Best cPanel hosting providers: 6 top hosting solutions
In this article, you’ll find the best cPanel hosting providers out there as well as the scoop on what to consider before you commit yourself to one.
cPanel is the most popular control panel that’s characterized as absolutely easy to use. There’s no learning curve if you’re familiar with control panels and it’s easy enough to learn if it’s your first encounter.
cPanel is packed with all the features you need to run your site, such as one-click installs, management of domains, SSL, PHP version, databases, file manager, and emails. It’s really no wonder that cPanel is the darling of providers, seasoned developers, and newbies alike.
However, this was before its steep yearly pricing increases that started in 2019. It’s getting harder to find good hosts that haven't either switched to alternatives or charge more for cPanel hosting.
But, never one to back away from a challenge, I’ve screened, vetted, and tested services to find the best cPanel hosting providers still in the market. Let’s dive in.
Best cPanel hosting: ranked
- Hostinger – best cPanel hosting overall
- Bluehost – WordPress-focused cPanel hosting
- HostGator – beginner-friendly cPanel web hosting
- A2 Hosting – best standard cPanel hosting
- HostPapa – cPanel hosting with excellent support
- GoDaddy – best cPanel web hosting for small businesses
Not sure how to choose a good cPanel hosting provider? Jump right to the guide on what factors to take into consideration.
1. Hostinger
| Features | Free SSL, automatic backups, caching |
| Uptime | 100% |
| Speed | 511ms |
| Best for | Fast hosting with modern and functional control panel |
Hostinger cPanel hosting is dressed in a unique hPanel skin with the main aim to make the standard interface more user-friendly and functional. Not only that, but the provider is able to sell its services at dirt-cheap prices and still deliver competitive performance results.
Here’s why Hostinger is among the top cPanel hosting options:
- The provider uses hPanel, a more modern, intuitive, and functional version of the standard cPanel. It’s not just the provider’s branding on it but also the tools that further enhance hosting management. This includes global settings for WordPress, performance, and security, as well as access management tools. Advanced developers are not left out either and will find all the standard modules of cPanel.
- Alongside easy management, Hostinger also uses advanced technology to ensure fast and reliable performance. You’ll be able to choose among several server locations in Europe, Asia, and the US, as well as use LiteSpeed Web Servers with built-in caching.
- Hostinger is also known for its friendly 24/7 customer support available via live chat and tickets. While wait times do add up in busy periods, the agents are highly skilled in control panel tools and troubleshooting.
P.S. You can also choose Hostinger plans with standard cPanel interface. However, we highly recommend sticking to classic shared hosting.
Altogether, Hostinger is a huge player in the hosting industry, offering some of the most competitive services that combine great value with powerful servers.
Hostinger performance
I’ve monitored Hostinger performance for over 2 months to find out that it’s a highly reliable and powerful host.
Over the whole period, uptime stayed at the ideal 100%. Keep in mind, the guarantee covers 99.9%, and expecting a server to be 100% reliable over the long term is not logical. In any case, with the results like this, you can expect minimal downtimes over the years.
Response time was also stable, averaging at 511ms. The shared hosting market’s average is around 600ms, so Hostinger delivers better. Plus, the stability and minimal fluctuations show good results, too.
If you’d like to find out how fast the provider loads websites and how much traffic it can handle, check out our full Hostinger review.
Also, it’s good to know that setting up your account, you’ll be able to choose a server location. For shared hosting, USA, Singapore, Netherlands, and Lithuania are available.
All in all, Hostinger is among the most reliable and speediest web hosting providers you can find. Plus, you can target a global audience by choosing a server close to them.
Hostinger pricing
Hostinger is an affordable provider featuring 2 shared and 1 cloud hosting plans. The prices range from just $2.59 to $9.99 per month.
