Unless you have been living under a rock ;-), LiteSpeed hosting technology is all the rage in affordable hosting that doesn’t completely suck.
Thats right, you can now get quality affordable web hosting on a budget, if the hosting is powered by LiteSpeed servers.
What Is LiteSpeed Hosting
All web hosting is powered by a “tech stack” and there are several common stacks that web hosting companies use.
- Apache
- LiteSpeed
- Nginx
Just about all web hosting platforms are going to use one of the above server technologies.
Apache is old school and should be avoided when looking for affordable web hosting. Most WordPress shared hosting plans are based on Apache, you know those really cheap plans but your website loads very slow.
LiteSpeed is a replacement for Apache but its much more high performance. If that wasn’t enough, they also include a comprehensive caching and performance plugin that works with their tech stack to make websites fly.
Nginx is the technology you will find on the most high-performance web hosting platforms such as SiteGround, WPEngine, Kinsta, etc. However, there have been many speed comparisons between LiteSpeed vs Nginx and they perform very similarly.
In my personal usage, LiteSpeed is easier to use for a non-techie and compatible with just about everything. Nginx can be a pain sometimes.
What Are The Best LiteSpeed Hosts
Even though LiteSpeed is fast, web hosting companies can still put too many customers on a single server making your website SLOW.
So there are certainly good LiteSpeed hosts and bad LiteSpeed hosts.
Here are my pick for the best LiteSpeed hosts (I’ll be keeping this list updated)
1. GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks offers multiple hosting options like WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, reseller web hosting, and virtual private servers.
It is designed for the fastest, most secure, and scalable hosting services such as SSD storage arrays, speed technologies, built-in scalability, advanced security, stable platform, and expert support.
Features
- Scalable hosting solutions including shared, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated server packages
- Resource-rich help center
- A wide range of customer support channels
- Reliable time up to 99.9%
- Free nightly backups
Pricing
GreenGeeks offers hosting services starting from $2.95 per month.
2. NameHero
NameHero is a responsive web hosting service that offers a fast website speed with easy to use platform and supreme reliability that scales. You can select from a number of hosting plans as per your suit and service requirements.
Name host boosts your search engine ranking, enhancing your reputation, and generating more revenue for your website.
The hosting offers affordable power, complete power, unmatched security, and supreme reliability. You can easily migrate your website for free with NameHero.
Features
- Offers four different plants
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- free Litespeed servers
- Cloudflare integration
- free SSL certificate
- Speed and Performance
Pricing
NameHero is available for you to host your website starting from $2.69 per month
3. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is optimized for increased speed and performance. Your website feels safe with enhanced features to protect you and your users.
The hosting offers simply managed server benefits and theme and plugin management tools with 99.9% uptime commitment and 24/7/365 in-house support.
You have the option to select from shared web hosting and managed WordPress.
Customizing your website is much easier as the hosting supports a number of page builders.
Features
- Free Daily Malware Scans
- Automated Spam Filtering
- Auto Setup – WordPress is pre-installed for you
- Fastest Hosting
- Free SSL Certificated
- Global Data Centers
- Pre Configured Speed and Security Settings
Pricing
A2 Hosting provides a hosting service for your website starting from $2.99 per month.
4. HostPapa
HostPapa is a Canadian company that offers a comprehensive range of hosting plans, perfect for businesses, personal websites and blogs. With a variety of hosting packages available, you’ll find the one that perfectly suits your needs.
From shared hosting and optimized WordPress, to VPS hosting and managed WordPress hosting, HostPapa caters to every type of customer.
Their premium shared hosting packages come packed with features like automatic website backups, as well as the Protection Power suite of security addons, making them perfect for small to medium-sized businesses and personal websites.
HostPapa retains pricing that is affordable for everyone – even on their premium plans. The more premium solutions offer unlimited bandwidth and storage and a free domain name for the first year.
They even give you a free SSL certificate. If you’re not a fan of WordPress, they’ve got you covered with their website builder– a feature that allows for easy website creation.
HostPapa’s customer service is second to none, with support available around-the-clock. Their knowledge base and blog sections are constantly updated, providing a wealth of information for both beginner and experienced users.
Features
- Affordable web hosting ideal for business and individuals
- 100GB disk space
- Scalable web hosting plans
- Free Standard SSL certificate
- Jetpack preinstalled
- Free WordPress migration
- Free domain registration
Pricing
HostPapa costs from $2.95 per month
5. ScalaHosting
ScalaHosting is a well-known web host that offers fast, secure managed virtual servers, WordPress hosting and other plans.
Virtual servers are equipped with an in-house control panel called SPanel. It includes all the tools you might need to manage your server and the websites hosted on it.
There’s also an interface that lets you easily change the web server technology powering your VPS. Apache is enabled by default, but you can switch to Nginx or LiteSpeed with a couple of clicks.
Features
- 3 managed data centers and 13 AWS locations
- NVMe or SSD storage
- Free website migration
- Industry-leading support response times on chat and tickets
- Daily backups stored in an offsite location
- An in-house SShield cybersecurity system
- Free SPanel control panel available on managed VPS plans
Pricing
ScalaHosting’s cheapest shared plan starts at $2.95 per month. Entry-level cloud VPS starts at $29.95 per month.
My Favorite LiteSpeed Host
After extensive testing of all these LiteSpeed hosting companies, I find the best performance from NameHero, but they are also one of the higher priced LiteSpeed hosts in the list.
Just signed up for a year of LiteSpeed NameHero hosting w your discount Adam! BIG UPS Now I’m w GoDaddy (VPS, Business Premier cPanel and a Managed WordPress 25 pack), SiteGround (3 GoGeek hosting packages w about 55 hosted clients), Hostinger (most of my WordPress demos are there) and NameHero ha
Hey Sterling, awesome choice. I will be working up a new tutorial on LSCache, the included caching plugin.
Hey! Thank you for this short and crispy blog about hosting.
Hello Adam:
We are hosting at wpengine for about 1150.00/yr. We are on Apache. With our budget and 5 websites could you recommend a better hosting plan? Using Word Press. We are not super techs.
Oh yea, you should look at Cloudways. Here is a tutorial on how to set up Cloudways the right way.
The reason I am recommending Cloudways is, well I personally use Cloudways on this site, but it’s going to be very cost-effective for you without compromising on performance. Also, they have many innovative features that make having a WordPress website so much easier.
Which hosting best shared or dedicated
Well those two options are vastly different in price and performance. It’s like comparing a Toyota to a Porsche. Sure you can compare, but it just wouldn’t be fair.
Thanks, Adam for taking the time and providing us with useful information.
Does anyone know if SiteGround has any plans to add LiteSpeed to its hosting plans? Thanks.
SiteGround has their own tech stack based on Nginx. It’s actually equivalent or better.