A2 Hosting vs SiteGround 2022 – Who Wins after 10 Tests?

A2 Hosting and SiteGround are some of the most popular web hosts out there. 

They are more than 15+ years in the web hosting industry and powering over millions of websites worldwide. 

They are both well-known for their superb hosting performance, offering features, customer support, and affordable pricing.

However, choosing the right web host between A2 Hosting vs SiteGround is not as easy as it looks. There are so many things you need to know before choosing any of them. 

If you choose the wrong hosting, you will lose your money, time, and most importantly, you can’t grow your business or website over time.

But, you don’t have to worry about it. I did the research and tests for YOU. 

In this article, I will share my personal experiences with these two hosts that I have been using for more than a year.

Throughout the time, I conducted several tests on these hosts to find out which host outperforms the other and takes the crown.

If you are in a hurry, here’s a quick comparison table between SiteGround and A2 Hosting. 

SiteGround vs A2 Hosting Quick Comparison.

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Overview

SiteGround hosting was founded in 2004. Since then, they are powering over 2 million websites worldwide. 

SiteGround is well-known in the hosting industry for its performance, security, and support.

They offer a wide range of hosting solutions, such as: shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, cloud, reseller, and enterprise hosting.

They have a total of 6 data centers on four continents. Each of their hosting plans includes free SSL, free CDN, daily backup, and a 30 days money-back policy.

A2 Hosting was founded in 2003. That means they are a total of 18 years in the hosting business.

A2 Hosting is so popular because of its affordable yet high-performing hosting plans. Their Turbo servers are even 20X faster than regular shared hosts.

Like SiteGround, A2 Hosting offers a wide range of hosting solutions, such as: 

shared, WordPress, VPS, Cloud, Email, Dedicated, and Reseller hosting.

They have a total of 4 data centers on four continents. Each of their hosting plans includes free SSL, free CDN, daily backup, and any time money-back policy.

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Ease of Use

Both A2 Hosting and SiteGround offer easy-to-use control panels. 

However, with A2 Hosting, you will get access to the cPanel control panel which is most popular and widely used by hosting companies. 

A2 Hosting’s cPanel is very beginner-friendly and packed with loads of functions that allow you to easily manage your server as well as websites.

On the other hand, SiteGround offers a custom build control panel that is clean, beginner-friendly but lacks features.

Summary – 

A2 Hosting – A2 Hosting offers a cPanel control panel. It comes with tons of options for managing your website.

SiteGround – SiteGround offers a custom-made control panel. It has very less options.

Winner – A2 Hosting. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Features

Both A2 Hosting and SiteGround offer plenty of essential hosting features to get your website up and running. 

However, some features at A2 Hosting are completely free, but at SiteGround, those are paid.

So, I compared the top 7 features that are must-have for any type of website and find out which host offers more features. 

Let’s start with the hosting types they offer.

1. Hosting types

A2 Hosting:

A2 Hosting offers a total of 5 types of hosting services such as shared, WordPress, VPS, Reseller, and Dedicated.

SiteGround:

On the other hand, SiteGround offers 4 types of hosting services – shared, WordPress, Cloud, and Reseller. 

SiteGround doesn’t offer VPS hosting. 

2. Allowed domains

Both SiteGround and A2 Hosting allow one domain to host on their starter plans. 

You can host unlimited domains on any of their higher plans.

3. Storage

Both hostings offer superfast SSD storage but have different storage limitations. 

A2 Hosting:

• Start-up Plan: 100GB of SSD storage.
• Drive plan: Unlimited SSD storage
• Turbo plans: Unlimited NVMe storage. 

But, what’s NVMe storage?

NVMe is the next generation of SSD. NVMe storage is 10X faster than SSD storage.

SiteGround:

• Startup plan:  10 GB SSD space
• Grow Big plan: 20 GB space
• Go Geek plan: 40 GB space

A2 Hosting offers unlimited SSD and NVMe storage but at SiteGround, storage is limited to max 40 GB.

4. Website migration

A2 Hosting – A2 Hosting offers a free website migration service in most cases.

All you have to create a migration request through the dashboard and their staff will move your site to A2 Hosting for free.

For my case, the migration process took less than 12 hours.

SiteGround – SiteGround doesn’t offer a free website migration. Manual migration by their team will cost you $30 extra which can take up to 5 days.

However, they built a WordPress migration plugin that allows you to move your site to SiteGround.

5. Data centers

A2 Hosting – A2 Hosting exclusively own all of their data centers. Each of the servers is high-powered, ultra-reliable, monitors by their engineers 24/7/365.

They operate total 4 data centers on four continents:

• USA – Michigan
• USA – Arizona
• Europe – Amsterdam
• Asia – Singapore

SiteGround – SiteGround uses Google’s highly secured and ultra-fast cloud platform to host all of their websites.

They operate total 6 data centers on four continents:

• USA – Iowa
• Europe – London, Frankfurt, Eemshaven
• Asia – Singapore
• Australia – Sydney

6. Security features

Website security is very important in keeping your business safe from hackers on the web. 

If hackers can access your website, they can harm your business in many ways.

