If you've been around WordPress for a while, you probably know A2 Hosting, the speed-focused host from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Well, A2 Hosting now goes by a new name: Hosting.com. Type a2hosting.com into your browser today and it sends you straight to hosting.com. So, here is our honest Hosting.com review for 2026, written for anyone wondering what changed and whether it's still a good pick.
For this review, we went through every shared, WordPress, VPS and dedicated plan on Hosting.com's website on 6 November 2026. Shared hosting starts at $1.49/mo for the first year, and dedicated servers go up to $499/mo. One thing upfront, though. We didn't buy a plan and run our own speed tests for this review, so any speed claim below is Hosting.com's own, and I'll say so each time.
I've used WordPress since 2014, and several of my own eCommerce sites run on it, so I've seen plenty of cheap first-year deals turn expensive at renewal. That's exactly what I looked for here. Like every host, Hosting.com has good sides and bad sides. So, let's have a look at them.
All prices in this review are in US dollars and exclude tax, as shown on hosting.com in November 2026. Most intro prices need a 1-year term paid upfront (3 years on unmanaged VPS), and a Black Friday sale was running when we checked.
Hosting.com at a Glance
| Best for | bloggers, small businesses and agencies who want lots of features in year one and don't mind a bigger renewal bill |
| Starting price | $1.49/mo for the first year (Shared Starter, 1-year term) |
| Renews at | $13.99/mo (Shared Starter) |
| Hosting types | Shared, managed WordPress, managed and unmanaged VPS, dedicated servers, reseller |
| Formerly | A2 Hosting, now combined with World Host Group under one brand |
| Free extras | Domain registration, SSL, daily backups, malware removal, free migrations; on WordPress plans, WP Rocket and a premium object cache (Object Cache Pro) |
| Uptime promise | 99.99% on managed WordPress plans |
| Support | 24/7, with an AI chat assistant called Orbi that hands you to the team |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days (domains, setup and migration fees aren't refundable) |
| Our rating | 3.9 out of 5 |
Hosting.com Review: The Goods
Hosting.com packs a lot into its plans, and some of it is stuff other hosts charge extra for. Here's what stood out when we went through the pages.
WP Rocket and Object Cache Pro Come Free on WordPress Plans
This is the one that caught my eye first. Every managed WordPress plan includes WP Rocket, a popular paid caching plugin, and Object Cache Pro with Relay, a premium tool that speeds up database work. On top of that, you get unlimited PHP workers, a Cloudflare Enterprise CDN with more than 275 edge locations, and full-page caching that's switched on for you. Normally you'd pay for WP Rocket yourself, so this is real value.
Security Is Switched On From Day One
The WordPress plans run two firewalls: Cloudflare Enterprise and Imunify360. Hosting.com says its rules know the WordPress and plugin attacks people actually use, and malware monitoring and cleanup are included. Shared plans also get a web application firewall and malware detection and removal. You don't have to set any of it up.
Lots of Sites, Even on the Cheapest Plan
Here's a nice surprise. The $1.49 Shared Starter plan lets you host 5 websites, with 15 GB of NVMe storage and email included. Pro goes to 10 sites, and Max goes all the way to 50 sites with 40 mailboxes. On the WordPress side, Medium covers 5 installs and Turbo covers 50. For someone running a few small sites, that's a lot of room.
Backups You Can Go Back 30 Days On
Shared plans take daily backups and store them off the server, and you can restore to any point in the last 30 days. Managed WordPress plans keep daily backups for 14 days, plus one-click staging, so you can test changes on a copy before they hit your live site.
Free Migrations and a "Faster or a Year Free" Promise
Moving from another host? Migrations are free on every WordPress plan, and the shared plans include a free managed migration too. Hosting.com also makes a bold promise on its WordPress page: if your site isn't faster after the move, measured by global average time to first byte, it says you get a year free. We haven't tested that ourselves, so read the terms before you count on it.
Modern Hardware and AI Extras
The shared servers run on AMD EPYC processors with NVMe storage and LiteSpeed caching. Hosting.com also leans hard into AI: there's an AI website builder for WordPress, an OpenAPI and MCP server on shared plans, and even a "Claude Skills Pack" from the Pro plan up. Whether you need any of that depends on you, but it shows the company is keeping up.
Hosting.com Review: The Bads
Like any other host, Hosting.com has some rough edges. Most of them come down to one thing: the price after year one.
The Renewal Prices Jump a Lot
This is the big one, and I won't sugarcoat it. Shared Starter costs $1.49 a month in year one, then renews at $13.99. That's more than nine times higher. Pro goes from $3.49 to $19.99, and Max from $5.99 to $27.99. The WordPress plans jump too, though less: Small goes from $4.49 to $9.99, and Medium from $4.99 to $17.99.
