A2Hosting promises unbeatable speed but if there was only one thing I noticed about the host – it’s the sheer number of hosting plans and addon features that come with their packages. It’s simply mental!
From individuals to business owners, enterprises to nonprofits, blogs to agencies, there’s a plan for everyone. As a web hosting consultant who’s helped dozens of business owners choose the best hosts, my coming across A2Hosting was inevitable.
I decided to try out their services myself to see if they deliver on their promises. In the rest of this A2Hosting review, I’ll share my personal thoughts on the host’s pricing, out-of-the-box features, carry out real-life performance tests, try out their customer support, and check out everything else you need to know if you’re considering buying one of their plans.
Let’s dive in!
A2Hosting Review
A2Hosting is a little over 20 years old and was found in 2001 by Bryan Muthig. Fast-forward to today, the company currently supports over 110,000 customers’ domains.
A2Hosting offers shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, cPanel hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and then a suite of hosting packages configured for different businesses – eCommerce, agency, blog, nonprofits, and a host of others.
On even their most basic shared hosting plans, you get over 100GB of SSD storage, free website migration, a free SSL certificate, free CDN, a virus scanner and firewall, free email, 1-click WordPress installs, and so much more.
A2Hosting stores website content across a network of servers spread across 4 continents. Over 2700 people rated A2Hosting on TrustPilot and the host scored an impressive 4.6 stars!
Pros and Cons
- Super impressive server times
- A vast array of hosting types and complementary services
- A2Hosting has a thriving support hub
- They provide a custom control panel for WordPress
- Their Turbo plans promise unrivaled speed
- A2Hosting gives you a plethora of features free
- You can choose your data center locations
- There are cheaper hosting plans on the market
A2Hosting Rating Overview – How I’ll Rate The Host
We’ve seen how customers rate A2Hosting on TrustPilot, however, when considering any service or product for that matter, it’s smart to take the reviews you see with a grain of salt. Many companies and their competitors are notorious for fabricating reviews to boost their PR or taint their competitors’ reputations.
What’s my personal take on A2Hosting? Considering the features they offer out-of-the-box, the features that come with their plans, how they actually perform in real life, how easy it is to use their platform, and their customer support convenience, how will I rate each core consideration on a scale of 1-5? Let’s take a look.
And if you really think about it, given that there are so many hosts, having a ‘standardized’ rating of each host enables you to compare different providers fairly. Plus, I have no affiliation with any of these hosts so you’re sure to get an unbiased overview of their service.
Let’s see how A2Hosting scores:
| Quality | My rating | Why I gave this score |
| Features and specs | 5.0 | SSD storage, free website migration, a free SSL certificate, free CDN, a virus scanner and firewall, free email, 1-click WordPress installs, and the ability to choose your data center, are some of the features that make A2Hosting spectacular. They get a perfect 5.0 score here. |
| Pricing | 4.9 | Starting at $2.99/month for a single website, A2Hosting is affordable for just about everyone. However, there are a few hosts that offer free hosting to give you enough time to commit, so I give A2Hosting 4.9 here. |
| Performance stats | 4.9 | I tested A2Hosting web servers to see their response speeds and they were already sending back data in 102 milliseconds. 100ms response times and less are incredible for any host so I give A2Hosting a 4.9 here. |
| Ease of use | 5.0 | A2Hosting uses the traditional cPanel for backend management but also features a custom control panel, TurboHub for WordPress websites. They score a 5.0 here. |
| Customer support guarantee | 4.9 | You can reach out to SiteGround’s support agents via live chat even if you are not a customer yet. Then you have phone lines, a knowledgebase, and blog section. However, to get more in-depth support, you’d have to be a paying customer. |
A2Hosting Hosting Plans and Pricing
Boy oh boy… does A2Hosting have hosting plans – shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, email hosting, cPanel hosting , WordPress hosting, and WooCommerce hosting.
But they don’t stop there – A2Hosting also has a suite of hosting plans optimized for different services. Some of these include business hosting, eCommerce hosting, blog hosting, LMS hosting, nonprofit hosting, and personal website hosting plans.
On all of A2Hosting’s plans, you get a 30-day hassle-free money back guarantee. And once you’ve decided on one of their plans, you can pay via credit card, PayPal, or bank wire transfer.
A2Hosting shared hosting plans
Startup
Number of websites – 1
Alloted storage – 100GB SSD storage
Memory – 1GB
Features – Free website migration, free SSL, free CDN, Virus scanner, firewall free email, dedicated IP, WordPress pre-installed.
Price – $2.99/month
Drive
Number of websites – Unlimited
Alloted storage – Unlimited SSD storage
Memory – 1GB
Features – Everything in Startup plus JetBackup cloud backup and addon domains.
