Network Solutions vs Fastcomet: guide for 2024

Network Solutions vs Fastcomet: Final verdict


Looking over FastComet vs. Network Solutions, 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.


  • Network Solutions (Overall grade: 7.4)


    provides a solid hosting platform with a variety of plans from basic shared hosting to advanced WordPress solutions. It shines in providing tools and services for agencies, like SEO and PPC advertising, which can be beneficial for business growth. While its uptime and speed are reliable, they lack the specialized performance enhancements seen in FastComet. Customer feedback on Network Solutions often points to higher costs and less responsive customer service, which may detract from its overall appeal. Nevertheless, it remains a dependable option, particularly for those who value additional business-oriented services.

  • FastComet (Overall grade: 7.7)


    offers a comprehensive suite of hosting options, including VPS and dedicated hosting, making it ideal for high-traffic and multimedia-heavy websites. Its advanced performance features such as NVMe SSDs and LiteSpeed Enterprise technology ensure superior speed and reliability. FastComet’s customer support is highly praised for its responsiveness and efficiency, with multiple channels available 24/7. Although some users may find the price point slightly higher, the range of features and excellent global reach make it a valuable choice for both personal projects and growing businesses.

Overall grade:7.4

Overall grade:7.7

Uptime and Availability 8.6 9.1
Hosting Performance 4.8 9.2
Hosting Security 7.7 8.6
Price 8.0 8.8
Hosting Features 6.5 8.2
Ease Of Setup 8.0 8.6
User Management 7.0 0.0
Customer Support 8.5 9.2
User feedback 1.9/5 4.5/5

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Shared hosting
Cloud hosting
WordPress hosting
Ecommerce hosting
VPS hosting
Dedicated hosting

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

WordPress
Tie: Both offer strong support and features, including managed WordPress hosting, making either a suitable choice depending on specific needs.

Ecommerce
FastComet: Offers superior support, reliability, and advanced features, making it a better choice for businesses prioritizing long-term growth and stability in their ecommerce.

Agencies
NetworkSolutions: Provides multiple business-oriented services like SEO and pay-per-click advertising, which can be highly beneficial for agencies.

High-traffic websites
FastComet: With dedicated and VPS hosting options, it offers better scalability and performance for high-traffic websites.

Multimedia websites
FastComet: Optimized for performance with features like LiteSpeed Enterprise Web Server and NVMe SSDs, making it a reliable choice for multimedia-heavy content.

Detailed comparison

Uptime and availability

Evaluates the average uptime statistics, uptime guarantee and overall availability of the hosting
provider

Score Components:

  • Uptime percentage (30%): evaluates the uptime statistics in given period of time
  • Uptime guarantee (20%): Assesses if the platform offers an uptime guarantee and
    whether the actual uptime matches the promised guarantee.
  • General performance (25%): Evaluates how fast is the average response time and overall
    it’s stability.
  • Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
  • Availability (25%): Reflects the total downtime and number of outages.

8.6
9.1

SECTION-1: Winner FastComet: Superior global reach and reliable uptime.

SECTION-2: Network Solutions provides a solid uptime guarantee of 99.9%, proving reliable with a recorded uptime of 99.917% over a month. While it faced occasional downtime, the longest being 19 minutes, the total downtime was kept to a modest 42 minutes. Network Solutions offers decent speed performance, rated as a B (85%) by GTmetrix, and backs this up with 24/7 technical support across various channels.

SECTION-3: FastComet guarantees 99.9% uptime and goes further by offering a 100% network uptime, excluding maintenance. The service is monitored every 60 seconds from seven global locations, ensuring immediate response to any issues. FastComet’s compensation policy adds extra reliability, providing credits for any downtime and proactive resource monitoring. The extensive infrastructure includes over 12 data centers and 200 CDN access points worldwide, supporting a global presence.

Which one has better hosting performance?

Evaluates the platforms hosting speed and performance tools
Score Components:

  • Hosting speed (30%): This includes SSD quality, Load times, PageSpeed score ranges,
    additional information on website speed, built-in plugins for performance enhancement, available caching
    methods, and CPU/RAM options
  • CDN (20%): Considers whether CDN is available or not, whether it’s free or paid, and
    the quality of the CDN service
  • Available data centers (30%): Evaluates the number of data centers and their locations
    globally.
  • Scalibility (20%): Looks at whether elastic scaling is available, the process required
    to scale (manual upgrade vs. automatic scaling), the presence of dedicated servers, and the costs
    associated with scaling.

