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Agorapulse review
6:27 pm | February 28, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Comments: Off

Agorapulse is a software package that lets you take better control of your social media management tasks. It can be used by medium-sized businesses and upwards, along with agencies that focus solely on social media activity.

It’s engineered to work seamlessly with popular social media tools, including the likes of X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. As of 2026, TikTok, Pinterest, Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, and Google Business profiles are also supported.

The great thing with Agorapulse is that it can amalgamate numerous social media management tasks and bring them all under one roof. That means it can be used to create and post content, make better contact with end users, and also keep tabs on how well content posts are performing.

Especially with the new AI features that have been rolled out across all plans, it's a compelling yet reasonably-priced option for managing your social media marketing workflow.

Plans and Pricing

Agorapulse

(Image credit: Agorapulse)

Plan

Starting rate (paid annually)

Starting rate (paid monthly)

Free

$0/user/month

$0/user/month

Standard

$79/user/month

$99/user/month

Professional

$119/user/month

$149/user/month

Advanced

$149/user/month

$199/user/month

Custom

Tailored pricing

Tailored pricing

Agorapulse offers a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) so you can explore its full feature set before committing to anything. There's also a permanent free plan for individuals, though it's limited to three social profiles and a modest post-scheduling cap, making it more of a tasting menu than a long-term option.

If you're ready to go beyond the basics, Agorapulse's paid tiers are now structured around four plans: Standard, Professional, Advanced, and Custom. Pricing is per user per month though, which is worth keeping in mind if you have a larger team.

The Standard plan starts at $79/user/month (billed annually) with unlimited post scheduling, a unified inbox, basic reporting, and the full suite of AI writing tools. It's a solid entry point for solo social media managers or small teams getting started.

Professional ($119/user/month annually) adds approval workflows, ad comment moderation, Instagram product tagging, and a link-in-bio tool. It's the sweet spot for growing teams that need tighter collaboration controls. Stepping up to Advanced ($149/user/month annually) brings bulk scheduling, shared content calendars, advanced ROI and ads reporting, and competitor benchmarking.

At the top end, the Custom plan is designed for large teams and enterprises. It includes unlimited social profiles, AI-powered reply suggestions, SSO, custom roles, multi-step approval workflows, and priority support with a dedicated Customer Success Manager. That said, you'll need to contact the Agorapulse sales team for a tailored quote if you want to be on the Custom plan.

Agorapulse

(Image credit: Agorapulse)

AI features

Agorapulse has made AI a core part of the platform rather than an afterthought, with most new features available across all paid plans. Its primary AI Writing Assistant helps you generate captions and post copy directly inside the publishing composer. Then the Organization Context AI lets you set your brand's tone and direction so every piece of AI-generated content stays on-brand.

The platform also introduced AI-generated alt text in 2025, covering Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, X (Twitter), Instagram, and Threads. It works in 38 languages, which is a nice touch for internationally active teams. Separately, AI summaries are built into the reporting section, giving you a plain-language digest of your key performance data.

On the engagement side, Best Time to Publish uses AI to surface smart scheduling recommendations based on when your audience is most active. The Custom plan goes a step further with AI reply suggestions, which draw on your past conversations to propose contextually relevant responses in the inbox.

Most recently in January 2026, Agorapulse launched a ChatGPT and Claude integration via a self-hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. This lets you create and manage social content, track engagement, and organise your calendar directly from within ChatGPT or Claude. It's one of the more forward-thinking integrations in the social media management space right now and available to all plan users.

Basic features

The same goes for engagement tools, with the ability to manage Google My Business reviews, provision for an advanced social inbox, social CRM tools, comment monitoring and an automated inbox assistant all forming part of the potent feature set. Agorapulse also bristles with plenty of reporting tools, particularly on the higher-end packages with lots of functionality that assist you with working out your return on investment (ROI).

One of the surefire appealing aspects of Agorapulse is that it can be used on several different levels, depending on need. The software can also be boosted, with all paid plans being fully scalable with user count based pricing.

Core features

Meanwhile, the core feature set within Agorapulse centers around publishing, engagement and reporting. As you’d expect, the Free edition is thinner around the edges, with only 10 scheduled posts allowed at any time. This is compared to the unlimited capacity of the Standard or Professional editions. There’s plenty of publishing power too, with the likes of content labelling, and a unified calendar adding more muscle to the package.

If you commit to the Advanced edition, you’ll see the features and functionality explode with an unlimited asset library and bulk scheduling, along with the ability to assign and approve posts. Calendar sharing is more substantial here too.

Agorapulse

(Image credit: Agorapulse)

Premium features

It’s really worth considering some of the premium add-ons that you can get in order to increase the potential of Agorapulse. You can choose from the likes of Power Reports, shared calendars, and Competitive Benchmarking, all of which add extra weight to the software. If you’ve gone for the Custom edition, this can be tailored even more to suit individual needs.

Agorapulse

(Image credit: Agorapulse)

Interface and in use

Mounting successful social media campaigns can mean juggling lots of plates at the same time in order to get the job done effectively. Luckily, Agorapulse has developed an interface that is perfectly suite to time-poor executives, who need to dip in and out again, sometimes on the go. Indeed, the app side of things offers another helping hand with this, allowing you to co-ordinate campaigns no matter if you’re working in the office, remotely or on the move.

Support

For many business making their first foray into the world of social media management it’s the levels of support that often make the difference in signing up, or not. Agorapulse offers plenty of help on that front. There’s a dedicated support portal, which shares a similar setup to many others in this field, complete with searchable help topics and tutorials.

Lookout too for a raft of additional customer support options including email, live chat, and video depending on your plan. The options become more extensive as you move to the more expensive packages, but help is never far away no matter which of the editions you adopt. The enterprise-focused Custom edition really tops it off though, with one-to-one training as well as a dedicated account manager.

Agorapulse

(Image credit: Agorapulse)

Competition

The social media management marketplace is a hotbed of activity, with plenty of options aimed at helping businesses get more from their campaigns. As an alternative to Agorapulse, you can take your pick from hugely popular options that include SocialPilot, Buffer, eClincher, Sendible, Statusbrew, Loomly and Hootsuite, all of which are very decent competitors worthy of consideration.

Verdict

Agorapulse will meet the social media management needs of any type of business, but it’s best suited to larger concerns and agencies, which can fully exploit its potential.

The reporting capabilities in particular make Agorapulse a potent provider of data. If you’re running concerted social media campaigns, this software will be able to give you lots of information to justify your return on investment.

When combined with the bevy of new AI features that are accessible to free and paid users alike, its offer is hard to beat. Still, the per user pricing is something to be wary of if you have a large team but your social channels aren't mature enough to justify the added costs.

GetResponse Email Marketing Review: Pros & Cons, Features, Ratings, Pricing and more
5:45 pm | February 26, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Comments: Off

GetResponse was founded in 1998 by an entrepreneur named Simon Grabowski, making it one of the oldest email marketing software in existence. For reference, Google was founded in that same year and popular apps like FaceBook and Instagram didn’t even exist back then. 

The company formed out of Grabowski's need to send emails to multiple subscribers and started as Bizmaker, later renamed Implix, and again, GetResponse. By 2003, the company employed 6 people and by 2010 employed 100 people. In 2012, the company released mobile apps for iOS and Android, which helped boost its popularity. 

