Shared Hosting: from $5 AUD per month
HostGeek offers some of the more affordable shared hosting plans out there, with the added bonus of full management assistance if needed.
However, each plan is hobbled by incredibly stingy storage and bandwidth allocations. Considering the ready availability of hosting packages with unlimited storage and/or bandwidth at similar prices, there’s little reason to opt for such restrictive packages. These limitations probably won’t affect users who are only looking to put up a website for personal use, or a mostly static site that doesn’t anticipate high amounts of traffic; still, they’re worth keeping in mind.
That said, HostGeek includes standard features like cPanel and the Installatron script installer with each package, so you’re not missing out when it comes to software. You can manage your account easily from cPanel’s user-friendly dashboard, and Installatron lets you install powerful applications like WordPress and osCommerce with a single click.
Here’s a look at the different shared hosting plans available:
| Features | Basic Geek | Savvy Geek | Super Geek | Fancy Geek |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $5 | $10 | $20 | $30 |
| Storage | 400 MB | 1 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Bandwidth | 10 GB | 20 GB | 40 GB | 60 GB |
| Free Domain | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Email Accounts | 100 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Databases | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Add-on Domains | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
15th Place8 out of 10VPS Hosting: from $70 AUD per month
If you need more resources to work with, plus a greater degree of control over your hosting account, check out HostGeek’s VPS hosting plans. All packages use SSD storage for faster performance, are fully managed, and can be customized by purchasing add-ons like extra storage space or RAM.
You get standard hosting features like cPanel and Installatron, but HostGeek also goes a step further by providing advanced security features. You get a fully configured firewall and spam filtering for free, and HostGeek sets these up for you, too. In fact, thanks to HostGeek’s free management services, you can leave the whole process of provisioning, monitoring, and maintaining your VPS to HostGeek.
Here’s an overview of each VPS hosting plan:
| Features | Managed VPS 1 | Managed VPS 2 | Managed VPS 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $70 | $85 | $99 |
| Storage | 20 GB | 50 GB | 70 GB |
| Bandwidth | 50 GB | 100 GB | 150 GB |
| CPU Cores | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| RAM | 1.5 GB | 3 GB | 5 GB |
Dedicated Hosting: from $90 AUD per month
If you need flexible and powerful hosting, consider HostGeek’s dedicated hosting packages. You’ve got a lot of choices here, since HostGeek can give you virtual or physical dedicated servers with varying specifications and features.
All of HostGeek’s dedicated hosting plans use SSD storage for maximum performance, and you’re given a choice of operating systems, plus the option to include control panel software and the Installatron one-click installer. However, bear in mind that many of these options incur additional fees: Windows operating systems, for example, will cost $30-$120 depending on your chosen version, and cPanel or Plesk will cost $49.
Virtual Servers
Virtual servers work best if you need to have tons of resources on hand and the ability to quickly scale their allocation to fit your audience’s demands. HostGeek gives you four plans to choose from, which we’ve summed up here:
| Features | VM Lite | VM Standard | VM Pro | VM Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $90 | $129 | $190 | $280 |
| CPU Cores | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 40 GB | 60 GB | 80 GB | 120 GB |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB | 200 GB | 400 GB | 600 GB |
| Dedicated IP | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
It’s worth noting, though, that these are pretty lackluster specifications for the price. You can easily find VPS hosting options with lower prices and/or better specifications, without necessarily sacrificing the flexibility that HostGeek’s virtual dedicated servers provide.
Physical Servers
Physical servers give you unmatched reliability. However, take note that HostGeek requires a minimum contract duration of 1 year for physical servers, and the company charges you a separate setup fee, too.
You can choose from entry-level or advanced dedicated servers. To give you an idea of their specifications, we’ve summed up the entry-level servers below:
| Features | Entry i3 | Entry Xeon | Mid Dual Xeon 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup Fee | $190 | $190 | $190 |
| Monthly Price | $190 | $239 | $389 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 2 x 128 GB | 2 x 256 GB | 2 x 256 GB |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB | 200 GB | 300 GB |
| Dedicated IP | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Like the virtual dedicated servers, these packages seem a tad too expensive considering their specifications and the additional setup fee.
Billing and Guarantees
You can choose from monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and biennial billing cycles. HostGeek doesn’t try to lock you in with restrictive long-term contracts, so you can choose your preferred billing cycle and even cancel your account anytime without penalty.
HostGeek also gives you a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can claim a full refund if you decide to cancel your account within a month of registration. However, bear in mind that this only applies to shared and VPS hosting options.
Speaking of guarantees, HostGeek also has a 99.9% uptime guarantee that covers all of its hosting plans. Whichever package you use, you’re assured of prorated credits for unscheduled downtime.
Customer Support
HostGeek provides support through email, live chat, ticket system, and phone. Not all of these channels are available 24/7: staff are sometimes unavailable on live chat, and phone support is limited to daily operating hours. You can also call HostGeek to set up a remote support session.
Aside from these channels, HostGeek also maintains a comprehensive knowledgebase that you can consult for more common issues or questions.
What's the Verdict on HostGeek?
HostGeek VPS Review 2020 – Conclusion
At first glance, many of HostGeek’s hosting packages seem to be affordable alternative to many competing hosting providers. This may be true, but the resource restrictions that come with many of the company’s plans put a damper on how much value you can truly get from these low-cost deals. HostGeek includes many of the standard hosting features like cPanel and a one-click script installer, and the solid uptime and money-back guarantees are great safety nets. By itself, HostGeek is a decent option, but it’s certainly far from the best.
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