Venmo is appealing for many users who need to make payments due to its quick and easy appeal, though it’s not a money transfer service per se. While most services that allow you to send or receive cash don't involve too much in the way of legwork, Venmo has pulled in a lot of users who like its simplicity and social edge. Central to the process of sending money is its excellent app.
The service has undergone numerous improvements of late, such as offering CVS shoppers Venmo QR codes to pay for their goods at the checkout. The PayPal-owned payments app is also set to allow users to sell products and services using their personal accounts, albeit for a fee.
As a result, Venmo comes with plenty of the latest features that make it a great digital wallet-style accompaniment to have on your phone, allowing you to pay for purchases on the go. In addition, there’s the social aspect of Venmo that has been integrated into the service, with the ability for users to share updates about their purchases to contacts. If you frequently spend money as part of a group of friends, for example, Venmo is ideal.
Similar products worthy of investigation include WorldRemit, Azimo, Western Union, PayPal and Zelle.
The Venmo app offers convenience and a social edge too (Image credit: Venmo)
Pricing
Costs to use Venmo have been kept simple and straightforward, with no monthly or annual fee to worry about. If you’re going to be paying using a credit card to carry out the transaction then expect a 3% fee. Another potential cost is the 1% charge that comes from moving money out of your Venmo account and into a bank account if you don't want to wait for its regular one to three day schedule. Other than that though, Venmo delivers a plain and simple payment option.
Venmo has no contract and very little admin to navigate through (Image credit: Venmo)
Features
While Venmo is owned by PayPal they’re both quite different, with the former being a much more practical day-to-day solution for many more minor purchases. PayPal is obviously handy too, but it’s often used for bigger payments or transfers. Venmo is billed as offering ‘fast, safe, social payments’ and that’s really the appeal of the app summed up right there.
Wherever you and your phone goes you can tap into Venmo’s handy payment toolbox to pay for things, shop with ease and also send money to family or friends. Different settings allow you to change who can see your activity too, including Public, Friends and Private, which is useful if you have a small circle of people who perhaps all contribute to bills and need to be kept in the loop.
Students, for example, who maybe share accomodation will find Venmo useful for paying into utility bills and suchlike. Venmo has that strong built-in social aspect too, making it similarly appealing for those of us who are constantly connected. Better still is its use of QR codes to help you make payments faster and to the right person.
You can use Venmo in several different ways to pay and shop (Image credit: Venmo)
Performance
You’ll find that using Venmo in its app incarnation, either for iOS or Android will perform as expected. Having the substantial clout of parent company PayPal obviously means it’s been well engineered. You can also use the service via a web browser, so all in all Venmo can be called upon in a variety of different environments from home, work, hotels or on the move.
Venmo actually seems to work better the more social you are with it. For example, if you connect with your friends who also use it through Facebook you get the benefit of being able to spend more money.
Venmo can also be used to pay bills from businesses in an instant (Image credit: Venmo)
Ease of use
You certainly can't fault Venmo for its instantly appealing ease of use. Simply install the app, get yourself registered and away you go. You can sign up using your Facebook account if preferred. Otherwise, it’s just a case of filling in the usual kind of details, such as name, email, mobile number and you’ll need a password.
Central to the way Venmo works is to have a bank account connected to your profile, and Venmo helps you navigate this admittedly straightforward step with ease. Debit card or bank account details will need to be input, or you can add a credit card.
Paying for things, paying someone else or indeed asking for money from an acquaintance is fuss-free with a tap of the Pay or Request buttons. A couple of steps and you’re sorted. Even if you're not friends with someone on Facebook you can use Venom Codes to pay them if they’re with you in the flesh.
You also get plenty of help options from the Venmo support hub (Image credit: Venmo)
Support
There’s an extensive help hub online to get you through most if not all of the aspects of Venmo, with similar assistance at hand if mobile is your preferred route. It’s possible to contact support via email, using the app or via forms on the Venmo website. Adding to the social aspect of the Venmo experience is the option for chatting with staff between Monday to Friday from 7am-1am EST and Saturdays and Sundays from 9am-11pm EST.
Final verdict
Venmo has heaps of benefits, especially for people who are well-versed in using their phones for all kinds of transactions. The app has been nicely put together and offers speedy payments in all kinds of scenarios. Venmo will be perfect for many who need to pay for a coffee on the go, or settle up with a family member or friends.
The service is less useful if you’re looking to making international transfers or payments as it can't currently be used for that. Users should also keep a keen eye on security settings. If you're not on top of Venmo’s privacy options you might have more on show to world than you realize.
That said, Venmo does have the benefit of PayPal’s security technology and systems behind it. All in all then, there’s lots to like about Venmo, especially if you have a close-knit group of friends who also have the app and tend to share a lot of costs when you socialize.
With the best POS system, business owners can transform existing devices, such as smartphones and tablets, into advanced transaction management systems.
Payments can be accepted in seconds, and usually you get the benefit of built-in features like inventory management, transaction history, analytics, and other integrations.
Canadian brand, Helcim POS, is one of the world’s more popular POS systems, styling itself as a "point of sale system for small retail businesses".
In our Helcim POS review, we take a close look at how useful Helcim's POS offering is for SMBs. We provide information about everything from the platform’s prices to its main features to help you decide whether it’s the best option for your business.
Helcim POS: Plans and pricing
Firstly, it’s important to note that Helcim charges no monthly fees. But you will have to pay $199 per unit if you need to use a Helcim card reader, and you will be charged transaction fees on top of this.
Helcim POS uses a model that’s quite common among POS software providers. It takes the payment processing fee charged by major credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard and adds a small margin that represents its profits.
The exact fees that you pay will vary according to your customer makeup and the fees charged by the various credit card companies.
You can expect to pay anything from 1.5% + 8¢ to 3% + 8¢ on every retail transaction. Helcim takes 0.3% + 8¢ on retail payments, but this increases to 0.5% + 25¢ on online and manually keyed transactions.
Helcim’s fees are quite complicated (Image credit: Helcim POS)
Helcim POS: Features
If you do decide to use Helcim, you will benefit from an impressive range of tools that go above and beyond simply enabling you to accept payments. Indeed, the company recently added new easy-to-deploy QR codes, as well as contactless and self-service checkout options.
Inventory management
The inventory management tools are excellent. They are designed to help you keep track of every item in your catalog. Discover which products are selling best, set up automatic alerts for low inventory levels, and ensure that your store runs smoothly at all times.
Analytics, Reporting & Insight
You will also benefit from the analytics tools, which present data that you will be able to use to make informed decisions about your business. This includes in-depth reports about sales trends, best-selling items and combinations of items, and transaction sizes.
Fraud Prevention
To protect your business against transaction risks, Helcim POS comes ready with a Fraud Defender. Fraud Defender stops transactions from questionable accounts by checking for suspicious payment activity. As of February 2021, Helcim have automated this feature for all Helcim POS users.
Employee Management
We were impressed by Helcim’s employee management portal, which enables you to create and manage employee profiles and permissions. With this, you can allocate different employees’ different responsibilities, ensuring that people only access the parts of your system that they need to.
Helcim boasts a great range of integrated features (Image credit: Helcim POS)
Helcim POS: Interface and in use
Getting started with Helcim is quite a drawn-out process.
Although there are no initial sign-up fees, you will have to enter many personal and business details, including your operating name, business registration type, tax ID number, and information about your transactions or expected transactions.
Similarly, you can expect to spend some time setting up your Helcim account. You will need to connect bank accounts and payment equipment, create employee profiles, and configure business settings before you can start processing transactions.
