HostPapa Review: Can This Small-Timer Challenge The Web Hosting Giants? We Asked Real Users
Disclosure: Your support helps keep the site running! We earn a referral fee for some of the services we recommend on this page. Learn more
Our Verdict: #1 for Beginner-Friendly Hosting
HostPapa offers great pricing on web hosting plans for beginners and small websites with packages that include a free domain name and unlimited bandwidth and storage. With green hosting via carbon offsetting and a 30-day money back guarantee, HostPapa is a solid choice.
Save up to 58% on your hosting plan when you click through any of our HostPapa discount links on this page.
Pros:
- Outstanding value for the money
- Great integrated website builder
- Multi-language customer support
Cons:
- Fewer datacenter options than most
- Backups aren’t included on lower priced plans
With over 380 reviews from actual customers, HostPapa scores 4 out of 5 stars across all of our rating categories with an average rating of 4.1 stars.
Are There Any Coupons Or Discounts?
Yes – you can currently save 58% on Hostpapa with this exclusive coupon.
58% OFF
Get 58% off Hostpapa plans
Verified working: 16 May 2021
Limited Deal
Applied automatically at checkout
Should You Host Your Website With HostPapa?
Keep reading or jump to our most popular sections:
- Expert review – Get a thorough analysis from our expert, Kevin Wood.
- Best reviews – Read over 380 reviews by HostPapa customers.
- Hosting plans – See which plan is best for you.
- FAQ – Read answers to the most common questions about HostPapa.
Somewhat silly name aside, HostPapa is a serious web host offering a variety of products and hosting plans, including everything you need to get your website online.
HostPapa distinguishes itself from other companies with its easy-to-use tools appropriate for even beginners, its global reach, and focus on sustainable hosting.
With that said, not all hosting companies are the right fit for everyone. In this article, I document my experience with HostPapa so you can decide if they are for you.
HostPapa Quick Overview
Here is a quick rundown of what HostPapa has to offer. Use it to compare to other hosts.
Green hosting
Cheap eco-friendly hosting from wind energy.
Easy to use
Everything beginners need to get their sites online.
Multi-lingual
Great multi-language support for non-English speakers.
Shared hosting
Starts at $3.95/month
Migration
Free website migration for new accounts only, email migration is also included.
Support materials
Good quality.
Control panel
cPanel
Datacenters
Main datacenter is located in Toronto, Canada. Additional datacenters exist across North America, but the locations aren’t specified.
Guarantee
Backups
No automated backups for the cheaper plans. You can upgrade for automated backups, or add it to your plan for a fee.
Website builder
A basic website builder is included, which can be upgraded.
PCI compliance
Certified PCI compliant e-commerce merchant.
Pros and Cons of HostPapa
HostPapa is a solid beginner host with multi-language support, however, it’s not perfect for every style of website owner, as you’ll see below.
Pros
Some of the cheapest green hosting out there
Easy-to-use free website builder
Multi-language customer support, which can be invaluable for certain users
Built-in website security tools
Cons
Available datacenter locations are unclear
Loading speeds are slower than average
To get the lowest pricing you must sign up for a lengthy hosting package
Backups not included on shared plan
HostPapa Reviews by Our Community
Overall Rating from 409 Reviews by HostPapa Customers
| Support | |
|---|---|
| Quality | |
| Features | |
| Value |
Most Helpful Reviews
Wellie Denoncourt dikafrato.com
Apr 05, 2017
What could I say exciting today? I have been at Hostpapa for 8 years, I think. I had some clumsiness and occasionally I did not plan my work well, which caused me some troubles as a webmaster.
But the Hostpapa team has always supported me. I am completely satisfied with what you have done for me. But please keep working!
Rob Davies sunlightdigital.uk
Apr 23, 2016
When I first found HostPapa I couldn’t believe I was getting everything my old host offered for a fraction of the price, and figured there had to be a catch. So far I can say the only downsides I have found are that FTP access is a little slow and there have been maybe 2 or 3 instances I’ve noticed in the first year that my sites were briefly inaccessible (which happened on my old host anyway). This hasn’t happened for a few months, however.
On the upside, there is the price, the great customer service, and the fact I have everything I need at my fingertips to host several small sites for my friends’ businesses & take care of their emails. Overall, very pleased.
