NameHero vs. SiteGround - Why The Smaller Company Wins

NameHero is better than SiteGround.

There, I said it. Even though NameHero is a smaller company, they outperform SiteGround in nearly all aspects – especially in terms of the 3 things people want most: speed, support, and price. I have used both hosting companies (SiteGround for many years) and left them in 2018.

Backlinko found SiteGround had the slowest TTFB when compared against 18 hosts. They also pulled shady tactics to force people to upgrade, like taking down websites due to CPU limits, limiting number of websites on each plan (they have since reverted this), increasing prices, and hiding the support option in the dashboard. Since 2018, SiteGround has made many changes with the sole purpose to make profits, resulting in a lower quality service than they once were.

NameHero is smaller but has been growing. The LiteSpeed server + LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC.cloud CDN combo is much faster than SiteGround’s Google Cloud servers with SG Optimizer. NameHero uses cPanel which is more user-friendly than SiteGround Site Tools (IMO). NameHero’s support blows SiteGround out of the water and they don’t pull sketchy tactics to make you upgrade. And if you watch Ryan’s YouTube videos (CEO of NameHero), you can tell he’s a genuinely helpful person which shows through their support + TrustPilot reviews.

1. Speed

SiteGround has a slow TTFB.

They were the worst performer in Backlinko’s PageSpeed Test. Ever since they migrated to Google Cloud servers, their TTFB has gotten slower and there have been countless reports of this in Facebook Groups. SiteGround will defend this (as they defend all negative reviews about them), saying it’s not true. But I encourage you not to listen to them and other SiteGround affiliates, since the truth shows in independent tests like Backlinko’s and in Facebook Groups.

SiteGround has a slow TTFB (source: Backlinko)

I setup the same Astra Starter Site + Elementor on NameHero Turbo Cloud and SiteGround’s GrowBig plan. Both cost around $9/month. While SiteGround was slightly faster out of the box, NameHero had much better results when LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC.cloud CDN were configured (compared to SG Optimizer + Cloudflare).

NameHero GTmetrix Without LiteSpeed QUIC

Conclusion: regardless of GTmetrix scores, SiteGround’s TTFB and fully loaded time were much slower than NameHero’s.

2. Support

NameHero’s support is also better than SiteGround’s.

Over the years, SiteGround reduced their support costs by moving priority support from GrowBig to GoGeek, hiding the support button in their dashboard, and cutting people off completely from support. They even wrote a disclaimer limiting the scope of their support.

NameHero’s has some of the best support I’ve ever experienced with a host.

They’re right up there with Kinsta and WPX, but you don’t have to pay $30/month to get it. NameHero keeps a log of all their support feedback and publishes it on their website. You can get a hold of them via phone, live chat, or open a support ticket in the NameHero dashboard.

3. Pricing

SiteGround is more expensive because not only are their renewal prices slightly higher than NameHero’s, but they don’t offer a free domain name or complimentary website migration with any of their plans. You would need to purchase these on top of your hosting plan at SiteGround.

To their credit, both hosts use a solid cache plugin (LiteSpeed Cache on NameHero and SG Optimizer on SiteGround). Which means there’s no need to purchase WP Rocket when using these hosts, since those cache plugins have similar if not better performance than WP Rocket.

4. CPU Limits

CPU limits are a huge issue with SiteGround.

SiteGround enforces strict CPU limits and if you exceed them, they will take down your website until you add more resources (by upgrading plans). You can try to lower CPU usage, but in my case (and many other cases) there is nothing you can do to prevent these issues. I wrote the #1 ranked tutorial on reducing CPU in WordPress and still wasn’t able to solve it. Like many others, I came to the conclusion that no matter what you do, you will likely have to upgrade your plan.

5. Data Centers

Location of data centers has a big impact on TTFB.

NameHero’s data centers are primarily in the US (and one in the Netherlands) while SiteGround’s data centers are spread throughout the world. NameHero has also been building a state of the art data center in Kansas City with newer technology and is more green-friendly.

6. cPanel vs. Site Tools

I prefer NameHero with cPanel over SiteGround’s Site Tools.

SiteGround seemed to be in a rush to replace cPanel with SiteTool considering they released it just weeks after cPanel increased prices, but it had a lot of bugs to sort out. You really need to see for yourself on which one you prefer, and might be able to request a demo from each host.

7. LiteSpeed Cache vs SG Optimizer

NameHero uses LiteSpeed servers which means you’ll be using the LiteSpeed Cache plugin. It has a 4.5/5 star review on WordPress with 2+ million installs, while SG Optimizer has a 4.4/5 star review with 1+ million installs. Most complaints are about slow speeds or a broken website.

Both LiteSpeed Cache and SG Optimize use server-level caching and is faster than file-based caching done by WP Rocket and other plugins. Whichever host you use, use their cache plugin.

8. NameHero Offers A Free Migration

All NameHero plans include a free migration. SiteGround used to offer a free migration, but now migrations cost $30/site. They changed this the same time they were cutting other costs.

9. Unethical Decisions Made By SiteGround

SiteGround has been also making unethical choices:

SiteGround has threatened people who wrote bad reviews about them.
SiteGround has banned accounts that don’t bring them enough money.
Hristo/SiteGround don’t take responsibility when they lower the quality of service.
Hristo (SiteGround community manager) is an admin of the WordPress Speed Up Facebook Group and any negative things said about SiteGround are moderated by them.

I stopped endorsing SiteGround in 2019 once they made all these negative changes, which resulted in them banning my affiliate account and threatening me if I didn’t delete the content.

Their affiliate terms say::

“Upon termination of the Affiliate account, the Affiliate is obliged within 3 business days to remove all promotional materials, trademarks, links, logos and slogans of SiteGround from his web site.”

So basically as an affiliate, you spend all this time creating content about SiteGround, then they think they have the right to remove it from your website. Super shady!

10. SiteGround vs. NameHero In Facebook Groups

I recommend joining Facebook Groups like WordPress Hosting and WP Speed Matters to get unbiased opinions. Here’s a thread I found comparing NameHero vs. SiteGround vs. Cloudways.

11. Winner: NameHero

Between speed, support, and ethics, NameHero wins by a long shot.

SiteGround has grown too big and seems to be less focused on improving their service than profiting from customers. Please don’t support a company who makes unethical decisions. There are better, faster, and more ethical hosts out there. And NameHero is just one of them.

Cheers,
Tom

About Tom Dupuis

Tom Dupuis writes WordPress speed and SEO tutorials out of his apartment in Denver, Colorado. In his spare time, he plays Rocket League and watches murder documentaries. Read his bio to learn 50 random and disturbing things about him.

Keep reading the article at Tom Dupuis. The article was originally written by Tom Dupuis on 2021-09-20 20:02:03.

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