A2 Hosting vs SiteGround: Web Hosting Comparison

In this A2 Hosting Vs SiteGround comparison post, I’m going to break down everything related to their website hosting services and pit them against each other.

Who will come out on top?

All your answers are below.

Web hosting is a crowded market, the reasons we are specifically looking at A2 Hosting vs SiteGround is because both are among the best web hosting sellers. On top of that, they are highly reliable and have very affordable plans. If you’ve been in a dilemma, by the end of this piece, it will be much easier to choose one to go with.

Which details should you expect?

• Plans, features, freebies, and resources you get
• Domain services
• Eco-friendly Hosting
• eCommerce support
• Site Loading Speeds
• Up-time
• Ease of use and simplicity
• Developer support
• Security
• Pricing
• Refund Policy

We understand different customers have different requirements. Separate reviews on both A2 Hosting and SiteGround might not show you how they fare against each other, where you are getting a best bang for your buck, extra free features, and more.

For each metric, we’ve evaluated and given a conclusion on which provider between A2 Hosting and SiteGround is better.

Let’s get started.

Plans	A2 Hosting offers six types of plans, which can either be Windows or Linux-based, from shared Hosting to dedicated server hosting.	SiteGround has four different types of plans, which all use Linux OS from shared web hosting to custom enterprise hosting.
Freebies	Shared SSL certificates, Marketing credits, Attracta SEO tool, a trial of iContact Email Marketing, Anycast DNS integration, Plesk panel, and Jetpack licenses for WordPress.	A Website migration plug-in, Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates or WildCard SSL certificate, and also Cloudflare CDN integration.
WordPress Support	A2 Hosting has dedicated WordPress plans where you get managed support for all technical tasks. Plans cost more than SiteGround’s.	Recommended by WordPress Shared web hosting plans are optimized and used for managed WordPress Hosting. You get full technical support, and plans are cheaper.
Domains	They have lower domain prices. First domain purchase has limited or no first purchase discounts, but they help you transfer domains for free.	You can transfer your domain using their free migration service or domain migration tool .You can also buy their domains which have great discounts on your first purchase. Prices are higher than on A2 Hosting.
eCommerce	Lots of online store apps are supported with 1-click installation. Perks include SSL Certificates, Instant Merchant Account ID, PayPal Merchant accounts integration, Bing/Yahoo Ads Credits, Attracta SEO tool, and an iContact Email Marketing Trial.	18+ eCommerce apps are supported with 1-click installation or pre-installation. You get an SSL certificate upgradable to Let’s Encrypt Wildcard SSL for online store security.
Green Hosting	Has lots of green hosting practices and initiatives, including an energy offset scheme. Has encouraged telecommuting, recycling of used hardware, use energy-efficient equipment and reduction of trash in their offices.	Involved in green hosting initiatives like tree planting. Uses Google Cloud servers which match energy used by purchasing equivalent renewable energy.
Speed	An industry leader in website loading speeds. Has implemented more and robust (vs SiteGround) speed-up technologies on their infrastructure.	Blazing fast site loading speeds powered by lots of speed up technologies, faster protocols, and even in-house caching solutions.
Uptime	Excellent uptime scores, but there is no uptime guarantee. This means no compensation for downtime.	Impressive uptime where there is a 99.9% uptime guarantee backed by an SLA.
Ease of use	3 step account creation process where afterward, you get access to intuitive dashboard interfaces. Some plans benefit from HostGuard – an exceptional managed hosting service. Tool and features include, e.g., cPanel, free Plesk panel, one-click installer, free templates, free site builder and more.	Account creation and activation is fast. You get a modern, intuitive customer dashboard. Beginner-friendly tools, e.g., Website/eCommerce builder, cPanel, 1-click installer, migration plug-in, free themes and templates plus more available.
Developer tools	You get root access with some plans; more programming languages supported. You also get lots of developer technologies.	No root access, a decent amount of programming languages are supported. Developer technologies integration is extensive; excellent developer-specific tools.
Security	Has a Perpetual security initiative that covers all plans. More security tools are available for higher plans.	Robust security tools (more than A2 Hosting) provided. Enhanced custom protection also implemented for all plans at no extra cost.
Customer support	Excellent customer support via three channels, but live chat uses a queue-based system which can be slow at times. Self-help materials – though some are technical – are provided.	Swift 24/7 customer support through 4 channels. Helpful answers from very well trained staff. Among the best support services in the industry.
Pricing	Month-to-Month billing available and prices are much lower generally.	Monthly billing has set up fees attached, majority of plans, i.e., except managed WordPress cost more than on A2 Hosting.
Refund policy	30 money-back guarantee for all plans. They have an “A” Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating.	30-day money-back guarantee except for Cloud plans; those are only only covered for 14 days. “B” rated by the BBB.
Overall rating	4.7	4.5
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Spoiler: The winner in this comparison guide is A2 Hosting. As a note, some sections were very close, and wins were by thin margins. A2 Hosting came out on top in 7 sections while SiteGround won 6.

