Netfirms vs Fastcomet: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Comparing Netfirms and FastComet highlights significant differences in performance, features, and overall value.

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  FastComet (Overall grade: 7.7)
  
  
  offers a feature-rich hosting experience with superior website speed, comprehensive security measures, and excellent scalability options. FastComet’s integration of advanced technology such as NVMe SSDs, LiteSpeed Cache, and Cloudflare CDN ensures fast and reliable web performance. It includes a user-friendly cPanel, extensive global data centers, daily offsite backups, and strong customer support, making it a great choice for individuals and businesses looking for high performance and robust security. The various hosting options, from shared to cloud hosting, provide flexibility for growth, especially with the seamless scalability features. FastComet stands out with its free website migration service, enhanced security features, and competitive pricing on detailed hosting plans.
  
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  Netfirms (Overall grade: 7.3)
  
  
  provides a solid hosting service for those seeking dependable performance with a 99.9% uptime. With data centers in the USA and Canada, Netfirms offers stable service suitable for small to medium-sized websites. Their hosting plans, including unlimited storage, scalable bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate, provide essential features for building and maintaining websites. However, the lack of advanced hardware and fewer CDN points results in slower performance compared to FastComet. The integration with Google Workspace and unlimited FTP logins adds usability, but the service may fall short for high-traffic or resource-intensive sites. Despite its practicality for simpler needs, Netfirms’ higher cost for dedicated hosting and limited scalability might be less appealing for fast-growing businesses.
  

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 uptime and extensive availability features.

Section 2: Netfirms demonstrates stable performance with a 99.9% uptime promise and instances of 100% uptime during testing. They have data centers in the USA and Canada, providing 24/7 customer support through multiple channels. Netfirms also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, but the explicit uptime guarantee is missing on their official site.

Section 3: FastComet stands out with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, excluding maintenance, and ensures 100% network uptime. They employ continuous website monitoring from multiple global locations and offer compensation for downtime. FastComet has over a dozen data centers, numerous CDN access points, and 24/7 support, making it the preferable choice for high reliability.

🏆 Winner: FastComet: High-performing and feature-rich hosting service.

Comparing general performance between Netfirms and FastComet showcases FastComet as superior in several areas. FastComet utilizes AMD EPYC servers and NVMe SSDs that provide significantly faster query and file access times, ensuring better website speed overall. Additionally, FastComet supports LiteSpeed Enterprise Web Server and HTTP/3, elevating website performance to new heights. FastComet also offers free CloudFlare CDN integration, featuring over 200 CDN access points globally, facilitating swift content delivery. Their 11 data centers are strategically located worldwide, supporting consistent and rapid site performance. Netfirms, although reliable with a 99.9% uptime and sufficient performance for small to medium websites, lacks the advanced hardware and extensive CDN infrastructure seen with FastComet.

Website Speed

FastComet’s website speed outclasses that of Netfirms, largely due to its advanced server hardware and integrated caching methods like LiteSpeed Cache and Brotli compression. The NVMe SSDs used by FastComet are 7x faster in query and file access compared to traditional SSDs. FastComet also incorporates HTTP/3, which offers quicker and more secure connections. While Netfirms offers scalable bandwidth and stable uptime, its standard SSDs and reliance on Let’s Encrypt SSL don’t match the speed-boosting technologies and optimizations provided by FastComet.

Scalability

FastComet excels in scalability with its seamless cloud resource adjustments that allow for real-time increases in CPU, RAM, and storage without downtime. This flexibility supports growing websites effectively. FastComet does not specify whether dedicated servers are available directly, though it offers dedicated resource availability on shared plans. Netfirms, on the other hand, provides dedicated hosting for high-demand websites, though at a higher cost. Scalability with Netfirms typically involves plan upgrades rather than real-time resource adjustments, making FastComet the more flexible and cost-effective option for dynamic scaling needs.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: FastComet provides strong security features with added specifications over Netfirms.