Fortunately, the user interface is quite intuitive. Virtually everything that you will need can be accessed via the menu to the left of the screen. Initially, you will also benefit from a few valuable tips to help you get started.
The Helcim interface is neat and tidy (Image credit: Helcim POS)
Helcim POS: Support
For starters, Helcim POS system has an excellent Support Center containing information about virtually everything that you will need to know.
Discover new resources by browsing the cleverly designed categories, or simply use the search bar to find exactly what you want with the click of a button.
On the live support front, things are also positive. All users can send an email inquiry or speak with a Helcim Guru via a US toll-free phone number.
The Helcim Support Center is excellent (Image credit: Helcim POS)
Helcim POS: Security
As a reliable POS service provider with years of experience, Helcim naturally has great security across the board. All users are protected by powerful firewalls that include both intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems.
Ongoing server monitoring is used at all times, and suspicious activity is dealt with immediately. On top of this, all data is backed up to external servers, effectively eliminating the risk of customers losing important information.
User data is also protected by 256-bit AES encryption, which ensures that the data is secure both during transmission and while at rest on Helcim’s servers.
This enables the company to boast Level 1 PCI-DSS compliance, the industry standard for companies working with sensitive payment and personal information.
Helcim boasts excellent security across the board (Image credit: Helcim POS)
Helcim POS: business customisation
Helcim POS is built for small businesses across multiple industries. In fact, they claim to process "billions in transactions every year for thousands of merchants across 800 industries." They also list specific POS information for the following industries:
For true customisation, Helcim's Developer API is ideal. Their full payment gateway API lets you add payments to your app or online store and easily pull out the customer data that's most relevant to you. Developers have over 80 API actions to choose from to help create a truly custom POS experience for your business.
As with most modern POS providers, Helcim POS also works across devices. It is Mac and Windows compatible. So, your customers can easily pay for your services whether you are using the Helcim app on desktop, mobile or tablet.
If you business has multiple locations, you might even wish to use all three at once! Thankfully, Helcim POS can handle that, and will sync all your payment data through the cloud. Naturally, this also allows you payment flexibility for mobile and pop-up sales events too.
The competition
If you’re looking for a low-fee POS service provider for your retail business, Helcim POS is a great option. However, its ecommerce fees are a little high.
For businesses that mainly sell online, we recommend using Square ecommerce. The majority of transactions will come with a 2.6% + 10¢ fee, which is up there with the best in the market. Additionally, Square POS is an extremely popular and trusted option.
Lightspeed POS is another popular choice, particularly among those looking for an all-in-one business management system. It enables you to use iPads to receive payments, boasts cloud-based data management, and comes with extra analytics, loyalty programs, and other tools.
Final verdict
You might not see Helcim at the top of the most popular POS system lists that often, but it’s a great platform that’s comparable to the major industry leaders nonetheless.
It boasts a suite of tools to help you accept payments and manage your business, has competitive credit card processing rates, and is backed by excellent customer service.
On top of this, the user interface is versatile and powerful yet intuitive and easy to use. All things considered, you would do well to use Helcim for your business, especially if you mainly process retail sales.
If you’re looking for the best POS system for your business, you might have heard of Adyen POS, a Dutch company that provides payment processing services for companies like Microsoft, Uber, and Spotify.
In this Adyen POS review, you’ll find information about its pricing, features, interface, support, and security to help you decide if Adyen POS is the payment processing solution for your needs.
Adyen POS: Plans and pricing
Adyen does not charge monthly, setup, integration, or closure fees. Instead, you’ll be charged a processing fee ($0.12) plus a payment method fee per transaction. Payment method fees vary.
For example, Adyen charges fees for Mastercard and Visa according to an Interchange ++ model: a combination of the interchange fee charged by the bank, the fee from the card network, and the applicable acquirer markup.
Other payment methods such as Alipay and ACH Direct Debit see a flat fee of 3% and $0.25 per transaction respectively.
You can find a full breakdown of Adyen’s pricing on its website. Do note that with Adyen, you’ll require a minimum invoice of $120 per month, depending on transaction volume and region.
Adyen POS pricing model is rather complicated (Image credit: Adyen)
Adyen POS: Features
Adyen offers a wide range of features that business owners will find useful. Like many POS providers, they integrate in-store, online, and app-based transactions in an all-encompassing system.
Merchants can process all kinds of payments in multiple ways without the hassle of dealing with different processors for a point of sale, payment gateway, or mobile payment.
Local & Global payments
Adyen are well known for their ability to deliver a localized version of global merchant processing. International merchants can accept payments and process them locally as well as globally.
With this flexibility, you can avoid several costs of operating an international business, such as cross-border card network and interchange fees and bank surcharges. Also, you don't need to juggle between multiple vendors for different global payment types.
Plugins
Adyen offers a range of plugins for leading technology solutions to give your shoppers the best checkout experience. In addition to in-house plugins built and maintained by Adyen, you’ll find plugins like Shopify, WooCommerce, Spryker, and more that Adyen has created with its partners.
The plugins are easy to integrate and come with Adyen’s payment platform functionality delivered out of the box.
POS Reporting & Insights
Adyen’s all-in-one payment solution stores your client’s information and complete transaction history within a single system to allow for a seamless customer experience. More than that, with a dedicated Customer Area, you’ll be able to unlock powerful shopper insights that will help grow your business.
Customer Area gives you a full view of a series of charts that document each step of the payment flow. At a glance, you’ll see how many payments come in, how many are authorized, and how many are finally settled. Business owners can identify potential areas for improvement and take action where necessary.
Adyen offers a range of plugins for leading technology solutions to give your shoppers the best checkout experience (Image credit: Adyen)
Adyen POS: Interface, set-up and in use
Getting started with Adyen is an easy but long process. You'll have to:
1. Create an account
2. Speak to Adyen's team for tailored advice and an assessment of your business
3. Request to start processing payments
...and only then can you sign a contract, before you can go live.
After you sign up, however, Adyen's ease of use shines. Its simple API allows you to initiate payments from web browsers, mobile devices, and POS systems.
On the backend, Adyen's helpful dashboard navigates to all the essentials that you'll need. You can view performance, terminal fleet management, and reporting in one clean and intuitive interface.
Adyen’s dashboard offers you essential information at a glance (Image credit: Adyen)
Adyen POS: Support
Adyen’s user support team is top-notch and contactable via email or phone. You can find a long list of worldwide offices and phone numbers on Adyen’s contact page, and all lines are available 24/7.
Alternatively, you can fill up a support ticket on the site and get a solution within eight hours. Adyen’s website also features multiple Adyen POS resources, links, and an FAQ section that are useful for troubleshooting.
Adyen is also known to be active on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. You can comment on its posts to get instant replies and support.
Adyen offers comprehensive and top-notch customer support (Image credit: Adyen)
Adyen POS: Security
Adyen is fully PCI DSS 3.2 compliant as a Level 1 Service Provider, which is the key security standard within the payments industry.
All users benefit from Adyen RevenueProtect, a risk management feature that protects your business against fraud.
It comes with a range of powerful built-in risk tools including 3D Secure authentication, real-time machine learning, specialized device finger-printing, and automated chargeback defence.
You’ll also be able to customize your risk settings by adding or creating risk rules and block lists.
RevenueProtect, Adyen’s risk management feature, comes with a range of powerful built-in risk tools (Image credit: Adyen)
The competition
Competition is stiff in the POS system market. For one, users who prioritize flexibility and customization will find Lightspeed POS’s bespoke solution attractive.
