Tsohost Review: We Scrutinise The Pros + Cons Of This British Host With An Exotic Name
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Our overview of Tsohost…
Expert Opinion
Hear from our web hosting expert, Claire Broadley.
Best Reviews
See what 17 Tsohost customers have to say.
Hosting Plans
Compare the best Tsohost hosting plans and their prices.
FAQs
Most asked Questions about Tsohost – answered!
Tsohost Introduction and Review
Tsohost is one of the few web hosts based in the UK, most known for their inexpensive shared and cloud hosting plans that have all the essentials, plus a few nice extras.
Tsohost is based in Maidenhead. It prides itself on basing all staff close to its servers and has more than a decade’s experience in the industry.
Founded in 2003, Tsohost is a member of the Paragon Internet Group, the company that also owns Vidahost and Hostroute. The Group has gone through a number of mergers in its history, and Tsohost now hosts more than 150,000 websites.
Tsohost Hosting Plans
There’s a variety of plans to choose from, but there are only small differences between them, making it a bit confusing.
The full list of 6 plans on offer is as follows:
- cPanel Shared Hosting
- Cloud Web Hosting
- Reseller Hosting
- CMS Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Server Hosting
cPanel Shared Hosting
On Tsohost, “cPanel hosting” is the equivalent to your standard shared hosting plans on every other host. The plans are quite cheap, especially if you buy for a longer initial term.
All of these plans come with a free domain name, “unlimited” bandwidth, and the ability to create multiple mailboxes.
There are a few features that help it stand out from the bare minimum shared hosting that you may find elsewhere:
- Free SSL certificates through Let’s Encrypt
- Free daily site backups
- A limited number of free site migrations by their migration team.
Migrations and cPanel
Note that you can do your own migrations for free as well through cPanel, it’s just more of a hassle than having their team do it for you.
The cPanel is a standard control panel that many hosts provide for shared hosting. It has one-click install scripts for the most popular open-source software like WordPress, Joomla, and more.
Cloud Web Hosting
The next step up is cloud web hosting. It offers everything that Tsohost’s cPanel hosting plans do, plus more. For some reason, the prices are identical.
Tsohost’s Cloud VPS Options.
The most notable differences are:
- Custom control panel — you use Tsohost’s own control panel, rather than cPanel.
- Choice of an operating system — you can use Linux or Windows
- Hosted on cloud servers — your files are stored on multiple servers, reducing the chances of your site becoming slow or going down.
Depending upon how important cPanel is to you, cloud web hosting may be the better choice.
Reseller Hosting
If you ever want to start your own hosting company in the future, you could sell Tsohost’s services through your own brand name using their reseller hosting.
They take care of the customer service and server maintenance, you really only need to decide how much to charge and how to divide up the resources that come with your reseller hosting package.
CMS (Content Management System) Specific Hosting
On Tsohost’s website, you’ll see multiple types of hosting for different CMSs.
Generally, these are more expensive than the standard shared or cloud plans, because the servers and services are customized for that individual CMS.
Here’s a quick rundown of what makes each stands out, I’ll assume that you’re already familiar with the CMS since you are interested in it:
- WordPress hosting – Identical to cloud hosting plans, just with WordPress already installed.
- Magento hosting – Magento plans are all fully managed and come with multiple migrations. Your site files are hosted on Tsohost’s main UK datacenter.
- Joomla hosting – Multiple migrations, but similar features to the shared hosting plan (but still more expensive).
- PrestaShop hosting – Multiple migrations, but nothing else special.
- Ghost hosting – Only one plan available, where Ghost comes pre-installed. No other special features.
What is The Difference?
There isn’t much difference from Tsohost’s shared hosting plans in most cases.
The biggest difference is that the top tier plans for Magento, Joomla, and PrestaShop are all dedicated hosting. That means your site gets its own server, and that’s why the plans are so much more expensive than the rest.
VPS Hosting
If you weren’t looking really hard, you’ll miss that Tsohost even has VPS plans.
For some reason, they are not located under Tsohost’s “web hosting” menu option, the plans are located under “servers”.
Highlighting some plan options in an intuitive menu.
On a VPS, you have your own section of a server carved out for your website(s).
These plans are all fully managed, meaning Tsohost will take care of server security and maintenance for you.
