Acenet looks pretty attractive. Indeed, they set no limits for their features – storage, monthly traffic, domains, MySQL databases, email and FTP accounts etc – everything is unlimited. Count in their reliable hardware and lots of one-click installation options,and you will get everything you need for a good web project. However, Acenet is not devoid of disadvantages, namely high prices and difficulty reaching customer support.
Uptime & Reliability
Great Hardware and Stable Performance
Acenet claims that your website will be active for 99.9% of the time. While you cannot find proof of this bold claim on the web, some of their customers say that the real-life numbers are 99.95%, which is not bad at all. A bunch of other web host companies can provide you with slightly better statistics if those 0.03%-0.04% really matter to you.
Also, Acenet provides you with third-party reports regarding the performance of their servers as well as CPU live stats that are available through cPanel. Finally, if your website’s stats confirm that it is not functioning properly, 99.9% of the time Acenet promises to return your money, which adds credibility to the company.
Features
Flexible Plans with Unlimited Basics
Acenet will surprise you with some of their features. For example, they have a rich set of unlimited features including web storage, bandwidth, hosted domains, MySQL databases and a lot more. Additionally you’ll get a dedicated IP address and a free domain name, which is good for startup projects oriented on eCommerce. Don’t forget about their hardware characteristics, one-click installation set, and exciting business apps.
| Feature | Description |
|---|
| Disk Space | Your volume of hosted files within any package is unlimited. |
| Bandwidth | Acenet doesn’t count or limit your bandwidth, which means you can transfer as much traffic as you like. |
| Website Builder | You can use the offered SiteStudio, but it looks rather outdated. |
| Email Accounts | No limits for @yourdomain.com email number. Just great! |
| Shopping Carts | 3 common popular options are available: CubeCart, Zen Cart and OS Commerce. |
| Stats | You can use the AWStats tool available through cPanel. |
| MySQL databases | Unlimited just like everything else. You can host as many MySQL databases as you like. |
| FTP Account | No limits for FTP accounts either. You can create as many as you need. |
| Multiple Domains | Acenet allows you to host multiple domains and sub-domains without any limits. Isn’t it great? |
Support
Helpful, But Not Instant
Acenet does not offer live chat support as a customer service; however, the support team will respond to your needs within 15 minutes of receiving phone or email contact. You can also contact their separate pre-sale department that will answer any questions regarding your signup, plan details, prices, etc. Also, to help newbies understand web hosting better, Acenet created an extensive knowledge base that has tons of relevant information.
- Phone support
- Pre-sale support
- Quick response
- Extensive knowledge base
- No Live Chat
- No 24/7 Phone Support
- No blog
- No forum
Pricing
Quite Expensive Even with Discounts
This is the major let-down from Acenet. Their prices are far beyond average. Even if you consider their ~25% discount for 3-year purchase deals, you will have to pay almost double the price compared to other web hosting companies. Keep this price in mind when it comes time to renew your package, since you’ll be auto-billed up to two years in advance (making it hard to cancel) and you don’t want to be blindsided by the high fees.
User Friendly
Convenient Web Interface and cPanel
Their website has intuitive navigation, which helps you get the web hosting you need in just a couple of minutes. You can easily navigate and find whatever you are looking for.
Every package offered by Acenet includes a custom cPanel with special features as well as the SiteStudio website builder. However, you should know that their website builder contains rather outdated templates and functions, so you’ll probably need to spend extra money to develop a decent, modern-looking website.
+ Customized cPanel
+ Intuitive website interface
Summary
Acenet has many features that are good for both small personal websites and major international web projects alike. You will be provided with all the tools necessary for a successful hosting service – great hardware, convenient cPanel, stable uptime etc. However, the prices offered by this web host and poor support options might make you think twice before deciding.
Pros
- Lots of unlimited features
- Free domain name
- Dedicated IP included
- Great one-click installation set
- High quality up-to-date hardware
- High plan flexibility
Cons
- Prices above average
- No Live Chat or 24/7 phone customer support
- Poor website builder