Price – $5.99/month
Turbo Boost
Number of websites – Unlimited
Alloted storage – Unlimited NVMe SSD storage
Memory – 2GB
Features – Everything in Drive plus A2Hosting Turbo Servers, NVMe servers, site caching, a WordPress staging tool, theme management, pre-configured Magento.
Price – $6.99/month
Turbo Max
Number of websites – Unlimited
Alloted storage – Unlimited NVMe SSD storage
Memory – 4GB
Features – Everything in Turbo Boost expanded for more power – more storage and memory.
Price – $14.99/month.
Out of their shared hosting plans, A2Hosting recommends their Turbo Boost plan. For just $1/month extra on the Drive price, you get twice the memory and access to their Turbo Servers. You also get a site caching functionality plus a WordPress staging tool to allow you to see the results of changes to your website in a quarantined environment.
Who is A2Hosting’s shared hosting plans for?
You should go for one of A2Hosting’s shared hosting plans if you have a new or fairly small-sized website that’s just starting to get traffic. They are affordable and give you enough resources to power your website.
A2Hosting VPS hosting plans
Managed
Takeoff plans
Memory and number of cores – 16 GB RAM and up to 8 cores
Bandwidth – 4 TB data transfer
Storage – 450 GB SSD storage
Features – Free SSL, free Immunify360 Security Suite, free cPanel, free website transfer.
Price – $35.99/month
Soar plans
Memory and number of cores – 32 GB RAM and up to 8 CPU cores
Bandwidth – 4 TB data transfer
Storage – 500 GB NVMe SSD storage
Features – All the features in Takeoff plans.
Price – starts at $54.9/month
Unmanaged
Launch plans
Memory and number of cores – 4 GB RAM and up to 4 cores
Bandwidth – 3 TB data transfer
Storage – Up to 150 GB NVMe storage
Price – starts at $2.99/month
Ascent plans
Memory and number of cores – Up to 32 GB RAM and 10 CPU cores
Bandwidth – Up to 8 TB of data transfer
Storage – Up to 450 GB NVMe storage
Price – Starts at $29.99/month
A2Hosting offers managed and unmanaged VPS hosting plans for you to choose from. The managed plans come with CloudLinux installed as the operating system, cPanel for account management, and the server backups and security done for you. A2Hosting’s unmanaged VPS plans gives you control over the operating system to use, full root access for server management, and backups settings.
Who this is for
If you are starting to outgrow your shared hosting plans and your website traffic is increasing, you can opt for A2Hosting’s VPS plans.
If you are not a programmer or have experience managing servers, then you want to go for their managed plans where all the technical aspects are done for you, even though they are pricier.
On the other hand, if you are comfortable with tweaking server settings or have an IT person or team, you can go for one of their cheaper unmanaged plans.
A2Hosting dedicated hosting plans
Managed
Warp plans
Memory – 16 GB RAM
Bandwidth – 6 TB data transfer
Storage – 2 X 1 TB SSD storage
Features – Free 1 TB backup drive, free SSL, root level access, free Immunify360, free site migration
Price – $79.99/month
Turbo Warp plans
Memory – 64 GB RAM
Bandwidth – 10 TB data transfer
Storage – 2 X 1 TB NVMe SSD storage
Features – Same features in Warp plans plus A2Hosting’s AMD Rome Turbo CPU
Price – $179.99/month
Unmanaged
Hyper plans
Memory – 16 GB RAM
Bandwidth – 6 TB data transfer
Storage – 2 X 1 TB SSD storage
Features – Turbo CPU, root access, free 1 TB backup drive.
Price – $79.99/month
Hyper Turbo plans
Memory – 64 GB RAM
Bandwidth – 10 TB data transfer
Storage – 2 X 1 TB SSD storage
Features – Turbo CPU, root access, free backup drive.
Price – $139.99/month
Just like its VPS plans, A2Hosting offers managed and unmanaged dedicated hosting packages. With their managed dedicated hosting plans, all the technical aspects of managing your servers are done for you. The OS comes pre-installed, cPanel is built-in, and server backups and security are configured for you.
On the other hand, their unmanaged plans put the geeky stuff in your hands.
Who this is for
Wondering if you need a dedicated hosting plan from A2Hosting?
Do you need enterprise-level resources to power a web app? Do you handle very sensitive customer data and can absolutely not afford to share a server with someone else? Does your website get millions of visitors per month? Then a dedicated server may just be right for you.