Katz Green yourhelpsalesmarketing.com
Mar 31, 2016
I am so very impressed with the quality and also the personal support I receive from HostPapa. I have never been phoned before to notify me of an issue with my hosting (my fault as well, way over data) until I changed to HostPapa. They rang me and explained the situation, gave me some solutions, and gave me a little time to sort it. I was extremely impressed.
All About HostPapa
HostPapa started back in 2006. Since then, they have grown to host over 500,000 websites spread out across the globe.
A Canadian Hosting Company
HostPapa’s website and hosting plans cater mostly to beginner and intermediate level business owners.
HostPapa is a Canadian web hosting company based in Burlington, Ontario.
While everyone is welcome to purchase its hosting products, the company prides itself in hosting and domain registration (of domains ending with .ca) geared specifically toward Canadians.
Hosting for Beginners
HostPapa’s website and hosting plans cater mostly to beginner and intermediate level business owners.
The company has an array of shared hosting packages geared toward various business types. But beyond various levels of shared hosting, you’ll also find VPS hosting options and reseller plans.
Green Hosting With Carbon Offsets
The main thing that makes HostPapa stand out from other beginner hosts is its focus on being a green host.
Now, this doesn’t mean its datacenters are powered by solar panels and wind turbines but instead buys renewable energy credits to offset its energy usage. For users concerned about their own environmental impact, it could be a huge selling point.
Beyond HostPapa’s beginner-oriented hosting packages, where does this host stand out from the pack? After all, the entry-level hosting space is quite crowded.
All-in-One Packages
HostPapa ends up making a name for itself by providing all-in-one beginner packages, catering to a worldwide audience, offering solid uptime and security features, along with company values that show they care about more than just profit.
Globally Focused
One of the main reasons for the massive growth of HostPapa is due to its focus on marketing and tailoring their offerings towards an international audience.
They offer multiple website versions that cater to users in countries like Australia, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Belgium.
HostPapa’s Uptime and Response Time
Regardless of the features a host provides, the most important one is a high uptime. What good is a host if visitors can’t even access your site!
We’re happy to report that HostPapa offers users an uptime that’s better than the industry average.
Far from just saying it has 99.9% uptime it actually has the historical data to back it up. However, there isn’t a credit system that’ll discount your payment if your site goes down like some hosts offer.
Cloudflare CDN
Although HostPapa’s uptime is stellar, the average loading speeds aren’t up to par. If you barely get any traffic or have a very small site, then this probably won’t be an issue to you.
But since page loading speeds (also called response time) play such a huge factor in your user experience and search engine rankings it’s something crucially important, especially today.
The good news is that on HostPapa’s Business and Business Pro plans, you get the speed-boosting Cloudflare CDN at no extra charge.
Pricing Options
One thing to be aware of with HostPapa’s pricing is that, upon first glance, the super low advertised prices might seem like a huge bargain.
But these prices are only valid if you sign up for a long-term hosting deal of two or three years.
Datacenters
Although HostPapa caters to customers from all over the world with its multilingual support, they do not list where their datacenters are located.
HostPapa does offer Cloudflare CDN to help boost site load times, but it’s only offered on their shared business hosting plans.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
The 30-day money-back guarantee for hosting packages should be enough for most users. Although it’s not the longest guarantee ever, it’s still enough time to give the service a real test drive.
However, there is some fine print you’ll want to be aware of. If you choose to take advantage of the free domain upon registration, then your domain set-up fee will be deducted from your total refund.
Backups
All of HostPapa’s shared hosting plans are equipped with anti-spam, attack monitoring, firewall, and intrusion detection.
Backups are included with higher level plans, but users on shared hosting plans are out of luck when it comes to automated backups.
You can add backups to your plan for an additional fee, but that probably contradicts the reason you signed up for the host, to take advantage of its low prices.
Stellar Security Features
Website security is something you need to take seriously, so it’s nice to see a beginner host that makes it easy for users to keep their sites secure. The last thing you want to do is worry about how to best protect your site on top of everything else you need to learn.
All of HostPapa’s shared hosting plans are equipped with Panda Cloud anti-spam, regular attack monitoring, a server firewall, and detection of any intrusions into the server environment.
These features are actually pretty advanced for any basic shared hosting package.
If you have more intensive security demands, then you’ll want to upgrade to a higher level package, which gives you a free SSL certificate, a dedicated IP address, automated backups, and domain privacy protection.
cPanel
HostPapa utilizes the classic cPanel setup, like most other beginner web hosts. Chances are, you’ve stumbled across cPanel before, or have at least read about it. It’s one of the most popular and commonly used control panels in the world.
cPanel Layout and Searching
The cPanel environment is well laid out and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. You can access your cPanel from the main user dashboard, or directly from your cPanel URL.