4.8
9.2

🏆 Winner
FastComet:
Exceptional performance with advanced features for a great price.

Network Solutions and FastComet both offer competitive hosting services, but their performance characteristics differ significantly. FastComet leverages NVMe SSDs, which are 7x faster than typical SSDs, and provides LiteSpeed Enterprise technology for rapidly serving web pages. On the contrary, Network Solutions utilizes traditional SSDs with reliable performance but lacks advanced speed-boosting technologies. FastComet also supports 200+ CDN access points, ensuring swift content delivery worldwide, compared to Network Solutions’ unspecified CDN support. Furthermore, with 11 global data centers, FastComet outshines Network Solutions by providing more extensive coverage across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Website speed

FastComet’s website performance gets a significant boost thanks to LiteSpeed Enterprise Web Server and WordPress LiteSpeed Cache. These features make it 12x faster than NGINX for WordPress sites. With NVMe SSDs and HTTP/3 support, loading times are notably swift, while CloudFlare CDN integration helps maintain this speed globally. Network Solutions offers traditional SSDs and daily malware scans but lacks specialized tools for extensive speed enhancements. Overall, FastComet provides superior speed optimization features.

Scalability

FastComet allows seamless resource scaling with just one click, without any downtime. This elastic scaling model ensures that users can easily adjust CPU/RAM and storage as needed, making it convenient and cost-effective. It also supports dedicated servers, increasing the versatility of hosting options. On the other hand, specific details on Network Solutions’ scalability aren’t provided, leaving questions on how flexible the upgrades might be. Their pricing to scale is unclear, making FastComet a better choice for growing businesses.

Which one has better security features?

Reflects the platforms security measures, data privacy, backups and adherence to legal
and regulatory requirements

Score Components:

  • Technical security measures (40%): This includes encryption, firewalls, DDoS
    protection, secure configurations, server monitoring, access control and availability of security addons
    (e.g Sitelock security).
  • Operational security measures (30%): Encompasses data privacy, backups and data
    redundancy.
  • Compliance and certifications (20%): Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
    (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and possession of certifications (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2).
  • Business and reliability (10%): Factors in the provider’s reputation, uptime
    guarantees, and customer support.

7.7
8.6

🏆 Winner FastComet: Comprehensive suite of security measures and innovative features for enhanced website protection.

Technical security measures:

Network Solutions offers a range of SSL Certificates with various levels of validation and guarantees. FastComet provides unlimited free SSL Certificates with easy installation through Let’s Encrypt. FastComet supports multiple PHP versions, accommodating both legacy and modern application needs. Network Solutions does not specify PHP versions. Both providers include data encryption and malware protection, but FastComet leverages Web Application Firewall (WAF) for added security against vulnerabilities and an always-on IP reputation guard.

Operational security measures:

Network Solutions uses SiteLock for malware protection and CodeGuard for automated backups. FastComet employs Imunify360, offering traffic monitoring and protection from various types of web attacks. FastComet’s account isolation with CageFS ensures each user’s data is separated, enhancing security. Both providers conduct daily malware scans and have measures to defend against DDoS attacks. Network Solutions includes nsProtect Assured Website Seal for business verification, while FastComet has a robust off-site backup policy with multiple restore options.

Compliance and certifications:

Network Solutions focuses on GDPR and PCI compliance through SSL Certificates and data encryption, but detailed PCI compliance information is not specified. FastComet ensures GDPR compliance by masking personal data of EEA customers and offers Domain Privacy (ID Protect). PCI compliance is suggested by FastComet’s comprehensive security measures but is not explicitly confirmed.


SSL certificate

Variety with guarantees

Unlimited Let’s Encrypt

Additional security features

SiteLock, CodeGuard

Imunify360, WAF, IP reputation guard

PHP versions

Not specified

8.2, 8.1, 8.0, 7.4, 7.3, 7.2, 7.1, 7.0, 5.6

GDPR compliance

Yes, emphasized with SSL

Yes, GDPR Protection, ID Protect

HIPAA compliance

Not specified

Not specified

PCI compliance

Not specified

Not specified

Hosting features

Looks at the features offered by hosting platforms
Score Components:

  • Domains (20%): Assesses the availability of a free domain, domain purchase options, and
    pricing
  • Email (15%): Considers if the provider offers full email hosting, or is reselling
    third-party service, and if the email is only transactional or not
  • Website builder (15%): Checks if website builder is available, and it’s user
    friendliness and overall the level of customization allowed.
  • Staging environment (20%): Determines if a staging environment is available, allowing
    for testing changes before going live.
  • FTP & SFTP accounts (10%): Evaluates if and how easily users can access FTP and
    SFTP accounts
  • Git and SSH access (20%): Assess whether Git is integrated into the hosting service and
    if SSH access is provided

6.5
8.2

🏆 Winner: FastComet: A comprehensive hosting solution with robust features and user-friendly tools.