Plans include:
- Free SSL certificate
- Free custom domain
- 100 professional email accounts
- Weekly or daily automatic site backups
- Website transfer service
- Automatic app installation
- Fast LiteSpeed Web Server and integrated caching
The entry plan allows hosting just 1 site and does not feature a free domain. This means, the second plan (Premium) is a way better option – it allows up to 100 sites on 100GB storage and adds a free domain to the mix. Meanwhile, the Business increases storage to 200GB and adds daily backups together with Cloudflare CDN integration.
To get the most bang for your buck, choose Premium for $2.59/mo. At just a tiny bit more expensive than the entry plan, it provides >3 times more resources. Pick a 48-month billing period for the lowest price, too.
- Modern and functional control panel interface
- Performance-enhancing technology and data center choice
- The cheapest prices in the market, starting at $2.59/mo
- Support wait times can add up
- No free domain with the entry plan
2. Bluehost
| Features | Free SSL and domain, staging, CDN |
| Uptime | 99.99% |
| Speed | 361ms |
| Best for | Easy to use cPanel and functionalities |
Pairing cPanel with its native interface, Bluehost offers a powerful yet straightforward feature-packed management platform. Plus, the host also bats for the win by adding strong performance and cheap prices to the equation. One of the best WordPress-focused cPanel hosting around, Bluehost is great for both budget-hunting veterans and newbies.
So, what propelled Bluehost to the list of best cPanel hosting providers? Let’s take a look:
- A combo of Bluehost’s native interface and fully-functional cPanel for the best of both worlds. Its native interface is where you manage day-to-day stuff while cPanel is always ready to complement with advanced features.
- Modernized cPanel which has been slightly customized to match Bluehost’s branding. The revamped cPanel is really sleek and a fresher version of the classic, which makes it easier to navigate. But, all the features are still there and just as powerful.
- Bluehost is WordPress-oriented, so you get automatic setup for WordPress upon your first login, which simplifies and accelerates the process. Additionally, you can take advantage of WordPress staging. Meanwhile, cPanel still features all the 1-click installers one can think of.
Putting good user experience first by emphasizing ease of use, convenience, and control, Bluehost’s WordPress-focused cPanel hosting justified its spot in the list perfectly.
Bluehost performance
Bluehost appears to take performance very seriously, showing great reliability and speed.
It kept a 99.99% uptime for well over 2 months — quite a pleasant surprise since Bluehost doesn’t have an uptime guarantee.
As for speed, Bluehost also did a great job with an average response time of 361ms. There were some hikes and falls, but nothing too worrying, and it remained pretty consistent overall.
If you’d like to see all performance results, be sure to check out our full review.
Just bear in mind that Bluehost’s servers are all in the US, which likely will translate to a slower speed for audiences in other continents due to latency. This is where a content delivery network (CDN) will come in handy to counter the lags, which you can activate in 1-click straight from the dashboard.
With its reliable servers and stellar speed, Bluehost has one of the best performance results among the cPanel hosting providers out there.
Bluehost pricing
Bluehost has 4 shared cPanel hosting plans. The cheapest costs $2.95/mo and they go all the way up to $13.95/mo.
All 4 plans come with:
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free domain for a year
- Free SSL certificate
- Free CDN
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Google My Business
You’ll see some differences in terms of resources. For starters, the entry plan can host only 1 site while the more expensive ones can host an unlimited number of sites. Plus, the plans’ storage ranges from 50GB to unmetered.
The cPanel hosting subscription that cuts the best deal is the Plus plan. For only $5.45 per month, you can create an unlimited number of websites with unlimited storage. All of that is for $59.40 per year.
- Comes with both native interface and cPanel
- Automatic WordPress setup and staging environment
- Affordable plans starting at $2.95/mo
- No uptime guarantee
- CodeGuard and SiteLock are automatically added to the cart
3. HostGator
| Features | Unlimited resources, free domain, SSL, cPanel |
| Uptime | >99.99% |
| Speed | 525ms |
| Best for | Affordable cPanel Web Hosting |
For a no-fuss beginner-friendly cPanel web hosting, you want to head to HostGator. The provider has a bunch of measures in place to make hosting management much simpler and faster. Besides that, its cheap prices are definitely a plus as well.
