This A2 Hosting vs HostPapa comparison is actually more challenging than it looks. While there are many similarities between the two, there are also big differences, especially when it comes to performance and features.
To compare A2 Hosting and HostPapa, I tested them thoroughly across 5 main categories. Even though the difference in prices isn’t that much, I was disappointed in HostPapa’s poor performance and slightly limited features, compared to A2 Hosting.
Click here to see A2 Hosting’s best deals, or read on to learn how A2 Hosting won this battle.
1. Plans and Pricing
HostPapa Is Slightly Cheaper, but A2 Hosting Offers More Plans and Better Value for Your Money
A2 Hosting offers a broad range of hosting packages from shared hosting and WordPress hosting (managed and unmanaged) to VPS (managed and unmanaged) and dedicated servers.
In contrast, HostPapa offers fewer shared, WordPress hosting (unmanaged), and VPS (managed and unmanaged) plans. A2 Hosting and HostPapa offer reseller hosting as well.
A2 Hosting offers better discounted annual plans than HostPapa. You also get more features with A2 Hosting than HostPapa (see the Features section). On the other hand, HostPapa’s packages renew at a slightly cheaper rate than A2 Hosting.
HostPapa offers a free domain name with some plans. A2 Hosting doesn’t offer a free domain, but it sometimes offers free (promotional) domain name registration for .com, .net, and .org.
Both hosts offer free website migration. HostPapa offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with annual subscriptions for all hosting services, but monthly subscribers are eligible for a refund within 48 hours only.
A2 Hosting offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for all its hosting services. Plus, you can cancel your plan at any time (even after 30 days) and get refunded for the unused period.
Even though A2 Hosting’s renewal rates are a tad more expensive, in comparison to HostPapa, you actually get what you pay for (and more) with A2 Hosting. In addition, A2 Hosting has a better warranty for its hosting services.
2. Features
HostPapa is Good, A2 Hosting Offers More Shared Hosting Features
A2 Hosting offers four shared hosting packages with 100 GB to unlimited SSD or NVMe storage (depending on the plan), unlimited email accounts, free SSL certificate, 1 to unlimited hosted websites, cPanel, free CloudFlare CDN, CloudLinux OS, and Softaculous.
All of A2 Hosting’s shared hosting plans (except the smallest package) come with automatic backups. All plans are optimized for WordPress and other CMS applications, and come packed with security features. The higher-value plans include Turbo servers (20x faster performance).
With HostPapa’s three shared hosting plans, you get from 100 GB to unlimited SSD storage (no NVMe), 2 to unlimited hosted websites, 100 to unlimited email accounts, free SSL certificate, cPanel, Softaculous, free CloudFlare CDN, and free website builder, and lots of security features.
See more differences between the two hosts in the following detailed comparison table:
| A2 Hosting | HostPapa | |
| Hosting Types | Shared, WordPress hosting, VPS, reseller, dedicated servers | Shared (managed & unmanaged), WordPress hosting, VPS, reseller |
| Free Domain | ✘ | ✔ |
| Free SSL Certificate | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disk Space | 10 GB – Unlimited | 50 GB – Unlimited (depending on the plan) |
| Bandwidth | 400 GB – Unlimited | 500 GB – Unlimited (depending on the plan) |
| Automatic Backups | ✔ | Daily with certain plans |
| Control Panel | cPanel, Plesk | cPanel |
| Email Accounts | Unlimited | 100 – Unlimited (depending on the plan |
| Free CDN | ✔ | ✔ |
| Free Site Migration | ✔ | ✔ |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
Despite the similarities between A2 Hosting and HostPapa’s shared hosting offerings, A2 Hosting is one step ahead of its competitor by offering more plans and more advanced features.
3. Performance
HostPapa Disappoints with Slow Loading Speeds
A2 Hosting delivers its services through data centers located in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Singapore. HostPapa has servers in the U.S. and Canada.
HostPapa uses SSD storage in all its plans, but A2 Hosting only uses SSD with specific plans. SSD storage performs much faster than the regular HDD storage which reflects on the overall loading speed of your website.
Both hosts offer free CDN (Content Delivery Network) with their plans. CDN places your website on a global network of servers to boost its loading speeds from different locations around the world.