When comparing Network Solutions and FastComet, both providers offer an array of features catering to different user needs. Network Solutions comes with a solid hosting setup that includes several plans from Starter to Premium Plus. Each plan scales up in disk space, website capacity, and email box limits, making it suitable for users looking for scalable solutions. Particularly notable are the Premium and Premium Plus plans, offering unlimited disk space and email boxes, free domain registration, and SiteLock for malware protection. However, their plans might feel restrictive due to preset term durations and higher price points.

On the other hand, FastComet stands out with its more affordable price structures and extensive features. All plans include a free domain, free website and server migrations, and unlimited SSL certificates. FastComet also offers robust security features through Imunify360 and a variety of tools for managing and optimizing websites. For developers, SSH access and unlimited FTP/SFTP accounts are included across all plans. Moreover, their detailed performance monitoring, off-site backups, and CDN integration geared toward ensuring optimal uptime and speed, make FastComet an excellent choice for a seamless user experience.


Free domain

Yes, for the first year

Yes, for the first year

Free SSL

Yes, Premium Plus

Yes, unlimited

Email hosting

Yes

Yes

Website builder

No

Yes

Staging environment

No

Yes

FTP & SFTP accounts

Yes (FTP)

Yes

Git and SSH access

No

Yes

Free backup

Yes

Yes (Up to 30 daily backups)

Money back guarantee

No

Yes (45 days)
In some cases hosting providers offer different features based on various components like
a location.
As a result in rare cases the features mentioned here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.

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 Network Solutions 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:

Network Solutions offers email hosting with limits that increase as you upgrade to higher plans, from five email boxes in the Starter plan to unlimited in Premium and Premium Plus. These boxes can be managed for transactional emails and basic campaigns. FastComet provides a more significant convenience with no email box limits on any plan and straightforward options for setting up email campaigns. Both services do not appear to offer reselling of third-party email solutions like Google Workspace or Zoho, focusing instead on robust in-house email service provision.

Price

Looks at the cost-effectiveness and value for money of each platform.
Score Components:

  • Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
  • Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
  • Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
  • Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.

8.0
8.8

🏆 Winner
FastComet:
Reliable hosting solutions with excellent features at competitive prices.

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. Although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

NetworkSolutions provides a range of hosting plans that cater to different needs, from basic shared hosting to advanced WordPress solutions. The Web Hosting in the Cloud offers four tiers, starting at $5.69 per month for a single website and 15 GB storage, scaling up to $31.61 per month for unlimited websites and features like SiteLock and SSL certificates. Their WordPress hosting starts at $7.99 per month with 50 GB storage. FastComet offers aggressively priced shared hosting starting at $1.79 per month, including a range of features such as free domain registration, SSL, and unlimited site support with higher tiers. The Cloud VPS and Dedicated CPU Servers come with scalable resources and advanced security options, making them attractive for growing businesses and larger enterprises.

WordPress for Entrepreneurs $7.99

1 site, 50 GB storage, 10 email boxes, domain name included, on-demand cloud backup.

Value for price:8.0

N/A
Starter $5.69

1 website, 15 GB storage, 5 email boxes.

Value for price:7.5

Starter $1.79

1 website, 10 GB storage, 20480 MB bandwidth, 24/7 support, free domain registration, SSL.

Value for price:8.5

Essential $9.96

3 websites, 300 GB storage, 1000 email boxes, domain name, SiteLock.

Value for price:8.0

Essential $2.39

1 website, 20 GB storage, 35840 MB bandwidth, 24/7 support, free domain registration, SSL.

Value for price:8.7

Premium $25.78

10 websites, unlimited storage, unlimited email boxes, domain name, SiteLock Premium.

Value for price:8.0

Plus $3.59

Unlimited websites, 30 GB storage, 66560 MB bandwidth, 24/7 support, free domain registration, SSL.

Value for price:9.0

Premium Plus $31.61

10 websites, unlimited storage, unlimited email boxes, domain name, SiteLock Premium, SSL.

Value for price:8.2

Extra $4.99

Unlimited websites, 40 GB storage, 97280 MB bandwidth, 24/7 support, free domain registration, SSL.

