Hostinger vs. FatCow – Which One Is Actually Better? [2024]

FatCow, which was born in 1998, is one of the oldest hosting companies. This traditional web host offers simple plans to meet all your hosting needs, quite similar to what Hostinger does. Yet, FatCow is different from Hostinger and you should know about it to make a wise choice. To help you decide, I evaluated both these hosting providers on key parameters and found Hostinger to be the better choice.

Click here to see Hostinger’s latest deals1 or continue reading to know why Hostinger is a clear winner in this Hostinger vs. FatCow competition.

1. Plans and Pricing

Commit long-term and get rewarded by Hostinger with cheaper rates

FatCow hosting plans on offer include shared and WordPress hosting along with VPS and dedicated servers.

With Hostinger, you’ll get shared, WordPress, and email hosting along with VPS and cloud hosting.

FatCow’s only shared hosting plan costs over 4X Hostinger’s cheapest plan. Both providers offer the cheapest rates with long-term commitment (quadrennial for Hostinger and triennial for FatCow).

You can choose the monthly term with both these providers but Hostinger’s cheapest plan would cost almost twice of FatCow’s. Regular renewal prices are more with both providers but FatCow’s is much steeper at almost 6X than Hostinger’s starting plan. FatCow’s WordPress plans are costlier than Hostinger’s provided you sign up for the 48-month term with Hostinger to get the cheapest rates. If not, the monthly term of FatCow is cheaper.

You can try the hosting plans of both risk-free with their 30-day money-back guarantee.

Overall cheaper prices (available with a long-term commitment) help Hostinger win this round.

2. Features

FatCow charges for user-friendly features; Hostinger offers them for free

The shared plans of Hostinger come with 1X-4X RAM and processing power, CloudLinux operating system, hPanel (custom-developed), LSCaching, lifetime free SSL, free domain (with the annual term of premium/business plans), daily/weekly backups (plan-dependent), support for PHP v5.2-v7.4, 1-click installer to install over a 100 apps, a website builder (available for free for 1 month), SSH access (for 2 higher plans), and a custom cache manager, among others.

FatCow’s shared plan comes with its proprietary vDeck control panel and offers multiple freebies like domain name, domain transfer, Let’s Encrypt SSL, app installer for WordPress, Joomla, etc. and search engine and marketing ad credits from Google and Bing. Several paid add-ons are also available such as website builder, website security, site backup, etc.

You can compare these two web hosts by checking this comparison table.

Despite better resource allocations, FatCow loses out to Hostinger’s better and more user-friendly features available for free.

3. Performance

FatCow has decent performance; Hostinger does it better though

Hostinger’s datacenters (that are Tier-3 and redundant) are spread across 7 different regions all over the world. It also uses SSDs, automated and streamlined server deployments, LSCache plugins, Cloudflare CDN, and GZIP compression to let its users enjoy an enhanced performance. FatCow’s servers are in Boston. The provider uses a load-balanced platform and multi-GB connections.

Hostinger scores over FatCow with its performance-enhancing features, better uptime and loading speeds, and more server locations that ensure your visitors don’t face loading or latency issues.

4. Security

FatCow offers basic security; Hostinger outshines with its comprehensive security

Hostinger takes your website’s security extremely seriously and uses multiple security measures. These include weekly/daily backups, SSL certificate, Cloudflare CDN, data redundancy with RAID-10, HTTP/2, LVE containers (to facilitate account isolation), proactive and predictive server monitoring, Bitninja/Imunify360 (web application firewall), and anti-DDoS protection via Wanguard.

FatCow’s security measures are basic that include 24×7 facility monitoring, spam filtering, and paid options like daily site backups and restore, and protection against hackers, malware, and viruses.

With its robust security, Hostinger wins this round hands down.

5. Support

Hostinger has a slight edge with more support options

Hostinger offers 24/7 live chat, email and ticket support (the last one being available for logged-in users) along with a paid “Priority Support”. With FatCow, you’ll get 24/7 live chat and phone support. Both the providers were lightning-fast in responding to my pre-sales query over live chat.

Similar to Hostinger’s user reviews, several FatCow reviews too praise its customer support.

At Hostinger, we provide you with multiple tutorials, a blog, and a knowledgebase to assist you in your self-help journey. With FatCow, we offer a blog and a knowledgebase as part of your options for obtaining assistance.

With more support options and self-help choices, Hostinger has a slight edge over FatCow in this round.

Hostinger Takes the Winner’s Crown

FatCow does impress with its simplified plans but it loses out to Hostinger in the overall battle. I found Hostinger doing better than FatCow in all the key categories namely features, performance, pricing, security, and support. As a result, I would recommend you choose Hostinger to meet your hosting needs. It’s also included in our list of​ the best web hosting services​. However, if you need dedicated servers, you’ll have to come to FatCow as Hostinger offers no such plans.

Comparison Table

FAQ

Is ​Hostinger better than ​FatCow?

Yes, Hostinger is the better choice between the two. It offers more features than FatCow and strong performance, which means you get better value for your money. If you’re not sure which host is right for you, don’t miss our list of ​​the best web hosting services​​.

Does ​FatCow offer WordPress hosting?

Yes, FatCow has specialized WordPress hosting plans, with servers optimized for WordPress and additional features to keep your website running smoothly. But before you make any final decisions, you should check our list of the best managed WordPress hosting providers​​.

Does FatCow offer VPS hosting?

FatCow does offer VPS hosting, but its plans are a bit pricey. I recommend you read our list of the best cheap VPS hosting services​​ to find a web host that is both reliable and affordable.