Performance Breakdown
They come with a few other performance benefits:
- SSD disk space – Results in a faster website than HDDs that come on Tsohost’s shared hosting plans.
- Redis and advanced caching methods – These will speed up your site further.
- Choice of an operating system – Again, you can choose between Linux and Windows.
You get a lot more control over the server, with SSH access, and ability to use Git.
All plans also come with a cPanel control panel.
Dedicated Server Hosting
For the highest possible performance, there are dedicated hosting plans available, also a bit hidden under the “servers” menu option.
The plans all come with identical features as the VPS plans, except that you have access to the full resources of the server, and not just a part.
Dedicated vs VPS
In the meantime, let’s compare your available resources of a Windows DS1 Dedicated Server and a regular VPS plan on offer.
| Regular VPS Plan | Windows DS1 | |
| RAM | 768 MB DDR4 | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 20 GB | 2 x 300 GB |
| Bandwidth | 400 GB | 2000 GB |
| Basic Migrations | 3 | 3 |
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Managed? | Yes | Yes |
Tsohost Reviews by Our Community
Overall Rating from 17 Reviews by Tsohost Customers
| Support | |
|---|---|
| Quality | |
| Features | |
| Value |
Most Helpful Reviews
Carl Ojerio theonewp.com
Dec 18, 2015
Sarah Edwards frogmarketing.co.uk
Oct 24, 2018
I have only ever had a positive experience with TSO Host. They couldn’t be more helpful and support are always extremely quick to respond. I have never had a problem they can’t fix and I recommend them to all my customers.
I am actually thinking about going down the reseller route – so will be interested to see how that pans out. In terms of packages I am sort of in between at the moment, the one I’m on doesn’t quite have enough sites and the one above is a bit of overkill, so they actually gave me a few more sites for no extra charge. It really feels like they are on your side which I increasingly find is not the case with most businesses out there these days!
David Bowyer test.arc-electrical-services.co.uk
Sep 11, 2018
We had a launch-ready website accidentally deleted by a team member. TSO Host worked for 24 hours to try and restore the website without any obligation and they got it back online. Three very relieved happy customers.
Beyond that i have been with TSO Host since 2013, developing and launching around 30 WordPress sites. The support has always been fanatical, the speeds are fair for the price you pay.
Tsohost Infrastructure and Performance
Tsohost says that it aims to provide 99.9% uptime on cloud and cPanel hosting, which is the bare minimum uptime figure you would expect to see in an uptime guarantee.
If the host doesn’t meet its commitment, clients are credited with a free week’s service.
On server plans, it aims to deliver 99.95% server uptime and also offers a four-hour hardware replacement guarantee.
Datacenters
Information about the company’s datacenter varies very slightly depending on the part of the site you visit. There appears to be one primary facility in Maidenhead, where its staff is based, but it also mentions other UK datacenters on another part of its site.
These presumably include Equinix LD5, the Slough facility where its VPS customers’ sites are located.
Safety and Security
Datacenter features include 24/7 security, biometric locks, and dual power supplies. The host automatically provides snapshot backups for both cloud and cPanel hosting customers.
Overall, it seems like Tsohost has paid appropriate attention to their security when it comes to securing their datacenters.
Tsohost Support
Tsohost’s support department is based in Maidenhead in the UK alongside its main datacenter. This is a positive as outsourced support can often be patchy.
There are a knowledge base, client support forums, and a blog, but any personal support requests must be made via the ticketing system/email.
Restrictions on Live Support Time
Email support is provided 24/7 – 365 days a year, but live chat is only available at certain times, and you won’t get instant responses.
Why would you want 24/7 instant support from a host? Well, here are a few reasons why:
- The host could be drastically out of your timezone
- Emergency support for small teams without developers
- Minor issues not worth waiting on a support ticket for
- Host-side restrictions and access
- Downtime and monetization priorities
Telephone support is not provided 24 hours. It’s available from 9 am until Midnight GMT (note the implications of this timezone restriction in summer, or if you’re working overseas).
Tsohost Control Panel
The majority of Tsohost’s hosting plans are provided in the cloud. This is the platform Tsohost is keenest to sell, and it’s also the part of its service portfolio governed entirely via a custom control panel.
The risky control panel certainly looks tidy.