The setup is similar to other cPanel layouts. You can either search for the app you’re looking for, or browse through the collection of different apps you can use. You’ll also notice a right-hand column that offers you an account breakdown, so you can get an understanding of your current account usage.
Doing It All With cPanel
If you’re looking to do things like manage your account, access your domains, add additional services to your account, build your website, adjust your billing, or input a support request, then you’ll be doing this from the main user dashboard.
Having the ability to access every single thing related to managing, creating, and paying for your website in one single dashboard is a very nice feature that streamlines using the service.
Excellent Customer Support
HostPapa provides new customers with free migration services.
HostPapa takes its customer support seriously. You can access support via phone, email, live chat, and even fax.
There’s also a big library of tutorials and walkthrough videos if you’re the hands-on type who likes to work through everything on your own.
Knowledgebase
HostPapa’s knowledgebase is vast. If you know what you’re looking for, you can get started with the prominently-displayed search bar. Alternatively, you can browse to the topic of your choice.
All of HostPapa’s documentation is divided into appropriate categories (eg, hosting, email, domains).
There are hundreds of articles available – some are simple explanations, while others are lengthier how-to guides or tutorials.
Papa Squad Experts
One stand-out feature is the support offered by the “Papa Squad Experts.”
First, the name is awesome. Second, it’s incredibly helpful and you’ll get a guided walk-through via video or phone about whatever issue you’re currently experiencing.
Multi-Language Support
If English isn’t your first language then don’t worry, you’re covered. HostPapa offers phone support for over 18 different countries in English, French, Spanish, and German.
Most other hosts can’t match this level of language diversity on their customer support lines.
Video Tutorials
If reading isn’t the way you learn best, HostPapa offers a large selection of video tutorials that show you how to do things like use your cPanel control panel, set you your domain names, update DNS records, and use popular content management systems (CMSs).
Interested in HostPapa?
Try them out! You can currently save up to 58% on HostPapa using this discount link.
Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
HostPapa’s Hosting Plans
Often, shared hosting plans try to appeal to the masses by limiting bandwidth, disk space, or features.
But HostPapa’s shared hosting plans actually offer a lot more value than most.
Shared Hosting
For starters, the very basic plan is not only incredibly cheap but it also allows you to host up to two websites.
You also get plenty of disc space, so you won’t be running into any plan limits here.
HostPapa’s “Starter” plan is the most obvious choice if you’re looking for the cheapest option available.
However, if you want to build a larger website for your small to medium-sized business, then you’ll want to look into the “Business” or “Business Pro” plans.
Unlimited Storage with Business Plans
Both of HostPapa’s business plans give you more options when building out your site, along with giving you unlimited disk space.
But if you’re the type who wants to sell products, or build out a full-fledged e-commerce store, then Business Pro is the only plan for you.
Luckily, it’s easy to upgrade your plan, so if you find yourself wanting to build out a larger site, then you can quickly upgrade your plan.
Free Domain Name
Maybe the coolest thing that those just getting started online will love is the inclusion of a free domain name.
Let’s face it, being able to take care of your hosting, domain name, and build your site all in one place can be very helpful.
Features Common to All Shared Plans
Regardless of which hosting option you choose, some things come standard with all plans:
Unlimited resource allocations so that you can use as much storage space and bandwidth as you’d like without worrying about hitting usage limits (subject to HostPapa’s terms of service, of course).
Website builder with a drag-and-drop editing interface.
A user-friendly control panel that allows you to manage your account, check on your resource usage, upload files via FTP, set up domain names, add email accounts, and so on.
Over 400 free apps to extend your website with things like shopping carts, a blog, and more.
Free SSL Certificate from Let’s Encrypt – SSL certificates are a vital aspect of securing your website, as well as ensuring that your site ranks as highly as possible in search engine results listings.
Support that’s reachable 24/7 via phone, snail mail, email, and fax. You’ll also get access to a robust knowledgebase in English, French, Spanish, and German; plus a wide assortment of video tutorials.
WordPress Plans
HostPapa provides WordPress plans that are similar to the shared hosting plans but come with WordPress pre-installed and run on WordPress optimized servers.
Advanced Plans: VPS and Reseller Hosting
HostPapa offers some more advanced hosting plans available like VPS and Reseller hosting. Beginner users will probably find these plans too much.