A basic plan ($69/month) comes with different features and options that can be added as needed.
Furthermore, Adyen’s complicated pricing model can make cost determination a challenging process. Users who prefer simpler pricing models often go for platforms such as Square POS ecommerce, where transactions come with a straightforward 2.6% + $0.10 fee.
Adyen POS: final verdict
With its simple interface, comprehensive support and security, and useful features, Adyen is easy to recommend. Some users, however, may find its pricing model complicated. Additionally, low-volume merchants may find it a challenge to hit the minimum monthly invoice of $120.
Beyond that, the all-in-one payment solution with global merchant processing is perfect for business owners who'd like to avoid a whole host of operating costs and the hassle of managing multiple processors.
Square is a long-established provider of card payment services, including a raft of point of sale units, that allows business of all kinds and sizes too, to boost their turnover. Square has since gone on to introduce a range of mobile services, with its mobile card reader proving to be hugely popular with business owners on both sides of the Atlantic, especially during the coronavirus crisis.
You’ll need to sign up for an account with them, but once you’ve got that and one of their card readers you’ll be able to process transactions from all over the place, and for a reasonably small transaction fee too.
Square Reader comes in different versions depending on where you're based (Image credit: Square)
Pricing
Square has a mobile card reader to suit business owners on both sides of the pond, with an American edition that is currently free when you sign up for the service. And, as Square points out, that comes with the benefit of clear pricing and fast transfers, with 2.6%+ 10¢ charged per swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express payments.
If you want a Square card reader for contactless and chip cards and for Apple and Google Pay, you’ll need the $49 version however. You’ll then receive the processed payments as fast as the next business day.
Meanwhile, you can currently get the Square reader for £19 in the UK, which once you have it configured will carry out payment processing for chip and PIN cards, plus contactless too with a fixed flat rate fee of £1.75%.
The larger edition lets credit cards be inserted into the body of the unit (Image credit: Square)
Features
In the States the Square reader comes in two editions, one with a headset jack and the other with a Lightning connector, which means it’ll work with iOS or Android and can also be connected to an Apple computer or Chromebook. There’s no battery to worry about either, making it even more useful.
The UK’s Square reader is a simple but effective hardware device that features a lightweight, compact and unobtrusive design that arrives complete with a microUSB cable for charging purposes. It’s compatible with Apple devices running iOS 10.0 or greater, though won't work with the iPad 2 or 3. It is compatible, however, with Android 5.0 devices and upwards.
The Square reader will process payment types including chip and PIN or EMV cards, contactless or NFC cards, magnetic stripe cards and will also process Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay transactions. Connectivity is done via wireless and it’s pretty straightforward to configure.
The smaller edition in the USA can be plugged into a smartphone (Image credit: Square)
Performance
As pointed out in the previous paragraph, Square’s card reader is a well-designed piece of hardware that has a proven track record. There’s not an awful lot to it, and so theoretically not much to go wrong either.
Considering its small size the Square reader is still pretty versatile, with in the larger edition a slot for chip and PIN cards to be inserted into the card reader for a physical transaction. At the same time it works ell enough for contactless transactions too, with customers only needing to hold their card close to the unit in order to process a payment.
The same can be said for the likes of Apple Pay, Google Pay and other contactless payment options that are available for smartphones and smart watches.
Smart Reader accepts most common credit cards for convenience (Image credit: Square)
Ease of use
Square is one of the simpler to use card readers and is also very intuitive, once you’ve got yourself registered with the company that is. You might already have an account with Square if you run a business that uses its products and services in a more permanent location.
However, the bonus of mobile card readers as opposed to fixed location point of sale machines, is that they deliver additional freedom. Being able to turn up at things like events, markets or pop-up fairs means that you instantly gain the ability to boost your business. And, once you're there, this device accepts all major cards, plus there’s the appeal of that fixed transaction charge. It’s a doddle basically.
Support
Square has been running for long enough now to know how to handle customers successfully. Therefore, starting with its website, you’ll find plenty of assistance should you need it when using the Square card reader. First time users should find getting set up relatively uneventful, but there are plenty of online options to use should you have basic questions.
Boosting the support angle is the way you can also get in touch with Square representatives in order to deal with more complicated issues. In addition, once you’re signed up with Square and have logged in you’ll receive expedited support, which should get to the bottom of your queries sooner rather than later.
The smaller edition works using power from your mobile device (Image credit: Square)
Final verdict
Whichever version you select, Square Reader is a natty little unit that does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a nicely put together device that boasts a decent size battery (on the larger unit), which subsequently allows you to use it all day long before a recharge.
Alongside its practical styling and performance we’re also smitten with its one price chip and PIN or contactless price of £1.75% per transaction in the UK or 2.6%+ 10¢ in the USA.
Add on the convenience of Apple Pay, Google Pay and other contactless options and you’ve got a fully featured gadget that has the capacity to boost your business. If you’re already with Square then it’s the ideal compliment to any static POS units you might possess, delivering portability whenever, and indeed, wherever you might happen to be.
FreshBooks is a one-stop, cloud-based accounting software package that for a relatively small outlay can provide you with an easy-to-use package that ticks most boxes, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. Within its browser-based design you’ll find a whole host of options that cover any and all aspects of running a business. It doesn't matter if you're a lone freelancer or someone who’s growing a business and employing staff.
FreshBooks is a doddle to use, has the capacity to expand with your business needs and, thankfully, keeps those stress levels low as you build up your accounting profile. New features for this year include advanced search, the ability to download your own statements, Dropbox connectivity, new keyboard shortcuts and much more.
FreshBooks is easily configured using a step-by-step series of user-friendly windows (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Pricing
FreshBooks comes with a selection of package and payment options that should provide a solution for most. For the self-employed there’s a no-messing $19 per month Lite package (currently available for $7.60) that allows for 5 billable clients.
Next up, the Plus edition is $33.00 (currently available for $13.20 per month), which is aimed at small businesses and has the capacity for 50 billable clients.
Premium, meanwhile, has potential for business that are expanding and costs $60.00 per month (currently available for $24.00 per month) with a 500 billable client capacity.
Any requirements over and above this selection and you’re best advised to contact FreshBooks for a custom deal. FreshBooks also gets a thumbs up for its try-free option, which lets you explore the package and cancel within 30 days if it’s not right for your needs.
Initial setup takes mere moments thanks to a very straightforward cloud-based design (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Features
FreshBooks comes with an impressive array of features no matter which of the package options you adopt. Even the Lite edition sparkles with the capacity for unlimited and customizable invoices, unlimited expense entries, the ability to accept credit card payments online and ACH bank transfers too.
Naturally, the beefier the package the more features you get, so Plus adds to the Lite feature set with unlimited proposals, automated recurring invoices, double entry accounting reports and more besides. Similarly, Premium gets all the Lite and Plus features along with up to 500 client capacity and the ability to add team members (at $10 per person).
Anyone with a custom-priced deal can also enjoy a personal account manager, personal FreshBooks training for you and your team along with other value-added features.
FreshBooks Dashboard is where you can control all of the features and functionality (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Performance
FreshBooks has had plenty of time to perfect its operation and this cloud-based system is one that works with little to worry about. The service delivers a neat experience depending on what kind of business you run, and if you’re a one-man-band then there’s very little to go wrong it seems.
Even if you’re operating a large or expanding business FreshBooks seems nicely engineered and rolls with the punches if you’re dealing with large chunks of customer data.
Freshbooks is also available for iOS or Android and the app edition is a clever supplement to the desktop arrangement. Not everyone wants to do everything on their app, especially if that involves large reams of numbers, but this is a great option if you’re keeping track of things on the go.