We don’t recommend only looking at the overall score, keep reading to find out who won the areas that top your requirements.

A2 Hosting was started in 2001 by Bryan Muthig. Their headquarters are in Michigan, USA, but they’ve expanded and have 3 data centers around the globe. Their speed and reliability have fueled this growth; they currently host 500 thousand websites. Unlike the majority of hosts in this industry, they’ve remained privately owned.

SiteGround was started in 2004 by a group of students(3) who were in the university, namely, Tenko Nikolov, Nikolay Todorov, and Reneta Tsankova. SiteGround has grown to be a top web hosting company in Europe battling against OVH and 1 & 1 IONOS. With their expansion to having 6 data centers around the globe, they’ve become a hugely popular choice in different parts of the world. They host 2+ million domains, have 500 employees, and headquarters are still in Bulgaria.

A2 Hosting has lots of different plans, even covering those based on the Windows Operating system. More than you can get with SiteGround

• A2 Hosting Plans – shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, Windows-based Hosting, VPS hosting, Cloud plans, dedicated server hosting, and reseller hosting.
• SiteGround Plans – shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, Cloud plans, custom enterprise hosting, and reseller hosting.

Pros

• Unlimited features: bandwidth, subdomains, parked domains and email accounts for all plans
• Unlimited websites, parked domains and storage available with Drive, Turbo Boost and Turbo Max plans
• Automated backups with smooth Server Rewind for restorations (excluding the Start-Up Plan)
• The StartUp plan supports only 1 Website and has 100 GB SSD Storage
• NVMe SSD storage is available with Turbo Boost and Turbo Max
• Freebies: SSL Certificate (HTTPS), Anycast DNS, Attracta SEO tool, a trial of iContact Email Marketing and Cloudflare CDN

Cons

• Very limited StartUp plan in terms of features
• Most speed-boosting features are only available with Turbo Boost and Turbo Max plans
• No free dedicated IP
• No free domain (compared against competitors)

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Pros

• Bandwidth, email accounts, FTP accounts plus databases are unlimited features
• Unlimited domain hosting (i.e., website hosting) is available with the GrowBig and GoGeek plans
• Freebies include: SSL certificates(free upgrade to a WildCard SSL certificate), Cloudflare CDN and a website migration plug-in
• Backups with 30 days file retention get done automated daily except for the StartUp Plan
• Free technical supports for automatic WordPress installation and updates
• Pro-level support is provided with the GoGeek Plan

Cons

• Plans cost more (vs A2 Hosting)
• Smaller storage space provided (vs A2 Hosting plans)
• Limited monthly visits
• No free domain (compared against competitors)
• Very few freebies: No free dedicated IP, SEO tools or marketing credits
• The StartUp plan only supports hosting 1 Website, has 10 GB web space and 10,000 visits monthly

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The smallest plans on both platforms are much gimped. You’re not getting much in terms of resources and features. However, for SiteGround, storage and monthly visits are extra limited across the board. The rest of the unlimited features offered with the rest of the plans equal out on both platforms.

So how does A2 win this section? They have more and better free extras, and their plans cost much less. The overall value of A2 Hosting plans is much better.