However, it’s nice to have if you want to stay with HostPapa for the long-run, but your site won’t stop growing. A great problem to have.
Email Plan
HostPapa offers an email service that gets you everything you need to receive messages via an address that matches your website’s domain name. You can access your inbox from any device or app of your choosing.
There are two email service plans from which you can choose. The Basic Email plan gets you 1 GB of storage per mailbox, while the Advanced Email plan gets you 5 GB of storage per mailbox.
Google Apps
If you would like to purchase both cloud-based email and productivity tools, HostPapa offers Google’s G Suite to its customers.
You’ll get Gmail using a custom domain, as well as Google Drive and its associated apps (eg, Docs and Sheets).
Site Publisher: HostPapa’s Website Builder
In alignment with the focus on providing beginners and small business owners everything they need to get their sites online, HostPapa bundles with its plans a free website builder called Site Publisher.
There are multiple versions of it depending on which hosting plan you’re using.
Site Publisher’s Free Features
The free version of Site Publisher is a little limited, but you still get access to features like:
A library of over 100 mobile-friendly design templates
The ability to create a basic 3-page website
Easy drag and drop website creation
A selection of ready-made widgets and apps
Easy navigation menu creation, including nested navigation.
Paid Site Publisher Plans
Now, three pages might not be enough for some users, but for people who want to build a simple site in the quickest amount of time possible, then it could be enough.
HostPapa’s free website builder is great for people who want to build a simple site in the quickest amount of time possible.
For more functionality, you will need to upgrade your Site Publisher subscription.
As the plans scale up, you’ll gain access to additional features, like creating unlimited pages for your website, getting access to even more templates (including tap-to-call features), and Google Map integration.
With the highest level plan, you can build your very own e-commerce site.
The level of service you need is up to the goals you have for your site. But regardless of which plan level you choose, it’s super easy to build your site.
Since it’s a drag-and-drop website builder, you can rearrange site elements until it’s perfect, all without any previous design knowledge.
HostPapa: Room to Improve
HostPapa isn’t without its drawbacks. Some of these flaws aren’t dealbreakers, but I’d really like to see these five issues addressed:
Loading speeds aren’t up to par
Pricing options are a bit misleading
Datacenter options are limited
The 30-day money-back guarantee could be improved
Backups aren’t included with lower-level plans.
Is HostPapa Right for You?
HostPapa is a solid budget host. But even though it’s oriented towards beginners, it’s still not right for everyone.
They do offer a solid selection of features, especially for beginners, but the unclear pricing, loading speeds, and lack of backups might be a dealbreaker for some.
Still, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly green host and only want to build a simple website with a few pages, then HostPapa can fit your needs perfectly.
Lastly, if you’re interested in HostPapa, then you should take advantage of our coupon code. This will let you get HostPapa’s cheap hosting for even less.
HostPapa Alternatives
If you like HostPapa but don’t think it is quite right for you, check out these hosts. All of them offer unmetered (unm) bandwidth.
| Free Domain | Storage | Websites | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HostPapa | Yes | 100 GM | 2 | $3.36/mn |
| HostGator | No | Unm | 1 | $2.75/mn |
| SiteGround | No | 10 GB | 1 | $3.95/mn |
| GoDaddy | Yes | 100 GB | 1 | $1.00/mn |
| InMotion | Yes | 10 GB | 2 | $3.95/mn |
HostGator
If you’re looking for a beginner host but think that the slow loading speeds might be an issue for you, take a look at HostGator. You’ll find cheap hosting plans that compare to the pricing options offered by HostPapa, but the overall loading speeds with HostGator seem to be better.
If being eco-friendly is a big concern, then you’ll be happy to hear that HostGator offsets their energy usage by purchasing renewable energy credits too.
SiteGround
If price isn’t a big concern and you don’t mind spending a bit more for your hosting, then consider choosing SiteGround. It’s one of the best beginner hosts out there and offers solid uptime and loading speeds.
Plus, you’ll have the ability to choose between multiple datacenters, which is a great option for users who don’t live in the US.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is very similar to HostPapa in that both offer a full spectrum of internet- and website-related services.
While GoDaddy remains mostly known for their domain registration services, the primary difference between the two companies is that HostPapa is privately-owned and maintains a small business feel.
GoDaddy also offers more advanced hosting options like dedicated servers, as well as professional services (such as marketing).