Today, GetResponse has grown well beyond basic email marketing into a capable all-in-one platform, with solid automation, a website builder, and a growing suite of AI tools. It's especially well-suited to small businesses and content creators who want multiple marketing channels under one roof. Pricing scales up quickly once you need advanced features, but there's genuine value at every tier.

GetResponse: create email

(Image credit: GetResponse)

GetResponse: Plans and pricing

Plan

Starting Rate (Billed Annually)

Starting Rate (Billed Monthly)

Free

$0/month/1000 contacts

$0/month/1000 contacts

Starter

$15.58/month/1000 contacts

$19/month/1000 contacts

Marketer

$48.38/month/1000 contacts

$59/month/1000 contacts

Creator

$56.58/month/1000 contacts

$69/month/1000 contacts

MAX

Custom pricing

Custom pricing

GetResponse offers a free plan alongside three paid tiers — Starter, Marketer, and Creator, plus an enterprise-level offering called MAX. All plans are scaled by contact list size, with options ranging from 1,000 up to 100,000 contacts.

The Free plan supports up to 500 contacts and allows 2,500 newsletter sends per month. It includes a basic website builder, signup forms, and limited landing pages (capped at 1,000 unique visitors per month). Emails sent from the free plan carry GetResponse branding, which you can only remove by upgrading. You also get a 14-day free trial of all premium features when you first sign up.

The Starter plan starts at $19/month (billed monthly) for up to 1,000 contacts, with unlimited email sends, autoresponders, AI email generation tools, and unlimited landing pages. It's a strong entry point for solo marketers and small businesses getting their feet wet with automation.

The Marketer plan, starting at $59/month for 1,000 contacts, is where GetResponse's full automation power becomes accessible. You get advanced event-based workflows, contact scoring, web push notifications, ecommerce integrations, and multi-user access for up to three team members.

The Creator plan starts at $69/month and is aimed at content creators and online sellers. It adds webinars for up to 100 attendees, an AI course builder, paid newsletters, and support for up to five users — all on top of everything in the Marketer plan.

For larger businesses, GetResponse MAX (enterprise) offers dedicated support, SMS marketing, single sign-on, unlimited users, and transactional email. Pricing is custom and requires contacting the sales team directly.

You can save 18% by paying annually for a 12-month plan, or 30% by committing to 24 months.

GetResponse dashboard

(Image credit: GetResponse)

How does GetResponse use AI?

GetResponse has integrated AI tools across several areas of its platform, making it one of the more AI-forward options in the email marketing space. The most prominent is its AI email generator, which can produce both copy and design in one go.

Rather than starting from a blank canvas, you describe your campaign and it drafts a complete email with layout, images, and text included. We found the AI a useful starting point, even if you'll want to refine the output before sending.

But the AI Campaign Generator goes a step further. Give it a business description and a goal, and it can spin up a full marketing funnel, including landing pages, email sequences, and calls to action. It's not a magic button, but for marketers short on time or ideas, it meaningfully speeds up the setup process.

For ecommerce users, GetResponse offers AI-powered product recommendations that analyze each customer's browsing history, preferences, and purchase behavior to surface relevant products automatically in both emails and on your website. It's worth noting this feature is only available on the MAX plan however, putting it out of reach for most users on standard tiers.

Content creators on the Creator plan also get access to the AI Course Wizard, which can transform your existing content like blog posts, documents, and other materials into a structured online course in roughly 30 minutes. There's also an AI website builder that generates a personalized website for you to customize.

Across the board, AI in GetResponse is practical and production-focused rather than experimental, which feels like the right fit for its core audience.

GetResponse: Features

GetResponse has grown far beyond a straightforward email tool. Today it bundles email marketing, marketing automation, landing pages, a full website builder, webinar hosting, sales funnels, ecommerce integrations, and an AI course creator into a single platform. For a solo entrepreneur or small team, that kind of consolidation is a genuine time-saver.

The email marketing toolkit remains a standout. You get a drag-and-drop email editor, a library of hundreds of responsive templates, unlimited autoresponders on all paid plans, and a range of segmentation options to personalize your messaging. Automation workflows let you build branching sequences triggered by user behavior, purchases, link clicks, or custom tags.

GetResponse also earns points from us for its conversion funnel tools. Unlike most email platforms, it ships with pre-built funnel templates for lead magnets, product launches, and webinars, tying landing pages, emails, and checkout flows into a single system. Webinar hosting for up to 100 attendees (Creator plan) is still a relatively rare feature in this price range.

The platform's integrations cover popular ecommerce and CRM tools, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Stripe, and PayPal, with Zapier extending the reach to thousands of third-party apps. The one notable gap for power users is the absence of a full-featured CRM with pipeline management, though. GetResponse handles contact scoring and segmentation well, but it's not a replacement for a CRM.

GetResponse website builder

(Image credit: GetResponse)

GetResponse: Interface and in use

Getting started with GetResponse involves simply creating a new account by entering your name, email address and a new password. Complete a short questionnaire about your marketing goals and land in the main dashboard — no credit card required for a free account. New users also unlock a 14-day trial of all premium features, giving you time to explore the full platform before committing to a paid plan.

The dashboard itself is clean and easy to navigate, with a left-side menu that lets you jump between modules divided into campaigns, automations, landing pages, and more. The drag-and-drop email editor is the centerpiece: you can add blocks, preview on mobile, and test links without having to leave the editor.

There's a slight learning curve if you want to build complex automations, but the visual workflow builder helps considerably. But one design choice worth flagging: some advanced features like the full automation builder or webinar tools are tucked away in plan-gated areas, which means you might not discover them until you upgrade.

GetResponse: Support

GetResponse offers support through live chat and email, and both channels are accessible to free and paid users alike. Chat is available in English during extended hours (7 AM–11 PM on weekdays and 7 AM–9 PM on weekends, GMT+1), with a 24/7 chatbot covering off-hours queries. Email support is available round the clock in English, Polish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian for an international user base.

There's no phone support, which remains a notable omission, especially for users running time-sensitive campaigns. That said, GetResponse's Help Center is well-stocked with guides, tutorials, and API documentation covering most common scenarios. Live webinars run regularly and often include hands-on demos for platform features, which we find more useful than static documentation for complex tasks like automation setup.

MAX plan subscribers get an elevated support experience: a dedicated Customer Experience Manager who acts as a single point of contact, familiar with your business and marketing goals. For enterprise users managing large lists or complex workflows, that kind of personalized support is a meaningful differentiator.

GetResponse: The competition

An industry leader in the email marketing space, but that doesn’t mean that GetResponse is the right option for all. 

Constant Contact remains a popular competitor, which is quite ideal for those needing a simple, beginner-friendly platform without being overwhelmed with a ton of advanced features. Prices start at a competitive $12 per month, with the email marketing tools complemented by the platform’s excellent landing page builder. 

Another option worth considering is MailChimp. For over two decades, it has been providing industry-leading email marketing solutions, with its service continuing to improve every year. It has an excellent “free forever” plan with streamlined integrations such as a creative assistant, marketing CRM, and a website builder.

