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.
PhoenixNAP provides outstanding value with state-of-the-art technology through their cloud hosting, managed dedicated, dedicated servers, colocation, and bare metal solutions. In business since 2009, this American company has six data centers that span across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Features and Ease of Use
PhoenixNAP offers high-end service, and as such, you won’t find many of the basic features typical of VPS or shared hosting providers. They don’t provide domain registration services because they assume people looking to use their services are not startups or beginners, but more experienced customers who understand hosting and are simply looking to scale up. Their public cloud and virtual private data centers are great options if you are looking to scale up from a shared hosting space but are not ready for a dedicated server. Some of the value-added benefits are:
- 99.999% or 100% availability
- Enterprise-level performance from the hardware and software
- Flexible RAM, CPU, and hybrid SSD storage
- Fully managed backups or advanced backups with Veeam cloud
The network is protected against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to keep you connected at all times. Also, they provide low latency 10 Gbps redundant connectivity with each host, giving you maximum availability that’s fast and reliable whenever your customers need to use your services.
I particularly like their support for Software as a Service (SaaS). With the cloud or dedicated servers, SaaS organizations get enterprise-class performance with firewalls, VPNs, load balancers, and optimal network setup. Also, you can get VMware vApps if you wish to deploy templated groups of VMs. Plus, being that phoenixNAP is a PCI DSS v. 2.0 validated service provider, user data and payment card information on your platform is protected.
They also made the dedicated servers easy to use with their custom control panel – PNCP. On this, you can manage your resources, configure DNS, manage user roles, view and handle billing, and upgrade RAM and CPU resources at any time. So, if you run a gaming, video-on-demand, multimedia, or graphics application, or other data-hungry and high traffic projects, you’ll appreciate not only the control panel, but also the high level of security and fast industry-leading storage that comes with SSD/NVMe (PCIe SSD).
Pricing and Support
PhoenixNAP specializes in providing high-end hosting solutions; their prices are expected for their premium high-quality services. Although they don’t offer refunds, they do provide a flexible pricing model. On the dedicated servers, you can pay only for what you need. As that need increases, you can choose to buy just the additional parts you require.
The pricing model for cloud services is better. They offer flexibility, and some plans even allow you to pay per hour or pay as you go. This is beneficial for cost reduction. Additionally, if you prefer, you can opt for monthly payments.
Their 24/7/365 customer support is accessible via email, live chat, and two numbers; one is toll-free, and the other isn’t. They have a promise backed by SLA to respond to email queries within twenty minutes to an hour depending on the plan you’re on. The conversations I had with the support team provided relevant insight that showed professionalism and knowledge on their part, rather than canned responses. Alternatively, you can use the knowledge base, which has a few tutorials as well.
How much does phoenixNAP cost?
phoenixNAP offers multiple plans priced highest to lowest. The price depends on which type of hosting plan you choose. You can see the updated pricing table (updated weekly) below.
Which phoenixNAP plan should I get?
My recommendation is to start with a cheaper plan. You can always upgrade later on. phoenixNAP can help you with the migration to a more expensive plan. The increase in visitors many times takes longer than expected and you shouldn’t pay a lot of money until the need arises. Of course, your needs may vary, and you can consult with a hosting expert from phoenixNAP here.
How good is phoenixNAP’s customer support?
phoenixNAP is not ranked as one of our top web hosts. But that can also be a result of phoenixNAP being a small, under the radar, hosting provider. There are advantages to a small hosting company – as a customer, you are more important to them. You can also check out our comparison of the most popular web hosting services here.
