GreenGeeks is a popular web host with a heavy focus on eco-friendly and sustainable hosting solutions. The company was founded in 2008 and has since built a reputation for speed, security, and performance. The affordable web host is a terrific choice for small to medium businesses looking for high-quality hosting that won’t break the bank.
GreenGeeks offers multiple hosting solutions, including Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, Reseller, and VPS hosting. So let’s dig deeper to find out if GreenGeeks hosting is worth it for you.
GreenGeeks Compared
While GreenGeeks is an affordable and high-performing web host, it didn’t make it to our top list of the best web hosting companies. Instead, our favorite web hosting company is Hostinger, for its generous shared hosting plans, easy-to-use hPanel, and auto-installer for your favorite content management systems (CMS) and apps. Sign up with Hostinger today and enjoy up to 75% off on your hosting plan.
- Hostinger – Best overall
- DreamHost – Best value for shared hosting
- SiteGround – Best for extra speed and security
- Bluehost – Best for new WordPress websites
Check out our post comparing The Best Web Hosting Companies for the complete picture of what these companies offer.
About GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks has been in business for over 14 years and is the best-known service provider in the eco-friendly hosting niche. The company is an EPA Green Power Partner and provides green hosting by purchasing energy credits worth three times the power the provider uses.
GreenGeeks mainly targets small and medium-sized companies looking for affordable and reliable web hosting. Its hosting solutions include Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, Reseller, and Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting. In addition, GreenGeeks offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for all its hosting plans.
GreenGeeks Health and Stability
GreenGeeks is a reputable hosting provider and partners with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to ensure it meets its eco-friendly commitments. In addition, the company reports annually to the BEF about the number of servers and personnel to calculate the energy usage for that year.
The web host then purchases renewable energy credits worth three times the energy usage through the BEF. Finally, renewable energy is put back into the grid. GreenGeeks also partners with One Tree Planted to plant a tree every time a customer purchases a hosting plan.
GreenGeeks is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and is a legitimate and trustworthy service provider. The hosting company has over 55,000 clients and hosts over 600,000 websites. In addition, GreenGeeks has received multiple awards, including Best Value for WordPress by WPHub.
GreenGeeks Pricing
GreenGeeks offers at least five hosting products, including Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, and Reseller. Each product has its packages and different price points depending on your choices. However, you can expect standard features across all products or plans, such as free SSL certificates and nightly backups.
GreenGeeks Pricing Structure
GreenGeeks’ pricing structure is similar to most other hosting providers. Each hosting solution has three pricing tiers depending on the features, services, and usage limits. So it’s a matter of choosing the package that best fits your requirements.
For example, the WordPress hosting plan has Lite, Pro, and Premium versions ranging from $2.95 per month to $8.95 per month. The Lite plan hosts one website, while the Pro and Premium packages support unlimited websites. You’ll also see a difference in performance, number of email accounts, and available storage across plans.
The hosting provider also offers subscription contracts. You can opt for monthly payments or lock into a one-, two-, or three-year contract.
GreenGeeks Pricing Comparison
Shared hosting is the most popular hosting type across the board. So, comparing GreenGeek’s shared hosting with similar products from top competitors helps identify whether you’re getting a good deal.
The entry-level shared hosting plan is called EcoSite Lite and costs $2.95 per month for the first year, renewing at the regular price of $10.95 per month after that. However, this discounted price is only available for an annual subscription. It’s not available for month-to-month, biennial, or triennial contracts.
By comparison, Hostinger’s entry-level shared plan costs $1.99 per month. Like GreenGeeks, this plan supports one website, 50GB SSD storage, an email account, and free daily backups. But GreenGeeks offers unmetered bandwidth compared to Hostinger’s 100GB bandwidth. GreenGeeks also allows up to 50 email accounts, while Hostinger offers only one. You can also set up unlimited databases with GreenGeeks, but only two with Hostinger. So, while Hostinger is a good option if you’re looking for the cheapest possible hosting, GreenGeeks offers more value for your money.