That’s why you should take care of your site’s security. There are many WordPress security tips available, however, in them, your hosting company plays a big role in protecting your site from hackers.

Fortunately, both A2 Hosting and SiteGround offer plenty of security features.

A2 Hosting – Here are the following security features you will get with A2 Hosting:

• Free hack-scan
• Patchman enhanced security tool
• Two-factor authentication
• KernelCare Daily, automatic and rebootless kernel updates
• DDoS protection
• Virus scanner
• Dual Firewall
• Brute force defense

SiteGround – As SiteGround is using Google’s cloud platform, you could guess how secure it is. They maintain a specialized security team to address web security threats.

Here are the following security features SiteGround offer:

• Real-time server health checks
• Smart Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• AI anti-bot against malicious traffic
• 24/7 security checks

7. Website staging

Staging is a feature that allows you to create a separate copy of your live site on a different environment with a single click. 

Staging is used to test new code, designs, plugins, themes, etc. before they are made live to your visitors.

A2 Hosting – Each of the A2 Hosting’s plans includes a free staging environment.

SiteGround – At SiteGround, staging is available only on GrowBig and GoGeek plans.

8. CDN, SSL, bandwidth, daily backup

Both hostings offer free SSL certificates, Cloudflare CDN, and daily backup.

Summary – 

A2 Hosting offers much more features than SiteGround. A2 Hosting doesn’t limit you to anything and most importantly, features like website migration is completely free.

But, at SiteGround, storage, monthly visits, are limited. And for site migration, you need to pay an extra $30.

Winner – A2 Hosting. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Speed Test

Now, comes the most important point – which host is faster between SiteGround vs A2 Hosting.

Both A2 Hosting and SiteGround are great for performance (as they claim).

But, I did the tests on them to find out which host is faster.

I have been using SiteGround’s GrowBig plan – which costs $9.99 per month.

Similarly, I bought the A2 Hosting’s Turbo Boost plan which costs the same as SiteGround – $9.99 per month.

So, how did I conduct the speed test on them?

• First, I installed WordPress on both accounts
• Both websites have the same content, images, sliders, plugins, widgets, posts, etc.
• I integrated Cloudflare CDN (free version)
• Installed their officially caching plugins they developed. For SiteGround, it’s SG optimizer caching plugin. And for A2 Hosting, it’s LiteSpeed Web Cache.
• Then, I checked their speed on GTmetrix, Pingdom, and Google PageSpeed Insights, BitCacha, and KeyCDN.

Here are the results:

1. Pingdom Speed Test Results

A2 Hosting:

SiteGround:

2. GTmetrix Speed Test Results

A2 Hosting:

SiteGround:

3. Google PageSpeed Insights Results

A2 Hosting:

Mobile score – 95

Desktop score – 99

SiteGround:

Mobile score – 81

Desktop score – 89

4. KeyCDN Speed Test Results

A2 Hosting:

SiteGround:

5. Bitcacha Speed Test Results

A2 Hosting:

SiteGround:

Summary:

I conducted 5 different speed tests using some of the most popular tools and A2 Hosting performed really well. 

The above results show that A2 Hosting is much faster than SiteGround.

Winner – A2 Hosting. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Load Test

I also conducted another performance test using the K6 (formerly known load impact) tool. 

This load testing tool by K6 allows determining your hosting’s performance under both normal and peak conditions.

Both tests were run for 5 minutes with 50 VUs. 

Here’s how A2 Hosting performed:

As you can see from the above image, the average response time is 205 ms. The response time isn’t stable and fluctuates during traffic spikes.  

Here’s how SiteGround performed:

On the other hand, SiteGround constantly performed very well and the average response time is 107 ms.

Summary:

SiteGround maintained its performance very well during traffic spikes. Other side, A2 Hosting’s response time wasn’t that stable and fluctuates under peak condition.

Though, the difference is minimal.

Winner – SiteGround. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Uptime

Both SiteGround and A2 Hosting claim to offer 99.99% uptime. 

But, how do they perform actually?

To measure this, I added both of my sites to UptimeRobot to monitor the uptimes as well as downtimes. 

A2 Hosting’s Uptime:

In the last 30 days, the site hosted on A2 Hosting was 100% up and running. However, in February, there was a 9 minutes downtime.

Breakdown of A2 Hosting’s average uptime in the past 12 months:

(March 2020 – February 2021)

• February 2021 – 99.90%
• January 2021 – 100%
• December 2020 – 100%
• November 2020 – 99.99%
• October 2020 – 99.95%
• September 2020 – 100%
• August 2020 – 100%
• July 2020 – 100%
• June 2020 – 99.98%
• May 2020 – 99.97%
• April 2020 – 100%
• March 2020 – 100%

SiteGround’s Uptime:

In the last 7 days, there was a downtime of 4 minutes.

Breakdown of SiteGround’s average uptime in the past 12 months:

(March 2020 – February 2021)

• February 2021 – 99.99%
• January 2021 – 100%
• December 2020 – 99.95%
• November 2020 – 99.99%
• October 2020 – 100%
• September 2020- 99.94%
• August 2020 – 99.99%
• July 2020 – 100%
• June 2020 – 99.98%
• May 2020 – 99.92%
• April 2020 – 100%
• March 2020 – 100%

Summary

Both hostings offer a decent uptime – 99.98%.

