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1984 Hosting Review 2024 – Not Many People Know the Truth

Sandra Tanoto Written by: Sandra Tanoto

1984 Hosting is an ‘ethical web hosting’ company known for civil rights protection and their use of green, eco-friendly energy – it uses only electricity from renewable energy sources. This service offers its own i-MSCP interface to manage your web hosting account. 1984 Hosting offers unlimited storage, data transfer, and domains with all their plans.

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Overview

To compare the best web hosts, we hosted the same WordPress website on each one and tested performance, customer service, and value for money. Check out the results here.

Since their founding in 2006, 1984 Hosting has grown to become Iceland’s largest web hosting provider by far. Built on the three core values of civil rights protection, green, eco-friendly energy, and the utilization of free, open-source software, 1984 Hosting is a popular choice for civil rights enthusiasts.

Users should note that their data centers are based in Iceland and therefore may be somewhat slower to load for website visitors located farther away, but if freedom of speech is the primary characteristic you’re looking for in a web host, 1984 Hosting is an excellent candidate.

Features & Ease of Use

1984 Hosting is notable because of Iceland’s civil rights and freedom of speech laws – and indeed, most of their users endorse them primarily because they’re a huge supporter of journalistic expression. They make every effort to protect the privacy and security of their users, and this is made possible because the company operates exclusively out of Iceland’s journalistic safe haven.

However, it does come with a caveat: their user interface isn’t the best in terms of user-friendliness, as certain sections are only partially translated and you’ll occasionally be redirected to Icelandic webpages.

That said, managing your website via their control panel is straightforward enough. In place of the typical cPanel or Plesk control panel, 1984 Hosting offers their own i-MSCP (internet Multi-Server Control Panel) interface, which you can use to manage everything you need within your account.

1984 Hosting also offers unlimited storage, data transfer, and domains with their plans – an even more impressive feat when you consider how expensive bandwidth in Iceland is.

1984 Hosting Unlimited Storage and Data Transfer

If you’re big on eco-friendliness, you’ll be happy to know that 1984 Hosting utilizes only electricity from renewable energy sources, and they’re committed to achieving the highest possible energy utilization efficiency levels.

They also employ only free, open-source software on their servers, in line with their belief in everyone’s right to learn and share what they’ve learnt with others.

Pricing & Support

1984 Hosting offers shared hosting and VPS hosting packages. Their plans, while not the cheapest onthe market, are affordably priced and come with the security and peace of mind valued by those searching for greater journalistic expression and protection of free speech.

There’s no free plan or money-back guarantee available, but if you register for a 24- or 36-month contract, you’ll get an additional discount. Plus, in accordance with their support of customer’s civil rights, they also accept anonymous payment through Bitcoin.

1984 Hosting’s support falls short of expectations. They provide assistance through a knowledge base, FAQ, and email submission form. However, I encountered a broken link when I tried accessing the FAQ, and it seems that it has been broken for quite some time now based on my online search. The questions and answers in the knowledge base are also written in Icelandic, but that can be resolved by using Google Translate. If you face any difficulties, their staff is fluent in English and generally responsive through email.

Comparison

How does 1984 Hosting match up to the competition?

1HostingerCompareOur Score4.9Compare
1IONOSCompareOur Score4.8Compare
11984 HostingCompareOur Score4.2Compare
1Go4HostingCompareOur Score2.4Compare

1984 Hosting REVIEW: BOTTOM LINE

With many countries facing attacks on journalistic expression and civil rights, it’s no wonder that 1984 Hosting’s operational ethos resonates with such a large customer base. Their plans, while not the cheapest on the market, offer good value for your money.

Before you make a decision, we highly recommend you check out some alternative hosting companies, which we highly recommend.

Pros

  • Data centers located in Iceland’s journalistic safe haven
  • Servers employ open-source software
  • VPN services provide additional security
  • Commitment to eco-friendliness

Cons

  • Support base is lacking
  • Certain sections of the website are in Icelandic.

