A2 Hosting vs Siteground: Who Wins in 2023?

Do you want to skip the read and get right to my pick in this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review/comparison? The better web hosting provider for most people is Siteground.

---

Introduction:

Welcome to this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review. Everyone these days seems to be hunting down reliable web hosting services through which they can deploy high-performing websites or online stores in order to grow their business to a far wider clientele in the digital marketplace.

Speed and service quality are two critical factors when it comes to choosing a hosting service and in A2 Hosting vs Siteground review, we’ll see how these two hosting services deliver in terms of loading time, uptime, reliability, ease of use, and functionality.

---

Overview of A2 vs Siteground:

Before we go into the lengthy comparison, here's an overview of both A2 vs Siteground.

A2Hosting:

A2Hosting was actually started as a hobby that enabled Ann Arbor, MI-native (and now company CEO) Bryan Muthig to maximise the potential of his experience as a UNIX-centric sysop. Since then, its service portfolio has grown from just shared web hosting to include fully-scalable VPS, dedicated server, and even reseller solutions.

Siteground:

Siteground started operations a few years after A2, opening its doors in 2004. It has since evolved into one of the easiest hosting providers to use in the industry. Its brand promise revolves around services that are crafted for the easiest management of personal, professional, and even commercial websites. That said, it isn't surprising that it is the trusted hosting provider of over two million users throughout the world.

---

Ease of Use:

Any web hosting platform should be usable. Therefore, in this A2 vs Siteground comparison, who wins?

A2Hosting:

If you're looking for a dashboard with a sleek, state-of-the art look, then A2Hosting may not be for you as it still relies on a classic cPanel interface: clean, well-laid out, easy enough to use, but with minimal bells and whistles. Also, it works well on multiple platforms, so you're bound to have very few issues regardless of whether you're running Linux, Mac, or Windows.

Linux and Windows users, in particular, are offered several hosting options that work for both entrepreneurs and developers. Another bonus for the Windows crowd: an alternative dashboard management app called Plesk.

Siteground:

Quite recently, Siteground decided to veer away from the standard cPanel interface and started offering its own proprietary dashboard for website management. It's quite easy to learn and beginners can usually navigate through it within minutes.

Likewise, it also enables users to have different sub-accounts to manage individual sites as opposed to relying on a single umbrella account to manage all the sites within their account.

Winner – A2Hosting! This was a close one to call, but we’re giving this ‘Ease of Use' round in the A2 vs Siteground comparison to A2Hosting because of its multi-OS flexibility.

---

Features:

The better the features, the greater functionality your website has. So which among Siteground vs A2 offers more in terms of features?

Domain Names:

Let's talk domain names – do Siteground vs A2 let you buy them?

A2Hosting:

Under A2Hosting's Startup Plan, a user can have a single domain name, essentially a single website. This isn't the case with its other plans as there are no limits to how many you can create. However, we need to point out here that a *.com domain name does not come free with your plan; instead, you'll need to pay an additional $14.95.

Siteground:

Previously, Siteground did not offer even a single domain name even for its most basic hosting plans. Today, this has changed and a user can have just one domain for their account or an unlimited number in the case of premium subscription plans. The platform even has its own domain registry where one can opt for regular, country-specific, and special domains for as low as $17.99 annually.

Email Rating:

In this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review, who offers a better email service?

A2Hosting:

Unlimited email accounts come with all hosting plans and, even better, there are no email storage limits. However, what we don't liks is how you can't use the service for email blasts; A2Hosting doesn't appear to have that capability.

Siteground:

Siteground allows its subscribers to create an unlimited number of email addresses with their domains.

Databases:

So in terms of database management, which between A2 vs Siteground has a better service?

A2Hosting:

If you’re on the Startup plan, you may only create up to five databases. Those with premium subscriptions can create an unlimited number.

Siteground:

Regardless of your hosting plan, you may create an unlimited number of databases for a site hosted under Siteground.