Verdict: A2 Hosting wins

Pros

• Managed WordPress support: pre-installation, security updates, WordPress software patching, and updating
• 1-click WordPress installation
• Unlimited features include databases, transfers, and email accounts
• Automated daily WordPress backups except for the smallest plan
• Freebies: Jetpack Personal license, Cloudflare ServerShield, and CDN, SSL certificate, Plesk panel, and Anycast DNS
• Fast SSD RAID-10 storage
• 1-click staging, and WP-CLI environment available for developers

Cons

• More expensive plans (vs SiteGround)
• Not officially recommended by WordPress
• Only one plan supports unlimited website Hosting
• No free domain (compared against competitors)
• Limited storage: vs. industry competition: 1-site plan gets 10 GB, the 3-site plan gets 25 GB, and 40 GB is given for the Unlimited plan

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Pros

• WordPress organization officially recommended host
• Cheaper plans (vs A2 Hosting)
• Managed WordPress support: pre-installation, implementation of automated WordPress updates for the core software, plug-ins, and security
• One-click installation for WordPress
• Free SSL certificate; free Upgrade to WildCard SSL certificate
• Automatic backups which only misses with the StartUp plan
• Starter tool for helping you with WordPress setup
• They provide free templates and plug-ins you can use with your WordPress site.
• Unlimited WordPress sites hosting with either the GoGeek or GrowBig
• Unlimited features across the plans: bandwidth, file transfer protocol accounts (FTP), email accounts, and databases
• SG Optimizer .built-in dynamic WordPress caching and free Cloudflare CDN for boosting WordPress speeds
• WP-CLI and Site Staging environment
• Pro-level support (on GoGeek Plan)

Cons

• Monthly visits limited: StartUp (10,000),GrowBig (25,000), GoGeek 100,000),
• Limited storage: vs competition StartUp 10 GB, GrowBig 20 GB, and GoGeek 40 GB
• No marketing credits or SEO tools offered
• No free domain (compared against competitors)

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A2 Hosting doesn’t give you managed support that’s as comprehensive and worry-free as you get on SiteGround. Being a WordPress.org recommended hosting provider, you can also expect the best of integration and speed optimizations on SiteGround. Only one A2 Hosting plan supports hosting unlimited websites, while SiteGround has two plans capable of this.

It’s quite tricky to recommend A2 Hosting when pitted against SiteGround in this section. But there’s an exception if you want more free features, you should consider A2 Hosting but the tradeoff is not worth it.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

As previously mentioned, SiteGround lacks Windows-based plans. So, what do you get Windows plans from A2 Hosting?

• There are three plans Lite, Swift, and Turbo
• With the Lite plan, you can host 1 Website and 5 Databases
• A free Plesk Onyx 17.8 Control Panel, SSL certificate, Cloudflare ServerShield, and Anycast DNS are provided
• 100% RAID-10 SSD  storage
• With the Swift and Turbo plans you can host unlimited websites. You also get unlimited storage and  databases
• Bandwidth is unlimited for all plans
• Operating system options: Windows Server 2012 & 2016

We can’t have an A2 Hosting vs SiteGround comparison in this section since there are no VPS plans on SiteGround. We recommend reading this “Best Unlimited Bandwidth VPS Providers guide” for more options.

Here is a rundown of what you get with A2 Hosting VPS plans:

• There are three types of plans: Managed (HostGuard managed support, no root access), Core (HostGuard managed support, with root access), and Unmanaged (full root access but no cPanel).
• Free automatic backups with Server Rewind File restoration.
• Free SSL certificate.
• Webuzo 1-click installer for unmanaged VPS.
• SSDs storage using  RAID-10.
• Two dedicated IPs with every plan.

VPS Plan resources

• Power+ 4 Cores, 4 GB of memory, 75 SSD GB storage, 2 TB transfer limit
• Prestige+ 6 Cores, 6 GB RAM, 100 SSD GB storage, 3 TB transfer cap
• Pinnacle+ 8 Cores, 4 GB of RAM, 150 SSD GB storage, 4 TB transfer limit

Pros

• Their Cloud plans are cheaper than SiteGround’s
• Plans get you full root access not available on SiteGround
• Network and hardware get managed by A2 Hosting staff
• An alternative configurator tool is available for choosing resources for a pay per use billing model
• You can install a Linux OS of your choice
• Much longer 30 days money-back guarantee

Cons

• All cloud plans are unmanaged
• No unlimited features
• No free cPanel

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Pros

• Free features provided with every plan: a dedicated IP, an SSL certificate, free Cloudflare CDN service and automated daily backups (7 offsite copies)
• You get fully managed support where they take care of most technical aspects
• All plans get to access Advanced Priority Support
• Reseller Access is supported with a WHM panel
• A custom Cloud plan configuration service is available
• All their Cloud plans are hosted on the robust Google Cloud infrastructure
• Collaboration- for developers- using the same account is supported
• Creation of Sub-Accounts for clients on the same plan is allowed