GetResponse: Final verdict

Putting this all together, there’s plenty of reasons that GetResponse gets lauded as the number-one email marketing platform worldwide. This is because it is affordable, offers a great free trial, and has excellent customer service. 

The drag-and-drop email builder is great for novices, while still remaining a powerful option for creating highly customized emails. The free forever plan is also worth mentioning for a smaller business just starting out. 

The bottom line is that if you’re looking for a competitively priced email marketing program that’s backed by a suite of other tools, GetResponse easily makes it to the short list of contenders worth looking at. 

We've listed the best online marketing services.

Bluehost VPS review
5:36 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Hosting | Comments: Off

If you feel it is time to upgrade your shared hosting to one of the best VPS providers, Bluehost looks like a good place to start. With its managed VPS offering, you potentially get the benefit of the performance boost that comes with a VPS without the headache of supporting the website software yourself.

To find out if Bluehost’s managed VPS option is as attractive as it looks, we’ve evaluated it, comparing the plans and pricing options, the server infrastructure, and features. We also assessed performance of Bluehost VPS hosting with benchmark tools, and spent some time with its site building tools, which are aimed at anyone launching a small business website.

How does a managed VPS differ?

WHM console in Bluehost VPS hosting

(Image credit: Christian Cawley)

A Virtual Private Server plan typically comes in two flavors: managed, and self-managed. The former means the host will provide assistance with issues such as setup or implementing updates of security software, while the latter leaves everything up to you.

If you have experience of managing web servers on a day-to-day basis, the self-managed option is probably more appropriate. For everyone else, a managed VPS is the smart alternative, particularly if you’re scaling up from shared or cloud hosting.

NOTE: Bluehost offers self-managed VPS and managed VPS plans. These are closely positioned on the site’s menu, so be careful which one you select!

Bluehost plans and pricing

Bluehost VPS plans

(Image credit: Christian Cawley)

Three managed VPS plans are available from Bluehost: Standard NVMe 4, Enhanced NVMe 8, and Ultimate NVMe 16. Each plan is more expensive than the previous, with a growing server hardware spec. The names relate to the spec – for example, Standard NVMe 4 reflects a server with 4GB RAM. All servers have virtual CPU cores (as expected with a VPS) and NVMe storage.

Plans are available as a monthly rolling deal, or for 12 or 36 months with appropriate discounts. These plans come with free cPanel (depending on selected term), and Let’s Encrypt SSL is included. A premium SSL certificate is available, but at extra cost, as is Sitelock security. Unmetered bandwidth, and two dedicated IPs are included in the price, and all plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Building a website with Bluehost

Creating a website means first manually attaching the domain with the hosting, something that may seem unfamiliar if you're used to shared hosting, as it doesn't typically require customer input.

Sitejet website template

(Image credit: Christian Cawley)

Two options are available for building a website. You can install WordPress and use the included WP builder, or employ Sitejet. This is a cPanel-based solution that is useful for a quick start, but (certainly based on its implementation at Bluehost) results in somewhat generic sites. However, the website editor offers good control over the layout, and compared with WordPress, Sitejet is a simpler solution for quickly creating an attractive website for your business.

Speed and performance

We installed a WordPress site on our Bluehost VPS and ran a couple of benchmarking tests, first with WordPress Benchmark (a plugin you can install in WordPress) and then with YABS (Yet Another Bench Script).

WordPress

CPU & Memory

Operations with large text data

7.87

Random binary data operations

9.15

Recursive mathematical calculations

8.92

Iterative mathematical calculations

10

Floating point operations

9

Filesystem

Filesystem write ability

8.54

Local file copy and access speed

8.77

Small file IO test

9.95

Database

Importing large amount of data to database

8.44

Simple queries on a single table

10

Complex database queries on multiple tables

10

Object cache

Persistent object cache enabled

0

WordPress core

Shortcode processing

8.19

WordPress Hooks

10

WordPress option manipulation

9.84

REGEX string processing

8.92

Taxonomy benchmark

9.8

Object capability benchmark

9.78

Content filtering

5.7

JSON manipulations

10

Network

Network download speed test

10

Overall

8.8

Bluehost support for VPS customers

Various support options are available, from a dedicated telephone team to live chat. There is also an AI-powered chatbot, although I found this didn’t provide accurate information regarding Bluehost’s VPS plans.

I ran into some problems with the hosting. The instructions for this did not match what I was seeing, so I spoke to a support assistant (following a brief and fruitless chat with the BLU chatbot, which left a lot to be desired when I asked it about setting up a website, too). Unfortunately, the agent seemed too concerned with delivering cookie cutter answers than delivering a swift answer to my specific concerns.

Bluehost also provides a searchable knowledge base and a free WordPress course in conjunction with Yoast, the SEO company that is part of “the Bluehost family.”

Final verdict

Bluehost’s features and helpful customer support make its Managed VPS plans extremely attractive. I’ve used VPS hosting several times over the years, and seen it evolve from the self-managed options to the state where more hosting companies offer managed options.

Meanwhile, the testing demonstrates that Bluehost’s Managed VPS is ideal for WordPress hosting. While there is a considerable difference in price between the two options, its Managed VPS is priced as a logical progression from its higher performance WordPress shared hosting for their business. That makes it a smart option for anyone looking for first-time VPS hosting.

Omnisend Review: Pros & Cons, Features, Ratings, Pricing and more
4:37 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Comments: Off

Omnisend is a platform for e-commerce business owners to market to their customers. You can use it to send bulk messages via email or SMS to entice subscribers to buy your product.

Omnisend began in 2014 as an email marketing platform named Soundest. Three years later, it changed its name, and in 2018, it added SMS marketing features. In 2019, Omnisend became one of the top-five marketing apps on Shopify and in 2020, the company opened a U.S. office.

This platform serves over 100,000 customers worldwide and employs over 180 people at three offices.

Omnisend: Plans and pricing

Plan

Starting Rate

Free

$0/month

Standard

$16/month

Pro

$59/month

Custom

Contact sales

Omnisend offers four tiers: Free, Standard, Pro, and Custom. The Free plan lets you send up to 500 emails per month to a maximum of 250 contacts, and includes access to the full Omnisend feature set — a generous offering for new or small stores. However, all outgoing emails carry the Omnisend branding until you upgrade.

The Standard plan starts at $16/month for up to 500 contacts and scales automatically as your list grows. It gives you 12x your contact count in monthly email sends, unlimited web push notifications, and live chat support. The Pro plan starts at $59/month and unlocks unlimited email sends, a monthly SMS credit equal to your plan cost (e.g., $59/month gets you roughly $59 in SMS credits), advanced reporting, and priority support. Larger teams with high-volume needs can also reach out for a custom enterprise quote.

Pricing at Omnisend is contact-based rather than email-volume-based, which means your monthly cost will rise automatically as your subscriber list grows. New subscribers can save 30% on their first three months by paying upfront at signup.

How does Omnisend use AI?

In 2025, Omnisend launched a comprehensive AI suite aimed at reducing the manual workload of email marketing while improving personalization at scale.

Their centerpiece is the AI Email Writer, a generative tool that drafts complete, branded email campaigns based on a short prompt. The system draws on your brand's tone of voice, logo, fonts, and colors to produce output that feels consistent with your existing marketing without requiring manual style configuration.