Winner – It’s a tie. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Support

Both A2 Hosting and SiteGround offer fast, friendly and helpful support. You can reach out to their support team 24×7 via live chat, phone call, and support ticket.

I had a few issues with my websites and both of them solved them very quickly.

Plus, both of them have a huge knowledge base section where you can find hundreds of WordPress, hosting-related tutorials, such as how to create a sports blog, how to host, develop, maintain your website, etc.

Summary

Both hostings offer fast and helpful support and I don’t have any complaints about them.

Winner – It’s a tie. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Money-back

Before choosing a host, you should always check whether the company offers a money-back guarantee. If yes, then what’s their policy.

This is very important because you may not be happy with their service or want to leave, then you can easily ask for refunds.

Luckily, both A2 Hosting and SiteGround offer a hassle-free money-back policy.

A2 Hosting offers an anytime money-back guarantee. 

Here’s what they said about the “anytime money-back guarantee”.

If you cancel your account within the first 30-days, you will get a full refund.

However, if you cancel your account after 30 days, a prorated refund will be issued. 

For example, if you purchase a hosting plan for 1-year but decide to cancel at the end of 6 months, so you will get prorated refund of 6 months.

It’s that easy.

On the other hand, SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for all of our shared hosting plans and 14 days money-back guarantee for cloud hosting plans.

Summary

A2 Hosting offers an anytime money-back guarantee where SiteGround offers for 30 days.

Winner – A2 Hosting. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – Pricing

A2 Hosting and SiteGround both offer plenty of hosting solutions, such as shared, WordPress, cloud, dedicated, etc.

But which host is more affordable?

Let’s find out.

Summary

A2 Hosting’s plans are much cheaper than SiteGround no matter which plan you pick.

Winner – A2 Hosting. 

A2 Hosting vs SiteGround – User Reviews

Now, you know which web host is better in terms of features, security, performance, support, and pricing.

I mentioned all the key features they offer, hosting plans, and did several tests on them to find out which host outperforms the other. 

However, if you are still confused between SiteGround vs A2 Hosting, then check out what their customers are saying about them and much they have rated.

1. Reviews on Shoppers Approved:

A2 Hosting:

source

SiteGround:

2. Reviews on Trustpilot:

A2 Hosting:

source

SiteGround:

3. Reviews on G2:

A2 Hosting:

source

SiteGround:

4. Reviews on Facebook:

A2 Hosting:

There are lots more.

SiteGround:

SiteGround doesn’t allow users to review on their Facebook page, so I added some of the latest reviews from Facebook groups and Twitter.

There are lots more.

Which Host do We Prefer? A2 Hosting or SiteGround

A2 Hosting and SiteGround both offer superb performance, hosting features, and customer support.

But there has to be one winner.

In my experience, A2 Hosting outperforms SiteGround in many areas. For example,

• A2 Hosting offers much more features than SiteGround
• A2 Hosting is faster than SiteGround
• A2 Hosting offers great uptime and customer support
• A2 Hosting plans are cheaper than SiteGround
• A2 Hosting offers an anytime money-back guarantee
• SiteGround recently increase its price, so most of the customers are switching to A2 Hosting
• A2 Hosting is  a great alternative to SiteGround

Winner: A2 Hosting

Getting Started on A2 Hosting (Now 72% Off)

Step 1: Choose a hosting plan

Click here to go to A2 Hosting’s website. 

They offer different hosting solutions such as shared, WordPress, VPS, dedicated, etc.

You can choose any type of hosting based on your requirements. 

Click on the Get Started button.

Step 2: Choose a domain

In this step, you need to register a domain name if you don’t have one.

You can also use your existing domain name if you already have one. 

I already have a domain name registered, so I will select the “3rd option”.

Enter the domain name and click on the Use button.

Step 3: Choose your billing cycle

Select the 36 months or 3 years plan for the maximum discount.  

Next, you can customize your hosting by adding one or more add-ons. 

Once done, you can view your order summary and click on Continue. 

Step 4: Review and checkout

On the checkout page, you need to enter your personal information, such as your name, address, email address, phone number, etc.

Next, choose a payment method.

There are several payment options you can choose from, such as – Credit or Debit card, Skrill, PayPal, Bank Wire Transfer, and Check or money order.

Then, click on Complete Order.

Step 5: Check your email for cPanel login details

Once the payment is done, you will receive several emails including cPanel login details.

Login using your email and password. 

From here, you can access your cPanel and create site migration request.

SiteGround vs Other Hosts:

• SiteGround vs DreamHost
• SiteGround vs WPX Hosting
• SiteGround vs GreenGeeks
• SiteGround vs Bluehost vs DreamHost
• SiteGround vs Kinsta
• SiteGround vs Hostinger
• SiteGround vs HostGator
• SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting
• SiteGround vs Cloudways

A2 Hosting vs Other Hosts:

• A2 Hosting vs HostGator

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