Value for price:9.3

N/A

Cloud 1 Plan $46.16

Unlimited websites, 50 GB storage, 2 TB bandwidth, 24/7/365 support, DDoS Protection, NVMe Storage, free domain transfer.

Value for price:8.8

N/A

Cloud 2 Plan $53.86

Unlimited websites, 80 GB storage, 4 TB bandwidth, 24/7/365 support, DDoS Protection, NVMe Storage, free domain transfer.

Value for price:8.9

N/A

Cloud 3 Plan $69.26

Unlimited websites, 160 GB storage, 5 TB bandwidth, 24/7/365 support, DDoS Protection, NVMe Storage, free domain transfer.

Value for price:9.0

N/A

Cloud 4 Plan $107.76

Unlimited websites, 320 GB storage, 8 TB bandwidth, 24/7/365 support, DDoS Protection, NVMe Storage, free domain transfer.

Value for price:9.1

In some cases companies have different prices based on various components like a location.
As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their websites.

Enterprise plans

NetworkSolutions’ Premium Plus offers 10 websites with unlimited storage, email boxes, SiteLock Premium, and SSL for $31.61 per month. FastComet’s high-tier plans like DS 4 provide 16 CPU cores, 32 GB RAM, 640 GB SSD storage, and 7 TB bandwidth for $268.76 per month, with extensive support and security features. FastComet stands out for growing enterprises needing high performance and scalability.

Network Solutions vs Fastcomet: Ease of setup

Evaluates the ease of setting up and migrating websites on the hosting
platform.

Score Components:

  • Site migration (25%): Assesses whether the provider offers tools for site migration,
    either automated or manual, and whether these services are free or require a fee.
  • Admin panel usability (35%): Evaluates the type of admin panel provided, such as the
    standard cPanel or a custom solution, focusing on its accessibility and user-friendliness for both
    technical and non-technical users.
  • Setup features (20%): Examines the availability and ease of use of various setup
    features, including FTP accounts, file managers, email account setup, PHPMyAdmin, and easy CDN
    configuration.
  • Help center quality (20%): Measures the quality and accessibility of the provider’s
    help center resources, including articles and tutorials.

8.0
8.6

🏆 Winner Fastcomet: Offers an extensive range of features with a seamless user experience.

Network Solutions employs an Online Support Center with an accessible interface, while FastComet uses a standard cPanel for its admin panel management. Network Solutions’ interface might appeal to users familiar with traditional website builders and security features, making it approachable for those with varying technical skills. FastComet’s use of cPanel, a widely recognized industry standard, ensures that both technical and non-technical users can navigate its functionalities efficiently, offering a straightforward experience.

The one-click app marketplace of FastComet, along with 450 apps ready to install, adds to its ease of use, making it exceptionally user-friendly. Network Solutions, on the other hand, provides a custom CMS through its website builder, allowing for easy updates post-migration. While both platforms aim to simplify the user experience, FastComet’s immediate account activation and Express Transfer service significantly enhance its setup efficiency compared to Network Solutions’ process.

Both providers offer migration tools, but FastComet stands out with its people-powered site transfer service included in all plans, ensuring no downtime, unlike Network Solutions, which requires manual migration through FTP credentials. FastComet also throws in added benefits such as up to six months of unused time compensation and free domain transfer with one-year renewal, making it a more attractive option for seamless and budget-conscious transitions.

User management

Assesses the platforms’ capabilities in managing user roles, permissions, and
accessibility.

Score Components:

  • Role customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
    permissions.
  • Ease of management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
  • Access control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
    levels.
  • Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.

7.0
0

🏆 Winner Network Solutions: Efficient and comprehensive user management and role assignment.

When comparing Network Solutions and FastComet’s user management capabilities, Network Solutions distinctly provides a clear framework for user roles and permissions, which FastComet lacks. Network Solutions offers a granular control with three distinct user roles: Primary Contact, Admin Contact, and Technical Contact. Each role carries defined permissions, from editing account payment information to adding or deleting user roles, providing flexibility and control. FastComet, in contrast, does not provide specified details about user roles or permissions, making it challenging to assess its user management efficiency.

Network Solutions offers an intuitive interface for managing users. Users can log in, click on the drop-down next to the user’s name, and access the Accounts & Users section to add, edit, or remove contacts. This step-by-step approach simplifies user management, making it accessible even for those with limited technical knowledge. FastComet’s lack of detailed user management features results in an undetermined user interface experience in this context.