FreshBooks can also be used in expanded fashion as your business grows (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Ease of use
Accounting software can be a long and arduous journey if you’re not au fait with its different sensibilities, let alone the work involved in mastering a new system. However, FreshBooks has been honed and fine-tuned over the years and is now an inviting option, especially if you’re starting out in business.
In fact, FreshBooks is refreshing in its set-by-step setup, with initial manoeuvres involving little more than picking a package and following the email address and password route so common with cloud-based operations.
Ease-of-use is enhanced as the system can be adapted to suit what type of user you are. Larger concerns, for example, allows team members to be added. Freelancers and self-employed sole trader-types have it even easier.
FreshBooks might look simplistic but it comes with a raft of powerful tools (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Support
FreshBooks has a dependable and well-established support system that goes back as long as it has been operating. To start, there’s an excellent online area of the FreshBooks site that offers up a delicious selection of quick fix answers. There are top categories too, such as dashboard and settings, invoicing and payments or handling online payments, which cover the majority of newbie enquiries.
However, for the more unusual requests you may have, or indeed if you prefer a human to advise you, then there’s an easy-to-find phone number in the same section of the site. Live support is available from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm EDT (Excluding Holidays) in the US. Alternatively, FreshBooks has a support email address to beef up the contact and support options.
FreshBooks can be used to seamlessly connect to any or all of your financial institutions (Image credit: FreshBooks)
FreshBooks: Final verdict
We’re really pleased with the way the latest incarnation of FreshBooks looks and performs. It’s been around for a while now and that is obviously a strength as the FreshBooks folks have refined the essence of the accounts package, while making it a wonderfully straightforward user experience.
It’s easy to setup and configure, the menu systems and sections are plain and simple, plus there’s plenty of power behind it to ensure things keep on ticking even if you’re asking a lot of it. All told, FreshBooks seems like a mighty fine way to do your accounting and, depending on your requirements, is actually pretty cost-effective.
Medical Alert is a leading provider of medical alert systems in the country, trusted by numerous families, hospitals, and healthcare organizations. They offer a wide range of in-home and mobile medical alert systems with a focus on affordability and value.
Their systems feature PERS devices such as the MyTrex MXD3G, known for its loud speakerphone. While Medical Alert's offerings share similarities with those of other companies, their competitive pricing makes them a compelling option for budget-conscious individuals.
The systems allow users to quickly call for assistance at the touch of a button, connecting them with trained specialists who assess the situation and send appropriate help, such as contacting family, friends, or emergency services.
Medical Alert: Medical alert systems
Best quality package
Medical Alert's most recommended offering is their Mobile System. The audio quality of the system was usually very good, with both loud and clear sound. However, there were occasional instances where the audio clarity was not as consistent. The quality of these systems may also vary, likely influenced by factors such as the duration of their use.
Pro Tip 💡
Each time a customer cancels their subscription, they return the system to Medical Alert. It’s cleaned and sent out to new customers. Over time, you can expect a speaker’s audio quality to deteriorate. If this is the case with your system, we recommend returning it and asking for a new one.
One minor downside of the pendant is its limited range. Despite being advertised as having a range of approximately 600 feet, our tests revealed an average range of only 70 feet. However, the signal strength remained consistently excellent, even when faced with obstacles like multiple walls and furniture.
Considering the typical size of apartments and homes, a range of 70 feet may seem short at first glance. However, for most users, it should be sufficient. It is important to note that if you require a mobile medical alert system, a medical alert smartwatch might be a better option due to its wider range.
Medical Alert sells the common MyTrex MXD medical alert system. (Image credit: Future)
The On-the-go medical alert system is bulky compared to other mobile medical alert systems, and the audio isn’t great. It comes with a wireless pendant, allowing you to use it like an in-home system while it’s charging in the base station.
Medical Alert fall detection
Medical Alert's in-home system includes a teardrop-shaped pendant for fall detection. While some fall detection pendants can be overly sensitive, we found Medical Alert to be more accurate than most. However, it's not foolproof, and can sometimes trigger false alarms.
One advantage is that it detects falls immediately, unlike some sensors that wait 30-60 seconds before calling for help. It's important to be cautious, though, as it can occasionally mistake other random events for falls. Additionally, if you're out of range of the base station, it might be difficult to determine if it's sending an emergency alert.
Medical Alert: Emergency response center
During our initial three-week testing phase, Medical Alert's average call handling time was approximately 78 seconds. This was significantly slower than industry averages, making it a disappointing result, especially compared to Lively's impressive average of 20 seconds per call.
However, in the subsequent three-week daily testing phase, Medical Alert showed substantial improvement, achieving an average call handling time of around 35 seconds. While still slower than Lively's remarkable average of 15 seconds, this marked a significant increase in competitiveness. In situations where every second counts, this improvement is highly significant.
Medical Alert had above-average response times in our second round of tests. (Image credit: Medical Alert)
The emergency call center's quality was generally good but not outstanding. Most calls were handled excellently, with operators typically confirming the callers' identity and periodically inquiring about their well-being throughout the conversation.
However, there were some instances where operators deviated from the standard script. Occasionally, they assumed the caller was the account holder (posing a potential security risk), and in other cases, they neglected to inquire if assistance was needed.
A positive aspect of Medical Alert is that it includes coverage for spouses at no additional cost, providing additional pendants with each in-home system. Additionally, the 365Access Caregiver App, available with the On-the-go mobile system, allows loved ones to track the user's location and receive alerts if assistance is needed.
Medical Alert provides a lot of resources for caretakers and seniors. (Image credit: Medical Alert)
Medical Alert: Pricing
With Medical Alert you can choose from monthly, semi-annual or annual subscription packages to save money.
Medical Alert’s Home System package is an excellent bet if you've got a budget to stick to. It starts at $19.95 per month, it’s one of the more affordable medical alert systems that we’ve reviewed. And with an above-average call response time, it’s an excellent value, despite the aging technology. Also keep in mind that the fall prevention is an optional additional cost of $10/month.
However, the cost of the other packages is somewhat higher.
The Mobile System plan price varies based on how long you sign up for. At the monthly price of $47.95/month it is quite expensive. However, with a 6 month commitment it drops down to $34.95/month and includes free shipping, and with an annual commitment it goes down to an affordable $29.95/month and also has a free lockbox to provide medics a key included. You should also factor in that there is a $99.95 one-time programming fee on top of the above costs.
(Image credit: Medical Alert)
Medical Alert: Support
If there is an issue with Medical Alert, there are a few options to get some help. You can reach out directly on the phone to Customer Care at 800-906-0872; the hours of operation are not listed. The other option is a Support Portal, which will get back to you via email or phone.
A shortcoming is that there are no other direct support options, as we did not find a chat, a direct email, a fax, or a mail address.
On the self support side, it was also not quite robust. We did find product guides specific to the device, and some answers to general questions presented as a FAQ, but there were no other options, such as a forum, whitepapers, or video content.
Medical Alert offers affordable and competitive pricing. (Image credit: Medical Alert)
Medical Alert: Final verdict
Medical Alert's medical alert system has some key points to consider. These include the pros of a fast and reliable emergency response, the effective fall detection pendant, and the simple and limited packages. We also like the good customer service, especially for non-English speakers. Also keep in mind the cons such as the limited features with less functions than some competitors, that customer service could be more proactive, and that this service offers less educational resources than some others.
Overall, Medical Alert is a good option for users who are looking for a basic and reliable medical alert system with good customer service. However, if you are looking for a system with more features or educational resources, you may want to consider other options.