Cons

• Compared to A2 Hosting, their plans are overpriced
• No unlimited features
• A shorter 14 days money-back guarantee for Cloud plans

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Despite not being cheap, SiteGround’s Cloud plan will give you a smooth user experience as they are fully managed. A2 Hosting cloud plans require an experienced webmaster to manage. Furthermore, A2 Hosting plans have very little in terms of feature set and freebies. The logical choice here is to go with SiteGround.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for dedicated server hosting, you’re out of luck with SiteGround. They don’t offer pre-configured servers. Instead, they have a custom enterprise configuration service where you get custom pricing. It all depends on your server configuration.

Plans are grouped into:

• Managed (Hostguard managed support, no root access),
• Core (Hostguard managed support, with root access),
• Unmanaged (full root access but no cPanel).

 Below is what you get with the three types of A2 Hosting dedicated servers:

• You can use Windows or Linux OS.
• Fast provisioning and account activation (30 minutes)
• No setup fees charged
• Unlimited features: websites, domains, subdomains, and add on domains (Core and Managed servers)
• Full root access (Core and unmanaged servers)
• Free cPanel (Core and Managed servers)
• Two dedicated IPs
• RAID 1 SSD storage
• Free features: an SSL certificate and Cloudflare CDN.
• Unmanaged Dedicated Servers get you a free Universal SSL, Webuzo 1-click installer, Free SolusVM Control Panel, and Auto-Configured Cloudflare Firewall

Core and Managed servers plan resources:

• Sprint – 2 cores (3.1GHz), 8 GB memory, 2X500 GB SSD Storage and 10 TB Transfer
• Exceed – 4 cores (2.4GHz), 8 GB memory, 2X500 GB SSD Storage, and 15 TB Transfer
• Mach – Dual CPU 8 cores Intel Xeon CPU (2.1GHz), 16 GB memory, 2X1000 GB SSD Storage and 20 TB Transfer

Pros

• A fast domain search tool on their site
• They offer a free domain transfer service
• Easy domain management via the A2 Hosting control panel
• Lots of domain names available from customizable ones , ccTLDs and TLDs extension e.g. (.com, .net, .biz,), or extension,
• Custom nameservers provided which help resellers to set up a custom name servers when reselling hosting and domain services.
• Domain features provided: Domain theft protection(and ID Protection Option), and Auto-Renewals

Cons

• Small or no first-year discounts for a majority of extensions
• Domains are not under their refund policy
• No free domain offered

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Pros

• You get a Domain search tool on their site for checking domain availability
• They offer a free domain transfer service
• Domain features (add-ons): Domain Locking and auto-renewal First year domain discounts

Cons

• No free domain name
• Domains are not under their refund policy

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Renewals Prices per year for SiteGround Domains:

• .com $14.95
• info $14.95
• .net $14.95
• .biz $17.45
• .us $14.95
• .org $14.95

Renewals Prices per year for SiteGround Domains

• .com $15.95
• info $17.95
• .net $17.95
• .biz $17.95
• .us $17.95
• .org $17.95

SiteGround outright doesn’t offer a free domain but has incredible first-year discounts for your initial domain purchase. Something non-existent on the A2 Hosting platform.

So, how is A2 Hosting better than SiteGround?

Well, their domain prices are lower. The rest of the features like free domain transfer service, a domain management tool and domain add-ons are the same.

Looking at the overall benefits, A2 Hosting is the better domain registrar.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Pros

• WooCommerce, OpenCart, Prestashop, Magento, and AbanteCart supported out of the box
• 1-click installations for all the above eCommerce apps
• Free SSL Certificates provided
• Instant Merchant Account ID provided for US customers only. Useful for Credit Card Processing and Payment Gateway services.
• Integrate PayPal Merchant accounts for accepting payments.
• Free Bing/Yahoo Ad Credits,
• Attracta SEO tool provided for marketing. You also get a free trial of iContact Email Marketing Trial

Cons

• Hasn’t been confirmed to being a PCI compliant host
• eCommerce recommended plans don’t have dedicated IPs