Alongside the Email Writer, Omnisend introduced a Subject Line Generator that produces multiple high-converting subject line options based on historical performance data from millions of campaigns. There's also a Preheader Generator that works in tandem, helping you optimize the short preview text that appears alongside subject lines in email clients. Both tools support A/B testing.

On the personalization side, Omnisend added an AI-Powered Product Recommender that analyzes each subscriber's browsing and purchase history to automatically insert relevant products into emails. Initially available for automation workflows, the feature is being extended to standard campaign sends. It works with Omnisend's existing Dynamic Content Personalization system, which already supported showing or hiding content blocks based on subscriber attributes.

Perhaps the most useful AI addition for growing teams is the AI Segment Builder, currently in beta. Rather than building audience segments by manually configuring filters, you can describe the audience you want in plain language. For example, "customers who bought jeans last winter" or "subscribers who haven't opened an email in three months" will generate the corresponding segment automatically.

AI tools are available across all plans, including the free tier.

Omnisend: Features

Omnisend automated workflows

(Image credit: Omnisend)

Omnisend is one of the more feature-complete marketing platforms in the ecommerce space, covering email campaigns, SMS, web push notifications, automation workflows, segmentation, forms, and landing pages — all from a single dashboard. Its depth is especially apparent for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce users, who benefit from native one-click integrations that automatically pull in product catalogs, order data, and customer behavior without any manual setup.

Email marketing sits at the core of the platform. You get a drag-and-drop builder with roughly 350 pre-made templates, a Product Picker that lets you insert store items directly into emails, and built-in discount code generation that syncs automatically with your connected store. Omnisend also supports campaign A/B testing, a Campaign Booster that automatically resends to non-openers with a fresh subject line, and a click map that visualizes engagement by geography.

Moreover, Omnisend ships with a solid library of pre-built workflows like welcome series, cart abandonment, browse abandonment, post-purchase follow-ups, birthday messages, and more. All of these workflows can be customized via a no-code editor. Each workflow also supports multi-channel branching, so a single automation can send an email, wait for a response, then trigger an SMS or push notification depending on how the subscriber behaves.

But the platform could stand to improve its reporting flexibility for Standard plan users, who have less access to segment-level analytics and historical data compared to higher tier subscribers. The template editor also has some design constraints that more experienced marketers may find limiting.

Omnisend: Interface and in use

Omnisend email templates

(Image credit: Omnisend)

Getting started with Omnisend is straightforward. You can register using an email address, a Shopify account, or a Google login. Then the onboarding flow walks you through connecting your ecommerce store right away. Once connected, Omnisend begins pulling in your product catalog and customer data automatically, so you can start building campaigns without any manual data entry.

This platform also received a notable interface refresh in May 2025, with a redesigned sidebar, updated icons and typography, and a general reduction in the number of clicks required to complete common tasks. Now, the experience feels cleaner and more modern than it did at launch.

Navigation is divided into logical sections like Campaigns, Automations, Audience, Forms, and Reports — with most features discoverable without consulting documentation. That said, the email editor can still feel a little rigid for users who want to build highly custom layouts, as some content blocks limit design flexibility.

For new users, the learning curve is fairly gentle. Pre-built automation templates and guided setup flows do most of the heavy lifting, and the platform's help documentation is thorough.

More advanced features like dynamic content personalization and custom segmentation take a bit more time to master, but they don't require technical skills. Overall, Omnisend strikes a reasonable balance between being approachable for beginners and capable enough for growing ecommerce teams.

Omnisend: Support

One of Omnisend's most frequently praised qualities is the accessibility of its customer support. Unlike many competing platforms that restrict live support to paid subscribers, Omnisend offers 24/7 live chat support to all users, including those on the free plan. This is a meaningful differentiator for small stores or early-stage businesses that want a safety net while they're learning the platform.

For paid users spending $400 or more per month, Omnisend assigns a dedicated Account Expert who can assist with onboarding, migration from other platforms, and ongoing campaign strategy. This tier of support is primarily relevant to larger operations, but it's a reassuring option to know exists. Standard and Pro subscribers also get priority access to the support queue and access to a growing library of on-demand video training, live workshops, and email marketing guides.

Beyond direct support, Omnisend maintains a comprehensive help center, an active community forum, and a blog that frequently covers best practices, platform updates, and ecommerce strategy. User reviews across platforms like G2 and Capterra consistently highlight the support team's responsiveness as a standout feature, which is a useful signal for businesses that depend on fast resolution when something goes wrong.

Omnisend: The competition

There’s no shortage of email and SMS marketing platforms competing with Omnisend, but two notable examples are MailChimp and Klaviyo.

MailChimp is an effective email marketing platform tailored for broad usage, while Omnisend is designed primarily for e-commerce users. Klaviyo is built primarily for e-commerce businesses like Omnisend and offers similar features, but it's more expensive.  

Omnisend: Final verdict

Omnisend subscription form

(Image credit: Omnisend)

If you own an online store and want to market products to existing customers or potential customers as easily as possible, Omnisend is an ideal tool. You can create different types of campaigns and send them using email, SMS, or push notifications. Afterward, you can get detailed reports to monitor the performance of your campaigns and make adjustments where needed.

Yet while the 2025 update helped modernize the interface, we still think Omnisend's editor needs some UI improvements to compete with other modern no-code tools in this space.  

We've listed the best online marketing services.

HostMetro review
6:36 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Hosting | Comments: Off

HostMetro is quite a novel player in the web hosting market. Although the founders of the company had a significant amount of prior experience in this business, HostMetro was launched in 2012 in the US. Not surprisingly, their main office is situated there, in Chicago specifically. Curiously, they specialized in shared hosting solutions only. Their main aim (as they claim) is to provide affordable, easy to create, manage and maintain websites and hosting accounts. Apart from the US, HostMetro has managed to develop a considerable customer base in the UK, India and Taiwan.

Their one-and-only data center is deployed in Elk Grove Village (near Chicago) and, according to them, it offers network connectivity, redundancy in power and day-and-night security monitoring. To provide all of its users with a consistency of high speed, HostMetro’s network infrastructure features 10GB per second connections, which is always good to see. In addition, to further guarantee reliability and speed, their servers are run by dual quad-core Intel processors that possess 96GB of RAM and support RAID-protected storage and SSD drivers on their MySQL database servers.

HostMetro’s main website feels modern, refreshingly original in its visual design and (as you'd expect) user-friendly. All information about the company and their products are presented in a clear manner, and while it doesn’t go into details at times, it does provide a decent amount of information on everything required.

Even though HostMetro lacks an official blog, their social network accounts (Facebook and Twitter) seem to be doing well, creating new content on a day-to-day basis.

Pricing

HostMetro keeps things simple with just two shared hosting plans (Image credit: HostMetro)

Plans and pricing

When HostMetro declared it will provide affordable pricing, it seems they weren’t exaggerating, since their hosting plans start at quite attractive $2.95 per month. Additionally, the prices are fixed from the moment of sign up, so there are no additional (nor hidden) fees nor price hikes upon renewal to shake you up. In addition to the basic shared hosting plan labeled as “Mega Max”, there is an advanced one called “Super Max',' as well as one for those who want to try out email hosting.