A2Hosting reseller hosting plans
TURBO KICKSTART
Storage – 60 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 600 GB data transfer
Features – Free SSLs, free client billing system (Blesta), 30 client accounts, unlimited websites, 1-click installs, JetBackup backups, free sit migration, DDoS protection
Price – $22.99/month
TURBO LAUNCH
Storage – 120 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 1.2 TB data transfer
Features – Everything in TURBO KICKSTART plus WHCMS or Blesta and 60 client accounts cap
Price – $29.99/month
TURBO GROW
Storage – 160 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 1.6 TB data transfer
Features – Everything in TURBO LAUNCH allowing you resell to 90 clients.
Price – $39.99/month
TURBO SCALE
Storage – 250 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 3.5 TB data transfer
Features – Every premium feature in TURBO GROW allowing you to resell to 130 clients.
Price – $49.99/month
A2Hosting sells regular reseller hosting plans and their turbo reseller hosting plans (the ones we’re considering here), each in four tiers. As you move from basic to premium, you get more storage, a larger bandwidth, and a higher cap on the number of clients you can resell to.
Who this is for
Are you looking to start your own web hosting company and resell hosting to other people, then these plans are for you. A2Hosting reseller hosting packages are also great for web devs, marketing guys, and IT professionals looking for a great source of side income. You can sell hosting packages as complementary services to your core service.
A2Hosting WordPress hosting plans
Shared hosting
Storage – 100 GB SSD
Features – Free website migration and WordPress pre-installed
Price – $2.99/month
WordPress hosting
Storage – 50 GB NVMe storage
Memory – 4 GB RAM
Features – Everything in shared plus onsite daily backup and Jetpack free
Price – $11.99/month
VPS hosting
Storage – 150 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 2 TB data transfer
Memory – 4 GB RAM
Features – 2 cores, free Immunify360, cPanel, free CloudLinux OS
Price – $35.99/month
Dedicated server
Storage – 2 X 1 TB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 6 TB data transfer
Features – Everything in VPS hosting plus Turbo CPU, root access, free 1 TB backup drive.
Price – $79.99/month
A2Hosting WordPress plans are a cocktail of their shared, VPS, and dedicated server plans. All these plans come with WordPress acceleration features pre-installed. However, A2 Hosting also offers managed WordPress plans all hosted on their Turbo servers.
Who this is for
Well it’s a no-brainer. Plan to build your website on WordPress or do you currently run a WordPress website? These plans are for you.
Putting A2Hosting’s features into perspective
On average, the weight of a webpage is about 2-3MB (however, that figure can be much larger for bigger screens and pages with a lot of media). But conservatively, A2Hosting’s 100 GB SSD storage means you can technically store 50,000 web pages on their most basic shared hosting plan!
A2Hosting’s Features
Here’s an overview of some of the key features that A2Hosting offers across most of its plans:
- SSD storage
- Free SSLs, CDNs, and free website migration
- WordPress acceleration features
- NVMe storage for its premium plans
- Choice of server location
- Virus scanner and firewall
- 1-click installs for WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla, Drupal, CubeCart
A2Hosting is a really respectable host, thanks to the horde of features that come with each package, however, one key feature that makes them stand out is their unbeatable storage on their shared hosting plan – 100 GB of it! I am not sure I have seen another all-in-one host beat this.
Their NVMe storage also promises incredible speed above regular SSD drives.
A2Hosting Performance Tests
When considering a new host, you want to be sure that they’ll serve up your website in little to no time whenever a user tries to visit – this is a measure of the web host’s server speed.
On the other hand, you also want to make sure that the web host’s servers are online 100% of the time so that there’s no time when your website is offline and unavailable on the internet – this is the web host’s uptime.
To measure A2Hosting’s speed and performance I found a website hosted on the platform and ran my test on GTMetrix and Uptime Robot. These were the results:
A2Hosting’s servers responded in a really respectable 102 ms. Given that the standard for premium performance is between 100-200 ms, I’ll say they’re superb.
And over the last 30 days, the website was online 100% of the time, showing that they in fact do deliver on their 99.99% uptime guarantee.
A2Hosting Customer Support
A2Hosting has a thriving support hub where you can reach out to their support agents 24/7 via:
Phone support
International call numbers are available for different countries and regions.
Knowledgebase
Learn everything concerning setting up an account on A2hosting and utilizing the platform’s features to manage your website in the knowedgebase. A built-in search engine makes finding relevant answers and articles seamless.
Support ticket
I like A2Hosting’s support ticket system and how it caters directly to new customers. You can create a ticket without buying one of their plans yet. You just have to fill in your name, email address, subject, and the message you want to send to their agents.
Live chat
I also love that the live chat is available to new customers. I tested their response time and got linked with a human agent in an instant! Most other hosts first funnel customer queries through live bots.
