Having been around for over a decade, HostRocket has maintained a low profile and catered to a limited number of customers. This can be typically attributed to their rather mediocre service. Despite its promotion on Google Adwords and its push by affiliate marketers, it still remains under the radar serving around 50,000 users annually. HostRocket offers shared hosting, VPS as well as dedicated hosting. Here is our unbiased review of web hosting services offered by HostRocket.
SSD Shared Hosting Package
HostRocket offers the standard set of features supported by most popular hosting packages. There are no caps placed on hard disk space and bandwidth however there are constraints on accounts using unusually high levels of disk space and bandwidth. In terms of email, Host Rocket is an excellent choice as it provides access to unlimited accounts and forwarding as desired. One noticeable constraint is the lack of Ruby on Rails support. Ruby may not be the most popular language but it does have a dedicated and loyal community. If you tend to be one of these individuals, you will have to resort to another option.
Perhaps the most striking thing about HostRocket shared hosting is its price. Unlike other hosting companies, there is absolutely no hidden fees associated with the service and its plan page clearly acknowledges the monthly term, annual and biennial term unlike most other hosting companies that only provide this information when it’s time to enter your credit card details. The best value for the service is its biennial plan.
Dedicated, VPS and Reseller Hosting Packages
Besides shared hosting which is typically what most users of HostRocket tend to go for, they also have dedicated hosting solutions. If you are looking for something in between like a VPS server, don’t close the tab right away, Host Rocket offers VPS hosting as part of its reseller hosting however it lays special emphasis on dedicated hosting as its VPS solutions are only advertised once you navigate to the reseller hosting plans page. Their main focus however is on the dedicated hosting package, the most powerful being labeled as “BEST” offering 100TB of bandwidth and 32 GB of memory to work with.
For VPS and reseller hosting, HostRocket redirects customers to their partner site of DotBlock which offers a special introductory offer for $10 a month which is a steal and a great way to start if you are looking to run your own web hosting company. It also has unmetered bandwidth meaning you can possibly accommodate a greater number of clients on the package in comparison to other hosting providers that has a cup on the number of users allowed on a reseller hosting account.
Add-On Services
HostRocket offers a few other useful services at a reasonable price:
- Domain: As mentioned above, the domain is provided as an add-on for $20 a year. Purchasing a domain at this price however is not recommended.
- Domain Transfer: You can transfer your domain from your previous provider at the same price if you wish. In most cases however, it would be best to leave your domain at the existing nameserver.
- Dedicated IP address: If you want more functionality, you can opt for a dedicated IP address. This is provided at a reasonable price of $2 per month. Dedicated IPs are sometimes available for free depending on the package you choose however with HostRocket it has to be purchased separately.
- Back up services: HostRocket offers backup options as an add-on and costs a one-time fee of $5 per backup. This service again can appeal to the price conscious web hosting customers who are looking to make a backup prior to incorporating a new feature or uploading a new script to their website. In comparison, other hosting providers tend to offer periodic backups for a monthly fee which is typically quite pricey and can even cost more than the price of the hosting service.
The Downside
Customer feedback on the service is generally positive. However there is occasional dissatisfaction on the following two issues:
Uptime: Uptime is one of the most important aspects for a website, typically if you are entertaining several visitors a day and have setup your website for monetary purposes. A few minutes of downtime can be very costly. HostRocket is known to have a few minutes of downtime on websites every once in a while. While customers have stressed on this, they have also mentioned that it is not a major setback when compared to the overall service provided.
Customer support: There are also complaints of delay in responding to queries by email. Customer support is a critical value that web hosting companies need to focus on. However the complaints seem to be isolated with a majority of customer reviews stating that support has generally been responsive.
Conclusion
HostRocket is a decent service and would be ideal if you are working on a limited budget.