The company with the curious name of 20i was launched in 2016 by a dynamic duo consisting of two brothers, Tim and Jonathan Brealey. Although 20i is still basically a new-born in the trade, its creators are industry veterans, having gathered extensive web hosting experience while working on their previous creations.
Their first project was Webfusion, which was the first company to offer a customized version of a control panel called Virtual Control Panel. Three years later they founded 123-Reg, which remains a market leader in domain name registration in the UK. After two decades of experience the brother's launched a hosting company that would (in their words) “break the mold” (let’s hope for the better).
20i’s head office is located in Ransom Wood, the UK, and they have two of their own datacenters, one in London and one in Dallas, Texas. Plus they have the option of using AWS and Google Cloud servers. 20i also provide a global CDN (content delivery network) with twenty-one locations across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, but their infographics could lead you to believe there are more locations included in their network than there are. So, double check the CDN locations when making a purchasing decision.
(Image credit: Future)
Actual amount and location of CDN nodes
(Image credit: 20i)
Plans and pricing
20i are best known for their reseller hosting but they also provide managed cloud hosting for AWS, and managed WordPress hosting and WooCommerce hosting from their own datacenters and AWS and Google Cloud servers. For reseller plans you can't choose the datacenter location but for other plans you can.
If you create a reseller account with US login details you'll automatically be given servers in the US datacenter. If you create a reseller account with UK login details, you'll get the UK datacenter. For other plans you can choose the location but only customers from outside the UK have the option to use the USD listing price which is cheaper than the GBP listing price after currency conversion. If you use a VPN you might be able to take advantage of the USD prices (but check the T&Cs).
(Image credit: Future)
We asked 20i about why the pricing is different and we were told that it's because of the lower costs to run a datacenter in the US. This didn't add up though because for this plan you can choose a server location anywhere in the world.
Even though 20i focuses on reseller hosting, its shared, WordPress and VPS packages offer a wide array of fantastic features such as free website migration, CDN, website acceleration suite and much more. All hosting plans are presented in a very detailed manner where you can get all needed information about web hosting packages, their cloud platform, security measures, e-mail features, supported web hosting software and their promises (some of which are backed by a guarantee) within a few clicks.
We've noticed at least one inaccuracy in the specifications listed for 20i plans. For example, for managed WordPress hosting unlimited MySQL databases with a 5GB capacity are provided but in the small print it says that database size is limited to 1024 megabytes. We asked 20i about the database capacity and were told that the limit is actually based on the SSD size of the hosting plan.
(Image credit: Future)
After you select a plan, you’ll be provided with a few options regarding the domain name. Here, in addition to the typical options (register a new or use an old one), you can choose to feed the little master of procrastination that lives in all of us and decide to, well, decide later what to do about your domain.
In any case, the rest of the process is everything one might expect from it. You are required to provide a first round of personal data, opt for a payment frequency (monthly or annual, with the annual one getting you one month of free hosting) and go through 20i’s terms and conditions. Now it’s time for the second round of personal data and the content of a form slightly differs depending on whether you are acting as an individual or on behalf of a company.
Ease of use
This is the user interface of 20i's custom control panel My20i (Image credit: 20i)
20i have their own control panel (named simply My20i) that, without much subtlety, proclaims its superiority over the fan-favorite “old-school” Linux-based cPanel. Funnily enough, My20i and cPanel look like chips off the same old block, which is something even the casual eye would take a notice of.
However, we have to admit, My20i is one of the most user-friendly tailor-made control panels we have seen and the one that will make everything you need readily available at your fingertips. It is a genuine one-stop solution for managing all of your web hosting, e-mails, databases and software. In addition to this, it has to be noted that My20i is included with all hosting packages, so you won’t be driven to pay extra just to enjoy its elegant simplicity and intuitive ease of use.
As an alternative (not that you will need one), you can use 20i’s drag-and-drop website builder, but if you haven’t opted for their “Startup”, “Premium”, “Business” or any of the reseller plans, it will come at a price.
We used GTmetrix to measure the uptime and response time of 20i's main website (Image credit: GTmetrix)
Speed and experience
Considering that 20i utilizes worldwide CDN and their own website acceleration suite in order to improve your site speed and “make it fly”, we came with a certain set of expectations regarding the speed performance. After we performed a speed test on 20i’s main website (provided by GTmetrix), our expectations were pretty much justified.
The page fully loaded in just 1.8 seconds (the average result is 8.1) and it required 55 requests to do so (the average being 98 requests). In addition, all other vital web metrics were ahead of the curve i.e. all but one, and that is total blocking time that regrettably took 352 milliseconds, although ideally it should be less than 150. Nevertheless, GTmetrix rated the speed performance of 20i’s site with a B (86%), which is one of the better performances we have seen so far.
20i emphasizes security of their “state-of-the-art” data centers that are manned day-and-night and reinforced with high-level physical security measures that cover everything from backup power generators to advanced fire protection. However, oddly enough, they failed to say a lot about the uptime we can expect while doing business with them.
As per usual, we put the uptime of 20i’s main website to the test, so you don’t have to. After a month of steadfast monitoring (via tireless UptimeRobot), our efforts were rewarded by pretty promising results. There was no recorded downtime at all resulting in an impeccable 100% of uptime.
Support
Although all visitors to 20i’s website have an option to reach its support staff via telephone, if you are looking for some good old customer support, you will notice that their help is primarily text-based. The first pick for most of us will be live chat, which seems available during the working hours at a minimum. Fortunately (for both parties), after testing the willingness of their helping hands, we were well pleased with all the hand-holding we got.
20i's knowledgebase can help you find the answers you need to common web hosting problems (Image credit: 20i)
If you’re not in a rush, you can get in touch with 20i’s technical team via support ticket or email. However, if you want to remain as self-sufficient as humanly possible, there are some excellent options for you as well. The principal one is their knowledgebase (titled “Support Database”) as it manages to cover all key issues and concerns in an easy-to-understand way. On the other hand, if you are more into how-to video guides, 20i’s YouTube channel features a stack of them (actually, around sixty) and those we have checked out seem really handy.
The competition
Most newcomers looking for a well-balanced reseller hosting solution are likely to consider web hosting providers like InMotion Hosting, HostGator and A2 Hosting at some point, and not without reason.
Since you are here, you are presumably taking 20i into consideration. And if you pick them out, you are right to expect a full list of features (many of which are unlimited), lightning speed and powerful performance in general, together with a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if this should be your first close encounter with reseller web hosting, InMotion Hosting is most likely your safest bet. Their packages present a great value for money at a pocket-friendly price of $26.59 (with 20i it is about $49.50) per month, with cPanel, WHM and WHMCS included together with an overgenerous 90-day money-back guarantee that will give you quite a bit of time to try them out before making any definitive decision.
Although HostGator is not as reseller-focused as 20i, its reseller plans can grab anyone’s attention, particularly in terms of features. For a really reasonable price HostGator will put no limitations on the number of domains, subdomains, email accounts, MySQL databases and FTP accounts. However, if you want an unlimited hosting in its true form, you’ll have to go with 20i for they will throw in an unlimited number of websites, unlimited storage space (100% SSD), unlimited bandwidth and unlimited Wildcard SSL certificates.
Bluehost is another popular alternative for those on the lookout for a novice-friendly hosting provider that has something to meet most needs. However, while Bluehost offers no reseller packages (which are 20i’s specialty), 20i doesn’t provide an option for demanding users in need of dedicated servers (and Bluehost does). This is one of those differences that can serve as a decisive point for certain types of users.