FAQ

Does 1984 Hosting have an uptime guarantee?

Unfortunately, 1984 Hosting doesn’t offer any form of legal uptime guarantee. If you experience an outage, you will not be eligible for any compensation.

Does 1984 Hosting cost more when you renew?

1984 Hosting prides itself on providing transparent pricing. As such, the price of your hosting plan will not increase upon renewal. There’s also no hidden fees to speak of.

What is the cheapest way to host a website?

While 1984 Hosting is certainly inexpensive, it isn’t the cheapest host out there. Hostinger offers far lower prices during the initial payment term. Our Hostinger review also showed it to have better performance and features.

You can find the most recent discounts on Hostinger’s plans over on our coupon page.

Does it matter where you host your website?

The location of your host’s servers can affect overall performance. As 1984 Hosting’s servers are located in Iceland, it is best for hosting sites aimed at Icelandic audiences.

If you’re targeting another location, the alternatives on our list of the best web hosts for 2024 offer servers throughout Europe, the USA, and other regions.
Sandra Tanoto Sandra Tanoto
Sandra is a writer and editor based in Singapore. Sandra keenly understands the need for businesses to remain on the cutting edge with the latest technologies and enjoys researching and the newest developments in tech.
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Not the best, but no flaws

Sufficiently inexpensive pricing, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited domains, automatic WordPress installation and stable running environment, all at a satisfactory level. Support is also of good quality. Most recommended, you will be satisfied.

1 avatar
Gna, Japan
June 02, 2022
5
Very bad

Horrible service. I've been working on the internet since its inception and this is the worst ISP I have ever had to deal with. To say unprofessional is, to say the least. An ISP these days requires skilled people, investments, and an entrepreneurial attitude. In addition, if you are looking for a special jurisdiction do not fool yourself, Iceland is a mosquito country with no negotiation power. Besides, guess who has a big military base there? Look somewhere else.

1 avatar
Gabriel, Italy
November 08, 2020
1
One of the worst ever

Hosting services are crucial and must be provided professionally. 1984 Hosting is run as a bunch of kids would from a garage. Extremely unprofessional. One of my worst experiences in my 30+ years as a developer. Avoid at any cost. If you are looking for a safe jurisdiction to place your staff, forget it. Iceland is a very small country very easy to push around (US has even a military based on it). Run away.

1 avatar
anonymus, Italy
March 12, 2020
1
Was given runaround for 2 months but site never hosted.

Prior to signing up, I asked if the web authoring program (linux-based) that I'd used for prior websites was compatible with theirs. Was told that if it had standard ftp, it would work. Unfortunately that wasn't true. I signed up for the obligatory year's service. 1984's servers never allowed a connection and thus an upload of the site was never possible. For two months, I got the runaround. I sent screenshots of the settings to them several times. What was troubling was that the story always changed. For example, at one point, they said they didn't use ftp, but instead sftp. Other times they said they did use ftp. After they asked for the connection dialog, despite having sent screenshots of it twice, I finally just told them to forget it. After two months it just wasn't worth the headaches. It was clear that they weren't really interested in hosting my site. The fundamental problem of their servers not allowing a connection, was never solved. After two months I don't think they actually meant to solve it.

1 avatar
Nabuquduriuzhur, USA
June 03, 2019
1
Never was able to upload site to host

Before signing up, I sent 1984 an email with the version of the (linux-based) website creation program I used and asked if it was compatible with their system. and was told there shouldn't be any problem and was told that standard ftp was used. I'd used the same program before to run a different website. It should therefore have been a straightforward process to upload the site. Never could get a connection established. 1984's servers denied the connection every time. For two months I sent screenshots of settings and the connection dialog to them. It never seemed like they paid any real attention as the story changed frequently. For example, I was told a different protocol than ftp was needed, but then later was told ftp would work. When they asked me for the same information I'd already sent twice I finally gave up.

1 avatar
anonymus, USA
June 03, 2019
1
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