A2 Hosting is a traditional web host used by developers and general users alike. They offer everything from shared hosting to dedicated hosting, making it an affordable option whether you’re an amateur blogger or an enterprise-sized business. Let’s take a closer look so you can see what this host is about.
About A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting was founded as a “modest startup business to serve a few clients” under the name Iniquinet in 2001, though they often state they were founded in 2003. This is because they adopted the name A2 Hosting in 2003 as a tribute to the company’s hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
A2 Hosting offers everything a WordPress developer needs, from shared hosting plans for amateur sites to dedicated hosting plans for professionals. It was even one of the first hosts to support PHP 5 in mid 2004.
A2 Hosting is also a self-credited “green host” who’s partnered with Carbonfund.org, an organization whose primary object is to combat climate change. Their “green” plans are intended to help the environment by being as carbon neutral (reducing one’s carbon footprint) as possible. They do this in a few different ways, including recycling old servers, using telecommuting and planting three trees for every hosting plan sold in a given month.
Let’s take a look at the standard plans A2 Hosting offers.
Pricing
A2 Hosting offers a wide variety of hosting plans as well as several different pricing tiers per plan. Let’s take a look at them.
Shared Hosting
A2 Hosting has two different sets of shared hosting plans. One is hosted on Linux servers, and the other is hosted on Windows servers. The prices are more or less same, but the plans do differ slightly.
Here are the prices for these plans:
- Linux Lite – $7.99/Month
- Linux Swift/Windows Lite – $9.99/Month
- Windows Swift – $11.99/Month
- Linux Turbo – $18.99/Month
- Windows Turbo – $21.99/Month
A2 Hosting’s Turbo servers increase page load speed “20 times” the amount they load with the host’s regular servers. It does this by allowing fewer users to be on the same server, including a technology called A2 Optimized, which is powered by APC/OPcache and Turbo Cache, using less CPU and memory resources than Apache, handling connections more efficiently, and providing enhance stability.
Here’s a rundown of a few of the features included with these plans:
- 1-Unlimited Number of Websites
- 5-Unlimited Databases
- Unlimited Storage in a RAID 10 Array
- Unlimited Data Transfers
- Free SSL Certificate via Let’s Encrypt
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee*
- 25-Unlimited Email Addresses
- 24/7/365 Support
- Supports CDN Services via CloudFlare
- Multi-Platform Support**
- 1-2 CPU Cores at 2.1GHz
- .5-2GB of Physical Memory
- 4-8GB of Virtual Memory
- cPanel & Plesk Control Panel***
*You’ll receive a full refund if you request a refund within your first 30 days of hosting. You’ll receive a prorated refund for unused months of service if you request a refund after 30 days.
**A2 Hosting supports WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, CubeCart, B2evolution, phpBB, BlogEngine (Windows servers) and SMF as well as ecommerce platforms Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, AbanteCart (Linux servers) and DotNetNuke (Windows servers).
***Linux servers use cPanel while Windows servers use Plesk Control Panel.
VPS Hosting
A2 Hosting offers three different VPS hosting plans, which are Unmanaged, Managed and Managed with Root Access. The Unmanaged plans are much cheaper than the Managed plans, and the Managed and Managed with Root Access plans are identical in terms of pricing.
Here are the prices:
- Unmanaged Entry – $5/Month
- Unmanaged Mid – $10/Month
- Unmanaged Top – $15/Month
- Managed Power+ – $49.99/Month
- Managed Prestige+ – $69.99/Month
- Managed Pinnacle+ – $99.99/Month
Here are the features of the Unmanaged plans:
- Your Choice of Linux OS
- 20-50GB of SSD Storage
- 1-4 CPU Cores
- 2TB of Data Transfers
- 512MB-1GB of RAM
- Root Access
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee (same guarantee as Shared Hosting plans)
Here are the features for the Managed and Managed with Root Access plans. They include more resources than the Unmanaged plans allow, and you have the A2 Hosting team taking care of security, software, hardware, the network and more. Here are the features:
- 4-8GB of RAM
- 75-150GB of SSD Storage
- 2-4TB of Data Transfers
- 4-8 vCPUs
- Free SSL
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
Reseller Hosting
Similar to their Shared Hosting plans, A2 Hosting offers two sets of Reseller Hosting plans for Linux and Windows servers. The features are more or less the same for each plan, but the prices are different.