In terms of features, GreenGeeks is comparable with InMotion Hosting, but one feature that sets them apart from all the hosts above is (not hard to guess considering the name of the company is highly suggestive) their dedication to eco-friendly hosting. If we add that they guarantee 99.98% of uptime, provide 24/7 live support chat and all at a price starting at $10.95 (you can get about 80% off on sale), going green might sound even better.
Final verdict
One of the hallmarks of hosting with 20i is their very own custom-made My20i control panel and it is the closest thing to an industry-standard control panel (such as cPanel and Plesk) we have seen since the Jurassic period of web hosting. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, intuitive design and sheer user-friendliness, which is something we seldom see with non-standard counterparts.
At the same time, 20i has been quietly gaining worldwide momentum thanks to its well-structured, feature-rich and easy-to-set up hosting solutions, a performance one can rely on and professional and polite in-house support staff.
We just found too many inaccuracies on their site which could fall into being misleading for us to strongly recommend this hosting provider for everyone. If you're looking for the best UK web hosting, there are other options.
Claimed score vs real score
(Image credit: Future)
The company with the curious name of 20i was launched in 2016 by a dynamic duo consisting of two brothers, Tim and Jonathan Brealey. Although 20i is still basically a new-born in the trade, its creators are industry veterans, having gathered extensive web hosting experience while working on their previous creations.
Their first project was Webfusion, which was the first company to offer a customized version of a control panel called Virtual Control Panel. Three years later they founded 123-Reg, which remains a market leader in domain name registration in the UK. After two decades of experience the brother's launched a hosting company that would (in their words) “break the mold” (let’s hope for the better).
20i’s head office is located in Ransom Wood, the UK, and they have two of their own datacenters, one in London and one in Dallas, Texas. Plus they have the option of using AWS and Google Cloud servers. 20i also provide a global CDN (content delivery network) with twenty-one locations across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, but their infographics could lead you to believe there are more locations included in their network than there are. So, double check the CDN locations when making a purchasing decision.
(Image credit: Future)
Actual amount and location of CDN nodes
(Image credit: 20i)
Plans and pricing
20i are best known for their reseller hosting but they also provide managed cloud hosting for AWS, and managed WordPress hosting and WooCommerce hosting from their own datacenters and AWS and Google Cloud servers. For reseller plans you can't choose the datacenter location but for other plans you can.
If you create a reseller account with US login details you'll automatically be given servers in the US datacenter. If you create a reseller account with UK login details, you'll get the UK datacenter. For other plans you can choose the location but only customers from outside the UK have the option to use the USD listing price which is cheaper than the GBP listing price after currency conversion. If you use a VPN you might be able to take advantage of the USD prices (but check the T&Cs).
(Image credit: Future)
We asked 20i about why the pricing is different and we were told that it's because of the lower costs to run a datacenter in the US. This didn't add up though because for this plan you can choose a server location anywhere in the world.
Even though 20i focuses on reseller hosting, its shared, WordPress and VPS packages offer a wide array of fantastic features such as free website migration, CDN, website acceleration suite and much more. All hosting plans are presented in a very detailed manner where you can get all needed information about web hosting packages, their cloud platform, security measures, e-mail features, supported web hosting software and their promises (some of which are backed by a guarantee) within a few clicks.
We've noticed at least one inaccuracy in the specifications listed for 20i plans. For example, for managed WordPress hosting unlimited MySQL databases with a 5GB capacity are provided but in the small print it says that database size is limited to 1024 megabytes. We asked 20i about the database capacity and were told that the limit is actually based on the SSD size of the hosting plan.
(Image credit: Future)
After you select a plan, you’ll be provided with a few options regarding the domain name. Here, in addition to the typical options (register a new or use an old one), you can choose to feed the little master of procrastination that lives in all of us and decide to, well, decide later what to do about your domain.
In any case, the rest of the process is everything one might expect from it. You are required to provide a first round of personal data, opt for a payment frequency (monthly or annual, with the annual one getting you one month of free hosting) and go through 20i’s terms and conditions. Now it’s time for the second round of personal data and the content of a form slightly differs depending on whether you are acting as an individual or on behalf of a company.
Ease of use
This is the user interface of 20i's custom control panel My20i (Image credit: 20i)
20i have their own control panel (named simply My20i) that, without much subtlety, proclaims its superiority over the fan-favorite “old-school” Linux-based cPanel. Funnily enough, My20i and cPanel look like chips off the same old block, which is something even the casual eye would take a notice of.
However, we have to admit, My20i is one of the most user-friendly tailor-made control panels we have seen and the one that will make everything you need readily available at your fingertips. It is a genuine one-stop solution for managing all of your web hosting, e-mails, databases and software. In addition to this, it has to be noted that My20i is included with all hosting packages, so you won’t be driven to pay extra just to enjoy its elegant simplicity and intuitive ease of use.
As an alternative (not that you will need one), you can use 20i’s drag-and-drop website builder, but if you haven’t opted for their “Startup”, “Premium”, “Business” or any of the reseller plans, it will come at a price.
We used GTmetrix to measure the uptime and response time of 20i's main website (Image credit: GTmetrix)
Speed and experience
Considering that 20i utilizes worldwide CDN and their own website acceleration suite in order to improve your site speed and “make it fly”, we came with a certain set of expectations regarding the speed performance. After we performed a speed test on 20i’s main website (provided by GTmetrix), our expectations were pretty much justified.
The page fully loaded in just 1.8 seconds (the average result is 8.1) and it required 55 requests to do so (the average being 98 requests). In addition, all other vital web metrics were ahead of the curve i.e. all but one, and that is total blocking time that regrettably took 352 milliseconds, although ideally it should be less than 150. Nevertheless, GTmetrix rated the speed performance of 20i’s site with a B (86%), which is one of the better performances we have seen so far.
20i emphasizes security of their “state-of-the-art” data centers that are manned day-and-night and reinforced with high-level physical security measures that cover everything from backup power generators to advanced fire protection. However, oddly enough, they failed to say a lot about the uptime we can expect while doing business with them.
As per usual, we put the uptime of 20i’s main website to the test, so you don’t have to. After a month of steadfast monitoring (via tireless UptimeRobot), our efforts were rewarded by pretty promising results. There was no recorded downtime at all resulting in an impeccable 100% of uptime.
Support
Although all visitors to 20i’s website have an option to reach its support staff via telephone, if you are looking for some good old customer support, you will notice that their help is primarily text-based. The first pick for most of us will be live chat, which seems available during the working hours at a minimum. Fortunately (for both parties), after testing the willingness of their helping hands, we were well pleased with all the hand-holding we got.
20i's knowledgebase can help you find the answers you need to common web hosting problems (Image credit: 20i)
If you’re not in a rush, you can get in touch with 20i’s technical team via support ticket or email. However, if you want to remain as self-sufficient as humanly possible, there are some excellent options for you as well. The principal one is their knowledgebase (titled “Support Database”) as it manages to cover all key issues and concerns in an easy-to-understand way. On the other hand, if you are more into how-to video guides, 20i’s YouTube channel features a stack of them (actually, around sixty) and those we have checked out seem really handy.
The competition
Most newcomers looking for a well-balanced reseller hosting solution are likely to consider web hosting providers like InMotion Hosting, HostGator and A2 Hosting at some point, and not without reason.
