GreenGeeks vs A2 Hosting 2024: Close but Only One Winner

A2 Hosting vs GreenGeeks is a close battle, but you’ve come to the right place to find a winner. These two powerful hosts have so much in common, but the little differences determine which is better for WordPress hosting.

To conduct a proper comparison, I tested A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks on the most important parameters that define a good web host (pricing, features, performance, security, and support). Despite the close scores, A2 Hosting proved to be slightly more reliable than GreenGeeks when it comes to WordPress hosting. It also has an anytime money-back guarantee policy.

Click here to see A2 Hosting’s latest deals1 or keep reading to find out what makes A2 Hosting the winner of this comparison.

1. Plans and Pricing

A2 Hosting Offers More WordPress Hosting Plans, but GreenGeeks Has Cheaper Managed WordPress Hosting

Both A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks offer similar hosting solutions; shared, VPS, reseller, dedicated servers, and WordPress hosting. GreenGeeks also sells application hosting packages.

With A2 Hosting, you have the option to choose from four unmanaged shared WordPress hosting packages, or three managed WordPress hosting plans. GreenGeeks has three managed WordPress hosting plans.

You’ll pay less on renewal with A2 Hosting’s unmanaged WordPress hosting, but GreenGeeks has cheaper managed WordPress plans even when you renew your subscription.

Both Hosts offer free website migration, but GreenGeeks also has free domain registration, a feature that A2 Hosting doesn’t provide.

A2 Hosting has the edge over GreenGeeks when it comes to refunds by offering an anytime money-back guarantee, compared to the GreenGeeks 30-day policy.

A2 Hosting beats GreenGeeks in this round by a very slim margin. Both offer affordable WordPress hosting solutions, but A2 Hosting has more plans and covers managed and unmanaged WordPress hosting. Plus, A2 Hosting’s anytime money-back guarantee is hard to compete with.

2. Features

A2 Hosting Is More Tailored to WordPress Than GreenGeeks

To make a fair comparison of features, I’ll compare A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks’ managed WordPress hosting packages.

At first look, you’ll notice several common features and freebies, such as SSD storage, free Cloudflare CDN, free SSL certificate, free automated daily backups (nightly backups with GreenGeeks), site staging, unlimited databases, unlimited email accounts, SSH access, and WP-CLI.

Now, let’s observe the key differences between the hosts. GreenGeeks provides unlimited disk space with all its plans, whereas you can only get from 10 GB to 40 GB with A2 Hosting. With GreenGeeks, you can host from 1 to unlimited websites. A2 Hosting allows you to host 1, 3, or unlimited websites depending on your plan.

While GreenGeeks has more resource allocations with its WordPress hosting plans, A2 Hosting focuses on WordPress-optimized packages.

For example, all WordPress hosted websites run on A2 Hosting’s Turbo servers (20x faster performance). All plans also come with a preinstalled Personal JetPack license for free. JetPack is a powerful toolkit that includes lots of useful resources (e.g., Photon unlimited image CDN, lazy loading images, BruteForce protection, 100+ free WordPress templates, and more) to enhance your WordPress hosting experience.

See the following side-by-side comparison table to further compare A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks:

The winner? A2 Hosting. Although GreenGeeks comes with more resource allocations, A2 Hosting provides more efficient WordPress hosting features.

3. Performance

It’s a Tie! Both Hosts Have Great Overall Performance

A2 Hosting’s servers are located in the U.S.A., the Netherlands, and Singapore. On the other hand, GreenGeeks has servers in the U.S.A., Canada, and the Netherlands. Even though both hosts have three server locations, A2 Hosting’s locations are more dispersed.

A2 Hosting doesn’t use SSD storage in all its plans, while GreenGeeks does. The advantage of using SSD storage instead of the regular HDD storage is that it’s more stable and performs much faster when it comes to website data processing. This enhancement reflects directly on the loading speed of your website, in addition to its overall performance.

Both A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks include free CDN with all plans. A CDN or Content Delivery Network is a feature that boosts the loading speed of your website from different locations around the world by placing it on a network of cloud servers.