All of these plans share a number of common features including: unlimited email hosting and email accounts; a plentiful of disk space and bandwidth; a domain registration and website builder, both of which are charge-free.

The billing cycle is somewhat flexible and users can choose to be charged on an annual, biennial or triennial basis, and they can do it by using all major credit cards or PayPal.

If HostMetro’s services don’t meet your expectations, there is a money-back guarantee which can be granted upon request within 30 days from the original purchase.

Ease of use

Users moving from another host should know that HostMetro provides charge-free website migration services, but with certain limitations. First, the size of the website mustn’t exceed 3GB, which is needlessly inflexible although it is above the average website size. Second, all site transfers need to be requested within 30 days from creating an account with HostMetro, which is another thing you should bear in mind.

Creating an account with HostMetro is rather refreshingly uncomplicated in terms of one’s user experience. The first decision you’ll have to make is related to your domain: do you want to register a new one (which is free of charge for new users), transfer an old one (given that you have it) or update your nameservers while leaving it with your current manager. After this, you’ll be asked to choose a billing cycle and, if you didn’t intend to commit for a year at least, you might be bummed out by the lack of option for monthly billing. On the bright side, whatever you decide, the price will be locked (due to price lock guarantee), so you won’t have to worry about unpleasant cost-related surprises.

Two additional features you can choose while on this page are Anytime backup (which will cost you $19.95 annually) and an SSL certificate. This might be a letdown if you, like many of us, are used (i.e. being spoiled rotten by other providers) to getting this completely free of charge even with the cheapest plans. With HostMetro it will take $20 for each year, which is good to have in mind in advance. However, ID Protection is cost-free, for a year at least.

To finish creating your account you’ll be required to provide a considerable number of personal information, create a password and select a method of payment, after which you’ll proceed to apply it.

cPanel

HostMetro allows you to manage your site using the industry standard cPanel (Image credit: cPanel)

Since industry standard cPanel is provided with all (and when we say “all”, we mean “both of”) HostMetro’s shared hosting plans, you won’t have much choice in the matter. Nevertheless, because there is a consensus that cPanel is one of (if not the one) most user-friendly option out there, this is a bright spot. From there, WordPress is one-click away, as well as other helpful applications. Alternatively, HostMetro includes a website builder with all of its plans.

Performance

We used GTmetrix to measure the uptime and response time of our HostMetro site (Image credit: GTmetrix)

Speed and experience

Although HostMetro doesn’t promise much about the speed, GTmetrix, a test that monitored speed performance of their main website, has presented us with remarkably promising results. What is more, GTmetrix conclusively rated the performance with an A (97%), which is something we seldom see. The time it required to complete load the page, the requests, total blocking time, largest contentful paint and all other core web metrics were all above the average. Hence, the positive results we got were hardly surprising.

As for uptime, HostMetro offers a 99% guarantee (which is not much), and has a policy to grant one free month of hosting to every customer, provided that their annual uptime falls below the guaranteed percentage. However, after observing the uptime of HostMetro’s main website for a month, UptimeRobot failed to record any downtime at all, presenting us with a flawless performance. Fortunately, those with no such luck  can still get a free month as an apology.

Support

Looking for help on HostMetro’s website will introduce a couple of options and, more importantly, cartoonishly cute Mega Man’s long lost brother, which is (we assume) their incomprehensibly underutilized mascot. On the other hand, HostMetro’s support team is available round-the-clock and can be reached in a number of ways: by email, support ticket, live chat and telephone. The latter is, however, open during the working days only and from 8AM to 8PM (CST).

Support

You can find answers to common web hosting problems in HostMetro's knowledgebase (Image credit: HostMetro)

As an alternative, all are invited to visit HostMetro’s knowledgebase, which features more than 200 articles on various subjects divided into 18 different categories (cPanel, database questions, e-commerce, FTP, security and so on). Among these, there is a category entitled “Video Tutorials” and it provides more than a 100 step-by-step video guides covering many important issues related to cPanel and website management, which is quite commendable. Whether you are a complete beginner or a veteran webmaster, we are sure you’ll find HostMetro’s knowledgebase pretty handy.

The competition

Dedication to shared hosting is one of the traits that HostMetro shares with its fellow US-based host known as PowWeb. While HostMetro offers two plans of different sizes, PowWeb puts forward its one-and-only hosting plan. Although PowWeb includes an SSL certificate with the plan, the price hike after the initial phase might catch you off guard. No such problem should occur when dealing with HostMetro, since the prices are locked following the sign up process.

Like many of its competitors dedicated to shared hosting, One.com tries its best to provide everything to meet the needs of its customers. Despite that, when it comes to customer support One.com falls short in comparison to HostMetro. In addition, while One.com aims to be newbie-friendly, they don’t offer free domain registration, while HostMetro does.

In comparison to HostMetro, HostGator has much more to offer, both to individual bloggers and various sized businesses. Both hosts are beginner-friendly and offer several self-help options, but HostGator adds a free SSL certificate even with the cheapest plan and a 45-day money back guarantee to boot.

Bluehost is another US-based host and one that can offer the same and more in comparison with what HostMetro can. Both of them are beginner-friendly and entry-level shared hosting plans with both hosts being uncannily similar together with their available billing cycles. Even so, more ambitious users are more likely to find a permanent home for their websites with Bluehost, since it offers more hosting types and definitely more than two different-sized hosting plans.

Final verdict

HostMetro is among the very few web hosting providers that offer a price-lock guarantee, so their customers wouldn’t have to suffer an unpleasant surprise of facing a price spike after the initial period. Even popular hosts like Bluehost might strike you with the price spike that doubles the amount you originally paid, if you happen to forget about that fact. HostMetro’s hosting solutions are somewhat limited, but they are also feature-packed and can provide everything that is necessary for a simple website or a small business. Those who are trying to find something more ambitious will have to keep searching and (perhaps) take a look at hosts such as HostGator, Bluehost or Dreamhost.

HostRocket review
6:25 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Hosting | Comments: Off

HostRocket might not be as famous as some of the bigger companies in the industry, but they have been around for more than two decades, which presents a considerable experience in the field. Founded in 1999 and located in an area known as New York’s Tech Valley (Clifton Park) today they provide web hosting services to approximately 50,000 websites from their US-based data centers. On top of that, HostRocket offers services such as dedicated server, reseller, collocation, e-commerce and application hosting to a large number of customers from all parts of the world. 

Being a private company, HostRocket has certainly come a long way from its humble beginnings, and all without usage of venture capital, funds from outside investors or bank loans. Right from the start, they put a great emphasis on achieving a perfect balance between quality and affordability of their services. Although it all sounds good, HostRocket’s main website in its current state doesn’t inspire much confidence. Its layout, bleak color palette and overall style, together with a rather rough presentation of their services, feel outdated, uninspiring and not very user-friendly.

HostRocket’s customers are able to choose between four data centers, of which three are in the USA (each in New York, Chicago and San Jose), and the last one is found somewhere in the Netherlands.

The “About” section of the website provides a decent amount of information regarding the company and its data centres. However, HostRocket doesn’t have an official blog at the moment.