SiteGround offers a similar entry-level plan at a discounted price of $3.99 per month. Like GreenGeeks, the introductory price is only available for an annual subscription. The regular price shoots up to $14.99 per month after the first year.
GreenGeek’s entry-level plan is cheaper than SiteGround while still offering more resources. For instance, SiteGround only offers 10 GB SSD storage, has metered bandwidth, and offers only one CPU core compared to GreenGeek’s two cores.
Finally, a similar entry-level plan from DreamHost costs $2.95 for the first year and renews at $6.99 per month after the introductory period. It is identical to what GreenGeeks offers regarding SSD storage, bandwidth, and free daily backups. The main difference is GreenGeeks offers up to 50 email accounts, while Dreamhost only offers email accounts as an add-on service.
Overall, GreenGeeks provides exceptional value for money. There are cheaper options. However, you may get less value from your subscription if you choose the cheaper web host.
GreenGeeks Trials and Guarantees
Like most other hosting providers, GreenGeeks offers many freebies to entice new clients. For example, every GreenGeek hosting plan comes with the following:
- Free Domain
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate
- cPanel
- DDoS protection
- One-click installer for 150+ apps
- Email accounts
- Free daily backups
GreenGeeks also offers several guarantees to ensure you’re happy with its service. For example, you can save up to 70% off your hosting plan if you choose an annual subscription. GreenGeeks also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
It’s worth noting that the money-back guarantee doesn’t cover the set-up fee, domain registration, and any add-ons like dedicated IP and manual backup requests. Still, it’s good to know you can recoup some or most of your money if you aren’t happy with GreenGeeks’ services.
Finally, the hosting provider has a 99.9% network uptime guarantee in its service level agreement (SLA). The company compensates you if its service causes downtime. You’ll receive up to three times your subscription rate in hosting credits.
GreenGeeks Web Hosting Review
Eco-friendly hosting is front and center in GreenGeeks’ marketing and branding, but the company doesn’t skimp on hosting services in favor of being green. Instead, GreenGeeks competes favorably with the best-in-class hosting services for speed, reliability, variety, and price. Therefore, GreenGeeks is a top choice if sustainable business practices are at the heart of your brand or business philosophy.
Still, other terrific hosting providers are featured in our Best Web Hosting Companies review. It’s worth reading our review before deciding whether GreenGreeks is your best option.
What Makes GreenGeeks Web Hosting Service Great
Eco-friendly hosting: GreenGeeks isn’t the only environmentally conscious hosting provider but is likely the best-known one. It’s also one of the few certified EPA Green Power Partners on the market. Considering data centers contribute as many carbon emissions as the airplane industry, it’s no wonder many companies are looking for eco-friendly hosting.
GreenGeeks also provides green certification badges to add to your website. You can add the tags for free by copying and pasting a code to your website. It’s a terrific way to demonstrate your commitment to sustainable practices and spread awareness about eco-friendly business solutions.
High-tech server infrastructure: GreenGeeks has data centers across five locations globally, including Chicago, Phoenix, Montreal, Toronto, and Amsterdam. You can also choose your server location closest to your target audience.
GreenGeeks servers are power efficient and feature on-site diesel generators, automated transfer switches, 24/7 monitoring, and automatic temperature and climate control.
Excellent security and privacy: GreenGeeks doesn’t compromise on safety. All hosting plans have 24/7 server monitoring, advanced firewall systems, and DDoS protection. The host also offers free website cleanup in case you’re hacked.
Similarly, the web host ranks high for data privacy. The company complies with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) by having data centers in Canada. PIPEDA is one of the strictest data privacy regulations, in addition to GreenGeeks adhering to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Beginner-friendly and developer-friendly tools: The host provides an easy-to-use cPanel and dashboard to manage your hosting account. These tools are intuitive and easy to use for beginners. For example, the cPanel offers a drag-and-drop website builder with no coding experience required.
However, developers and advanced users may require more control of their hosting accounts. For this, GreenGeeks provides access to advanced tools to manage websites better. These include multiple PHP versions, Pearl and Python, MySQL databases, Git, WP-CLI, Drush, free SSH, and secure FTP.