Here are the prices for the Linux servers:
- Bronze – $19.99/Month
- Silver – $27.99/Month
- Gold – $36.99/Month
- Platinum – $61.99/Month
Here are the prices for the Windows servers:
- Bronze – $21.99/Month
- Silver – $29.99/Month
- Gold – $38.99/Month
- Platinum – $63.99/Month
Here are the features for these servers:
- 30-200GB of SSD Storage
- 400GB-2TB of Data Transfers
- 40-100 Accounts
- Free SSL
- WHM Control Panel & Plesk Control Panel*
- Free eNom Reseller Account
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
*Linux servers use the WHM Control Panel while Windows server use the Plesk Control panel.
Cloud Hosting
A2 Hosting’s Cloud Hosting plans are simple. There are only three pricing tiers:
- Start – $15/Month
- Medium – $20/Month
- Ace – $25/Month
Here are the features for these plans:
- 512MB-1GB of RAM
- 10GB-25GB of HDD Storage
- Unlimited Inbound Data Transfers
- 2 CPU Cores
- 600MHz CPU Speed
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
Dedicated Hosting
A2 Hosting’s Dedicated Hosting plans are similar to their VPS Hosting plans in that they’re either unmanaged, managed or managed with root access. Let’s take a look at the prices:
- Unmanaged Sprint – $119.99/Month
- Unmanaged Exceed – $199.99/Month
- Unmanaged Mach – $299.99/Month
- Managed Sprint – $169.99/Month
- Managed Exceed – $249.99/Month
- Managed Mach – $349.99/Month
Here are the features for these plans:
- 8-16GB of RAM
- 2x500GB-2x1TB of Storage
- 10-20TB of Data Transfers
- 2-12 CPU Cores
- Free SSL (managed only)
- Free cPanel Control (managed only)
- Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
A2 Hosting Support
A2 Hosting prides itself on providing top notch support for all it’s customers with a number of different options available to you. They offer phone support with a Toll-Free USA and Canada number as well as local phone numbers for the UK/Europe, Brazil, Australia and India.
They also provide a live chat service, email and also a comprehensive knowledge base with lots of detailed guides.
The Pros of Hosting with A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is one of the most versatile options available in the web development industry. They offer a little something for everyone, so let’s take a moment to focus on what they can offer for you.
Support
A2 Hosting offers support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year via phone, live chat and a ticket system.
Wide Variety of Plans
A2 Hosting is a traditional web host, so they have something for everyone, whether you’re a first-time blogger who needs a cheap hosting plan, a developer managing several client sites or a large business.
Anytime Money-Back Guarantee
A2 Hosting already offers a generous 30-day, money-back guarantee, and they’ll also refund you after 30 days for any months you haven’t used in your hosting plan, yet.
Developer Friendly
A2 Hosting supports multiple platforms as well as numerous developer tools, including multiple versions of PHP, several different programming languages, MySQL, Apache and more.
Security
A2 Hosting protects yourself from malware with a free HackScan tool. They also have KernelCare for rebootless kernel updates, brute force defense, dual firewalls and more.
The Cons of Hosting with A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a wonderful host, but it does have its faults. Let’s take a look at them.
No Details on Server Capabilities
Choosing a hosting plan can be difficult with A2 Hosting, especially if you have an existing site you need to travel or expect to grow quickly. This is because the sale pages for these plans do not feature information on how much traffic each plan can handle. All they feature are information on the hardware and software available with each plan, which can make it difficult to make an educated and informed purchase decision.
Who is This Host for?
This host is technically for everyone, but it’s definitely geared toward developers or those who like to tinker. It’s also great for bloggers or small-sized business owners who don’t mind getting their hands dirty with code and tech. It’s not completely technical, but it may be over the heads of inexperienced users.
If you’re an amateur blogger or business owner who needs an alternative to other popular WordPress hosts or a professional developer, be sure to check out this host yourself to truly see what they have to offer.