A screenshot of HostRocket's shared web hosting plans and prices

Unless you sign up for an annual or biennial plan, there will be extra setup fees included (Image credit: Future)

Plans and pricing

In comparison to other international providers, HostRocket’s prices for most of its plans are well above average. Fortunately, pricing of the most basic entry-level plan doesn’t fully fall into this category and will get you a free domain name as well. However, as the website is not intuitive enough nor is the presentation of their services linked to hosting, you might find yourself disoriented more often than not.

The monethly shared hosting plan costs $12.56, but the charge will drop significantly if you choose an semi-annual plan ($9.43 per month) or even more so with an annual one ($8.38 for each month). As if this wasn’t enough, all plans shorter than the annual have additional setup fees, which can considerably drive up the price.

With each of these you will gain unlimited website storage, bandwidth and websites as well as unlimited e-mail accounts, all of which sounds pretty good. 

All of HostRocket’s hosting plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee, which will give you plenty of time to make a final decision. 

As for the types of payment, HostRocket accepts credit cards exclusively.

Ease of use

After selecting a hosting plan and its billing cycle, you’ll need to register a new domain (which is free for the first year) or to transfer an existing one to HostRocket. After this, you can check out the details regarding your plan and confirm the billing cycle once more, before proceeding to their shopping cart. If you have selected anything below the annual billing, this is where you notice that setup fees can cost one a small fortune, $29.99 at this point. If you’re lucky enough to have a promotional code, you may validate it here and apply it to your order. 

Creating an account with HostRocket is a simple yet needlessly lengthy procedure when taken with the checkout process as a whole. After providing HostRocket with your personal data and coming up with a password, you can go ahead and select a card type with the required information, as it is the only available method of payment. In addition, if you want to receive marketing notifications via SMS, you may choose so by leaving a checkmark.  

Once the entire process is finalized, you’ll have to wait an hour or two before being able to enter your newly-created website. After finally logging in to HostRocket's site, you’ll find yourself in a completely standard account management from where you can see your plans, domains and tickets, among other things.

cPanel

You can manage your HostRocket site using cPanel and install additional apps using Softaculous (Image credit: cPanel)

Clicking on your hosting account will make a simplified control panel pop up. This panel will allow you to manage e-mail accounts and fire up a dedicated File Manager which is used to upload files for the website you want to create. As an alternative, if you are somewhat accustomed to cPanel, you can log into it and manage all aspects of your website from there. Using Softaculous you can have more than 250 applications installed without a hitch (such as WordPres, PrestaShop, Drupal, Joomla, Magento and more) and get things moving.

Performance

We used GTmetrix to measure the uptime and responsiveness of our HostRocket site (Image credit: GTmetrix)

Speed and experience

As usual, we monitored the performance speed of HostRocket’s main website with the help of a test made possible by GTmetrix. And, to our satisfaction, it showed rather positive results. To completely load the page, it required merely 3.7 seconds, which looks even better in comparison to the average result of 8.1. Additionally, it took 51 requests, which is, again, pretty good in contrast to the average of 89. In the end, GTmetrix concluded that HostRocket’s website is worthy of a firm B (82%).

HostRocket promises a modest 99.5% of uptime and, according to UptimeRobot, is likely to deliver on its promise. The above mentioned test run for more than a month and recorded just one instance of downtime that lasted for 4 minutes. Thereby, the uptime in general was 99.98%, which is a bit better than promised. As for response time oscillations, there were barely any except for the referenced one, leaving an impression of stability.

Support

When customer support is concerned, HostRocket's landing page features a “Support” menu which can take you to account management, knowledgebase, an option to submit a ticket and a choice to “contact them”, which is essentially the same as submitting a ticket. In addition to this, customers who choose a dedicated, reseller or colocation hosting type may get in touch with the support team via telephone which is available from 9 AM to 9 PM. However, there is a personnel at your disposal day-and-night in case of emergency. Additionally, there is a so-called “FAQ System”, but going for it will merely take you to their knowledgebase.

Support

HostRocket's knowledgebase has loads of tutorials on common web hosting issues (Image credit: HostRocket)

HostRocket’s knowledgebase is well organized into ten relevant categories and all of them are packed with a number of articles. However, if you can’t see what you’re looking for among them, there is an option to browse through the base by using the search box. The articles themselves are written in straight-to-the-point manner and seem to be helpful enough. Five of them are highlighted as the most popular ones and they cover some important topics for newcomers, such as creating an index page using .htaccess files, domain registry, creating e-mail accounts, using control panel and uploading files to one’s website. 

Overall, HostRocket’s customer support seems to be very informative and helpful, so the only thing that is really lacking in that department (apart from the official forum) is the absence of live chat feature.

The competition

TMDHosting is one of HostRocket’s US-based competitors and an ambitious one to boot. Both of them offer free domain registration for first-time users, but each additional domain registration with HostRocket will cost as much as $20 for each year, which is twice the amount than what is found with most providers, TMDHosting included.

Hostgator includes all the essential features with all its plans, such as: SSL certificates, SpamAssassin and automatic backups, which isn’t something HostRocket will provide you with. Another good thing is HostGator’s website builder, which all users are entitled to without any charge. On the other hand, HostRocket does provide virtually unlimited everything (storage, bandwidth, websites and e-mail accounts) with its hosting plans.

While HostRocket tries to target all businesses regardless of their size, HostDime is more geared towards larger businesses and their needs. Although the latter can also supply a small business with everything, too much of a good thing might not be equally good for the budget.

Bluehost is another well-known host which offers a whole array of services, features and options in general. However, it doesn’t provide a monthly billing for its plans (which HostRocket does) although, honestly, these plans tend to be on the expensive side.

Final verdict

Truth be told, having in mind the fact that HostRocket hosts over 50,000 websites at this moment is a testament to their reliability and good performance. Their plans, for the most part, include many unlimited features and offer a decent value for money, yet there are exceptions. Their shared hosting isn’t bad in itself, but customers who go for a monthly or semi-annual billing system, will be taken by surprise with the charge for additional setup fees. 

Although HostRocket represents a pretty fair price-performance ratio, there aren’t many things that make them stand out among competitors like Bluehost, Hostgator or DreamHost. All of them can get you this and better without breaking the bank.

GL.iNet Slate 7 portable Wi-Fi 7 travel router review: A brilliant travel router with a few strategic flaws that the makers need to fix
1:34 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

GL.iNet Slate 7: 30-second review

GL.iNet has a good reputation for router technology, and its mainstream home-office products, like the Flint 3, are widely revered. Alongside the Flint 3, GL.iNet has the Slate 7, a travel router that takes the best aspects of its larger brother and condenses them into an easy-to-carry portable access point.

With two 2.5 GbE LAN ports, you can connect this device to a hotel's wired network and then get up to 2.1 Gbps of wireless bandwidth on the 5 GHz band to connect phones and laptops.

If that seems like a security nightmare, the Slate 7 offers options for WireGuard VPN or OpenVPN, protecting your systems from local intrusions. The firmware on the Slate 7 is OpenWRT 23.05 (customised), which supports up to 5,000 plugins, allowing you to tweak the router for specific purposes.