Applications:

A2Hosting:

If you're more comfortable working with a CMS editor like WordPress, you're in luck. A2Hosting's cPanel has a single-click installer that enables you to install WordPress, as well as Drupal or Joomla. If you want to add additional apps for functionality, Softaculous is already integrated into the UI to ensure smooth installation and operation.

Siteground:

What’s particularly great about Siteground is that you can use it with more than 500 third-party apps, including popular building platforms like WordPress and Joomla, as well as store-building platforms like osCommerce. We also like how its R&D team has been working on expanding its interaction with newer apps, including those that can

Site Staging:

A2Hosting:

Site staging capabilities are available for both WordPress and Joomla users, but the former is so much easier and more stable to use.

Siteground:

While site staging is not available for the most basic plan, Siteground has its own proprietary staging tools available for the use of mid-tier and premium subscribers. Users on the mid-tier GoBig plan will find, however, that the tool they have is specifically for staging WordPress sites; it’s essentially a modified version of the building platform’s in-app staging tool. However, those on the premium GoGeek plan will see that the tool they have can let them stage sites made with a more diverse array of platforms, including Drupal, Joomla, and PrestaShop.

Website Builder:

A2Hosting:

The A2 Website Builder is a fairly new innovation that the developers have added to enhance their hosting services. The drag-and-drop builder is fairly basic, but it does enable users to create a site in minutes. Also, you can actually try the building platform before you buy a hosting plan – not a bad deal, if you ask us.

Siteground:

Siteground doesn’t have its own builder, but gives users a choice between Weebly Basic and WordPress.org.

eCommerce and SSL certificate:

This A2 Hosting vs Siteground review also evaluates how both platforms support online stores.

A2Hosting:

A2Hosting allows users to create and deploy ecommerce sites using several apps, including PrestaShop, OpenCart, and AbanteCart. Building your store and running it will take just minutes.

One Let's Encrypt SSL certificate comes free with your hosting plan, but you will need to pay extra if you need a secondary certificate.

Siteground:

Comparing A2 vs Siteground, when it comes to ecommerce, Siteground offers a comprehensive package that includes a free SSL security certificate, payment gateways, as well as eCommerce themes.

Security and Backups:

Who provides better security and backups in this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review?

A2Hosting:

The platform UI automatically backs up your site, retaining a copy of it going back seven days. The built-in Server Rewind feature enables users to restore to a previous version at no cost, but note that this is only available for mid-tier and premium hosting plans.

Siteground:

At its most basic, Siteground offers a proprietary site monitoring system and its own web application firewall. Provisions are also in place for redundancy for both power and hardware.

Automated backups are done every day and siteware is patched on a regular basis.. For premium packages, Siteground also offers backups on demand.

---

Performance:

In this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review, let's dig deeper into how your website would perform with either A2 Hosting vs Siteground.

Server Locations:

Where in the world and how many are Siteground vs A2 server locations?

A2Hosting:

A2Hosting servers are located in Michigan, Arizona, Amsterdam and Singapore.

Siteground:

Siteground currently has servers in Chicago, Iowa, London, Amsterdam, Eernshaven, and Singapore.

Speed Results:

A2Hosting:

For a service that boasts of sites loading 20x faster than its competitors’, we were quite disappointed: A2Hosting sites load at an average rate of 2.01 seconds.

Siteground:

Siteground’s speed performance has improved considerably over the past couple of years, as sites now clock in among the fastest-loading online at 1.54 seconds.

Average Uptime, Bandwidth, and Webspace limits/Storage:

A2Hosting:

While it assures users of 99.99% uptime, our tests noted that A2Hosting’s uptime is actually closer to 99.98% – not bad, but the claim is misleading.

Bandwidth is unlimited, while storage begins at 100GB for the Startup Plan and is unlimited for those in higher tiers.

Siteground:

Again, Siteground has stepped up its game and has hit the 100% uptime standard. Likewise, it still offers unlimited bandwidth, though storage still runs between 10 and 40GB depending on which plan you’ve opted for.