InMotion Hosting
InMotion is another hosting company that sells many different products to its users. The company offers a slightly more extensive array of options (including dedicated servers), though the base prices for InMotion plans tend to be a bit higher than HostPapa’s.
On the downside, I found InMotion’s customer support offerings to be more limited than HostPapa’s.
Wondering if HostPapa is right for you?
Try them out! You can currently save up to 58% on HostPapa plans using our special discount link. Remember, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a beginner-friendly host with plenty of features at a great price, you should check out HostPapa now.
Contributing writer: Katie Horne, Contributing editors: Natalie Mootz and Frank Moraes.
Most Popular HostPapa Hosting Plans
| Business | WP Starter | Bronze Reseller | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disk Space | Unlimited | 100GB | 50GB |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | 500GB |
| Price | $2.95 / mo (Billed as $2.95 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! | $3.95 / mo (Billed as $2.95 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! | $19.95 / mo (Billed as $2.95 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 HostPapa Now | Visit HostPapa Now | Visit HostPapa Now |
| Plan | Disk Space | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Reseller Reseller | 80GB | 700GB | $27.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Gold Reseller Reseller | 120GB | 1TB | $39.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Plus VPS | 50GB | 1TB | $49.99 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Platinum Reseller Reseller | 160GB | 1.2TB | $59.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Titanium Reseller Reseller | 200GB | 1.4TB | $79.95 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Pro VPS | 100GB | 2TB | $79.99 / mo Visit Host Now |
| Premium VPS | 200GB | 2TB | $149.99 / mo Visit Host Now |
HostPapa Frequently Asked Questions
- Where are HostPapa’s datacenters?
HostPapa has multiple datacenters but they do not list their locations.
- Will HostPapa help me to migrate my site?
Yes. HostPapa offers free migration for all new customers.
- What support is available to me?
Customers benefit from phone, email and live chat support from its technical support team, the PapaSquad. All support is available 24/7.
Additionally, all new customers can book a free 30-minute session with a technical support person at HostPapa. This is included free on some plans, but is extra on others.
- What languages do support staff speak?
HostPapa offers support in English, French, and Spanish via live chat and email. Multilingual support is not available by phone.
- Is there an uptime guarantee?
HostPapa offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, after digging through the terms of service I couldn’t find anything that pertained to account refunds or credits if your site does go down. So, no there’s no tangible offer if your site goes offline. HostPapa simply puts it in good faith that your site will experience 99.9% uptime, and the data suggests this is true.
- Will I get a free domain name?
Yes. Anyone registering for at least a one-year plan will get a free domain name for one year.
- Does Hostpapa offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes. HostPapa offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, less setup and domain registration fees.
- What if I need to run multiple websites?
There are no added fees for running multiple websites from one HostPapa account. The only exception is the cheapest shared hosting plan, which is limited to two websites only.
- Does HostPapa provide a site builder?
Yes. The HostPapa Starter Edition site builder is included with all plans. It allows you to build a single website with three pages for free.
Some plans include the upgraded Unlimited Edition. You can pay to upgrade further if you need additional features or templates.
- Can I get an SSL certificate?
Yes. HostPapa provides SSL certificates for an additional fee over your hosting plan.
- Is there a web hosting control panel?
Yes. All hosting is provided with cPanel.
- How can I pay for my hosting?
HostPapa accepts payment by credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express) and PayPal. There is a small amount of variation depending upon your country.
- What is the minimum length of a hosting contract?
You must pay at least a year in advance. They have 1, 2, and 3 year plans available.
- Is bandwidth and storage really unlimited?
HostPapa, like many providers of shared hosting plans, advertises “unlimited” hosting plans. For average or casual users, this will be fine.
For high-traffic websites, your account may hit their “soft” limits.
These internal limits are not defined anywhere, but they can be a problem when a site is receiving tens of thousands of visitors a day.
Most Popular HostPapa Alternatives
Starts at:
$3.95
per month
(Billed as $2.95 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:
$2.75
per month
(Billed as $2.95 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:
$3.92
per month
(Billed as $2.95 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!
Cat West
June 21, 2019
HostPapa has never failed me. Response time is fast. They solve ever issue. And never talk down to a self-taught novice such as me. Prices are fair and better than most. I’m a customer forever. Other hosting companies never came close.
DONALD MCMURDIE
July 10, 2019
you’re the best will never leave
David Cousens
July 11, 2019
HostPaPa is a trouble free website host service with a rapid response and supportive help when any issues do arise.