Awardspace Review: What Do Real Users Think Of Their Free Hosting?
Our Verdict: #1 for Free Hosting
Awardspace provides free web hosting for small websites that come with everything you need to get online quickly. You can also choose WordPress hosting or premium hosting services, including shared and VPS plans. Save up to 42% by clicking any of the special Awardspace discount links in this review.
Awardspace scores 3.5 out of five stars on 30+ customer reviews, with above-average marks for support, quality, features, and value. Try Awardspace
Should You Host Your Site With Awardspace?
Looking for something specific? Jump to our most popular sections:
- Expert review — read our thorough analysis by hosting specialist, Katie Horne
- Customer reviews — see what actual Awardspace customers have to say
- Hosting plans — compare Awardspace hosting plans
- FAQs — find answers to the most common questions about Awardspace
Awardspace offers free, but comprehensive, web hosting services and a website builder. You might think this is just a gimmick. But the free plan isn’t even their most popular option. Their shared premium hosting is. So Awardspace might be doing something right. Follow along as I look at all of Adwardspace’s hosting plans and show you if it is a good choice for you. And if it isn’t, I’ve got some alternative hosts that might be better.
About Awardspace
Awardspace originally provided free HTML hosting, but in 2003, the company decided to offer free LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) hosting without requiring users to display banner ads. In 2005, the company began offering premium hosting plans. Awardspace featured three plans designed to meet the growing needs of existing customers for whom the free plan was no longer a fit.
Over the years, Awardspace has added multiple types of hosting to its product portfolio. They also develop custom tools for their hosting customers, such as automatic CMS installers and custom control panels. Today, the company serves over 2.5 million customers and boasts an overall uptime of 99.9%.
Hosting Plans
Awardspace’s free plan offers substantial hosting without advertisements.
In addition to the free hosting option, Awardspace offers:
- Shared hosting and shared WordPress hosting
- Semi-dedicated hosting
- VPS (Virtual Private Server) cloud hosting
- Reseller hosting.
Free Hosting
Most people will probably want to start with Awardspace’s free hosting plan. Not only is the price right, but this plan also gives you an opportunity to try out Awardspace, no strings attached. The free plan is plenty capable for those with one website. You’ll get 1 GB of disk space for all of your files. As long as your monthly traffic levels don’t exceed 5 GB, you won’t have any problems. You’ll also get 1 email account and 24/7 support in case you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Shared Hosting
If you want more perks than are available with the free plan, you may want to explore Awardspace’s low-cost shared hosting plans. These plans provide:
- 10x faster network speed
- Unlimited disk space
- Extra email accounts
- Full Zacky app installer
- RAID backup
- Free SSL Certificate
- Extra development tools.
On all but their entry-level plan, Awardspace offers free domain name registration for as long as you host with them. If you want to host more than one website, you have to upgrade to a paid hosting plan. That said, even those with only one website will benefit from the features of shared hosting since Awardspace removes almost all caps on resource usage for their shared hosting users.
Reseller Hosting
Awardspace offers free reseller hosting, allowing you to start a new hosting company or add web hosting to your existing portfolio of services. Awardspace gives you the wholesale price, and your profits are whatever you charge minus the wholesale price you pay.
Control Panel
Awardspace includes a control panel with all hosting plans. It appears that this is a custom option created by Awardspace, but it offers pretty standard functionality. It includes account manager, orders, account closure, domain management, resource allocation and usage information, file management, email management, statistics (eg, Webalizer), and the Zacky installer.
VPS Users Get a Choice
VPS users get a specialty control panel, though they are welcome to use the general version non-VPS users get as well.
Performance and Uptime
Ultimately, the level of performance you see depends on the plan you choose, which is why many opt for a paid plan (however inexpensive), even if there is a free option available. Furthermore, all paid plans come with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Datacenter
Awardspace’s data center is located in Sofia, Bulgaria, a country in southeastern Europe. With only one option, customers can’t choose where their site is hosted, but the datacenter itself comes with solid hardware and 24/7 monitoring to help prevent and respond immediately to issues.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Awardspace guarantees that they’ll have a response for you within one hour on paid plans.
If you run into any issues, the first place to start would be Awardspace’s robust FAQ page The FAQ features common issues with solutions. These are organized by categories, such as GDPR, Domain and Subdomain Management, and General Questions. There’s also a knowledge base with more in-depth information. Awardspace has a well-organized FAQ and knowledgebase.
Ticket System and Support Team
However, if you don’t find an answer to your question in either of the self-help resources, then you can file a ticket requesting assistance (if you are a paying customer). Support is available 24/7. Awardspace guarantees that they’ll have a response for you within one hour. In terms of learning-related resources, Awardspace offers:
Tutorials
- WordPress tutorials (eg, Create an E-Commerce Website with WordPress, WordPress SEO — The Essentials, and WordPress Feature Images)
- Video tutorials (eg, How to Add a Domain, How to Delete a Database, and How to Create an FTP Account)
- Blog posts (eg, How Much Does Web Hosting Cost for a Small Business).
Payments and Billing
For all their plans, Awardspace lists the cost per month. However, the company does not offer monthly billing. You must pay upfront for a one-year contract. Awardspace accepts most major credit cards, wire transfers, Bitcoin, and PayPal.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
If you’re not satisfied with your purchase, Awardspace offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you cancel during this time period, you’ll receive a full refund, no questions asked.
Alternatives to Awardspace
If Awardspace is not the hosting company for you, here are some alternatives you might consider:
GoDaddy
GoDaddy sells pretty much anything you can think of when it comes to websites, domain names, and other tools related to the internet. If you want to work with a one-stop-shop, GoDaddy is a good option. Few products are free, but GoDaddy offers a lot of inexpensive options.
000WebHost
000WebHost is another company offering 100% free web hosting. Unlike Awardspace, 000WebHost offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee (even to free users), and packages come with a free website builder and WordPress optimization
SiteGround
SiteGround isn’t free, but if you want a solid hosting provider that offers good service, this company is worth a look. I think their shared hosting plans are comparable to Awardspace’s, and I’ve heard good things from our readers that their customer service is excellent.
Pros and Cons
Now that I’ve taken a closer look at the ins and outs of Awardspace, what are the highlights and lowlights of this host?
Is Low-Cost or Free Hosting Right for You?
Awardspace is not the best option for everybody. Nevertheless, their free hosting plan, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee, makes it possible for you to try it out before deciding. Visit Awardspace.com now