Here’s what to know about HostGator’s cPanel hosting:
- Alongside the cPanel, HostGator also offers a native interface. This native interface has all the basics you need to run your site as well as main cPanel module shortcuts such as email, app installation, and domain management. This basically eliminates all complexity and makes it easy enough even for complete beginners to navigate.
- Meanwhile, the classic cPanel interface still houses all the functionalities that the control panel is popular for. This includes databases, file manager, domains, and more.
- Quick customer support with minimal waiting time. Plus, when I contacted their customer service, the agents were keen to help and get rid of my issues.
To put it briefly, HostGator’s cPanel hosting is all about making hosting management as easy, convenient, and accessible as possible. From its cPanel module shortcuts to its eager to help customer support team, HostGator lays all the groundwork to appeal to beginners and those looking for ease of use.
HostGator performance
For almost 3 months, I kept a close eye on HostGator to get a sense of its performance. The verdict? HostGator is remarkably reliable and rather fast, too.
During this period, HostGator sailed through my test with an excellent >99.99% uptime. There were only 3 outages that came up to 5 minutes of downtime. That far surpassed its uptime guarantee, which is at the industry-standard 99.9%.
Regarding speed results, its average response time still landed at a very solid 525ms. In case you were wondering, the market’s average is at 600ms.
You can check full HostGator testing in its review if you’d like to find more test results.
It’s worth noting that HostGator’s data centers are only in the US. Hence, it will perform best if your audiences are in the US, too.
As a whole, HostGator proves that it’s certainly no dud performance-wise with its amazing reliability and fast response times.
HostGator pricing
HostGator offers 3 cPanel shared hosting plans at very cheap prices. They cost only between $2.75/mo and $5.25/mo.
These plans all include:
- Unmetered bandwidth and storage
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain for a year
- Free email
- 1-click WordPress installation
- Free WordPress or cPanel website transfer
- Free website builder
As for differences, the cheapest plan can host only a single website while the others can host unlimited websites.
In any case, the best subscription to opt for is truly the Baby plan. At just $0.75 per month more than the entry-level plan, you can host unlimited websites.
- Comes with both native interface and cPanel
- Free domain, SSL, and email accounts included
- Very cheap shared hosting with cPanel plans
- No free pre-installed CDN
- Data centers only in the US
4. A2 Hosting
| Features | cPanel interface, LiteSpeed web server, server location choice |
| Uptime | >99.99% |
| Speed | 597ms |
| Best for | Websites that need a performance boost |
A2 Hosting is a speed-focused provider that offers plenty of performance-boosting features — especially for its subscribers to Turbo plans. Additionally, the provider pays close attention to security and offers a very classic cPanel hosting experience.
There’s a lot to be said about A2 Hosting. But, here are the highlights:
- Offers standard cPanel-only management. Here, A2 Hosting uses the default version of cPanel. While it’s slightly outdated in terms of looks, on the flip side, many would enjoy the classic and familiar appearance. In any case, all the robust functionalities that you’d expect from cPanel are very much still available.
- A2 Hosting is very generous with its speed-focused features, especially if you’re on one of its Turbo plans. You’ll get features like LiteSpeed web servers and cache, HTTP/3, A2 Optimized, and more. Plus, you can choose from 1 of its 4 server locations regardless of your plan.
- Strong security features, including Perpetual Security with free HackScan, Patchman, two-factor authentication, distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, and dual firewalls. Turbo plans also include automatic backups.
In a nutshell, A2 Hosting delivers a speed-focused and secure classic cPanel hosting experience.
A2 Hosting performance
A2 Hosting has a 99.9% uptime guarantee and it effortlessly bested this guarantee. During a 2-month testing, it maintained a near-perfect uptime of 99.99% with only 7 minutes of downtime.