Since you are here, you are presumably taking 20i into consideration. And if you pick them out, you are right to expect a full list of features (many of which are unlimited), lightning speed and powerful performance in general, together with a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if this should be your first close encounter with reseller web hosting, InMotion Hosting is most likely your safest bet. Their packages present a great value for money at a pocket-friendly price of $26.59 (with 20i it is about $49.50) per month, with cPanel, WHM and WHMCS included together with an overgenerous 90-day money-back guarantee that will give you quite a bit of time to try them out before making any definitive decision.
Although HostGator is not as reseller-focused as 20i, its reseller plans can grab anyone’s attention, particularly in terms of features. For a really reasonable price HostGator will put no limitations on the number of domains, subdomains, email accounts, MySQL databases and FTP accounts. However, if you want an unlimited hosting in its true form, you’ll have to go with 20i for they will throw in an unlimited number of websites, unlimited storage space (100% SSD), unlimited bandwidth and unlimited Wildcard SSL certificates.
Bluehost is another popular alternative for those on the lookout for a novice-friendly hosting provider that has something to meet most needs. However, while Bluehost offers no reseller packages (which are 20i’s specialty), 20i doesn’t provide an option for demanding users in need of dedicated servers (and Bluehost does). This is one of those differences that can serve as a decisive point for certain types of users.
In terms of features, GreenGeeks is comparable with InMotion Hosting, but one feature that sets them apart from all the hosts above is (not hard to guess considering the name of the company is highly suggestive) their dedication to eco-friendly hosting. If we add that they guarantee 99.98% of uptime, provide 24/7 live support chat and all at a price starting at $10.95 (you can get about 80% off on sale), going green might sound even better.
Final verdict
One of the hallmarks of hosting with 20i is their very own custom-made My20i control panel and it is the closest thing to an industry-standard control panel (such as cPanel and Plesk) we have seen since the Jurassic period of web hosting. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, intuitive design and sheer user-friendliness, which is something we seldom see with non-standard counterparts.
At the same time, 20i has been quietly gaining worldwide momentum thanks to its well-structured, feature-rich and easy-to-set up hosting solutions, a performance one can rely on and professional and polite in-house support staff.
We just found too many inaccuracies on their site which could fall into being misleading for us to strongly recommend this hosting provider for everyone. If you're looking for the best UK web hosting, there are other options.
Claimed score vs real score
(Image credit: Future)
The company with the curious name of 20i was launched in 2016 by a dynamic duo consisting of two brothers, Tim and Jonathan Brealey. Although 20i is still basically a new-born in the trade, its creators are industry veterans, having gathered extensive web hosting experience while working on their previous creations.
Their first project was Webfusion, which was the first company to offer a customized version of a control panel called Virtual Control Panel. Three years later they founded 123-Reg, which remains a market leader in domain name registration in the UK. After two decades of experience the brother's launched a hosting company that would (in their words) “break the mold” (let’s hope for the better).
20i’s head office is located in Ransom Wood, the UK, and they have two of their own datacenters, one in London and one in Dallas, Texas. Plus they have the option of using AWS and Google Cloud servers. 20i also provide a global CDN (content delivery network) with twenty-one locations across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, but their infographics could lead you to believe there are more locations included in their network than there are. So, double check the CDN locations when making a purchasing decision.
(Image credit: Future)
Actual amount and location of CDN nodes
(Image credit: 20i)
Plans and pricing
20i are best known for their reseller hosting but they also provide managed cloud hosting for AWS, and managed WordPress hosting and WooCommerce hosting from their own datacenters and AWS and Google Cloud servers. For reseller plans you can't choose the datacenter location but for other plans you can.
If you create a reseller account with US login details you'll automatically be given servers in the US datacenter. If you create a reseller account with UK login details, you'll get the UK datacenter. For other plans you can choose the location but only customers from outside the UK have the option to use the USD listing price which is cheaper than the GBP listing price after currency conversion. If you use a VPN you might be able to take advantage of the USD prices (but check the T&Cs).
(Image credit: Future)
We asked 20i about why the pricing is different and we were told that it's because of the lower costs to run a datacenter in the US. This didn't add up though because for this plan you can choose a server location anywhere in the world.
Even though 20i focuses on reseller hosting, its shared, WordPress and VPS packages offer a wide array of fantastic features such as free website migration, CDN, website acceleration suite and much more. All hosting plans are presented in a very detailed manner where you can get all needed information about web hosting packages, their cloud platform, security measures, e-mail features, supported web hosting software and their promises (some of which are backed by a guarantee) within a few clicks.
We've noticed at least one inaccuracy in the specifications listed for 20i plans. For example, for managed WordPress hosting unlimited MySQL databases with a 5GB capacity are provided but in the small print it says that database size is limited to 1024 megabytes. We asked 20i about the database capacity and were told that the limit is actually based on the SSD size of the hosting plan.
(Image credit: Future)
After you select a plan, you’ll be provided with a few options regarding the domain name. Here, in addition to the typical options (register a new or use an old one), you can choose to feed the little master of procrastination that lives in all of us and decide to, well, decide later what to do about your domain.
In any case, the rest of the process is everything one might expect from it. You are required to provide a first round of personal data, opt for a payment frequency (monthly or annual, with the annual one getting you one month of free hosting) and go through 20i’s terms and conditions. Now it’s time for the second round of personal data and the content of a form slightly differs depending on whether you are acting as an individual or on behalf of a company.
Ease of use
This is the user interface of 20i's custom control panel My20i (Image credit: 20i)
20i have their own control panel (named simply My20i) that, without much subtlety, proclaims its superiority over the fan-favorite “old-school” Linux-based cPanel. Funnily enough, My20i and cPanel look like chips off the same old block, which is something even the casual eye would take a notice of.
However, we have to admit, My20i is one of the most user-friendly tailor-made control panels we have seen and the one that will make everything you need readily available at your fingertips. It is a genuine one-stop solution for managing all of your web hosting, e-mails, databases and software. In addition to this, it has to be noted that My20i is included with all hosting packages, so you won’t be driven to pay extra just to enjoy its elegant simplicity and intuitive ease of use.
As an alternative (not that you will need one), you can use 20i’s drag-and-drop website builder, but if you haven’t opted for their “Startup”, “Premium”, “Business” or any of the reseller plans, it will come at a price.
We used GTmetrix to measure the uptime and response time of 20i's main website (Image credit: GTmetrix)
Speed and experience
Considering that 20i utilizes worldwide CDN and their own website acceleration suite in order to improve your site speed and “make it fly”, we came with a certain set of expectations regarding the speed performance. After we performed a speed test on 20i’s main website (provided by GTmetrix), our expectations were pretty much justified.
The page fully loaded in just 1.8 seconds (the average result is 8.1) and it required 55 requests to do so (the average being 98 requests). In addition, all other vital web metrics were ahead of the curve i.e. all but one, and that is total blocking time that regrettably took 352 milliseconds, although ideally it should be less than 150. Nevertheless, GTmetrix rated the speed performance of 20i’s site with a B (86%), which is one of the better performances we have seen so far.
20i emphasizes security of their “state-of-the-art” data centers that are manned day-and-night and reinforced with high-level physical security measures that cover everything from backup power generators to advanced fire protection. However, oddly enough, they failed to say a lot about the uptime we can expect while doing business with them.
As per usual, we put the uptime of 20i’s main website to the test, so you don’t have to. After a month of steadfast monitoring (via tireless UptimeRobot), our efforts were rewarded by pretty promising results. There was no recorded downtime at all resulting in an impeccable 100% of uptime.
