Web Hosting Uncovered: The Truth About Some of the Biggest Hosts

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Full Disclosure: I make affiliate commissions from some hosts:

Other hosts pay more but I reject them:

  • Bluehost/HostGator: $65-$150/sale (I don’t recommend)
  • WP Engine: $200/sale (I don’t recommend)
  • SiteGround: $50-$100/sale (I don’t recommend)

My ranking:

  1. Hetzner ($0 commission) - Best value for unmanaged VPS
  2. Scala (+$100 commission) - Best managed VPS
  3. ChemiCloud (~$100 commission) - Best shared hosting by total cost

I rank Hetzner #1 despite making $0. That should tell you something about my priorities.

Integrity level: 6/10 - I’m still taking $100 commissions, but ranking by value instead of payout.

Now, here’s what’s wrong with the hosting industry:

The Web Hosting Monopoly Problem

Here’s the nuclear truth the $65/sale affiliate commission shills won’t tell you:

Major Hosting Companies With Documented Issues

These popular hosts have consistent patterns of customer complaints:

The Newfold Digital Monopoly (60+ Fake “Competitors”)

  • Bluehost - WordPress.org’s #1 recommended host (WordCamp sponsorship appears to influence that)
  • HostGator - Same servers as Bluehost, different logo, 338% renewal increase
  • JustHost - Nothing “just” about this overpriced garbage
  • HostMonster - The only monster here is their customer service

The “Premium” WordPress Hosts (Predatory Pricing)

  • WP Engine - $300/month for what Hetzner gives you for €3.79
  • Kinsta - Google Cloud markup charging 10x the real infrastructure cost
  • SiteGround - CPU limit forced upgrades, 167% renewal, pushes $1,400+/year cloud plans

How I Rank Hosts (My Standards)

I rank hosts by total cost of ownership, not single metrics:

I criticize SiteGround’s 167% renewal because:

  • 167% renewal + CPU forced upgrades + removed features = $1,400+/year total
  • The percentage isn’t the problem - the forced upgrades are

I rank ChemiCloud despite 344% renewal because:

  • 344% renewal but NO forced upgrades = $239/year total
  • Higher percentage, but lower total cost and no predatory upgrade scams

I rank Hetzner #1 despite $0 commission because:

  • €3.79/mo unmanaged VPS = best value (I make nothing)
  • If I were purely mercenary, I’d hide Hetzner and push $200 WP Engine commissions

My ranking criteria:

  1. Total annual cost (not just renewal percentage)
  2. No forced upgrades or hidden fees
  3. Actual hardware specs (not marketing claims)
  4. Documented customer experiences

I’m transparent about bias, but I rank by consistent standards.

Better Alternatives Worth Considering

Hetzner - €3.79/month

  • Pricing: €3.79/mo → €3.79/mo renewal (0% increase)
  • Hardware: AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon, NVMe SSDs
  • Type: Unmanaged VPS
  • Best for: Developers comfortable with server management
  • Commission: $0/sale (no affiliate program)
Hetzner logo Try Hetzner Cloud (Best Price-to-Performance Cloud VPS)

Scala Hosting - $3.95/month

  • Pricing: $3.95/mo VPS → $3.95/mo renewal (0% increase on VPS)
  • Hardware: AMD EPYC 9474F (4.1 GHz), OpenLiteSpeed, SPanel
  • Type: Managed VPS (don’t use their shared hosting - 237% renewal)
  • Best for: Growing sites escaping SiteGround CPU limits
  • Commission: +$100/sale
ScalaHosting logo Try Scala Hosting (Best Managed VPS)

ChemiCloud - $4.49/month

  • Pricing: $4.49/mo intro → $19.95/mo renewal (344% increase)
  • Hardware: AMD EPYC 9354 (3.8 GHz), LiteSpeed, NVMe
  • Type: Shared hosting (no forced upgrades)
  • Best for: Shared hosting users - $239/year total vs SiteGround’s $1,400+/year
  • Commission: ~$100/sale
ChemiCloud logo Try ChemiCloud (Best Shared Hosting)

🔥 The Industry Exposés: What They’re Hiding

The Web Hosting Monopoly Map

Newfold Digital owns 60+ “competing” brands including Bluehost, HostGator, and dozens more you think are independent. World Host Group owns another 30+. When Bluehost and HostGator “compete,” they’re on the same servers owned by the same company.

Why it matters: Fake competition means no incentive to improve service. They just rebrand the same garbage under different logos and collect affiliate commissions.

”Unlimited” Storage and Bandwidth Lie

The Marketing: Host as much as you want! The Reality: Hidden “fair use” policies (100k files, 10% CPU) that suspend you when you actually use resources The Truth: Physics doesn’t allow unlimited resources. They’re banking on 95% of customers using almost nothing while overselling 1000:1 .