Winner – Siteground! We choose Siteground hands down for better performance in this Siteground vs A2 ‘Performance' comparison.

---

Support and Resources:

How does Siteground vs A2 help out users with support and documentation?

A2Hosting:

Round-the-clock technical assistance is offered through phone, chat or ticketed via email. The A2Hosting knowledge base is quite extensive, user-friendly, and offers a great deal of clarity.

Siteground:

24/7 multichannel tech support is offered via phone, email, and livechat and response time is quite fast.
The regularly updated knowledge base offers several how-to guides and tutorials for a diverse range of related topics, along with a regular podcast – Geek2English – which updates users on the latest developments to the platform and the industry in general.

Winner – Draw! Both Siteground vs A2 provide excellent support channels and knowledgebase.

---

Pricing:

In this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review, let's talk about the affordability and value for money of each contestant platform.

Plans:

Let's do a rundown of Siteground vs A2 pricing plans.

A2Hosting:

A2Hosting offers four standard site hosting plans. Monthly prices for the first year of use range between $6.99 and $19.99 monthly. It does, however, get steep when you renew your subscription after the first year: monthly rates take a significant jump to between $8.99 to $24.99.

A2 managed WordPress Hosting plans start from $11.99

>> Check for our latest A2Hosting discount code pricing plans <<

Siteground:

On average, hosting your website using Siteground’s standard web, managed WordPress, and WooCommerce subscription plans will set you back by $5.99 to $12.99 monthly.

Their cloud hosting plans are certainly more expensive, but we recommend these for corporate sites or ecommerce hubs that are scaling up their operations. On average, the monthly cost for Siteground cloud hosting will set you back from $48 per month.

>> Check for our latest Siteground discount code pricing plans <<

Free trial, refund policy, and money-back guarantee:

What about free trials and refunds? Which among Siteground vs A2 offers a better policy?

A2Hosting:

The platform offers a 30-day trial period, after which you will need to commit to a paid hosting plan.

A2Hosting assures its users of a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Siteground:

Siteground only works on a try-before-you-buy basis, so you will have to commit to a subscription to use it.
It does, however, have a 30-day money back guarantee that will allow you to collect a full refund if you cancel your subscription within the first month of service.

Winner – Siteground! For best value for money, we choose Siteground in this A2 Hosting vs Siteground ‘Pricing' comparison.

---

Comparison Winner: A2Hosting or Siteground?

All things considered, the win goes to Siteground in this A2 vs Siteground showdown. A2Hosting has a number of good things working in its favour, but the improvements in Siteground’s performance – especially when it comes to loading speed and uptime – clinched the deal.

---

Conclusion and Recommendations:

Now, it's time to wrap up this A2 Hosting vs Siteground review.

What is A2Hosting best for?

We recommend A2Hosting as a great gateway hosting service for bloggers and ecommerce startups thanks to its extensive range of useful, easy to use features.

What is Siteground best for?

Siteground is definitely a hosting service that people can grow with, and we recommend it for those who want to build everything from basic websites to scalable ecommerce hubs.

Alternatives:

Final word:

Siteground may have taken the win for the A2 Hosting vs Siteground matchup, but we recommend that you trial a viable hosting service that is in sync with your specific needs.

Check for the best Siteground pricing

---

FAQs:

Which of these services A2 Hosting vs Siteground offers cloud hosting?

Both of them do. In Siteground’s case, however, these are better suited for enterprise-level subscriptions

Aside from WordPress, what platforms can I use with either of these services?

You can use both Siteground vs A2 with Drupal and Joomla, though Siteground also interacts well with osCommerce and PrestaShop for ecommerce building purposes.

---

That’s all for now:

If you've read our A2 vs Siteground review up to here, we are grateful. Remember always to keep abreast of the latest developments on website builders, eCommerce, and other articles, such as the ones below;

• VPS Unlimited Bandwidth

Please share any comments below!