Ikoula is a French web hosting provider with two data centers located in Reims and Eppes, in addition to partnerships with two other data centers in Paris. Fluent in 13 languages, their customer support is multilingual, as are their services. They’ve been in operation since 1998 and have clients in more than 60 countries around the world.
Features and Ease of Use
Ikoula offers shared, cloud, VPS, and dedicated server hosting packages. They were actually the first in France to offer 100% online dedicated servers, which is a testament to their mission to offer cutting-edge solutions to their customer base.
Their shared hosting packages are well-crafted and excellent for individuals, businesses, and e-commerce store owners. For starters, here’s what their entry-level package offers:
- 10GB storage with the option of adding up to 50GB for a small fee
- Free domain registration for the first year
- Host up to 10 domains
- Unlimited traffic
- 1 MySQL databases with the option of adding up to 25 more
- 10 email accounts
- 1GB email storage
The 10GB storage is noteworthy, since most entry-level packages at that price range only give 1GB. Plus, the package also comes with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate and a one-click installer including applications like WordPress, Joomla!, and Magento, meaning budding e-commerce website owners can even launch a decently-sized online store. Being able to host up to 10 domains was also a nice perk — most entry-level plans would’ve capped it at one. Of course, Ikoula also has a specialized PrestaShop hosting plan which offers far more resources — but also comes with a bigger price tag.
Ikoula provides a simple account management portal with every hosting account. This allows you to adjust the various settings of your account or track your visitor analytics. Also, they’ve provided the use of iKeepinCloud, which allows you to synchronize, backup, and restore your websites in a single click via FTP.
If you’ve outgrown a shared server, Ikoula also has scalable cloud and VPS hosting packages, along with dedicated servers for enterprise-scale customers.
Ikoula doesn’t appear to have an uptime guarantee for their shared hosting packages, but my tests yielded an average uptime of 99.99% — pretty impressive by industry standards. Their WordPress managed hosting packages and dedicated servers have an uptime guarantee of 99.99%.
Pricing and Support
Ikoula’s shared hosting packages are affordably-priced — cheaper, even, than similar offerings from their competitors. They offer discounts for new subscriptions as well as longer term contracts.
This affordability extends to their cloud and VPS hosting packages. The former also features hourly billing, so you can scale your package up and down as needed and only pay for the resources that you use.
Unfortunately, there’s no free trial or free plan available. Ikoula also does not appear to have any money back guarantee.
Support-wise, Ikoula has an extensive Wiki available in 14 different languages. Their support representatives are also available via telephone, email, or live chat. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find out that their live chat isn’t available 24/7. Moreover, when I tried accessing it, I found that it was exclusively in French. This poses a challenge for customers who don’t speak French, as they may need to rely on email or Ikoula’s knowledge base for assistance. It’s important to keep this language barrier in mind when seeking help from them.
How much does Ikoula cost?
Ikoula offers plans from $1 to $5. The price depends on which type of hosting plan you choose. You can see the updated pricing table (updated weekly) below.
Which Ikoula plan should I get?
My recommendation is to start with a cheaper plan. You can always upgrade later on. Ikoula 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 from Ikoula here.
How good is Ikoula’s customer support?
Ikoula is not ranked as one of our top web hosts. But that can also be a result of Ikoula 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.