Meanwhile, A2 Hosting’s average response time came up to 597ms. This result, which is a hair away from the market average of 600ms, is understandably slightly underwhelming since A2 Hosting emphasizes so much on its speed-focused features.
If you’re interested in seeing all of the A2 Hosting test results, check out our full review.
That said, it’s worth noting that the result is still far ahead of many other providers’ results. Plus, this is just the bare server. With some optimizations and a careful selection of your data center (from 4 options, including Michigan, Arizona, Amsterdam, or Singapore), your site should see much faster results.
Overall, A2 Hosting’s performance is definitely still one for the win column. It has excellent reliability, solid response times, and quite a few server locations.
A2 Hosting pricing
For cPanel shared hosting, A2 Hosting offers 4 contenders. They’re priced between $2.99/mo and $12.99/mo.
Regardless of the plan, you get:
- Unlimited transfer
- Free SSL certificate
- Free site migration
- Free unlimited email addresses
- A2 Optimized
- Perpetual Security with HackScan
- Patchman enhanced security tool
- Anycast DNS
- Cloning and staging
- DDoS protection
But, of course, there are also some differences. The cheapest plan can only host 1 website while the others can accommodate unlimited websites. Plus, the resources range from 100GB to unlimited for SSD storage and 1 to 4 CPUs.
To enjoy the full force of A2 Hosting, including its unlimited websites and storage, and numerous performance-enhancing features, you want to go for Turbo Boost. For a bigger slash in price, stretch it out to a 3-year subscription.
- Fast LiteSpeed web servers
- Heightened security
- 4 server locations
- No free domain
- Most speed-boosting features are limited to its premium plans
5. HostPapa
| Features | cPanel interface, free domain, free SSL certificate |
| Uptime | 100% |
| Speed | 1.19s |
| Best for | websites that need cPanel-only management |
With a standard cPanel and plenty of freebies to offer, such as a free domain with every plan, HostPapa is an extremely reliable hosting provider with lots of servers at hand. That’s what makes it a great solution for small business owners.
Let’s take a look at HostPapa’s key features that caught my eye:
- Standard cPanel-only management. HostPapa’s version looks exactly like the default version and the only exception is that it slaps its logo on it. Otherwise, you still have the same layout with all the necessary features and tools you need in order to run your site.
- If you’re a beginner or just curious, you’ll appreciate its free 30-minute 1-on-1 video training session. Here, HostPapa’s team will help you set up your website as well as answer any burning questions.
- All of HostPapa’s plans come with vast server resources and lots of freebies, including a free domain, SSL certificate, and email accounts.
In brief, HostPapa is proof that you can absolutely still get good quality cPanel hosting.
HostPapa performance
When it comes to performance, HostPapa is hit-or-miss. Its reliability is off the chart but its speed is less-than-impressive.
Monitored for weeks, HostPapa kept a 100% uptime with absolutely no downtime and outages. That’s incredible considering that the provider’s uptime guarantee is only at 99.9%.
As for response times, HostPapa could do with a boost. Its response times lingered above 1s before averaging out to a relatively-slow 1.19s. While the lag might not be discernible to most visitors, the response times could definitely be much better, considering that the market average is at 600ms.
For all of HostPapa’s performance tests, read our full review.
That said, I do see the response times showing signs of improvement towards the end. Hence, I’d be keeping a close eye on it.
Overall, HostPapa is rock solid when it comes to reliability with its 100% uptime. As for response times, the results aren’t mind-blowing but certainly no deal-breakers, either.
HostPapa pricing
HostPapa has 3 cPanel shared hosting plans to offer. They’ll set you back between $3.16/mo and $10.36/mo.
The trio all come with:
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free domain
- Free transfer assistance
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL
- Website builder
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- One-on-one training
But, no surprise, you’ll see some differences. For starters, the cheapest plan can host only one site and includes 100GB SSD storage, while the more expensive plans allow for unlimited websites and unlimited storage.
