and thoughtful escalation levels.

Hostwinds offers 24/7 customer support through live chat, phone, email, and a support ticket system. The service guarantees quick responses, with emails addressed within five minutes and live chat or phone calls answered in 30 seconds. Hostwinds is known for its extensive resources, including tutorials, product documentation, a blog, and community support. Free website migration and nightly backups add value to their services, although customer reviews are mixed.

FastComet boasts around-the-clock support and resolves most issues in under 15 minutes. Their support system includes live chat, phone, and an email/ticket system, plus three escalation levels to ensure competent issue handling. FastComet stands out with features like off-site backups, free SSL certificates, and CDN integration. Their uptime commitment and downtime compensations enhance reliability, as reflected in their higher customer satisfaction scores.

Hostwinds vs Fastcomet: User feedback

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.

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.

Hostwinds vs Fastcomet: FAQ