Host Engine is a UK-based web hosting solutions provider that offers Linux and Windows hosting starting at $40 per year. They are part of the NetSecrets family and offers a variety of packages – shared hosting, virtual serves and dedicated servers. They offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee as well as a first month free trial service.

The Hosting Package

Their Shared hosting packages start at $40 per year for the Linux package, which includes 20 MB web space, 150 MB data transfer allowance, email forwarding, unlimited FTP access and 24/7 regular customer support hotline. You can also try out any of their services for free for the first month, with just a $2 set up fee to get you started.

Their dedicated server package starts at $440 per month with a $340 setup fee for the Dedicated Alpha Plan, with a 1U Dell Power Edge 1750, Fedora Core, 2.4 GHz Xeon with Hyperthreading (HT), 256 MB RAM and a 1 x 36 GB SCSI hard drive. The monthly bandwidth allocation for this package is 20 GB and additional bandwidth will be charged $130 for every 20 GB bandwidth consumed.

What’s Great About Host Engine?

    • Several packages offered

One of the best things about Host Engine is that they have a huge variety of packages that you can choose from. If you are looking for a start up package then you can avail of their shared hosting solutions but if you are more on the enterprise side, you can also look at their dedicated server hosting solutions. This means that you can stay with them even if you are a startup then wants to upgrade to a premium account.

    • Support for both Windows and Linux

Host Engine does not discriminate between the two main types of server users out there – as they have support for both Windows and Linux. While most other hosting providers choose to support those using Linux instead, the Microsoft fanatics will be pleased to note that you can also be supported.

    • Very beginner-friendly experience

Host Engine is really newbie-friendly. The list of tools available for the new web developer, as well as the friendly customer support staff, are all nice tools to have if you are just trying to get your service off the ground.

    • Reliable name

Host Engine comes fro a reliable company name, which gives you some assurance that at the very least, they are not fraudulent. Being associated with NetSecrets is a big plus, especially for those who live in the UK.

What’s Disappointing About Host Engine?

&#10006 Not so user-friendly website

Normally, other web hosting sites give you an idea of their price range from their home page. You can easily look at the variation of prices through package banners upfront but for Host Engine, it will take you another two clicks at least, to navigate through a 3-level page where you can see, at last, the prices of their packages.

&#10006 Expensive!

There is no need to beat around the bush – Host Engine is expensive! They do not have free setup fee options and their starting package especially for the dedicated and virtual private server options are downright expensive. No complaints for the start up shared hosting price, however.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing is that there are not a lot of horrible reviews about their performance and they have been around for quite sometime. Consider Host Engine, especially if you think you can grow your web services from start up to enterprise.

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