For the best cPanel hosting deal, I recommend the Business plan. For $3.16 per month, you get to create unlimited websites and have unmetered storage. On top of that, you get to enjoy advanced features, which include unlimited add-on domains and unlimited databases.
- Free domain for all plans
- Generous server resources even for entry plan
- 100% uptime result
- Long billing cycle to qualify for the best deal
- Server response time could be improved
6. GoDaddy
| Features | Free domain, unlimited bandwidth, PHP 8.0, cPanel |
| Uptime | 99.98% |
| Speed | 341ms |
| Best for | Small-to-medium business sites |
To appeal to busy small business owners, GoDaddy takes great pains to make cPanel hosting even more convenient and simpler than it already is. Not only are its setup and management processes remarkably beginner-friendly, but it also offers plenty of resources to guide its users. Additionally, GoDaddy ensures that its performance is solid.
Here’s what you can expect with GoDaddy:
- A cPanel-based management platform coupled with GoDaddy’s native dashboard. Once you login, you have to set up the native interface where you’ll be able to add your domain, choose a server location, and automatically install WordPress. All that in barely a few minutes.
- Free domain from the world’s biggest domain registrar. Plus, GoDaddy has a domain search tool and a domain name generator to help you find the right one for your site.
- In both its blog and knowledge base, GoDaddy has vast resources covering all-things hosting and business management. This is where you’ll find thousands of articles covering a multitude of topics. Everything from how to promote your business and productivity tips to a step-by-step guide on how to restore a website with a cPanel backup file.
Overall, GoDaddy knows its target customers well and pulls out all the stops to attract them with ease of use and plenty of help.
GoDaddy performance
Insanely fast and super reliable, GoDaddy’s performance is a tough act to follow. I observed the host for over 2 months and during this time, there were only 3 outages that came up to 16m of downtime. That’s a 99.98% uptime, which is very commendable and certainly better than the promised 99.9% in GoDaddy’s Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Not a one-hit wonder, GoDaddy also did extremely well when it comes to server response times. The provider mostly lingered between the 300ms - 400ms marks and eventually evened out to a very speedy 341ms.
We did other performance tests of GoDaddy, too. You can check them in our full review.
Plus, GoDaddy has data centers on 3 continents — North America, Europe, and Asia. So, with some careful picking on your part, your audience should be able to enjoy equally fast website loading wherever they’re based.
Blazingly fast and unwaveringly reliable, GoDaddy’s performance effortlessly earns an A+ from me.
GoDaddy pricing
GoDaddy has 3 plans for cPanel web hosting. The prices start from $1.99/mo and go up to $12.99/mo.
All 3 plans include:
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free Microsoft 365 Email for the first year
- Free domain for a year
- 1GB database storage
- 24/7 security monitoring and DDoS protection
- 1-click installers for applications
One distinct difference between the plans is that GoDaddy’s entry plan can only host 1 website. Meanwhile, the other 2 plans are free to host multiple websites.
The cheapest deal you can get is the Economy plan at $1.99/mo for 12 months. All you have to pay for a year of hosting is $23.88— not a bargain-basement price but still super affordable.
- Comes with both native interface and cPanel
- Free domain for all annual plans
- Server locations in 3 continents
- SSL certificate only included in the most expensive plans
- Renewal prices could be more affordable
Best cPanel hosting: final recommendations
There’s no denying that the search for the best cPanel web hosting provider is now a lot harder than it used to be. However, it isn’t impossible. You just have to know where to look. Or, which article to read!
So, here’s a quick recap of the best cPanel hosting providers mentioned above:
- Hostinger chooses to offer an enhanced cPanel hosting experience at cheap prices combined with top-tier performance.
- Bluehost combines the functional cPanel with its intuitive native interface for powerful yet easy-to-navigate hosting management.