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Pros

• The GoGeek plan is eCommerce ready and hosted on PCI compliant servers
• Eighteen eCommerce apps are supported out of the box with 1-click installation using Softaculous.
• Their free Website builder powered by Weebly supports the creation of an eCommerce store.
• Free SSL certificate provided. As an alternative, you can upgrade to a Wildcard SSL at no extra fee for free

Cons

• The only eCommerce plan – GoGeek- doesn’t have a dedicated IP
• They don’t offer free marketing credits
• There is no Payment (Payment) integration

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If you want to create a customized online store, SiteGround’s free website builder supports this. Another advantage of using SiteGround is that its platform is PCI compliant. On both platforms, you get extensive eCommerce support (1-click installations) for lots of online store apps.

With the provision of payment integration, SEO and email marketing tools, plus advertising credits, A2 Hosting beats SiteGround in this section. None of these features are available on SiteGround.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Summary

• They have been involved in environmentally friendly Hosting since 2007.
• Use an energy offset scheme for their CO2 emissions via Carbonfund.org
• Supports tree planting initiatives in their Ann Arbor’s 150+ parks
• Encourage green practices in their offices like Telecommuting, recycling used hardware, using energy-efficient tech like SSDs, and reducing trash.

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Summary

• Involved in eco-friendly Hosting from 2010
• Has supported a tree planting exercise once
• By using Google Cloud servers for cloud hosting – which have a 100% green energy match – they help in reducing their carbon footprint.

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With SiteGround not having direct green hosting initiatives and only involved in a one-time tree planting exercise, it’s hard to make their case in this section.

In contrast, A2 Hosting has lots of initiatives and policies for helping in environmental conservation. They even started doing it very early, which is a bonus. A2 Hosting is more committed to eco-friendly Hosting, if your business requires such as part of its goals, go with A2 Hosting.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Pros

• Steady up-time with above 99.9% scores
• Redundancy measures implemented: RAID 10 mirrored storage for their VPS, WordPress, and shared web hosting plan. RAID 1 is applied for dedicated servers SSDs.
• 10 Gb/s redundant networks with Dual Fiber Entrance for their datacenters
• 24/7 onsite Network Monitoring by their expert to reduce downtime.

Cons

• No uptime guarantee hence no compensation plan
• Lesser up-time scores compared to SiteGround.

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Pros

• Top up-time scores – better than A2 Hosting – backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee
• They have a Service Level Agreement (SLA), which ensures you get refunds for incurred downtime.
• They also have 6 data centers (more than A2 Hosting) in 4 different continents for providing high stability, reliability, and redundancy
• Cloud plans are hosted on state of the art, highly reliable and redundant Google Cloud platform
• A 24/7 real-time monitoring system is implemented for detecting and performing minor fixes on errors before they cause downtime

Cons

• Scheduled Maintenance downtime is not covered

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A2 Hosting has a robust platform designed for high redundancy and reliability. They use mirrored RAID storage and have dual network connectivity to ensure minimal service interruption. For both platforms, there is 24/7 monitoring to ensure issues get discovered early and fixed before they cause downtime.’

When it comes to average up-time scores, SiteGround is on top and has an up-time guarantee, which A2 Hosting doesn’t have.

Go with SiteGround if up-time is among your top priorities.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

Summary

• Industry Leader in fast loading speeds. Multiple speed up features are enabled for almost all plans
• Has Multiple data centers, (4) offering lower latency options for different countries.
• Cloudflare CDN integration
• All plans use SSDs, which are faster than HDDs. Some plans have NVMe SSDs (e.g., Turbo Boost and Turbo Max) which are still faster than SATA based SSDs
• Has undersold shared hosting servers for high performance shared hosting
• Turbo Boost is available for free for the majority of plans. It comes with 20X better speeds than competitors shared plans
• WordPress LiteSpeed Cache and LiteMage cache for Maginot based sites are implemented
• Fast protocols enabled: PHP 7.4 with APC/OPcache, Memcached (for boosting MySQL database storage), SPDY (a faster Google-developed content delivery standard), HTTP/3, ESI (for customized page caching).
• PHP 7, a faster version, is supported
• IIS output caching for Windows plans Turbo boost
• Double RAM allocation for all plans with Turbo Boost
• A2’s custom Anycast DNS solution for duplicating DNS records to increased performance, lower latency, and higher redundancy.