Fast loading speeds: GreenGeeks uses LiteSpeed Web Servers known for speed and reliability. This improved performance is especially noticeable with WordPress websites. The company also offers round-the-clock support in case you need help.
Furthermore, GreenGeeks uses the latest network protocols, PHP, database, and caching technology to guarantee fast in-browser page loads.
Generous shared hosting plans: The web host offers unmetered bandwidth even with its cheapest entry-level plan. Of course, there are limits. However, the terms are reasonable enough, so smaller websites don’t have to worry about exceeding their bandwidth during a sudden traffic spike.
Similarly, GreenGeeks offers up to 50 email accounts for the entry-level shared hosting plan. Most other providers offer one email account or provide email accounts as an add-on service. GreenGeeks offers one of the market’s most generous and affordable shared hosting plans.
Multiple web hosting services: GreenGeeks has something for everyone. There are multiple hosting services with different tiers to suit different users. For example, the shared hosting plan has a plan for a small personal website, a second for mid-sized websites, and a third for high-traffic websites and ecommerce stores.
You can also upgrade to the virtual private server (VPS) package to enjoy the advantages of a dedicated server with the cost benefits of shared hosting. GreenGreeks also has purpose-built hosting packages for resellers, WordPress, and WooCommerce.
Where GreenGeeks Hosting Service Falls Short
Limited phone support: GreenGeeks offers 24/7 live chat support. However, phone support is only available between 9 am and 12 am EST, Monday through Sunday.
The somewhat limited phone support can be a problem if you need one-on-one help urgently for an ecommerce website or need to report a breach. By comparison, SiteGround offers 24/7 phone support in addition to live chat. However, GreenGeeks isn’t the worst since hosts like Hostinger don’t provide phone support at all.
SSL certificate not activated: GreenGeeks offers a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. However, the certificate is not activated by default, and you’ll need to do this manually from the cPanel.
Activating the SSL certificate is easy, but it’s an unnecessary manual task. Other web hosts, like Dreamhost, automatically activate your SSL during account setup.
Restrictive discount: You can save 70% on your GreenGeeks plan by opting for an annual contract. However, that means you’re stuck with the host for a year. You can cancel your subscription anytime, but you don’t get a refund for the remaining contract term.
Competitors like SiteGround and DreamHost offer discounts for new accounts regardless of the contract length. Fortunately, GreenGeeks offers a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you change your mind during this window. However, the refund policy doesn’t include setup fees, domain registration, manual backups, and other add-ons.
Limited payment methods: GreenGeeks accepts major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover. However, you can only use PayPal for subsequent payments after paying with your credit card.
Most competitors offer numerous payment methods. For example, Bluehost accepts most eWallets, including PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and AliPay, in addition to credit cards. Similarly, SiteGround accepts checks, money orders, and electronic checks (ACH) in addition to credit cards and PayPal.
GreenGeeks Web Hosting Service Compared
GreenGeeks is a terrific option for businesses serious about sustainable business practices. However, Hostinger is our favorite web hosting company for its bargain prices, strong reputation, reliable uptime, and straightforward hPanel.
Here’s a quick look at our top choices for the best web hosting companies:
- Hostinger – Best overall
- DreamHost – Best value for shared hosting
- SiteGround – Best for extra speed and security
- Bluehost – Best for new WordPress websites
Final Verdict
GreenGeeks is a perfect choice for companies prioritizing environmentally friendly and sustainable business practices. The hosting provider strikes the ideal balance between eco-friendly hosting and fast, affordable, and reliable hosting. Plus, you can demonstrate your sustainability efforts by displaying the providers’ green badges on your website.
Although there are cheaper alternatives, GreenGeeks is well-rounded. You can also choose from purpose-built hosting services, including reseller, WordPress, and WooCommerce hosting. Finally, the 30-day money-back guarantee is attractive if you need to try the service before deciding if it is up to standard.
https://www.quicksprout.com/greengeeks-review/
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