Both hosts have an uptime guarantee of 99.9% and exceeded this promise with perfect uptimes when tested.

When our experts tested A2 Hosting’s loading speeds, most of the tests showed promising results. Check out the details of the tests in A2 Hosting’s full review.

Like A2 Hosting, GreenGeeks exceeded my expectations when we put its performance to the test. The loading speeds were impressive across most locations around the world, resulting in a perfect global score. GreenGeeks’ full review has detailed tests.

Even though GreenGeeks has slightly more performance features, this round is a tie as both hosts showed the same level of performance when tested.

4. Security

A2 Hosting Provides More Security Features Than GreenGeeks

A2 Hosting offers a security pack that includes KernelCare (daily, automatic, and rebootless Kernel updates), DDoS/Brute-Force protection, dual web hosting firewall, HackScan, Auto-Heal hosting protection, Barracuda spam filtering, and virus scanning.

On the other hand, GreenGeeks applies 24/7 server monitoring, DDoS protection, spam protection, antivirus, antimalware, strong firewalls, and hack protection with all its plans.

A2 Hosting uses CloudLinux OS with all its shared hosting plans, while GreenGeeks uses a similar system called Hosting Account Isolation. Both these systems are responsible for securely isolating your account from other accounts on the same server – protecting it from external threats targeting other accounts. It also ensures the fair allocation of server resources among all users.

The winner? A2 Hosting. Even though both A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks make efforts to secure your website, A2 Hosting is more proactive about your website’s security.

5. Support

GreenGeeks Has More Responsive and Helpful Support

Even though both websites have comprehensive support sections, the GreenGeeks knowledgebase is more organized and easier to navigate.

A2 Hosting provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, support ticket, and email. The phone support is available through multiple call centers for different regions around the world.

It can take some time to get connected to one of A2 Hosting’s live chat agents, and even then, they’re not very helpful when it comes to response times and providing the required information.

GreenGeeks also has 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. There is also a phone channel available from Mon to Sun: 9 AM to 12 AM. When I used the live chat, I was instantly connected, and the agent was knowledgeable and answered all my questions promptly.

Both services offer exceptional support, but A2 Hosting requires a few enhancements. I have absolutely no complaints about GreenGeeks’ support, which positions it as the victor in this round.

Tough Match Up, but A2 Hosting Emerges a Clear Winner

This A2 Hosting vs GreenGeeks comparison was definitely challenging since both hosts are among the top 10 best web hosting services in the market. A2 Hosting won in three rounds (pricing, features, and security) by minor differences, whereas GreenGeeks defeated A2 Hosting in the support challenge. The services tied in the performance round.

That said, if you don’t have much room in your budget, I recommend going with GreenGeeks. However, if you want to have a better-managed WordPress hosting experience, A2 Hosting is the best option. It is featured in our expert list of the best managed WordPress hosting services.

FAQ

Which host is better, A2 Hosting or GreenGeeks?

Both A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks are great options for individuals and small to medium-sized business owners. They’re both recommended as one of the best web hosting services. A2 Hosting offers more advanced features than GreenGeeks and has an anytime prorated refund policy. GreenGeeks has excellent support and multiple data centers worldwide.

Does A2 Hosting offer VPS hosting?

Yes. A2 Hosting has a bouquet of managed and unmanaged SSD VPS plans. With the Core VPS  (managed) or unmanaged VPS plans,  you get full root access and all VPS plans include free SSL. A2 Hosting for VPS is also featured in the best cheap and reliable VPS services.

Does GreenGeeks offer a free domain?

Yes. GreenGeeks offers a free domain name with its shared and application hosting packages for the first year, but only with annual subscription terms. Don’t know which domain name is right for you? Don’t miss this ultimate guide to choosing and buying a domain name.

Does GreenGeeks offer cloud hosting?

No. GreenGeeks doesn’t sell cloud hosting plans. However, the closest thing that you can get to cloud hosting with GreenGeeks is VPS hosting. GreenGeeks has three managed VPS plans with SSD storage, free SSL, free site transfer, and a free Softaculous license. GreenGeeks isn’t quite right for you? Check out the best cloud hosting services.