So, when you compare hosts, look at the renewal price, not the sticker price. Our true cost calculator helps with exactly that.
The Low Price Needs a Full Year Upfront
The intro prices are for a 1-year term paid upfront, or 3 years on the unmanaged VPS plans. Pay monthly instead, and the WordPress Small plan is $9.99 from day one. The deal is only "cheap" if you prepay.
Some Fees Are Never Refunded
There's a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is good. But Hosting.com's refund policy says domain registrations, setup fees and migration fees are not refundable in any case. Plans also renew automatically, so set a reminder before your renewal date if you plan to leave.
Shared Plans Have Hidden Limits
Shared accounts are capped at 600,000 files (inodes) and 35 connections to the server at the same time, according to the terms of service. That's plenty for a normal blog, but a busy store or a site with a huge media library could hit it.
A New Brand Can Be Confusing
Hosting.com brings A2 Hosting and World Host Group under one name, and it has also bought Rocket.net. That's not a bad thing, but older A2 Hosting guides and screenshots you find online may not match what you see today. When in doubt, trust what's on hosting.com now.
Hosting.com Web Hosting Plans
One thing I like here is that you can start small and grow without ever switching companies, because Hosting.com has shared hosting, managed WordPress, VPS servers (managed or not) and full dedicated machines. So, let's walk through them.
Shared Web Hosting
Shared hosting is where most people start. Year one costs just $1.49/mo, and after that you pay $13.99/mo. As the name itself suggests, lots of customers share one server, which is exactly why it's this cheap. For a blog, a portfolio or a local business site, that's usually all you need.
- Starter ($1.49/mo, renews $13.99): 5 websites on one plan, which I didn't expect at this price, plus 15 GB of NVMe storage, email, a free domain, daily backups and the AI website builder.
- Pro ($3.49/mo, renews $19.99): doubles you up to 10 websites and 50 GB, and adds more CPU and RAM, staging, preview URLs and Node.js support. Hosting.com calls it the most popular plan.
- Max ($5.99/mo, renews $27.99): the big one, with 50 websites, 100 GB, 40 mailboxes, a premium SSL, an SLA and priority support.
Shared Hosting Plans Comparison
| Features | Starter | Pro | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| First year | $1.49/mo | $3.49/mo | $5.99/mo |
| Paid upfront | $17.88 | $41.88 | $71.88 |
| Renews at | $13.99/mo | $19.99/mo | $27.99/mo |
| Buy plan | ORDER | ORDER | ORDER |
| Sites and storage | |||
| Websites | 5 | 10 | 50 |
| NVMe storage | 15 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB |
| Extras | |||
| Staging sites | No | Yes | Yes |
| Priority support | No | No | Yes |
Before you choose, think about year two. Starter is the cheapest today, but at renewal it costs $13.99 a month for 5 sites, while Pro costs $19.99 for 10 sites and staging.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Prices start at $4.49/mo for the first year and renew from $9.99/mo. These plans are tuned only for WordPress, with WP Rocket, Object Cache Pro, two firewalls and a 99.99% uptime guarantee on every one.
- Small ($4.49/mo, renews $9.99): 1 WordPress install, about 30,000 visitors a month, 20 GB of storage and 100 GB of bandwidth.
- Medium ($4.99/mo, renews $17.99): 5 installs, about 120,000 visitors, 50 GB and 300 GB of bandwidth. This is the most popular one.
- Advanced ($10.99/mo, renews $25.99): 15 installs, about 250,000 visitors, 100 GB and 600 GB of bandwidth.
- Turbo ($14.99/mo, renews $34.99): 50 installs, about 500,000 visitors, 200 GB and 1.2 TB of bandwidth, for agencies.
Honestly, Medium looks like the sweet spot in year one: just 50 cents more than Small for five times the sites. Just remember it renews at $17.99.
VPS Hosting
Managed VPS plans with cPanel start at $29/mo for the first year (4 GB of RAM, 2 CPU cores, 100 GB of NVMe) and renew at double the price, $58. The most popular is the 16 GB plan at $70, renewing at $140. Bigger servers go up to 256 GB of RAM.
Self-managed VPS plans are much cheaper but need a 3-year term for the best price: from $3.49/mo for 2 GB of RAM, 1 core and 40 GB, renewing at $8.99. The 8 GB plan at $9.99 (renews $24.99) is the most popular. You manage the server yourself.
Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers start at $199/mo, billed monthly, with an AMD EPYC 4245P (6 cores), 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage. The $299 plan doubles the cores and RAM, and the $499 plan has 16 cores and 128 GB. They're for big stores and high-traffic sites that need a whole machine.
Features of Hosting.com Hosting
- NVMe storage on every plan
- Free SSL and free domain registration
- Daily backups
- Malware detection and removal
- Free website migrations
- LiteSpeed caching on shared plans
- WP Rocket and Object Cache Pro on WordPress plans
- Cloudflare Enterprise CDN on WordPress plans
- AI website builder
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Overall Advantages of Hosting.com
- Very low first-year prices
- 5 websites even on the cheapest shared plan
- WP Rocket and Object Cache Pro included on WordPress plans
- Two firewalls and malware cleanup on WordPress plans
- 30-day restore points on shared backups
- Free migrations
- Modern AMD EPYC and NVMe hardware
- Plans from shared all the way to dedicated
Overall Disadvantages of Hosting.com
- Renewal prices are much higher, up to 9 times on Starter
- Best prices need a year (or three) upfront
- Domain, setup and migration fees are never refunded
- File and connection limits on shared plans
- Older A2 Hosting info online can be out of date
Hosting.com vs Hostinger vs Bluehost
How does Hosting.com's cheapest shared plan compare with two other popular budget hosts we've reviewed? Here's how the numbers from our own reviews and our hosting comparison line up:
- Hosting.com Starter: $1.49/mo for a 12-month term, then $13.99/mo, with 5 websites. It's the cheapest first year by far, but the renewal stings.
- Hostinger Premium: $2.49/mo if you commit to 48 months, then $10.99/mo, with 3 websites. Great if you're happy to lock in for four years.
- Bluehost Starter: $3.99/mo on a 36-month term, then $9.99/mo, with 10 websites. The gentlest renewal of the three, and the most sites.
For more detail, read our Hostinger review and our Bluehost review for 2026.
Who Should Choose Hosting.com?
- I'd pick Hosting.com for a new WordPress site where I wanted WP Rocket and strong security included, and planned to check the price again before renewal.
- Agencies will like the Turbo WordPress plan with 50 installs and the 50-site Max shared plan.
- Developers who want a cheap self-managed VPS should look at the 3-year VPS deals.
- I'd skip it if I wanted a low price that stays low for years, because the renewal jump is steep.
Hosting.com FAQs
Is Hosting.com the same as A2 Hosting?
Yes, it's the same company. A2 Hosting now runs under the Hosting.com name, and if you visit a2hosting.com, you land on hosting.com. The company describes it as bringing World Host Group and A2 Hosting together under one global brand.
Does Hosting.com have a money-back guarantee?
Yes. Hosting.com promises a 30-day money-back guarantee on its plan pages. Just know that the fine print leaves a few things out: domain registrations, setup fees and migration fees won't come back to you.
How much does Hosting.com cost after the first year?
Shared plans renew at $13.99, $19.99 and $27.99 a month. Managed WordPress plans renew at $9.99, $17.99, $25.99 and $34.99 a month.
Is Hosting.com good for WordPress?
Yes, especially the managed WordPress plans, which include WP Rocket, Object Cache Pro, a Cloudflare Enterprise CDN and two firewalls. Just budget for the renewal price.
Conclusion: Our Hosting.com Review Verdict
Hosting.com is still the same speed-minded A2 Hosting at heart, just with a new name and a lot more under the hood. The WordPress plans are genuinely generous, with WP Rocket, Object Cache Pro, Cloudflare Enterprise and malware cleanup all included, and even the cheapest shared plan hosts 5 sites. If you read our Hostinger review, you'll see Hostinger renews lower on its entry plan, while Hosting.com gives you more in year one. But here's the catch, and it's a big one: the renewal bill is a lot higher. So, think of the first-year price as a trial run, and budget for the real price. Do that, and Hosting.com is a solid choice, especially for WordPress.
We think this Hosting.com review helped you understand what you get and what you pay. Are you using Hosting.com (or A2 Hosting), or thinking about it? Don't forget to leave your feedback in the comment area below.
Our verdict
Hosting.com
Feature-packed plans with WP Rocket, Object Cache Pro, Cloudflare Enterprise and malware cleanup on WordPress, and 5 sites even on the cheapest shared plan. Renewal prices jump a lot, and the best prices need a year upfront.
- Performance4
- Ease of use4
- Features4.5
- Support4
- Value for money3
Pros
- Very low first-year prices
- 5 websites on the cheapest shared plan
- WP Rocket and Object Cache Pro on WordPress plans
- Two firewalls and malware cleanup
- Free migrations
Cons
- Renewals up to 9 times higher
- Best prices need a year or more upfront
- Domain, setup and migration fees never refunded
- File and connection limits on shared plans