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

Technical security measures:

Netfirms offers SSL certificates with varying levels of protection, including a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt, and has detailed support structures for e-commerce and subdomains security. FastComet also provides free standard and wildcard SSL certificates with simple installation. When it comes to PHP support, FastComet supports numerous PHP versions from 5.6 to 8.2. Unlike Netfirms, FastComet explicitly mentions its PHP version support, adding flexibility for developers. Additionally, FastComet’s Imunify360 Security Platform delivers comprehensive traffic monitoring and protection features, which are not specifically mentioned by Netfirms.

Operational security measures:

Netfirms includes SiteLock security plans offering daily malware scans, DDoS protection, and more, though response times vary by plan. It also offers domain privacy and blacklist monitoring. FastComet goes further with its always-on IP reputation guard, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and daily malware and exploit scans. Account isolation in CloudLinux environments and Cloudflare partnership for DNS and DDoS protection also stand out. FastComet’s additional features like account no-suspension policy, two-factor authentication, and extensive daily offsite backups enhance its operational security measures beyond what is mentioned for Netfirms.

Compliance and certifications:

Netfirms aligns with GDPR since May 2018 and ensures PCI compliance for secure credit card transactions with CISP standards, offering verification via SiteLock. FastComet hides personal data under GDPR Protection for all EEA customers and provides domain privacy as an optional feature. PCI compliance isn’t explicitly mentioned for FastComet, though its extensive security measures suggest high data protection standards.

🏆 Winner
FastComet: A feature-rich, customer-centric hosting provider with a wide range of services and robust security measures.

When comparing Netfirms and FastComet, both providers offer valuable features that cater to different user needs. Netfirms offers a free domain name for the first year, a suite of eCommerce solutions, marketing tools, and scalable bandwidth across all plans. They also provide unlimited storage, 24/7 support, and a free SSL certificate with each plan. FastComet, on the other hand, includes a cPanel control panel, free domain registration, detailed performance and uptime monitoring, daily offsite backups, and free CDN integration powered by Cloudflare. Both providers ensure robust security features; however, FastComet has a slight edge with its enhanced security benefits like Imunify360 and Web Application Firewall.

Despite Netfirms’ commendable features, FastComet stands out with its extensive SSH access included in all packages and site migration services. While Netfirms offers unlimited FTP logins depending on the plan, FastComet provides unlimited FTP accounts, making file management more flexible. FastComet also includes a comprehensive WordPress Toolkit for mass management and automatic updates, which is a significant advantage for users focused on WordPress-centric projects. Both providers come with 24/7 customer support, making them reliable choices, but FastComet’s broader range of tools and customizability can appeal more to tech-savvy users and growing businesses.

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 Netfirms 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:

Netfirms does not explicitly mention its transactional email capabilities or whether it offers email hosting services. In contrast, FastComet provides robust email hosting with tools for setting up email campaigns and managing communications. FastComet delivers a complete email solution, potentially including transactional emails and integration with third-party services like Google Workspace and Microsoft Outlook, making it a better choice for businesses with email marketing needs.

🏆 Winner FastComet: FastComet scores slightly higher overall, mainly due to the robust features included in their plans and the transparency of what’s included.

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 the pricing plans of Netfirms and FastComet reveals significant differences in offerings. FastComet’s shared hosting plans start at a lower price but come with varying storage and bandwidth limits. Netfirms provides unlimited storage across its shared hosting plans but at higher starting prices. FastComet offers more features like free CDN integration, custom server setups, and daily backups even in basic plans. In contrast, Netfirms highlights unlimited storage and scalable bandwidth. FastComet accommodates both small and large-scale needs through its detailed range of plans, whereas Netfirms focuses more on traditional shared hosting structures.

Enterprise plans

For enterprises needing advanced features and resources, FastComet’s Dedicated CPU Servers provide robust options with high core counts, large amounts of RAM, and significant storage capacities at competitive prices. FastComet’s plans include advanced security features such as Imunify360, free daily backups, and 24/7 expert support. Netfirms, while offering solid shared hosting plans, does not list detailed dedicated hosting options which may not meet the demands of larger enterprises needing more scalable and secure infrastructure. Thus, enterprises would find FastComet’s extensive dedicated server options more suitable for their complex hosting needs.

🏆 Winner FastComet: FastComet offers seamless setup and efficient migration tools, ideal for both beginners and advanced users.