With cloud hosting, it isn’t that unusual to see a custom control panel in place, so you can expect a certain learning curve if you sign up.
Feature Tour, Tutorial, and cPanel
On Tsohost’s cloud hosting page, you’ll find a feature tour that covers most of the key features of the control panel in-depth, giving you the chance to evaluate it before you sign up.
On cPanel hosting plans, you’ll get a more familiar control panel, although the exact version in use isn’t specified. There’s a very brief mention of WHM, but Tsohost doesn’t really promote it or reveal whether it costs extra.
WHM certainly isn’t mentioned on its Reseller Hosting page.
Tsohost Extras
Tsohost offers free domain names on some of its higher-priced plans, but that’s about it in terms of freebies. There are no obvious marketing credits or discount codes for new clients.
Money-Back Guarantee and Cancellation Policy
Hosting customers can take advantage of Tsohost’s 30-day money-back guarantee. This appears to apply to cloud hosting and shared hosting packages, although the wording in some parts of the site differs, we can certainly state that does not apply to servers.
Tsohost asks that customers who want to cancel make contact to explain their reasons before they do.
If you want to cancel after this time, you’ll need to give 48 hours’ notice before the next billing date, except on server plans where you expect to give 30 days’ notice. Refunds are issued for any months that have been paid for but not used.
Payment Methods
Tsohost accepts a reasonable number of payment methods, including a few uncommon ones. You can pay for plans every month, year, or 2 years.
As usual, they accept all major credit and debit cards. One caveat is that invoices are in GBP, and the amount will be converted to your local currency at the time of the bill.
You can also pay with Paypal, but it’s not automatic. You need to pay your invoices manually every term.
Finally, you can also pay using BACS, which is rare to find in a host. If it’s a payment method you really prefer, Tsohost should shoot to the top of your list.
Similar Hosting Providers
There are two other hosts which come to mind when thinking of similar solutions to Tsohost. Take a look below.
SiteGround
Offers an even wider variety of hosting plans from shared to dedicated hosting. The support is truly 24/7 and top quality, with great support documentation in their knowledge base. Here’s our detailed SiteGround review.
LiquidWeb
While Tsohost offers higher performance hosting, LiquidWeb only offers high-performance hosting. They specialize in it and offer some of the best managed VPS and dedicated plans possible.
Their support team consists of a highly trained internal staff. Learn more in this LiquidWeb review.
Pros and Cons of Tsohost
All hosting companies need to pick a few things to specialize in and do the best they can. But this leaves weaknesses.
Pros
- Unique CMS-specific plans – Very few hosts have customized plans for CMSs like Joomla, Ghost, or PrestaShop.
- Inexpensive – Tsohost’s rates are competitive with other low-cost hosts for shared and cloud hosting plans.
- The wide range of plans – There are many low-cost plans to choose from to start out with, and as your site grows you can move up to VPS or dedicated hosting plans.
- Free SSL – Many other hosts charge for this.
Cons
- Limited modern hosting features on cheaper plans – There’s no CDN available, SSD disk space, or advanced caching system built into any plan for extra speed.
- Weak support documentation – The knowledgebase is difficult to navigate, and the articles themselves lack clear steps and pictures or videos to make instructions clear.
- Weak support – Even on the expensive dedicated hosting plans, your support still isn’t quite 24/7.
Tsohost Summary
If you’re looking for a web hosting company based in the UK, Tsohost really does have a lot going for it. Its commitment to quality is clear, and it doesn’t shy away from providing in-depth information about its products and services.
It clearly believes in the potential of cloud hosting, and its custom control panel looks attractive enough to make me interested in trying it out.
Lowdown of Uptime and Phone Support
I would like to have seen a far better uptime guarantee on its cloud hosting packages to really inspire confidence in them, and I would also have preferred to see 24×7 phone support, rather than the restricted opening hours it currently offers.
Nonetheless, Tsohost is clearly a company that cares about hosting, so you might be able to forgive its flaws.
Additional material by Dale Cudmore.
