HostDime Introduction

HostDime is a privately-owned and global hosting organisation that has a presence in various locations across North Americam South America, Europe and beyond. The company was founded in 2001 and can claim to host over 2 million domains around the world.

HostDime offers a wide range of services, from simple web hosting to managed VPS and dedicated servers. Like other global hosting companies, HostDime has different websites for different countries, so I will focus on the UK website for this review.

HostDime Hosting Plans

There are 3 shared hosting plans available through HostDime. These plans are all based on Linux operating systems and come with a 100 Mbps connection and unmetered bandwidth. The pricing structure is based on a monthly charge, but if customers sign up for a year, then the cost is reduced.
● The sHD1 plan provides 50 GB disk space and allows customers to host one domain.
● The sHD2 offers a step up from the sHD1 plan and comes with 100 GB disk space and allows up to 10 domains to be hosted.
● The top plan is the sHD3 plan, which provides 150 GB disk space and allows for unlimited domains. This plan also comes with a free SSL certificate and a dedicated IP address.

HostDime also offer 3 Linux hosting reseller plans. Each plan allows for unlimited domains and provides a 100 Mbps connection. The three plans allow customers to choose from 200 GB disk space and 2,000 GB bandwidth, 500 GB disk space and 5,000 GB bandwidth or 1,000 GB disk space and 10,000 GB bandwidth.

HostDime provide a managed VPS hosting service and customers can choose from Linux or Windows operating systems. There are 3 Linux VPS hosting plans, each providing a 1,000 Mbps connection and 2 dedicated IP addresses.
● The VPS.1 plan comes with 30 GB disk space, 1,000 GB monthly bandwidth and 1024 MB RAM.
● The next step up is the VPS.2 plan which comes with 50 GB disk space, 1,500 GB bandwidth and 2048 MB RAM.
● The VPS.3 plan offers 70 GB disk space, 2,000 GB bandwidth and 4096 MB RAM.

There are 3 Windows VPS hosting plans to choose from.
● The wVPS.1 plan offers 15 GB disk space, 1,000 GB monthly bandwidth, 512 MB RAM and comes with 1 dedicated IP address.
● The wVPS.2 plan provides 25 GB disk space, 2,000 GB bandwidth and 1024 MB RAM. This plan comes with 2 dedicated IP addresses.
● The top Windows VPS plan is the wVPS.3, which comes with 35 GB disk space, 3,000 GB bandwidth, 2048 MB RAM and 2 dedicated IP addresses.

Dedicated hosting is one of HostDime’s speciality areas and it offers a broad range of options to choose from. There are five plans available, based on the processor in the server. Each dedicated server is fully managed by HostDime and IPMI is included.
● A server with an Intel Atom D525 dual core 1.8 GHz processor comes with 2 GB RAM, 500 GB disk space and 5 TB bandwidth.
● A server with an Intel Core i3-2120 dual core 3.3 GHz processor is built with 4 GB RAM, 500 GB disk space and 5 TB bandwidth.
● Servers based on the Intel Xeon E3-1230 quad core 3.2 GHz processor have 8 GB RAM, 500 GB disk space and 10 TB bandwidth.
● Servers with 2 quad core Xeon E5520 2.26 GHz processors come with 12 GB RAM, 1 TB disk space and 20 TB bandwidth.
● Servers with 2 hexa core Xeon E5645 2.45 GHz processors are built with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB disk space. This plan allows for 30 TB bandwidth.

HostDime also offer a range of add ons for their hosting plans. These include SSL certificates, domain registration tools, merchant accounts and a site builder.

HostDime Uptime/Downtime

Shared hosting with HostDime comes with an SLA which includes an uptime guarantee. This means that should uptime fall below 99.9% in any given month, HostDime will credit the customer’s account. Compensation starts with a credit worth 10% of the customer’s monthly fee where uptime falls between 95% - 99.9% uptime. The credit goes up to 25% for 90% - 94.9% uptime and 100% if uptime falls below 89.9%.

HostDime owns its own data centres which are located around the world. Its UK data centre is based in Kent and is manned at all times by security staff. The data centre utilises UPS and diesel backup power systems and is monitored by their own on-site technicians to keep the systems available for the maximum possible time.
HostDime Support

HostDime customers have a wide range of support options open to them. This includes guides, manuals, FAQs and video tutorials. Customers also have access to a blog, server status page and forums, allowing them to access news and community support. When it comes to technical support, there is an email address, live chat and phone line. The technical teams are available at all times.

There is also a HostDime Twitter account and a Facebook page. These are both active, and the company takes the time to interact with its customers through both channels.

HostDime in the News

Despite being a large global hosting organisation, HostDime have attracted little attention, good or bad, in any of the well-known tech news sites I checked.
HostDime Control Panel

HostDime offers familiar, branded control panels for all customers. Shared hosting accounts on Linux have cPanel. VPS hosting and resellers also get WHM. Windows based VP hosting comes with Plesk.

HostDime Extras

Aside from the plans that come with dedicated IPs and SSL certificates, HostDime also provides two one-click application installers, Softaculous and Fantastico. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Zen Cart, PHP and more well-known applications are supported. Other freebies include a site builder and analytics tools.

HostDime Money Back Guarantee / Cancellation Policy

Although there is no money-back guarantee advertised with HostDime’s hosting plans, there is a 90 day satisfaction guarantee. This is slightly different from most money-back guarantees. Whilst it offers a full refund in theory, customers have to provide a reason why they are cancelling their account - HostDime will decide if you qualify for a refund, based on whether they have taken all possible steps to correct the situation that has prompted you to cancel.
HostDime Summary

HostDime has the appearance of a very professional hosting company with a wide range of services, support and guarantees to back them as a solid choice for business. That cancellation policy is a bit sneaky, as it effectively rules out the ‘guarantee’ part of any refunds by asking the customer to qualify their reason for cancelling. However, it does show that the company wants to ensure that its support have done everything possible to meet the customer’s needs.

HostDime will appeal to large organisations. As you can see from this review, its top-end plans are very detailed and there are no shortage of configuration options to choose from. However, if you are looking for a basic low cost plan, you may be better looking elsewhere for more resources.