Netfirms provides an admin panel integrated with Google Workspace, making it quite accessible for users familiar with Google tools. It also features 24/7 technical support directly within the control panel, allowing for easy access to support without switching platforms. This integration can greatly simplify initial setup and ongoing management for non-technical users.

FastComet uses a standard cPanel interface, which is known for its user-friendly design and wide range of functionalities. The one-click app marketplace makes the admin panel particularly attractive for users looking to install various applications without hassle. The immediate account activation feature removes waiting time, allowing users to get started instantly. Both technical and non-technical users can navigate through it with ease, thanks to its intuitive layout and comprehensive features.

Both Netfirms and FastComet offer free site migration services, ensuring users can switch to their platforms without downtime. Netfirms provides automatic backups and easy restoration options, as well as manual backup creation through their integrated tools. FastComet excels with its people-powered express transfer service, which is speedy and painless, making it straightforward for users to move their sites. FastComet also offers free website and server migrations with up to six months of unused time compensation—all at no extra cost.

Netfirms offers an extensive knowledge base with articles covering a wide range of topics, including website management, security, and compliance. FastComet’s help center is equally resourceful, featuring a detailed knowledge base with sections on web hosting, cPanel, applications, and more. They offer over 3000 pages of step-by-step tutorials, which can be beneficial for users needing detailed instructions. Both providers have 24/7 support, but FastComet’s additional live chat support and comprehensive article library give it a slight edge.

🏆 Winner Netfirms: Efficient user management with well-defined roles.

Netfirms offers comprehensive user management features in WordPress, allowing site owners to create and assign specific roles with distinct permissions. Users can be categorized as Administrators, Editors, Authors, Contributors, and Subscribers, each with access tailored to their function within the site. In contrast, FastComet does not provide detailed information on user management and roles, which limits its flexibility and usability for site management. Hence, Netfirms has a clear advantage in creating and defining user roles and permissions efficiently.

Netfirms’ WordPress dashboard presents a straightforward and user-friendly interface for managing users. The process of adding a new user is a seamless experience involving a few simple steps to input user details and assign appropriate roles. The navigation in Netfirms is intuitive, making it easy to locate user management settings. FastComet’s lack of detailed user management information means we can only infer that their interface may not be as robust or user-centric, thus possibly causing difficulties for administrators needing to manage numerous users.

Effective access control is crucial for the scalability of any hosting platform. Netfirms allows site owners to efficiently manage access controls via distinct user roles, which can significantly reduce the complexity of user permissions as the website grows. Each role’s permissions are clearly defined, ensuring users only navigate areas their role permits. Without detailed user management data for FastComet, we cannot ascertain its effectiveness in this area, potentially making it less suitable for sites expecting substantial user base growth. Netfirms’ clear role definitions provide assurance in scaling and maintaining site integrity.

Netfirms user roles table:

🏆 Winner FastComet: Delivers superior customer support and a plethora of additional features making it highly reliable for all hosting needs.

Netfirms offers a range of customer support options, including 24/7 availability through phone, web chat, and email. The average response times are short, providing assistance within a few minutes, and their representatives are knowledgeable and efficient. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and prioritize support for their highest tier hosting package customers. While the general feedback is positive, there are occasional reports of issues with billing and cancellation processes.

FastComet, on the other hand, provides continuous 24/7/365 customer support with a strong track record for resolving issues quickly—83% of problems are addressed within 15 minutes. They offer multiple contact methods including live chat, phone, and email/ticketing system. Their escalation system ensures speedy response and accurate issue handling at varying complexity levels. Alongside their customer support, they have additional benefits such as free migrations, daily backups, and a more extended 45-day money-back guarantee. Given these features and the higher overall score, FastComet is the preferred hosting provider.

User feedback

Based on user reviews, the hosting provider appears to offer decent uptime and moderately reliable customer support. However, users frequently report slow server performance and connectivity issues that significantly hamper the experience. While some appreciate the low costs and basic domain registration services, others criticize the clunky system, confusing server setup, and unreliability, especially when working with CMS tools. Overall, the service seems better suited for those with low budgets and high patience.

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