Where most travel routers aren’t suitable for wider applications, the Slate 7, with its dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, could be a quick fix for a small office that needs WiFi, as it can easily connect to a cable router and the internal network without compromising the speed of either.

The limitations of this design are that it doesn’t support 6GHz bandwidth, which is part of the full WiFi 7 experience, and it can’t work as a MESH router with the Flint 3.

But unless those technologies are part of your network plans, then the Slate 7 is an inexpensive solution that ticks plenty of other useful boxes, making it an obvious candidate for our best Wi-Fi routers collection.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

GL.iNet Slate 7: price and availability

  • How much does it cost? $170/£151/€174
  • When is it out? Available now
  • Where can you get it? You can get it directly from GL.iNet, and it is also available from Amazon and other online retailers.

Direct from the maker, the GL.iNet Slate 7 costs only $169.99/£150.99/€173.99, and is currently offering a bundle deal if you buy it alongside the Flint 3 router in Europe or the USA. That bundle costs $358.99 in the USA, and €347.98 across Europe.

Alongside the Slate 7, GL.iNet has a travel pouch for the router that’s only £11.99 in the UK, and a SIMPoYo uFi (SP-N150C4) Plug & Play 4G USB Dongle for just €23.52/£21.89, but that’s not offered in the USA.

It can be bought via Amazon.com and other online retailers, and the prices are remarkably close to those of the maker. However, GL.iNet is currently offering the Slate 7 on Amazon.co.uk for only £117.29, which is a fantastic deal.

For those buying in bulk from GL.iNet, some cost reductions can be had. As an example, buy ten of these, and you can get a 6% saving, and smaller discounts are available for 3 and 5 packs.

Considering the cost of some travel routers that only offer Wi-Fi 6, the Slate 7's price seems reasonable, especially since it can operate as a standard AP, a wireless bridge, repeater or a wired bridge.

However, TP-Link has released the remarkably similar TL-WRR3602BE portable travel router, which sells for $99 on Amazon.com. But that router only offers a single 2.5GbE LAN port, and its second port is only 1GbE.

Netgear also offers the Nighthawk M7 Pro Mobile Hotspot, which provides 5G or 4G LTE service, but it costs £900 in the UK and, while cheaper in the USA, doesn’t work with all 5G or 4G carriers.

Overall, there are cheaper options, especially if you reduce expectations by using WiFi 6, but for a Wi-Fi 7 solution, the Slate 7 can justify its asking price.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
  • Value score: 4/5

GL.iNet Slate 7: Specs

Feature

Specification

Model

GL-BE3600 (Slate 7)

CPU

Qualcomm Quad-core @1.1GHz

RAM

1GB DDR4

Storage

512MB NAND Flash

WiFi Bands

688 Mbps (2.4GHz)

2882 Mbps (5GHz)

WiFi Standard

IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be (Wi-Fi 7)

Ethernet Ports

1x WAN 2.5GbE
1x WAN/LAN 2.5GbE

USB Port

1x USB 3.0

Antennas

2x Foldable External Antennas

Operating System

OpenWRT 23.05 (customised)

VPN Support

WireGuard (490 Mbps) & OpenVPN-DCO (395 Mbps)

Modes

Routing, AP, Wireless Bridge, Wired Bridge

Power Input

5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/2.5A over USB-C

Power Consumption

Less than 8W (without USB demands)

Dimensions

130 x 91 x 34 mm

Weight

295g

GL.iNet Slate 7: design

  • Simple but elegant
  • Highly portable
  • Lots of useful modes

We’ve seen other Wi-Fi hardware makers go to extremes to make their products stand out in a remarkably competitive market. But the GL.iNet stuck firmly to the practicality proposition with the Slate 7, making it effectively a small 130 x 91 x 34 mm box with a gullwing antenna at either side and all the ports on the rear. The front has a small touchscreen that you can use to navigate a basic menu and view the router's status.

Power comes via USB-C, and it can be powered by a laptop since it draws only about 8W when no USB devices are attached. A small 30W PSU is included in the box, and on the EU model, adapters for four different power outlets are included: USA, UK, Europe, and Australia.

Since this PSU is similar in spec to those most people use for phones, a hardcore traveller could reduce the number of these devices they carry. Even with the PSU, this solution is less than 400g, and can easily fit alongside a laptop in hand luggage.

On the rear of the Slate 7 are two 2.5GbE LAN ports, and these, combined with the wireless capabilities, allow it to be an access point, a bridge, a Wi-Fi repeater, or even a controlled failover between two broadband providers.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

There is also a USB 3.0 port, though I never got the full 5Gbps performance I expected when connecting storage to it. What this port is useful for is adding a 5G or 4G dongle, expanding the capability to include distributing a mobile comms connection to multiple devices. When you consider how expensive some dedicated 5G routers are, and how inexpensive a 5G dongle can be, this might be the optimal combination.

From a hardware perspective, the only thing missing here is a battery, as we saw on the Puli AX, also by GL.iNet. But, as the designers chose to power this using USB-C, it can steal power from a laptop, a phone or a small power station easily.

One clever, but almost hidden feature is that when you push the antennas into their upright position, underneath the left one is a ‘Mode’ button, which you can set to toggle VPN services or other network functions quickly. That’s far more convenient than having to open up a phone or computer to switch modes. That’s something that some users will be doing on a regular basis, and the button could become a massive time saver.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Design score: 4/5

GL.iNet Slate 7: In use

  • Easy install
  • OpenWRT
  • No Mesh

Using the device is purely a matter of plugging in the power and any Ethernet connections you need, if any, and selecting the mode you want from the touchscreen. Once the router is configured, the screen can display QR codes for phones, tablets, and laptops to connect without having to enter complicated passwords. It’s exactly as straightforward as you might expect, and there is a phone app if you want to be taken through the configuration process with some support.

Like the Puli AX and Flint 3, this router is built on a customised version of OpenWRT, a Linux project for embedded devices. This tailored version of OpenWRT 23.05 with support for over 5,000 plug-ins makes it ideal for advanced users who want granular control over routing, VPNs, and network behaviour.

The only blot on this landscape is that you can’t install vanilla OpenWRT on this router, as the firmware has been configured specifically for this hardware platform, making it markedly less Open in the process.

What this firmware does offer is the ability to failover in various ways, enabling the two 2.5GbE ports (one each of WAN and LAN) to support two broadband services to handle the failure of one of them. In addition, although I didn’t test this, I’m confident it can failover to a 4G or 5G service via a USB dongle if the wired connection goes down. Many of these features are normally on desktop routers but rarely on travel hardware.

Internet access is also possible via a Wi-Fi repeater mode with an existing service, or via USB tethering to a phone or laptop with mobile comms capability.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

And, like the Flint 3, this router doesn’t mesh with other GL.iNet routers. This was a complaint I made about the Flint 3, and the Slate 7 has exactly the same problem.

If you don’t think this is a big deal, consider a common scenario: you have a Flint 3 or another router running most of your Wi-Fi, but you use the Slate 7 to create a local hotspot in your office. In an ideal world, the two would Mesh, so that devices would seamlessly move between them as you moved around the building, but that’s not an option.

Then, if you took the Slate 7 on a road trip, it wouldn’t impact the local Wi-Fi network, and it would slot back in when you returned. Why GL.iNet didn’t implement Mesh on these devices is a mystery, and it would be a huge story for those covering Wireless networking if they fixed this.