Most Popular Tsohost Hosting Plans
| Lite Hosting | Lite cPanel Hosting | Standard Hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disk Space | 500MB | 500MB | 2.5GB |
| Bandwidth | 5GB | 5GB | 20GB |
| Price | $2.09 / mo (Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! | $2.09 / mo (Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! | $4.87 / mo (Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate. Usual price: – Get % off! |
| Visit Tsohost Now | Visit Tsohost Now | Visit Tsohost Now |
| Plan | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cPanel Hosting Shared | 2.5GB | 20GB | $4.87 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Pro Hosting Shared | 10GB | 150GB | $6.96 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Pro cPanel Hosting Shared | 10GB | 150GB | $6.96 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Ultimate Hosting Shared | 100GB | 1000GB | $27.86 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Scalable Reseller Hosting Shared | 100GB | 1000GB | $51.32 / mo Visit Host Now |
Tsohost Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Tsohost have a money-back guarantee?
The company offers customers a 60-day money-back guarantee on all their hosting products.
- Do they offer phone support? What language is their customer support available in?
Tsohost offers live phone support from 9 am to midnight GMT. Their team only provides support in English.
- Where is Tsohost located? Where are their datacenters located?
This company is based out of the United Kingdom, and is headquarted in the town of Berkshire, England. Their datacenters are also located in the UK.
- What programming languages do they support?
Depending on whether you are working with a Linux based hosting plan, or a Windows based hosting plan, ther supported programming languages include ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, Perl, and Ruby on Rails.
- Can they help with transferring an existing website to their servers?
Site migration services are included with their web hosting packages at no additional cost.
- Will they allow more than one domain per account on their service?
The company’s shared web hosting plans allow either 2, 4, 6, or 100 sites to be hosted per account.
- Does Tsohost include any software so that I can easily build a website?
With each of their hosting plans, they provide an easy template and wizard based site building tool.
- What security products does Tsohost use?
Tsohost uses industry-standard measures such as DDoS protection, strong physical security, and around the clock monitoring.
- What control panel do they use?
On their shared hosting plans, cPanel is the control panel that is available for customers.
- What payment options does Tsohost offer?
Customers have a choice of payment options which include all major credit cards, checks, and PayPal.
- Do they have an uptime guarantee?
The company offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and they back this guarantee up with service credits.
- Do they have CDN services available?
Tsohost does not directly provide Content Distribution Network service integrations, but their plans are fully compliant if customers wish to configure a third party CDN services.
- Is there a minimum contract or can I pay monthly?
Customers have a choice of monthly, yearly, and multi-year contracts available to them, depending on their pricing and commitment interests.
- Do they have a backup policy?
The company backs-up their servers daily and these are kept for 30 days. These backups are available for restoral upon request.
- How many email addresses do they allow and how much storage do they allow for email?
Customers can choose from 10, 25, 100, or an unlimited amount of email accounts, depending on their choice of plan.
- Do they support streaming audio and video?
Tsohost’s plans allow for streaming media, however these kinds of sites can be resource intensive.
It is recommended that customers interested in streaming media should seek Virtual Private Server (VPS) or dedicated server options for the best, reliable performance.
- Does Tsohost have an affiliate program? How does it work?
Yes. Affiliates can easily share their unique affiliate link or promotional code with potential clients and when they visit the company’s site, their machines are cookied.
The cookie is retained for a period of three months and if that cookied system visits and buys anytime in that timeframe, the commission is payed to the affiliate’s credit in PayPal, bank transfer, or credits for service.
Most Popular Tsohost Alternatives
Starts at:
$4.04
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(Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate.
Usual price: – Get % off!
Starts at:
$3.49
per month
(Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate.
Usual price: – Get % off!
Starts at:
$2.99
per month
(Billed as $2.09 Per Month) ⓘPrices in are approximate, based on current exchange rates. The host will likely charge you in USD, or at a different exchange rate.
Usual price: – Get % off!
Absolutely great! I’ve been using tsohost for almost 6 months and I didn’t encounter any problem (uptime, slow speed, etc.) on their cloud hosting. Although the pricing is kinda expensive unlike newer host, they are offering an affordable hosting for people in a budget, like me.
Their support is okay, but I heard they are great for some but for me it’s kinda meh (maybe it’s just busy schedule or what). Overall I really recommend this host. You can host a few websites on their cloud hosting plan but the only downside is the limited disk and bandwidth usage.
It’s perfect for new starting bloggers, niche websites, business owners, and other people who are looking for an affordable, fast and reliable hosting. PS. They also have discount codes, you can take advantage of it.