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1-grid Review 2024 – Is It Worth It?

Elijah Charbonneau Elijah Charbonneau Web Hosting Expert

1-grid offers shared web hosting for Linux and Windows platforms, plus VPS hosting, web design services, SSL, and website security bundles. Some hosting plans include a free domain.

We hosted the same WordPress website on the most popular web hosting platforms and measured their performance
Click here to see our results >>

Overview

1-grid-overview1To compare the best web hosts, we hosted the same WordPress website on each one and tested performance, customer service, and value for money. Check out the results here.

Based in South Africa, and formerly called WebAfrica, web hosting provider 1-grid has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. It offers web hosting, VPS hosting, web design, and SSL certificates. Website hosting plans are available for Linux and Windows, and you have the option to access a website builder as a paid add-on.

1-grid’s data center is located in Cape Town, South Africa, and its website is in English.

We actually interviewed an executive at WebAfrica, and here’s what we learned.

Features and Ease of Use

1-grid offers shared website hosting plans in Linux or Windows variants, with the cPanel control panel and one-click installation of WordPress and many other applications.

Linux hosting plans come in three tiers: Small, Medium, and Large. Understandably, the Large plan provides the most features, which include a free domain, hosting for an unlimited number of websites, and 50 GB of storage. The entry-level “Small” package includes 2 GB of storage, but it doesn’t include a free domain, and it only allows one website to be hosted. All hosting plans include the following features:

  • Unlimited traffic
  • Unlimited email
  • Unlimited MySQL databases
  • Free domain with some plans
  • cPanel
  • WordPress
  • One-click software installer
  • Access to paid website builder
  • Comodo cWatch security available

For website security, 1-grid offers add-on protection powered by the Comodo cWatch bundle of security and performance solutions that include malware removal, a content delivery network, a web app firewall, and more.

If you don’t want to design your own website using 1-grid’s website builder, you can take advantage of 1-grid’s professional web design services. Both options require a monthly subscription, and the ongoing fee for the in-house design package includes continuing maintenance including lead generation, security updates, monthly reports, hosting fees, and blog post writing (depending on the chosen plan).

Pricing and Support

Compared to other South African hosts, 1-grid’s hosting offerings are competitively priced for the features on offer. You can pay for plans monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, with discounts of 5% off (for a semi-annual commitment) or 10% off (for an annual plan). However…

1-grid’s Linux web hosting starter plan lacks a domain and offers limited storage. You can find other major international providers offering plans with more data and features at the same price as what 1-grid charges.

SSL is available as a paid add-on, even though it’s the ostensibly “free” Let’s Encrypt SSL for which 1-grid charges a configuration fee.

Customer support is available via telephone, ticket, live chat, or email. I reached out to the company via online ticket, but I didn’t hear back, so I tried the live chat channel instead. Although no live chat agents were actually live, I did receive a response after an hour or so:

1-grid-overview2

How much does 1-grid cost?

1-grid offers plans from $3 to $15. The price depends on which type of hosting plan you choose. You can see the updated pricing table (updated weekly) below.

Which 1-grid plan should I get?

My recommendation is to start with a cheaper plan. You can always upgrade later on. 1-grid can help you with the migration to a more expensive plan. The increase in visitors many times takes longer than expected and you shouldn’t pay a lot of money until the need arises. Of course, your needs may vary, and you can consult with a hosting expert 1-grid here.

How good is 1-grid’s customer support?

1-grid is not ranked as one of our top web hosts. But that can also be a result of 1-grid being a small, under the radar, hosting provider. There are advantages to a small hosting company – as a customer, you are more important to them. You can also check out our comparison of the most popular web hosting services here.

4.1

Pricing

Comparison

How does 1-grid match up to the competition?

KamateraCompareOur Score4.8Compare
Liquid WebCompareOur Score4.8Compare
1-gridCompareOur Score4.1Compare
Tailor Made ServersCompareOur Score2.9Compare

1-grid REVIEW: BOTTOM LINE

South African web hosting provider 1-grid offers several hosting, web design, and website security services. Its Linux web hosting plans come in three tiers, with the top tier including a free local domain. SSL certificates are available, but with an extra fee. Sales support wasn’t the fastest to respond to my query.

Still not sure if this is the right web host for you? Check out our top recommended web hosts to learn more.

Pros

  • Free domain with some plans
  • Powerful security add-ons available
  • Website builder available for a fee
  • Web design services available

Cons

  • Entry-level Linux plan doesn’t include a domain
  • Free SSL incurs a configuration fee
Elijah Charbonneau Elijah Charbonneau
Elijah is a freelancer writer, marketer, and technology enthusiast based in SE Asia. He enjoys staying on top of new technologies and learning ways that they can make life better. On his days off, you can find him traveling or digging into a new work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
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No response from support! Terrible service!

The WORST service provider I have come across! I will NOT recommend them at all! No response to emails or tickets, not to mention that there is NO response on their so called "live chat" platform. It takes on average about 20 minutes for them to answer a call. And on average 24 hours to respond (if they do respond). You should just remove your so called "support" department completely

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Martina Hitge, South Africa
January 27, 2021
1
Stay as far away from 1-Grid as you can!

Since 2010 we used Cozahosting for our web services with great satisfaction. Also Web-Africa we had a great experience. But then 1-Grid took over. For us, it went quickly to a nightmare. We paid for SSL which 1-Grid should setup but never did. They failed to set it up and then said we have to do it ourselves. When we had a problem, their staff was helpful but failed to find a solution. Early 2020 we told 1-Grid we no longer use their terrible services but still they keep sending invoices for services not or at best poorly delivered. I waste countless hours with them and many times they did not respond to tickets. When I can give you good advice, choose another provider because this one will give you headaches. Even 1 star is too much for them.

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Bad Wolf, Belgium
June 04, 2020
1

Good Morning, We set a high standard for ourselves and gutted that we missed this mark for you - we really appreciate the time you took to feedback. We would also like to sincerely apologise for the frustrating experience you had regarding your above concerns - your feedback helps us to identify areas that may need to be improved. We would like to make things right - your concerns will be escalated to senior management to investigate and address accurately today. Can you please provide me with your contact number and client ID? You're welcome to send me an email [email protected] Sincerely, Tara Abrahams | Team 1-grid

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Tara Abrahams , South Africa
June 05, 2020
Not at all impressed

No service. My e-mails were hacked. These emails contained invoices. Obviously we lost a lot of money. They never respond to queries or complaints. Save yourself a lot of aggravation by paying a little more for a better host than 1-grid. I am not at all impressed.

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Nataly Booyens, South Africa
April 24, 2020
1

Hi Nataly, Your review was only now brought to our attention, we haven't received any reviews on this platform up until recently. We would like to sincerely apologise for the experience you had and hope it's not too late to make things right. We would like to investigate your above concerns, could please provide me with your contact number and client ID? You're welcome to email me [email protected] Sincerely, Tara Abrahams | Team 1-grid

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Tara Abrahams , South Africa
June 05, 2020
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