- HostGator simplifies cPanel hosting to appeal to users looking for a no-nonsense approach.
- A2 Hosting offers performance-focused and feature-intensive hosting with cPanel.
- HostPapa is extremely reliable and stuffed its cPanel hosting packages with tons of resources and features.
- GoDaddy is fast, and beginner-friendly — making it ideal for small businesses in search of cPanel hosting.
How to choose cPanel web hosting?
There are quite a few things to consider when you’re shopping for cPanel web hosting. Included among them are pricing, performance, scalability, and more.
Pricing
Pricing-wise, there are many things to think over. For starters, you don’t want a provider that compromises on features and resources just to fit cPanel in its plans.
What you do want is a provider with reasonably-priced plans that still offer everything you need for cPanel hosting.
For instance, Hostinger is the cheapest feature-packed option, while shared hosting plans with cPanel from Bluehost start from just $2.95/mo. And, the plans are stuffed with freebies such as a domain for a year, an SSL certificate, and a CDN.
Type of cPanel hosting management
Next, consider if you prefer a cPanel-only platform or an integrated one.
Generally, more experienced users would appreciate a cPanel-only platform. There’s no need for a native interface or dashboard as all the features are available on cPanel. If that’s your case, A2 Hosting is what you’re looking for.
Meanwhile, beginners and those that want fuss-free management usually prefer a combination of a native interface and cPanel. The former is sufficient for basic day-to-day management while cPanel is only necessary when there’s a need for advanced features. Look for Bluehost and HostGator for such experience.
Hosting essentials
Make sure that all hosting essentials are included in your selected plan. This includes domain, SSL certificates, email accounts, and more. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself stretching your budget to fit in these must-haves. But, you won’t have to worry about this with Bluehost or HostGator, so give them a look.
Performance
2 essential metrics you want to keep in mind for performance are uptime and average response time.
For uptime, you want it to be as close to 100% possible to ensure that your site is always up and available for your visitors.
Meanwhile, you want to keep your average response time below 600ms — the industry average — for a better user experience. For example, Bluehost’s average response time turned out to be a phenomenal 361ms, while Hostinger scored a solid 511ms.
Scalability
Check if the provider offers options to scale — such as cloud, VPS, or dedicated servers — to accommodate your site’s growth. And, if it does, find out if cPanel is included in the plans or if it’s a paid add-on. You’d want to check out A2 Hosting for this as it has the most options to choose from, plus it offers a classic cPanel with its plans.
cPanel web hosting FAQs
Is cPanel hosting good?
Yes, cPanel hosting is good. It’s one of the most popular and commonly-used control panels. It comes with tons of tools and features — including advanced ones — to provide its users excellent control over the website.
Which web hosting uses cPanel?
Many web hosting solutions and providers use cPanel. Especially popular in shared hosting plans, you’ll find cPanel offered in multiple providers’ plans. This includes Bluehost, HostGator, A2 Hosting, HostPapa, and GoDaddy.
Is cPanel the same as hosting?
No, cPanel isn’t the same as hosting. cPanel is a control panel you use for the hosting management of your website. Meanwhile, hosting services offer the servers, resources, and features you need to publish your website onto the internet.
How can I get free cPanel hosting?
You can get free cPanel hosting from sites like InfinityFree. However, free hosting often comes with high-security risks, awful support, and unreliable performances. I’d recommend opting for a more affordable, good quality cPanel hosting provider instead.
Does GoDaddy have a cPanel?
Yes, GoDaddy has a cPanel for its shared hosting plans. It’s combined with the provider’s native interface and you can access it via your GoDaddy’s account dashboard.
What is Linux hosting with cPanel?
Linux hosting with cPanel is essentially cPanel shared hosting. The majority of shared hosting is based on servers running the Linux operating system and managed through cPanel interface.
What is the difference between cPanel and WordPress?
The difference between cPanel and WordPress is that the former is a control panel for website management, while WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that lets you publish content online.
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