My KnownHost Review: How Good is Their Hosting?
It’s a little ironic that KnownHost isn’t actually among the top known names in the web hosting market. Although the company has been around for a long time, they don’t heavily invest in marketing like some other companies.
But there are places where KnownHost is quite reputable, such as Reddit. That’s where I learned about this provider after reading many positive opinions about their services and support.
This is my own personal review and opinion about KnownHost and the main pros and cons of their hosting service.
Main Benefits and Advantages of KnownHost
1. Good server specs and performance
KnownHost servers deliver decent performance, thanks to NVMe storage, dynamic caching (Redis, Memcache, OPcache), LiteSpeed, and a good quota of server resources available in each plan.
This is one of the fastest shared hosting services I’ve used so it gets a thumbs-up from me for overall performance and speed.
2. Malware protection for free
I hate it when a company makes you pay for a costly add-on just so you can get basic security features, such as malware scanning.
Imunify360 malware and virus protection is included for free in KnownHost’s plans.
3. Free SSL certificates
You get a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for each domain you add to your cPanel account.
This is a must-have security feature these days and you shouldn’t have to pay anything extra for it.
4. Automatic off-site backups
The standard backup feature includes two daily backups and one weekly backup stored on a remote server and accessible via Jetbackup in cPanel.
You can opt for more advanced backup options (more copies and longer retention) for a small additional fee, but I think the free option is good enough for non-critical sites.
5. WordPress staging
A site cloning and staging tool is available in cPanel. You get either Softaculous (shared hosting plans) or WordPress Toolkit (managed WordPress hosting plans).
Besides staging, both of these tools include additional features, such as automatic WordPress installation, management of automatic updates, security settings for each WordPress site, and other functionalities.
6. Very responsive support team
It’s easy to find all of the above features at many other places, but it’s the knowledgeable and responsive support team at KnownHost that sets it apart.
I’ve never had to wait for more than a few minutes to get a response from their technical support agents. This is a big reason why I prefer this provider over many other “popular” providers that have useless and often frustrating outsourced support agents.
7. Transparent pricing
Another thing I appreciate about KnownHost is their transparent and straightforward pricing. They don’t nickel-and-dime you with add-ons that should be standard free features.
They don’t have tricky special offers and discounts designed to lure you in with low introductory prices and then skyrocket your renewal bill.
KnownHost gives you a one-time discount on the first invoice and then you pay the renewal price that is clearly listed on the checkout page.
Main Drawbacks of KnownHost
1. Outdated design
Although the company has recently revamped their website’s design, it still looks kind of old-fashioned and outdated.
The checkout page and the whole billing system they’re using need a serious redesign in my opinion, but that’s a secondary issue.
2. Sales and billing support isn’t 24/7
While technical support is available 24/7, sales and billing support is only available during business hours.
So if you have any billing related inquiries, you may have to wait a few hours to get a response.
3. Not many server locations
KnownHost has two server locations in the USA and one in the Netherlands.
That’s not an issue for me since I rarely use a server location outside the US, where most of my traffic comes from. However, if your site’s main audience is located elsewhere, you probably want to use a CDN to speed up content loading, or alternatively, consider using another provider.
Which KnownHost Plan to Choose?
There are different web hosting options and plans at KnownHost you can choose from. Here’s a quick rundown of those:
- Shared Web Hosting: This is the most affordable option and it’s good for small or static sites. Some plans allow you to host an unlimited number of sites.
- Managed WordPress Hosting: This comes with WordPress preinstalled for you. You can only host a limited number of sites in each account so the servers should be less populated here, which means better performance and stability.
- Reseller Hosting: This option comes with multiple cPanel accounts. It’s typically used by agencies that resell hosting to their clients, but you can also use it to host multiple websites in separate cPanel accounts.
- VPS Hosting: This gives you dedicated CPU and RAM to handle the heavy workloads of an ecommerce site or a high-traffic site. You get more control over the server software and you can customize it to your needs.
- Cloud Hosting: This is basically VPS hosting with dedicated resources, but instead of a traditional physical server infrastructure, it utilizes a more resilient cloud infrastructure.
Conclusion: Is KnownHost Reliable?
All in all, KnownHost is a good web hosting provider for WordPress and whatnot. Their servers are quite performant, their pricing is reasonable and transparent, their plans come with all the essential features included, and their support agents are very responsive.
If you’re still looking for something else, see the following Reddit discussion for a couple more recommended hosts:
