There are hundreds of web hosting services available in Australia.
I’s hard to find good web hosting Australia companies, as most services are based in the US and designs services mostly for American customers. Aussie users and companies may have a different set of needs to address.
Even if a web hosting company is hailed as being great elsewhere, don’t assume that the services provided would be the same locally. One major concern is the location of servers. Ideally, a good hosting company for Australia would have servers present in Australia. At least, there should be servers located in Singapore to ensure speedy services.
But how do you find the best web hosting company in Australia?
Don’t opt for supposed “international” services hosting companies provide. The hosting service should be able to respond to your phone inquiries in local time.
Web Hosting Australia – Here are the best web hosting providers for Aussies:
Company | Good For | Our Rating | More Info |
---|---|---|---|
Hostgator | Best all-round hosting | 4,7/5 | More Info |
Siteground | Best shared hosting | 4,6/5 | More Info |
Bluehost | Best for WordPress | 4,5/5 | More Info |
Hostwinds | Best cheap hosting | 4,5/5 | More Info |
GoDaddy | Cheap domain names | 4,2/5 | More Info |
InMotion | Best Joomla hosting | 4,2/5 | More Info |
iPage | Budget hosting | 4,1/5 | More Info |
WPWebHost | Good WP Hosting | 4,1/5 | More Info |
1&1 | OK Hosting | 3.8/5 | More Info |
Domain.com | Many Domains | 3/5 | More Info |
There are a few important questions Australians should ask themselves before choosing a hosting company. Don’t choose a service just because it’s well-known in America.
With uniquely local concerns in mind, here is a list of web hosting services highly suited for Australian businesses and individuals:
1. HostGator – Best Web Hosting in Australia
Hostgator is a well-known service among Australians. The brand is most popular for cheap shared web hosting. However, the company offers a variety of hosting plans that meet the needs of both business and personal clients.
You can get both Windows and Linux shared hosting plans from Hostgator. These plans vary in size and price but come recommended for small to medium-sized business.
The company’s shared hosting plans are cheap and can be purchased on a month-to-month payment basis. But keep in mind that Hostgator may ask clients to sign up for longer-term contracts. You may have to buy into a 6-month plan even for the most basic shared hosting plan. Some services come with 3-year contracts.
Obviously, new clients may prefer to pay on a strictly monthly service, at least to check out the service first. The low costs somewhat cancel out this downside. You can purchase a basic hosting plan—like the Hatchling plan—for as little as $11 a month. The most expensive shared hosting plans for businesses cost close to $20 a month.
In addition to their popular shared hosting plans, HostGator offers some of the best VPS, dedicated, and cloud-based hosting plans as well. You would need these “bulkier” plans as your website begins to grow and add more traffic.
HostGator only offers Linux-based VPS hosting. The price for the most basic VPS plan is close to $20 a month.
HostGator’s dedicated plans are not as cheap. You should expect to dish out about $120 month for one of these. Despite the disappointing dedicated plans, HostGator’s cloud-based plans are near perfect for Australian business needs.
All in all, HostGator is an excellent web hosting services that offers a diverse array of plans locals here can take advantage of.
Pros of HostGator:
- A variety of plans
- Affordable
- Excellent shared and cloud plans
- Suitable for both business and non-business needs
Cons of HostGator:
- May force you to sign long-term contracts
- VPS available for Linux-based systems only
- Dedicated plans are expensive
2. SiteGround – Has servers in Singapore
There’s a very obvious reason why SiteGround is one of the best web hosting companies for Australia: it’s speedy.
SiteGround has a data centre in Singapore, which ensures that Aussies get lightning-fast connections. Independent testing has shown that SiteGround speeds locally can ping as much as 90 ms. You won’t get speeds this fast with servers located in the US.
SiteGround worldwide speeds are even more impressive. Their international speeds have been shown to reach as high as 148 ms—a speed only cloud servers can usually reach.
Other than the amazing grades this host gets on speed tests, SiteGround is ranked as one of the best hosts for WordPress sites. WordPress, in fact, recommends SiteGroud as a hosting service.
SiteGround offers highly competitive prices for all their packages. Their shared hosting plans are some of the most affordable in the world. You will need to pay as little as $8 per month for a basic shared hosting plan.
Don’t assume the cheap hosting plans are subpar because of the price. The average SiteGround shared hosting plan comes with a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
Another highly desirable feature—boosted security for shared plans. SiteGround custom builds security for its servers so that users can be assured of data safety.
Plus, SiteGround offers excellent customer support—something that is becoming increasingly important in the hosting experience. It’s refreshing to see a hosting company actually do customer support right when many are falling behind in quality in this regard.
The company offers 24/7 customer support by phone or email. Australian companies can get through during local business hours and not worry about time zone differences.
SiteGround is hands down the best Australian web host if you have either a WordPress site or want a highly reliable shared hosting plan. The brand is genuinely an excellent choice for business and personal hosting needs in Australia.
Siteground Pros:
- Recommended for WordPress
- Best speeds in Australia
- Affordable shared plans
- Excellent 24/7 customer support
- Data centre close to Australia
Siteground Cons:
- Not a lot of variety in plans
3. Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the oldest web hosting companies around. The brand is practically synonymous with web hosting thanks to being in the forefront of the business for the last 15 years.
Bluehost has its fans and detractors. However, we can largely agree that Bluehost offers some of the most affordable shared hosting plans ever.
The brand’s budget-friendly plans are highly reliable and fast too. Bluehost offers built-in CDN with each account. That means that users can get a speed boost whenever they want to, directly from user control.
When most “unlimited” plans have gone away, Bluehost still offers a Plus hosting plan that comes with bandwidth and storage without a meter. It’s ideal for websites that keep growing in unexpected ways.
Though Bluehost plans are speedy, the worldwide speed for the brand is not as high as for HostGator or SiteGround. Still, the hosting company has an “A” ranking for speed. You can expect speeds in Australia to go above 180 ms.
The famous brand, unfortunately, doesn’t have any data centres located in the Asia-pacific region. Most of their centres are located in the US. Aussies won’t experience a major dip in speed because of this though. However, having at least one data centre close by would help improve reliability.
Bluehost is hands down the best brand for shared hosting packages for new website owners. The company offers excellent customer support, too. You will mostly get live chat support, which responds to requests in 5 minutes or less.
WordPress recommends Bluehost as a reliable hosting provider as well. Thanks to high uptimes, reliable speed, and affordable introductory prices, Bluehost is one of the best hosting providers for Australia.
Bluehost Pros:
- Affordable packages
- Reliable uptimes
- Good local speeds
- Live chat support
- WordPress recommended
Bluehost Cons:
- No data centres close to Australia
4. Hostwinds
Hostwinds is not a new name to the web hosting business. The brand was once low-key but is well-known now for raising its standards over time.
If you are looking for affordable and reliable shared hosting, Hostwinds may not be for you. This provider is best suited for dedicated, VPS, cloud and reseller hosting plans.
You may find Hostwinds overpriced if your website is still new and small. But if you have a thriving website with a lot of content, Hostwinds plans are worth looking over.
Hostwinds plans are mainly aimed at small to medium-sized businesses. Their basic plans are highly affordable, while advanced plans offer more features for higher prices.
The biggest strength and weakness of Hostwinds is that the provider offers highly attractive Linux-based plans. This is great for those using Linux operating systems, but Windows users may find the plans severely lacking.
These plans come with a ton of features. Even at the basic level, you can get unlimited storage, a dedicated IP address for free, and top-level security. The cheap plans only support hosting a single domain ad a time. But with Advanced plans, you can host multiple domains.
Hostwinds’ strongest plans are their VPS packages, which are available in as many as 10 versions. The company offers everything from budget to advanced SSD VPS plans. The most basic VPS plan starts at around $13 a month.
On an interesting note, Hostwinds offer Minecraft VPS hosting. This offers access to preconfigured servers to up to 10 people. This plan is excellent for private server gamers.
The provider offers reseller hosting plans that are as strong as their VPS offerings. You can expect reliable customer support and discounts for long-term payment plans. Overall, this is a great option for users looking for more than just shared hosting.
Hostwinds Pros:
- Excellent VPS and Reseller hosting plans
- Great for Linux-based systems
- Many features offered with packages
- Minecraft hosting available
- Great value for money
Hostwinds Cons:
- Not many Windows-based hosting options
5. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a famous web hosting brand. The company has been around for a long time and offers a variety of services. GoDaddy comes recommended for both personal and commercial hosting purposes.
Using GoDaddy even when newer hosting companies exist is advantageous because the provider has extensive infrastructure around the world to support its services. The company goes out of its way to ensure that all packages get unbeatable uptime rates.
If you buy a GoDaddy plan, you can count on the reliability and uptime levels to be close to 100%. GoDaddy offers these features for both Linux and Windows-based systems.
GoDaddy offers a number of shared hosting plans for smaller sites. However, you can only reap benefits worth your money if you sign up for long-term plans as opposed to per month payment plans. Don’t be surprised if GoDaddy makes you sign up for their expensive shared plans with annual contracts.
GoDaddy is a great choice for dedicated plans for both Linux and Windows-based systems. The dedicated plans are not exactly cheap. But for the pricier packages, you can get high levels of RAM and storage capacities, plus unlimited data transfer.
The provider’s dedicated hosting plans receive a lot of praise. But users should be aware that GoDaddy doesn’t offer email services with dedicated plans.
There is a separate set of email hosting packages offered by GoDaddy that are perfect for running marketing campaigns.
You can benefit from cPanel email services. However, GoDaddy has been panning these out in favour of Microsoft Office 365 hosting plans for businesses. Email hosting plans are affordable, but nothing truly unique.
The biggest weakness of this provider is a stunning lack of cloud hosting plans. If you start out with shared plans, don’t expect to upgrade to cloud hosting. Other than this, GoDaddy overall is still a reliable and speedy web host for Australian customers.
Godaddy Pros:
- Highly reliable plans
- Great for business needs
- Excellent dedicated plans
Godaddy Cons:
- No cloud hosting
- No email hosting with dedicated plans
6. InMotion
InMotion is not as famous as some of the other hosting brands mentioned in this list. Nevertheless, the company offers a diverse array of shared, dedicated, VPS, and WordPress hosting plans that Aussies can look into.
It’s easy to identify InMotion’s biggest strength right away: Linux-based hosting. Customers should know right away that the provider’s Windows-based hosting plans are highly limited. But for Linux, it’s like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
InMotion offers excellent shared hosting plans starting at highly budget-friendly prices. The pro-level shared hosting plans offer unlimited domain hosting, email, storage, and data transfers.
If it all sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. InMotion’s monthly price per plan is affordable, but you have to sign up for multi-month contracts. Their month-to-month payment offers are very limited and not advantageous to customers.
If you are looking for cloud hosting, InMotion is definitely not for you. The provider lacks cloud-based hosting but makes up for it with other types of plans.
InMotion’s VPS plans are a bit pricey. However, you do get top-notch storage and RAM capacity levels. The high-end plans include unlimited domain hosting, email, and MySQL databases. These features are superb for business needs.
The provider’s dedicated web hosting plans don’t leave much to be desired either. The dedicated plans are Linux based of course. The starting prices are slightly steep, but in return, you can get features like 64GB of RAM even for the most basic plans.
InMotion offers reliable WordPress hosting plans as well. The Linux-based servers are optimised for WordPress. There are perks like daily backup and free software updates.
Overall, InMotion is an excellent web host worth checking out, especially if you prefer to stay away from the big-name brands.
InMotion Pros:
- Great plans for Linux systems
- WordPress optimised hosting available
- Lots of features per plan
- Reliable speeds and uptimes
InMotion Cons:
- Limited monthly payment plans
- Not many Windows hosting options
- No cloud hosting
7. iPage
iPage is a relatively new small hosting provider. It may be quite obscure, but its plans can easily compete with the big name brands.
This provider is beloved by new website owners for the very generous shared hosting plans on offer. These shared hosting plans are feature-rich. However, don’t expect cheap, month-to-month hosting.
iPage offers multi-year payment plans even for their shared hosting packages. Payment plans can range from a year to three years. So if you don’t want to commit in the long term, iPage may not be for you.
The average monthly fee for the annual plans is quite cheap, similar to Bluehost. If you do commit in the long term, you can benefit from the good value.
One glaring weakness of iPage is a lack of Windows servers. They do have lots of Linux-based servers, however.
For websites with larger volumes of traffic, iPage offers budget-friendly VPS hosting plans. The basic VPS plan comes with 1 GB of RAM, 1TB of data transfer, and 40GB of storage. Not much in terms of specs, but the plan doesn’t cost over $25. You can get heftier specs with the more expensive VPS plans.
iPage packages, especially the reseller plans, come with 24/7 customer support, including tech support. Their customer support is highly responsive and helpful.
E-retailers can benefit greatly from the e-commercial features iPage offers. The provider offers special plugins and themes exclusively for e-commerce for those who need it.
iPage safeguards your email with malware monitoring. iPage’s email also supports the DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework (SPF) authentication technology for added security.
The built-in tools don’t stop there. All iPage packages are protected with SSL certificated and malware protection. However, you will have to pay extra for the security features.
iPage Pros:
- Linus friendly
- Long-term plans
- Plenty of built-in tools
- 24/7 customer and tech support
iPage Cons:
- Limited Windows hosting
- No monthly plans
- Security features cost extra
8. WPWebHost
If your website’s client base is situated almost exclusively in Australia, then WPWebhost could be an excellent choice for you. Unlike most other hosting providers, WPWebhost actually has a data centre in Sydney!
As a result, their speeds are lightning fast in Australia. Pings from Sydney can average at 177 ms, which is really impressive. Their worldwide average is 141 ms. Obviously, you probably won’t get a better deal than this if speed is the main concern.
While their speeds are great, the packages from WPWebhost are quite expensive. Even a basic package can cost close to $40.
Perhaps the reason for this is that WPWebhost is relatively new. The hosting provider is a local branch of Exabytes, a South East Asian hosting service.
If you don’t mind the price, WPWebhost offers some noteworthy perks. The company offers premium-grade managed WordPress hosting. These packages come with a host of awesome built-in tools like Nginx, HTTP2, and even SSD storage.
The typical WPWebhost package comes with 60 GB of storage. Plans offer multiple site hosting. You can use up to 5 domains per account.
The company offers 24/7 customer support. Their phone centre is based in Malaysia.
All in all, a $40 WPWebhost plan is decent enough to handle a website that receives around 30,000 visitors per month. It’s a refreshingly new service that is worth checking out.
WPWebHost Pros:
- Australian data centre
- Speedy pings overall
- Premium managed WordPress hosting offered
- 24/7 customer support
- Multiple domains allowed per account
WPWebHost Cons:
- Packages are expensive
- Phone support based in Malaysia
9. 1&1
1&1 may not be a famous brand name, but this company offers a solid selection of shared, dedicated, and VPS web hosting. This web host has several features that new users will like.
It should be said right away that 1&1 doesn’t offer reseller hosting plans. You would have to stick to shared, dedicated, or VPS hosting with this provider.
The 1&1 packages are geared towards facilitating quick and easy website design. That’s why newcomers would prefer this host.