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Summary

• Fast website loading speeds enabled by multiple speed up technologies implemented.
• 6 Data centers in 3 continents where you can choose you’re preferred data center for hosting
• 100% SSDs storage used for all plans
• Free Cloudflare CDN integration with all plans
• Speed up technologies enabled: OCSP Stapling, TLS 1.3, HTTP/2, PHP 7.4 with OPCache, and QUIC from Google.
• In-house technologies such as SuperCacher (Memcached-based) and SG Optimizer plug-in are implemented

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If there is a feature that has made A2 Hosting popular, it’s their site loading speeds. I can confidently tell you they are the best in the industry; only WPEngine comes close. All this is enabled by the multiple speed up technologies, fast protocols, and caching features, they have deployed on their infrastructure.

Don’t get me wrong, SiteGround loading speeds are quite fast, they don’t miss in the top 5 fast hosts list. They’ve done well and even implemented custom caching solutions. However, it is not enough to beat A2 Hosting speeds. Don’t hesitate to go with A2 Hosting if your website(s) depends on such features to offer a smooth experience to site visitors.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Pros

• Simple, 3-step account set up process with instant account activation
• Intuitive My A2 Hosting control dashboard for site and server management.
• Resellers and agencies access a WHMCS (Web Hosting Billing & Automation Platform) dashboard for billing management.
• A free website migration service provided
• You get 1-click installation support for apps using Softaculous or a Webuzo auto-installer for unmanaged VPS, and dedicated servers
• cPanel for all managed plans, WordPress and Windows plans get you a Plesk panel, Resellers get an easy-to-use WHM control panel while unmanaged plans get you a SolusVM panel. All are free
• Google apps integration with just a few clicks
• HostGuard service available for all managed plans with big perks where A2 experts take care of all the technical details.
• Straightforward drag & drop editing website builder
• Access lots of free themes and templates with the site builder
• Web-based File Manager
• Account Resource Usage Stats for both VPS and Dedicated servers

Cons

• There are limitations in the numbers of sites they can transfer for you

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Pros

• Hosting Account setup process is simple, fast, and your account gets activated automatically.
• Your customer dashboards have intuitive interfaces and are novice-friendly. They got redesigned in 2019 to make them look modern and less clunky.
• To help you move to their platform, they provide a free website migration service.
• A setup wizard (built-in) offered to guide you in setting up WordPress websites
• Softaculous app –the widely used 1-click installer – is available with support for 500+ different apps. Plug-ins and scripts.
• A free website builder powered by Weekly is provided. It’s straightforward and features a drag and drop editing style. Besides, it supports online store (eCommerce shop) creation.
• You get access to lots of free responsive themes you can implement with the website builder
• A free cPanel is provided with all plans. It powered with lots of functionality, well-arranged icons and designed using SiteGround’s brand colors
• A website migration plug-in that supports transfers for unlimited websites is available at no extra fee.

Cons

• Free builder is limited to just a few limited pages

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Here is what you get with the HostGuard service by A2 Hosting (managed Hosting):

• They take care of  software and plug-in, updates plus any required upgrades
• You get a Smart system notification tool
• They take care of your server security including implementing security patches
• They set up New Relic Server Monitoring on your server for free
• Your server gets Rebootless Kernelcare every day

First of all, the managed support you get from A2 Hosting is extensive and makes everything much easier. Point to note is that plans with HostGuard cost a little bit more. Most of the other beginner-friendly tools and features are almost the same.

What gives A2 Hosting an edge here is their managed hosting features, which SiteGround cannot match at all.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

Pros

• Lots (more) of Languages supported: Up to PHP 7.4, PERL 5.10, 9.6, Python 3., and Ruby 1.8
• Databases supported: MySQL 5.6/MariaDB, PostgreSQL
• Frameworks supported: Node.js, ASP.NET, Curl
• Windows developer tools are provided
• Developer technologies and tools supported: Apache server 2.4, LAMP stack, Apache Tomcat, Subversion, Git, Mercurial, and CVS
• Site staging environment for safely testing code changes
• Both phpMyAdmin & phpPgAdmin come pre-installed with VPS.
• Full root access and 13 OS options available for unmanaged VPS and dedicated servers
• SSH access
• WP-CLI environment for managing WordPress sites