Support
Although all visitors to 20i’s website have an option to reach its support staff via telephone, if you are looking for some good old customer support, you will notice that their help is primarily text-based. The first pick for most of us will be live chat, which seems available during the working hours at a minimum. Fortunately (for both parties), after testing the willingness of their helping hands, we were well pleased with all the hand-holding we got.
20i's knowledgebase can help you find the answers you need to common web hosting problems (Image credit: 20i)
If you’re not in a rush, you can get in touch with 20i’s technical team via support ticket or email. However, if you want to remain as self-sufficient as humanly possible, there are some excellent options for you as well. The principal one is their knowledgebase (titled “Support Database”) as it manages to cover all key issues and concerns in an easy-to-understand way. On the other hand, if you are more into how-to video guides, 20i’s YouTube channel features a stack of them (actually, around sixty) and those we have checked out seem really handy.
The competition
Most newcomers looking for a well-balanced reseller hosting solution are likely to consider web hosting providers like InMotion Hosting, HostGator and A2 Hosting at some point, and not without reason.
Since you are here, you are presumably taking 20i into consideration. And if you pick them out, you are right to expect a full list of features (many of which are unlimited), lightning speed and powerful performance in general, together with a standard 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if this should be your first close encounter with reseller web hosting, InMotion Hosting is most likely your safest bet. Their packages present a great value for money with cPanel, WHM and WHMCS included together with an overgenerous 90-day money-back guarantee that will give you quite a bit of time to try them out before making any definitive decision.
Although HostGator is not as reseller-focused as 20i, its reseller plans can grab anyone’s attention, particularly in terms of features. For a really reasonable price HostGator will put no limitations on the number of domains, subdomains, email accounts, MySQL databases and FTP accounts. However, if you want an unlimited hosting in its true form, you’ll have to go with 20i for they will throw in an unlimited number of websites, unlimited storage space (100% SSD), unlimited bandwidth and unlimited Wildcard SSL certificates.
Bluehost is another popular alternative for those on the lookout for a novice-friendly hosting provider that has something to meet most needs. However, while Bluehost offers no reseller packages (which are 20i’s specialty), 20i doesn’t provide an option for demanding users in need of dedicated servers (and Bluehost does). This is one of those differences that can serve as a decisive point for certain types of users.
In terms of features, GreenGeeks is comparable with InMotion Hosting, but one feature that sets them apart from all the hosts above is (not hard to guess considering the name of the company is highly suggestive) their dedication to eco-friendly hosting. If we add that they guarantee 99.98% of uptime, provide 24/7 live chat support going green might sound even better.
Final verdict
One of the hallmarks of hosting with 20i is their very own custom-made My20i control panel and it is the closest thing to an industry-standard control panel (such as cPanel and Plesk) we have seen since the Jurassic period of web hosting. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, intuitive design and sheer user-friendliness, which is something we seldom see with non-standard counterparts.
At the same time, 20i has been quietly gaining worldwide momentum thanks to its well-structured, feature-rich and easy-to-set up hosting solutions, a performance one can rely on and professional and polite in-house support staff.
We just found too many inaccuracies on their site which could fall into being misleading for us to strongly recommend this hosting provider for everyone. If you're looking for the best UK web hosting, there are other options.
Opera was founded in 1995, which makes it one of the oldest browsers (even older than Chrome and Edge), which adds to its credibility. While its earlier versions were known to be slow and featureless, the recent updates have put it on par with the competitors.
In fact, in some areas, such as performance and security, Opera has surpassed other popular browsers with its consistent and remarkable service. If you’re planning to give Opera another try or have yet to experience it, read this guide till the end to find everything you need to know about whether it's the best browser for you.
Opera browser: Features
Opera is perhaps one of the only widely recognized browsers that provides a free VPN to all users. Sure, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge provide an option to use VPN, but both are paid services. VPN-enabled browsing is undoubtedly far safer than any incognito mode or private browsing mode.
It also comes with a built-in adblocker that gives you a seamless browsing experience without the distraction of pop-ups. Also, since pop-ups from unknown websites could be bait from hackers, keeping them blocked is a great way to protect your system against such digital attacks. Another notable benefit of having ads blocked is the browser will load much faster.
Opera also integrates with many popular social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. If you frequently use these platforms on the web, Opera’s instant access feature will definitely benefit you. Opera also integrates with Whatsapp and lets you chat through a small Whatsapp window on the sidebar as you browse online. It's the perfect way to work online while collaborating with your team.
One of Opera’s most unique features is the “Lucid Mode,” which instantly improves the quality of your videos and images with a click. Opera has also made managing web snapshots easier than ever. While traditionally, you had to go back to the folder where any snapshots you’ve taken are saved to edit them, Opera allows you to edit them as soon as you capture the screen.
If you want to watch videos as you work, Opera has the perfect solution for you — Video Pop-Up. Using this, you can make the video window float on the screen as you browse other things. The same goes for music and podcasts — you can play any audio in the background as you work. Unlike music on YouTube that disappears as soon as you close the tab, this feature will keep the music running at all times.
Opera provides you with an easy way to save and share web content that you frequently browse, all thanks to its Pinboards feature. Additionally, you can share this saved content visually with other users.
Opera browser: Privacy
Opera has a high standard for user privacy. For starters, it provides a free VPN to all its users so that none of you have to worry about your activities being tracked.
Secondly, it blocks all ads and pop-ups that could possibly lead you to websites that steal data.
Thirdly, you get a tracker blocker that's specially designed to keep away third-party tools that are infamous for stealing your data.
These features come together to not only keep your data safe but also reduce the load time, lighten the load on your CPU and RAM, and boost the overall performance of your device.
(Image credit: Opera)
Opera browser: Ease Of use
Opera is certainly easy to use, but if you compare it against the likes of Chrome or Edge, you might find it a tad bit difficult to operate.
For instance, when you open the browser, you won't find the search bar at the center of the page. The only way to open new tabs is through the top header, where all the tabs are lined up, just like Chrome.
But on the flip side, the central space of the main page is used to introduce you to important features such as Bookmarks, Dark/Light Mode, VPN, Adblocker, and more. Plus, Opera comes preinstalled on a lot of devices, thus saving you any effort you might have to put into installing it.
Accessing your social media apps via Opera is easy too. You’ll find all the necessary shortcuts on the left-side menu of the screen.
Opera browser: Competitors
As with other tier 2 browsers, Opera faces tough competition from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
Chrome has the biggest market share in the browser industry, with more than 93% of global searches directed through it. However, more doesn't always mean better. Opera is slightly ahead of Chrome in terms of user security and performance efficiency.
For example, while Chrome offers a paid VPN service, Opera offers it for free. Chrome takes up too much space and slows down your system, whereas Opera is fast and responsive. Along with that, Chrome has faced several lawsuits and allegations for leaking user data, but Opera is widely renowned for its safe network.
The same goes for Edge. When compared for privacy and security, Opera is the clear winner. Edge’s privacy settings are rather basic and limited. Opera not only has a wide range of security settings but many features, such as an intuitive ad-blocker, are set by default. This way, your browsing experience remains secure from day one.
Speaking of Firefox and Opera, the latter is a few brownie points above the former with faster loading, enhanced tracking protection, and a built-in tracker blocker.
Opera browser: Final verdict
Opera is a comprehensive browser with enough in it to win you over. It provides you with a secure browsing space like no other and offers a free VPN too, which further adds to your protection.
Despite not being one of the top contenders in the market, Opera’s catalog of features is praiseworthy. Starting from multiple browser themes and integrated social media platforms to AI integration and simpler task management, Opera does it all.
Last but not least, Opera takes much less space and CPU power than Chrome, meaning your system and other apps work smoother.