Setting up a website with the provider is incredibly easy. The company offers a tool called MyWebsite that is specifically designed to make newbie users’ lives easier.
The provider’s shared plans are surprisingly affordable too. Shared hosting plans start at less than $10.
You will get a free domain name, 500 emails, 100 GB of storage, and 2 GB of RAM with the basic package. They have an Unlimited Pro plan that comes with 9 GB of RAM, a CDN, and a mobile website builder.
1&1 offers VPS and dedicated hosting for both Windows and Linux systems.
They offer a host of WordPress-specific packages for Windows and Linux servers. These packages offer more storage and data for WordPress sites at roughly the same price as basic shared plans.
Overall, 1&1 is well suited for new users. The company offers 24/7 customer and tech support with no additional fees that amateur users would benefit the most from.
There is one major downside though: the web host doesn’t guarantee uptimes. The uptime rate for this web host is slightly lower compared to other brands on this list.
However, that shouldn’t be an issue if you are not using a shared plan. Uptimes are reliable on shared and VPS plans.
1&1 Pros:
- Great for newcomers
- Affordable plans
- Reliable customer service
- Easy to build websites
1&1 Cons:
- Uptimes not reliable
10. Domain.com
Domain.com offers both Linux and Windows based web hosting. It’s not particularly well-known because this web host is best-suited for long-term payment plans.
Unlike Bluehost or HostGator, Domain.com doesn’t offer pay per month plans. You would have to buy their plans on a yearly basis.
Some web hosts offer discounts for signing up for yearly plans. Unfortunately, Domain.com doesn’t offer these either.
But if you are seeking a web host to stick with in the long run, this is definitely a web host to consider. The overall monthly costs for their annual plans are low when you sign up for a year or more.
Domain.com is a solid choice if you are looking to set up an e-commerce or an e-marketing website. The host offers their own email host optimised for marketing.
You don’t have to be a professional to build an e-commerce website with Domain.com either. The company offers accounts that include the drag-and-drop website builder, Weebly.
Domain.com offers an e-commerce plug-in called ShopSite for free. There’s an advanced version of the plugin for a fee.
This web host stands out due to the security features it offers as well. All counts come with SSL certificate support.
Domain.com additionally guarantees high-end uptimes. You can expect over 99.99% uptimes with this web host.
The company offers both live chat and 24/7 phone customer support. They are responsive and quick to answer questions.
There’s another downside: Domain.com doesn’t offer dedicated or cloud hosting plans. Otherwise, this is a great web host to consider.
Domain.com Pros:
- Excellent uptimes
- Website builder tools offered
- E-commerce plugins included with packages
- Supports SSL certificates
- Reliable customer support
Domain.com Cons:
- No dedicated or cloud hosting plans
- Not monthly payment plans
Questions Asked by Our Visitors
Are these all australian based web hosting companies?
No, most of these companies are not based in Australia, however some of them have servers in Australia or in a neighbouring country.
Which is the fastest web hosting in Australia?
According to our tests, Siteground seems to be the fastest.
Which is the most reliable web hosting in Australia?
All of the hosting providers mentioned on this page are reliable.
Which is the best Australian web hosting for small business?
For small businesses, we recommend Hostgator and Siteground.
The above are some of the best hosting providers for Australians. These companies have their own unique selling points, so you can choose a web host based on your needs.
When looking for a web host in Australia, pay attention to the following factors:
- Speed
- Uptime
- OS availability
Speed is crucial for websites, especially e-commerce websites. You can be assured of a speedy website if the web host has a data centre in or near Australia.
Any decent web host would offer an uptime guarantee. That refers to how likely your website is to stay online and not go offline due to traffic. Look for an uptime guarantee over 99%.
Operating system availability refers to supporting Windows and Linux-based systems. Not all web hosts offer support to both operating systems. Some are optimised for Linux, and vice versa.
If you have a Linux server, remember not to choose a Windows web hosting package. Pay attention to these details so that you end up with the best deal for your money.