Renewal Price Extortion

The Marketing: $2.95/month affordable hosting! The Reality: GoDaddy: 400% increase, Bluehost/HostGator: 338% increase, SiteGround: 167% increase The Truth: The low price requires 3-year commitment upfront. They get your money before you discover the performance issues.

WordPress.org “Recommendations”

The Marketing: These are the best hosts for WordPress! The Reality: Selection correlates with WordCamp sponsorship, not technical merit The Truth: Not technically “paid,” but the recommended hosts often underperform independent alternatives.

💰 The Affiliate Commission Corruption

The entire hosting recommendation ecosystem is corrupted by money:

What the scammers pay:

  • Bluehost/HostGator: $65 per signup - Newfold brands pay top dollar for bad service
  • WP Engine: $200 per signup - explains every “premium” hosting recommendation
  • SiteGround: $50-100 per signup - the real reason for all those “honest” reviews
  • GoDaddy: Aggressive commissions - why they’re always “recommended”

What I actually do:

  • Hetzner: $0 commission - still rank #1 for VPS because they’re the best
  • Scala Hosting: +$100/sale - same as ChemiCloud, rank by merit not money
  • ChemiCloud: ~$100/sale - rank #1 for shared based on total value

When a blogger makes $65 for recommending Bluehost vs $0 for telling you about Hetzner, guess what they recommend? I rank the $0 commission option first because I’m not completely corrupted (just partially).

🎯 What You Actually Need in Web Hosting

Stop falling for marketing bullshit. Here’s what actually matters:

For Small Websites (Shared Hosting)

  • 2-4 GB RAM (not “unlimited” lies with 10% CPU limits)
  • NVMe SSD storage (not ancient spinning drives or slow SATA SSDs)
  • Real customer support (not outsourced script readers in Mumbai)
  • Transparent pricing (not 300%+ renewal surprises)

For Growing Websites (VPS)

  • Dedicated vCPU cores (not shared/oversold processors with CPU throttling)
  • CDN included (not $10-15/month add-on scams like SiteGround)
  • Real backup systems (not “we’ll try to restore if we feel like it”)
  • Staging environments (not “test on your live site and pray”)

Red Flags to Avoid

📊 Individual Host Reviews: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

  • Hetzner Review - €3.79/month unmanaged VPS, 0% renewal increase, enterprise hardware
  • Scala Hosting Review - $3.95/month managed VPS, 0% renewal on VPS, OpenLiteSpeed + SPanel
  • ChemiCloud Review - $4.49/month shared hosting, 344% renewal but no forced upgrades, total cost still beats SiteGround

The Bad

  • SiteGround Review - CPU limits force upgrades to $1,400+/year cloud plans, 167% renewal on shared, removed features, predatory upgrade tactics

The Ugly

Specialized Hosting

  • Best Podcast Hosting - For podcasters looking for audio-specific hosting (different from web hosting)

Managed WordPress Hosting BS

🥊 Head-to-Head Hosting Comparisons

When choosing between hosts, these comparisons break down exactly where each excels and fails:

Newfold Brand Battles (All Lose):

SiteGround Comparisons (All Show Why to Leave):

🔧 Technical Guides: Choose the Right Stack

Understanding web server technology matters for performance:

Web Server Comparisons

Best Hosting by Technology Stack

🚀 Escape Your Scam Host: Migration Guides

Get off the Newfold/GoDaddy garbage before renewal:

  • Leave Bluehost/HostGator ASAP - Escape before 338% renewal hits
  • Leave GoDaddy ASAP - Avoid 400% renewal price jump
  • SiteGround to ChemiCloud migration (coming soon) - Escape CPU limit scams
  • WP Engine to Hetzner/Scala migration (coming soon) - Save $3,000+/year

🚩 How to Spot Hosting Red Flags

Read: Web Hosting Red Flags to Avoid

Before signing up for any host, check for these warning signs:

  • “Unlimited” anything (physically impossible)
  • Renewal prices 3x+ higher than intro pricing
  • Owned by Newfold Digital or other hosting conglomerates
  • WordPress.org recommended without technical merit
  • Heavy YouTube advertising ($65/sale affiliate corruption)

💡 The Bottom Line

Stop paying $15-30/month for oversold garbage from Newfold scammers.

Here’s what you should actually do:

For Developers & VPS Users

Read Hetzner Review - €3.79/month unmanaged VPS, AMD EPYC CPUs, NVMe SSDs, 0% renewal increase. I make $0 from recommending them.

For Growing WordPress Sites (Escaping SiteGround CPU Limits)

Read Scala Hosting Review - $3.95/month managed VPS with 0% renewal increase on VPS plans. I make +$100/sale but rank based on merit.

For Shared Hosting Users

Read ChemiCloud Review - See the detailed total cost analysis explaining why $239/year beats SiteGround’s $1,400+/year despite higher renewal percentage.

Migration guides:

Legal Note: This article contains both documented facts (linked to sources) and my personal opinions based on those facts. All opinions are clearly marked as such.

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