Their customer agent was also very knowledgeable on all the questions I asked:
Blog
And finally, the A2Hosting blog keeps you up to date with tips, tricks, and how-to guides on web hosting, website management, digital marketing, and other industry-related topics.
A2Hosting Security Features
Website security cannot be overemphasized in this digital age and A2Hosting comes packed with a ton of security features. Out-of-the-box, you get a free SSL certificate and compatibility with the free CloudFlare CDN.
And even on their basic hosting plans, you get a virus scanner and web application firewall to enable real-time monitoring of your website and quarantine malware before they cause any damage.
A2Hosting is also specialized in protecting you from DDoS attacks with a robust defense solution that automatically DDoS traffic surges and mitigates them. Also, aside the most basic shared plan, you get JetBackup pre-installed to take snapshots of versions of your website so you can access these restore points should your website run into an error.
A2Hosting Website Builder
It’s always great when a hosting provider can give you all you need to get your website up and running in one place. A2Hosting doesn’t specify whether you get a free domain out-of-the-box but they do have a domain registration engine.
To design your website, A2Hosting gives you SiteBuilder – their native website builder as a core feature of their shared hosting plans. SiteBuilder comes with a vast array of templates you can choose from:
With SiteBuilder, you can have access to the easy-to-use text editor, you can add YouTube videos, customize your website’s media, add contact & sign up forms, a blog section, and so much more.
A2Hosting’s Ease of Use
A2Hosting is incredibly easy to use. Let’s see how to perform core website management tasks on A2Hosting:
How to register on A2Hosting
Creating an account happens simultaneously as you buy one of their hosting packages.
Select a plan and click “Get Started”. I really like the fact that you are directed to the checkout page right away.
Fill in your personal information – name, email, company name, address, etc.
Next, configure your domain – decide whether you want to use a domain you already own or register a new one via A2Hosting.
If you’ll be registering a new domain, the fee will be added to your overall hosting fee.
Now, choose the data center where you want your website to be hosted. If your website will be targeting an audience in a particular area, then go for the data center closest to you.
On A2hosting, you can choose between data centers located in Michigan, Arizona, Amsterdam, and Singapore.
And finally, choose the payment method you want to use and fill in your details.
You can configure the billing cycle – whether you want to be billed monthly, annually, every two years, or every three years.
Once you’re done, click on ‘Pay’. That’s it! You now have an account on A2Hosting. You will receive a confirmation message on the email you filled in. Therein, you’ll find your login details.
A2Hosting control panel
All A2Hosting plans come with the modern cPanel built in for website management. Here you can access and configure settings for your files, databases, domains, security protocols, etc.
TurboHub – WordPress management dashboard
However, here’s where A2Hosting shines even more – on all managed WordPress hosting plans, A2Hosting gives you access to TurboHub, a dedicated control panel for WordPress websites:
TurboHub makes managing your WordPress website convenient and boasts a very intuitive user interface that’s especially great for webmasters who are new to hosting.
How to install WordPress on A2Hosting
The best way to install WordPress on your A2Hosting account is to use Softaculous in cPanel.
Step 1
First, login to your cPanel account, navigate to ‘Tools’ and click on ‘Softaculous Apps Installer’.
Step 2
Click on the ‘Search’ box and type in ‘WordPress’. Click ‘Install’ and then ‘Choose protocol’.
A2Hosting gives you a free SSL out-of-the-box so click on ‘https:// or https://www.’.
Step 3
Next, choose the domain you want WordPress installed on and configure the directory or location where you want it installed. If you’re not sure, just choose the default values and proceed.
Step 4
Noe configure your ‘Site Name’ and ‘Site description’. Whatever you put here will be shown in the title bar of a website visitor’s browser.
Step 5
Now configure your ‘Admin Username’, ‘Admin password’, and ‘Admin Email’. These are the login details you will use to access your WordPress dashboard once it is installed.
Step 6
Next select the auto update boxes for WordPress, plugins, and themes. This ensures that your essentials are kept up to date and increases the security of your website.
Step 7
Now configure where you want your website backups to be stored and check the ‘Automated backups’ so Softaculous makes periodic backups of your website.
Step 8
Review all the installation options and click ‘Install’. That’s it!
Conclusion: Should You Choose A2Hosting?
A2Hosting has one of the most diverse hosting portfolios on the market, they are affordable, and give you the most storage even on their most basic shared hosting plans.
I definitely recommend A2Hosting whether you are a new webmaster or have been around for a while and are looking for better services to host your website. You also want to go for their Turbo plans that feature NVMe SSD storage and AMD Rome 2nd Gen EPYC servers for exceptional speed.
What’s more? If your website is built on WordPress, their managed WordPress hosting plans give you access to TurboHub, A2Hosting’s native WordPress website control panel that’s just a dream to use.