Cons

• ColdFusion Plexum, Mod_perl, HTMLDoc, site staging environment, PDFLib, and MSSQL databases not supported

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Pros

• Git version control with 1-click functionality supported. It comes Pre-installed in Go-Geek plans
• WP-CLI for WordPress is available
• A Site staging environment is provided for testing new features (or code) before getting deployed live.
• Developer collaboration, i.e., on the same account is available with both GrowBig and GoGeek plans
• A White Labelling feature useful for building sites for clients then changing and giving them ownership of the website(s) is available with the GoGeek plan
• PHP versions up to PHP 7.4 are enabled. Modifications to the php.ini file are supported
• phpMyAdmin. Access for supported MySQL databases
• More supported developer technologies: Zlib, ionCube, GD library, Smart Templates, Zend Optimizer, mod-rewrite, ImageMagick, CURL, and httaccess,

Cons

• Windows-based developer tools not available
• The Site Staging feature is restricted to only a 100MB database. Problematic if you have a big, rich media website.
• Very few programming languages supported out of the box compared to A2 Hosting.

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A2 Hosting supports Linux and even Windows-based developer tools. You get full root access to unmanaged servers and can install 13 different Linux OS. These are unheard of on SiteGround. What’s more A2 Hosting supports more programming languages than them. The only place SiteGround beats A2 Hosting is by supporting and integrating more development technologies out of the box, e.g., Collaboration on the same account and having a White Label feature.

As a developer, you can’t go wrong with any platform, but with A2 Hosting, you get much better support and tools on every plan. On SiteGround, the best developer tools and features are on the most expensive plan only.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Summary

• They have a Perpetual Security initiative for all plans meaning you don’t need to purchase security add-ons
• Free SSL certificate
• Two-factor authentication for account log-in security
• Managed External Authentications feature for resellers plans; you can set authenticated users
• DDoS Protection (with Dual Firewall, Brute Force Defense, and Virus Scanner)
• Patchman enhanced tool with free HackSacn protection
• Server Rewind Backups _
• Automatic & Rebootless Kernel Updates for Linux VPS and dedicated servers
• A2 Hosting experts use only keys instead of passwords to access the servers

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Summary

• AI-driven anti-bot system protection offered irrespective of your plan
• Free automatic daily backups for up to 30 days provided except for the StartUp plan, which only supports manual backups.
• DDoS (Denial of Service) protection through Cloudflare CDN
• Backups have a straightforward restoration process (excluding StartUp plan)
• In-house built SG Site Scanner provided with all plans
• SSL certificates at no extra cost provided
• Custom WAF (Web Application firewalls) protection applied at the server level
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) sign-in protection
• DS/IPS security features for detecting intrusion attempts as well as brute-force protection are implemented
• Email protection via real-time 24/7 Spam Filtering

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As you can see, SiteGround has taken the extra effort of coming up even with custom security solutions to keep your website(s) safe irrespective of your plan. They offer more and better security tools than A2 Hosting, which gives them an advantage here. Another thing, they match almost all security solutions offered on A2 Hosting.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

Pros

• Enticing introductory cut-rate prices offered
• Month-to-Month billing available
• The pricing model is the same as most of the competitors; plans can’t be deemed too cheap nor too expensive.
• Automatic renewing is enabled if you forget to do it.

Cons

• Prices jump up when renewing
• More significant discounts can only be secured with over 1-year contracts.
• Plans get automatically renewed inconveniencing those willing to cancel

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Pros

• Separate payments per month available (monthly billing)
• Cut-rate promotional prices offered during the first billing cycle even for monthly billed plans
• Almost non-existent upselling of add-ons

Cons

• A setup fee is charged for Monthly billed plans
• Significant prices hikes when renewing your plans
• SiteGround’s Cloud plans are generally overpriced compared to competitors like A2 Hosting

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A2 Hosting Plans Prices per Month

• Shared hosting – Start Up $2.99, Drive $4.99, Turbo $9.99, Turbo Max $14.99
• Managed WordPress – 1 Site $11.99, 3 Sites $18.99, Unlimited $36.98
• Windows Hosting – Lite $4.90, Swift $5.88, Turbo $10.78
• VPS hosting – Unmanaged $5.00, Managed $25.00, Core $25.00
• Cloud plans – Entry $5.00, Mid $10.00, Elite $15.00
• Dedicated server hosting – Unmanaged $99.59,Discount $129.30, Managed Flex $141.09, Core Flex $141.09
• Reseller Hosting – Bronze $13.19, Silver $18.47, Gold $24.41, Platinum $40.91