Network Solutions’ access control measures are efficient, specifying roles and permissions clearly to ensure account security and control. The Primary and Admin Contacts can manage critical account information and user roles, accommodating the growth and changes within an organization. Such efficiency can’t be evaluated for FastComet due to a lack of detailed user role information, raising potential concerns over its ability to manage a growing number of users effectively.

Network Solutions user roles table:

Role Description Access highlights
Primary Contact Manages account holder and payment information, user roles. Can edit account holder info, payment info, and user roles.
Admin Contact Manages payment information and user roles. Can edit payment info and user roles.
Technical Contact Focuses on technical aspects without admin privileges. Cannot edit payment info or user roles.

Customer support

Evaluates the quality, availability, and scope of the customer support offered by the
hosting provider.

Score Components:

  • Support communication channels (30%): Measures the variety of customer support types
    provided (live chat, chatbot, email, phone, etc.)
  • Availability (20%): Assesses the availability hours for each channel, including 24/7
    support options.
  • Technical support quality (30%): Assesses whether the provider offers comprehensive
    technical support, including hardware upgrades (e.g., HDD to SSD), software installations, and web
    server configuration changes.
  • Enterprise support (20%): Checks if there are dedicated or priority support services
    for enterprise-level customers.

8.5
9.2

🏆 Winner
FastComet:
Offering extensive 24/7/365 support and exceptional customer satisfaction.


Phone support







Live chat support







Chatbot







Email/ticket support







Enterprise support
(dedicated agent, priority support)






Comparing the customer support options of networksolutions and FastComet reveals notable differences. FastComet stands out with its 24/7/365 availability and quick resolution time, handling 83% of issues in under 15 minutes. They provide multiple contact methods, including live chat, phone, and email/ticket support, alongside enterprise support, which demonstrates their commitment to resolving customer issues promptly and effectively. FastComet also includes free website and server migrations, ensuring a seamless experience for new customers.

Networksolutions, on the other hand, offers a variety of specialized support lines for different needs with only some services available 24/7. They provide business consultants, product support, and domain support with clear contact information. Despite having a wide range of support options, the lack of continuous availability for certain services might be a limitation for customers needing immediate assistance.

Network Solutions vs Fastcomet: User feedback

Network Solutions
65 reviews
1.9 out of 5 stars
Fastcomet
62 reviews reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars

User feedback on this hosting provider highlights several key strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, many users find the interface user-friendly and appreciate the ease of navigating through the platform, particularly when managing domains and webpages. However, there are significant concerns about the provider’s customer service, which many describe as unresponsive and ineffective at solving technical issues, often resulting in prolonged waits and unmet assurances. Additionally, users criticize the high costs, frequent upselling, and lack of timely communication during server outages, which collectively detract from the overall user experience.

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.

Network Solutions vs Fastcomet: FAQ

Which platform is better suited for hosting WordPress websites?


Both Network Solutions and FastComet are well-suited for hosting WordPress websites, offering robust support and comprehensive features. Their managed WordPress hosting options make either a suitable choice depending on specific needs. However, FastComet’s advanced performance features like NVMe SSDs and LiteSpeed technology may give it a slight edge for users prioritizing speed and reliability.

Which hosting service offers better security features?


FastComet offers more advanced security features compared to Network Solutions. FastComet includes unlimited free SSL Certificates, Imunify360 for enhanced protection, a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and an always-on IP reputation guard. While Network Solutions provides basic features like SSL certificates, SiteLock, and CodeGuard for automated backups, FastComet’s comprehensive security measures make it a stronger option.

What are the major differences in pricing and value between Network Solutions and FastComet?


FastComet provides more affordable and feature-rich hosting plans compared to Network Solutions. For instance, FastComet’s Starter plan begins at $1.79 per month, offering robust features like free domain registration and unlimited SSL certificates. On the other hand, Network Solutions’ Starter plan starts at $5.69 per month but includes limited storage and email boxes. Overall, FastComet offers higher value for its price.

Which hosting service offers more scalability options for growing websites?


FastComet provides superior scalability options with its seamless resource scaling, including one-click CPU/RAM adjustments and dedicated server support. This flexibility ensures efficient scaling without downtime. Network Solutions’ scalability options are not detailed, making FastComet a preferable choice for businesses that anticipate growth and need reliable, scalable solutions.

Which platform offers better customer support?


FastComet excels in customer support with 24/7/365 availability and a high issue resolution rate within 15 minutes. They offer multiple channels for support, including live chat, phone, and email/ticket options. In contrast, Network Solutions provides specialized support lines but lacks continuous 24/7 availability for certain services, making FastComet a better option for consistent and prompt customer service.

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