hosting.com vs SiteGround
We give hosting.com a 2.0 GPA and SiteGround a 1.8, out of 4.0. hosting.com grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
hosting.com
Shared hosting from the former A2 Hosting, with an API and MCP server
SiteGround
Shared and WordPress hosting on Google Cloud with its own Site Tools
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAhosting.comFair | 1.8GPASiteGroundWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price on record: plan prices are filled in by the checkout and couldn't be read, so no two-year figure can be worked out. With nothing to compare, it sits at C, the grade for no stated price. First-term prices renew at regular rates. | CStartUp's first year is $2.99 a month, then it renews at $17.99, so two years cost $251.76, about $10.49 a month. That's past the cheaper quarter of hosts and the dearest of the shared hosts we could price. A 24-month term at $14.99 a month costs more. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, so you pay before you can try it. | FNo free plan and no trial. New shared hosting orders get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't a trial. |
| Features | BDaily backups with 30 days of restore points you can use yourself, Monarx malware removal, a firewall, a first-year domain and free managed migration on every plan. Staging needs Pro, but nothing in the core job is missing on Starter. | BEvery plan keeps daily backups, a CDN, SSL that renews itself, daily malware scans with free removal and unlimited email accounts. Staging and on-demand backups wait for GrowBig, but nothing in the core job is missing on StartUp. |
| Ease of use | CNo app store rating to go on. The Orbi assistant answers setup and DNS questions and passes you to people when needed, but you're still setting up a site. | CNo app store rating to go on. Each site gets its own Site Tools panel, which is tidy, but there's still a domain, email and a site to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web dashboard with no app on record, but shared plans come with an OpenAPI interface and an MCP server, and it works with Claude. Pro adds a Claude skills pack. | CA web panel only, with WordPress and WooCommerce as the named integrations. There's SSH and WP-CLI for developers, but no API is on record. |
| Best for | hosting you can run from scripts or an AI agent | WordPress sites that want daily backups built in |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: hosting.com and SiteGround. How we grade
Where they differ
- SiteGround also covers managed WordPress.
At a glance
| hosting.com | SiteGround | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $14.99 per month prepaid for 24 months; 12 months is $2.99 a month in year one |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | hosting.com | SiteGround |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | siteground.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
hosting.com
- Existing A2 Hosting customers weighing the renamed plans
- Developers who want to manage hosting through an API or an AI agent
- Small business sites that want backups and malware removal built in
SiteGround
- WordPress sites that want daily backups and staging without plugins
- Agencies handing clients white-label access on GoGeek
- Small businesses that want email at their domain on the hosting plan
Worth knowing
hosting.com
- Plan prices are filled in by the checkout and could not be read, so they are not listed here; promotional prices cover the first term and plans renew at regular rates.
- Staging sites, preview URLs and Node.js need Pro or higher; priority support, a premium SSL and a service level agreement need Max.
- The free domain is for the first year only and then renews at the standard rate.
- A2 Hosting's old plan names are retired: Startup became Starter, Turbo Boost became Pro and Turbo Max became Max.
SiteGround
- The $2.99 a month is for the first year of a 12-month StartUp term only; it then renews at $17.99 a month, and GrowBig and GoGeek at $29.99 and $44.99.
- StartUp hosts one website and suits around 10,000 visits a month; more sites need GrowBig.
- Staging, on-demand backups and faster PHP start on GrowBig, and white-label access and priority support need GoGeek.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers new shared hosting orders; renewals are refunded only under conditions in SiteGround's refund policy.
Key features
hosting.com
- LiteSpeed, NVMe and AMD EPYC on every plan
- All shared plans run on LiteSpeed web servers with NVMe storage and AMD EPYC processors, with published RAM, vCPU and IOPS limits for each plan.
- Malware removal and firewall
- Monarx scans continuously and removes malicious code itself. Every plan also has a web application firewall and brute-force protection.
- Daily backups with self-restore
- Backups run every day with 30 days of restore points, and you can restore a single file, database or mailbox without opening a ticket.
- API, MCP server and Claude skills
- Shared plans come with an OpenAPI interface and an MCP server for managing hosting from scripts and AI tools. Pro adds a Claude skills pack.
- Orbi AI assistant
- An AI assistant on every plan answers setup, DNS, WordPress and billing questions, and passes you to the in-house support team when needed.
- Free managed migration
- The support team moves an existing site to hosting.com at no charge.
SiteGround
- Site Tools panel
- Each site gets its own Site Tools panel for WordPress, email, domains and backups, so access to one site can be shared without exposing the others.
- Daily backups, CDN and SSL
- Every plan keeps daily backups and includes a CDN and SSL certificates that renew by themselves. GrowBig and GoGeek add on-demand backups.
- Malware scans and bot blocking
- Sites are scanned for malware every day with free removal, and an AI anti-bot system and custom firewall rules block attack traffic.
- WordPress services
- Free site migrations, managed automatic updates, WP-CLI and SSH, and an AI agent for WordPress. Staging starts on GrowBig, with Git on GoGeek.
- Unlimited email accounts
- Every hosting plan includes email at your own domain with no cap on accounts, plus webmail and spam protection.
- Website Builder with AI
- A drag-and-drop builder with templates, AI text and image generation and built-in SEO is included alongside WordPress.
Plans
hosting.com
Pricing could not be confirmed. See hosting.com.
SiteGround
StartUp, 1 month$24.99
per month
One website, 10 GB storage and around 10,000 visits a month, paid month to month at the regular rate.
StartUp, 12 months$17.99
per month at renewal, prepaid yearly, after a first year at $2.99
One website and 10 GB storage. The first 12 months cost $2.99 a month, prepaid, then the plan renews at $17.99 a month.
StartUp, 24 months$14.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
One website and 10 GB storage at the lowest regular monthly rate. The sales page shows its first-term discount only on 12-month terms.
GrowBig, 24 months$24.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
Unlimited websites, 50 GB, staging and on-demand backups. On a 12-month term it is $4.99 a month for the first year, then $29.99.
GoGeek, 24 months$39.99
per month, prepaid every 24 months
100 GB, staging with Git, white-label access and priority support. On a 12-month term it is $7.99 a month for the first year, then $44.99.
Ways to pay less
hosting.com
No public discounts listed.
SiteGround
- Other savings
First year of StartUp for $2.99 a month
On a 12-month term the first invoice is $2.99 a month for StartUp, $4.99 for GrowBig and $7.99 for GoGeek, prepaid. Renewals are $17.99, $29.99 and $44.99 a month.