SiteGround Plans Prices per Month

• Shared hosting – Start-Up $6.99, GrowBig $9.99, GoGeek $14.99
• Managed WordPress – Start Up $6.99, GrowBig $9.99, GoGeek $14.99
• Cloud plans – Entry $80.00, Business $120.00, Business Plus $160.00, and Super Power $240.00
• Reseller Hosting – GoGeek $14.99
• Custom pricing for Enterprise hosting

The only place where SiteGround beats A2 Hosting in terms of pricing is by having cheaper managed WordPress hosting. For the rest of the plans, A2 Hosting proves the better option in terms of price. Both offer discounts on initial contracts but expect prices to jump up when renewing.

Good news: there is limited upselling of add-ons on both platforms.

What makes SiteGround lose out here is they impose set up fees for month-to-month billing, and also, you get minimal options when it comes to hosting plans.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

Pros

• The Guru Crew – their support team- is available 24/7
• Staff are highly trained and technically knowledgeable
• Decent response time for tickets and telephone calls
• Many different support channels: Live chat, support tickets, and phone.
• A Searchable Knowledgebase is available for self-help.

Cons

• They have a Queue-based Live chat; You have to wait in line to get served
• No video tutorials provided
• Not enough staff
• Some articles are too technical

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Pros

• Their 24/7 customer support services are offered by well-trained in-house staff
• Overstaffed support department.
• Customer support channels are three and include phone, live chat, and also support tickets.
• GoGeek and Enterprise plans clients get Priority support
• Have fast response and load balancing, which ensures you get immediately matched with an agent
• Have an extensive searchable Knowledgebase, and you get immediate help content on different webpages for DIY solving.

Cons

• Limited video tutorials

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A2 Hosting customer support service is decent; you will rarely see big complaints. But when compared to SiteGround’s, they can’t quite match up.

Areas with downsides include a queue-based live chat system, which means they aren’t adequately staffed like SiteGround, no priority support for specific plans, and they have technical articles not very clear for novices. In all the other areas, you can’t quite tell the A2 Hosting and SiteGround’s support services apart.

With SiteGround, honestly, it’s hard to find flaws unless you start nit-piking.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

Pros

• No-questions-asked anytime money-back guarantee.
• Full refunds for up to 30 days (only)
• SSL certificates purchased are covered
• After the first 30 days, refunds get issued using a pro-rating system.
• A 25-day refund window covers purchased SSL certificates
• A2 Hosting has BBB Rating A+
• Has automatic cancellation

Cons

• Refunds past the 120th day only get sent via PayPal.
• The refund policy doesn’t cover any setup, domain registration, and site migration fees
• Automatic renewals don’t quality for refunds.

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Pros

• Both shared and managed WordPress plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee
• A 14-day money-back refund policy covers Cloud hosting clients
• A2 Hosting Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating is much lower, only “B.”
• They provide an automatic cancellation option
• Plan renewals are covered

Cons

• Services not covered by the refund policy: Setup fees for plans, Optional Add-ons, and domain name services
• Has a shorter refund policy, e.g., only 14 days for Cloud plans

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A2 Hosting is quite strong in this section. They have an unbeatable anytime money-back guarantee with a no questions asked policy, perfect for those committing for long periods. Whenever you cancel, you get a pro-rated refund. A full refund only applies if you cancel within 30 days. They have a better BBB rating than SiteGround, and also cover SSL certificates, which is rare in this industry. There’s not much more you could ask more from them.

For both platforms, you don’t have to talk to a support agent; cancellation can get done automatically on your dashboard. The only area SiteGround beats A2 Hosting is in that they cover even automatically renewed plans.

Verdict: A2 Hosting Wins

A2 Hosting and SiteGround are quite similar in their goal of focusing on fast hosting. Despite A2 Hosting taking the overall crown, SiteGround puts in a strong fight. When compared against companies like HostGator and BlueHost, these two clearly stand out.

With this head to head comparison, we hope you been able to see which platform meets your priorities better. If none satisfied you we recommend InMotion and GreenGeeks who also offer excellent hosting services.