That said, I tested the page loading speeds of both hosts using Sucuri. A2 Hosting showed quite impressive loading speeds in North America and Europe, but slower speeds in Asia, resulting in an overall score of A. Read all the details in this expert A2 Hosting review.
HostPapa, on the other hand, showed good speeds in some locations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, but the rest of the servers failed to connect, leading to an overall score of F. See this in-depth HostPapa review to find out more.
A2 Hosting outperformed HostPapa in this round by a hefty margin, which makes for a faster and a more reliable host.
4. Security
HostPapa Offers Lots of Security Features, A2 Hosting Offers More
When it comes to security, both A2 Hosting and HostPapa have a wide range of security features in common, including:
- 24/7 server monitoring
- DDoS/Brute-Force protection
- CloudLinux OS (securely isolates each account from other accounts on the same server to protect it against external threats targeting other accounts)
- Patchman enhanced auto-security
- Server firewall
- Free SSL certificates
- Virus scanner
A2 Hosting includes free HackScan, ModSecurity, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and KernelCare (daily, automatic, and rebootless Kernel updates) with all its plans.
HostPapa does provide a very good range of security features with its packages, but not as good as what A2 Hosting offers with its packages for free. A2 Hosting wins the security challenge, but only by a slim margin.
5. Support
Both Offer Great Customer Support, HostPapa Is More Responsive
Before contacting any of these two hosts’ customer support, I recommend checking out their self-help resources. A2 Hosting and HostPapa both have extensive knowledge base sections that contain lots of guides and tutorials.
If that isn’t helpful enough, you can get in touch with their 24/7 customer support through phone, live chat, email, or ticket support.
I contacted A2 Hosting’s support via both live chat and ticket support. With the chat option, it took me more than 30 minutes to get connected, but once I was, the representative was quite helpful and answered all of my questions. I received a reply to the ticket within an hour which isn’t so bad.
On the other hand, HostPapa’s live chat replied almost instantly and, like A2 Hosting,it was very helpful. With ticket support, however, I received a reply after three hours, which was pretty inconvenient. On the plus side, HostPapa’s support is available in English, French, German, and Spanish. Plus, HostPapa offers a 30-minute training session with one of its experts.
Both hosts have reliable customer support, but HostPapa’s quicker reply and multilingual support team make it the winner when it comes to support.
A2 Hosting Knocks Out HostPapa
Even though HostPapa tried to put up a good fight, A2 Hosting won in four out of five categories. A2 Hosting may be a little more pricey than HostPapa, however, it offers more hosting solutions, much better performance, and tighter security measures. On the other hand, it’s faster to get help from HostPapa.
Not only did A2 Hosting win this comparison, but unlike HostPapa, it managed to earn a spot in our list of the top 10 web hosting services.
FAQ
Is A2 Hosting better than HostPapa?Yes, A2 Hosting is one of the most recommended web hosts by our experts. It’s also great since the difference in pricing isn’t much. With A2 Hosting, you get more plans to choose from, an any time money-back guarantee, faster loading speeds, more reliable performance, and a ton of features. A2 Hosting is also recommended by our experts in this list of the best web hosting services.Does A2 Hosting offer VPS hosting?Yes. A2 Hosting offers a wide range of managed and unmanaged VPS packages. If you want full root access, you can sign up for the Core VPS (managed) or Unmanaged VPS plans. All A2 Hosting’s VPS plans come with SSD storage and free SSL. A2 Hosting for VPS is also featured in our expert list of the best cheap and trusted VPS services.Does HostPapa offer WordPress hosting?Yes. HostPapa offers three unmanaged WordPress packages. With HostPapa for WordPress, you can host from two to unlimited websites and get up to unlimited SSD storage, Jetpack security features, and all the essential WordPress features. Prefer managed WordPress hosting? Don’t miss our in-depth list of the best managed WordPress hosting services.Does HostPapa offer a free domain?Not with all packages. You can get a free .com domain name from HostPapa for the first year when you sign up for any of its annual, biennial, or triennial shared hosting or WordPress hosting plans. However, you pay for domain privacy when you check out. Undecided about which name to choose? Take a look at our ultimate guide to choosing a domain name.