According to resources, OpenWRT does support mesh via 802.11s or batman-adv, but this isn’t implemented in the GL.iNet interface. This isn’t a new issue, as neither the original Slate AX or Beryl AX had Mesh either, and the Flint 3 also lacks it.

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
  • In Use: 3.5/5

GL.iNet Slate 7: Performance

  • Lacks 6GHz
  • Lacklustre USB 3.0

Performance results are consistent, and present the Slate 7 as a workmanlike travel router that makes the most of the technology stuffed in it.

On 5GHz, real-world wireless speeds reach a limit of about 2.1 Gbps, which is strong for a travel router, given the theoretical bandwidth of 3400 Gbps across all bands.

If you use a VPN, that amount can be significantly reduced, with as little as 100 Mbps on OpenVPN, but WireGuard VPN throughput typically sits just above 500 Mbps, a trade-off that most travellers would live with to be safe on the road.

The performance of WireGuard and OpenVPN channels on routers is heavily determined by the SoC's speed. Many desktop routers built around OpenWRT 23.05, but with a more powerful SoC, can hit 1,000MB/s or better. But, since this router might be battery-powered, the chip in it was chosen for power efficiency and not breakneck WireGuard performance.

This hardware supports Multi-Link Operation (MLO), but since it lacks support for the 6GHz band, using it doesn’t tend to provide much in the way of speed gains, though it does enhance stability somewhat. Those operating this router in a hotel room wouldn’t notice the difference, I’m confident.

There is a good argument that selling the Slate 7 as a Wi-Fi 7 router when it doesn’t support 6GHz is, at best, overselling and, at worst, misleading. I’d temper that position by saying that this platform does support 4K QAM and Multi-Link Operation (MLO) for improved efficiency and speed over older standards, though if this router had a 6GHz band, it would be rated much higher than the BE3600 that it is currently.

GL.iNet Slate 7 Phone App

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

One place it doesn’t perform well is with the USB 3.0 port, which doesn’t deliver the bandwidth it should. File transfers from storage devices stalled at 132MB/s in my tests, even with external SSDs rated for 1,000MB/s or higher.

Since USB 3.0 should be at least 500MB/s, being a 5Gbps technology, but on this hardware, it looks like it's capped at closer to 1Gbps, which is disappointing. It’s worth saying that I’ve reviewed desktop routers with ‘Blue’ USB 3.0 ports and discovered they only support USB 2.0 transfer speeds (40MB/s), so the performance on this router is better than some.

Overall, the Slate 7 performs well with Wi-Fi 5 and 6 clients, but without 6GHz support, it can’t match the performance of a proper Wi-Fi router.

  • Performance score: 3.5/5

GL.iNet Slate 7

(Image credit: GL.iNet)

GL.iNet Slate 7: Final verdict

I like the Slate 7 more than some other products I could mention, mostly because it focuses on its core functionality and offers the features and flexibility that frequent travellers are looking for.

Being easy to carry and deploy is important for those on the move, and by using WireGuard VPN, you can keep communication secure even if the local hotel network is compromised.

If this design has weaknesses, many of them are the same that I noticed on the Flint 3, and as they share a firmware platform, that’s not a huge surprise. Ironically, if the Flint 3 supported Mesh, so would this router, and that would be a major selling point for both. For whatever reason, GL.iNet didn’t include Mesh, and it makes the Slate 7 slightly less useful for those who want to use one in the office to extend their network. You can still use it as a range extender, but that’s not the same as the smooth handover connections that Mesh can give you.

Of the eight travel routers GL.iNet currently sells, this is the one I’ve been most impressed with so far. However, I’ve yet to see the Mudi 7 (GL-E5800). a 5G NR Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 Travel Router, as it's only due to be released later this year,

There are cheaper options around that work perfectly well, but the thinking and functionality that’s in this one make it worth the extra cost when you are far from the office and need equipment that works.

Should I buy a GL.iNet Slate 7?

GL.iNet Slate 7 Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Agressively priced for the specification of this small device

4/5

Design

Compact, solid build with handy touchscreen

4/5

In Use

Easy to use and highly flexible but lacks Mesh

3.5/5

Performance

Strong on 5GHz & WireGuard; 'Wi-Fi 7' branding oversells it

3.5/5

Overall

Best-in-class travel router with a few caveats

4/5

Buy it if...

You want Wi-Fi 7
There are better Wi-Fi 7 routers available, most of it costs much more than this, and it isn't portable. However, you might find that those clients who are Wi-Fi 5 or 6, don’t get substantially more performance. And, Wi-Fi 7 clients can’t use 6GHz.

You want dual 2.5GbE in a travel package
No other travel router at this price point offers two 2.5GbE ports with failover, and you need to spend much more than this on a desktop router that offers more than one 2.5GbE port.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t have Wi-Fi 7 clients
Without the right hardware on the client end, there is little point in going with a Wi-Fi 7 router. However, if you intend to upgrade at some point, then it might be worth the investment.

You want to use Mesh
The lack of proper Mesh support in this design is a showstopper for many. It can work as a repeater, but that’s not the same in a crowded wireless environment.

For more connectivity solutions, we've reviewed the best business routers

Synology DS725+ review: a compact NAS with powerful performance, and perhaps one flaw
2:15 pm | February 25, 2026

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: | Comments: Off

The Synology DS725+ is an odd placement. It is a great device for most, don’t get me wrong, but with a seemingly downgraded Network port, the same CPU as a past model, no PCIe expansion port to upgrade to a 10GbE network port, and still an expandable storage option, it makes this a hard device to suggest, even while it’s a great device on it’s own.

As a device, not looking at models from the same company or family, this would probably score a bit higher. But knowing that other models exist at a similar price point from the same reputable company with better features, this score gets knocked a bit.

But with that said, the last thing I will say, with other products in mind, is that the DS723+ may be the better option for you if you need the 10GbE option or want it in the future; however, not everyone will want or ever really need that kind of speed. So, it depends on what you are going to use this NAS for.

Synology DS725+: Price and availability

Synology DS725+

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The Synology DS725+ without drives sells for $499, giving you an empty case ready for whatever drives you want. You can choose to add just one drive, or fill both bays, and you can also fill the M. 2 NVMe slots. If you want more storage, you can grab an expansion DX525 unit and add 5 more bays, bringing the total to 7.

It's widely available right now direct from Synology and online retailers like Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Synology used to require Synology-branded drives for compatibility, but they have recently opened this up to allow for non-Synology drives, just noting that not all will function the same.

For example, I have 2 Synology M.2 drives in my NVMe slots for caching, and for my main drives, I have 2x 8TB Seagate IronWolf NAS Internal Hard Drives, giving me a total of 16TB of storage, plus the 800GB of caching. This option was cheaper than the Synology-branded drives, and so far, I have had no issues.

Synology DS725+

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

Synology DS725+: Unboxing and First Impressions

Synology is one of those companies that has simple packaging, and at this point in my life and professional career, I appreciate that. No need for flashy packaging, just let me get to the product and let the product speak for itself. There are some nice foam inserts to help ensure the enclosure doesn’t get damaged, along with the power brick and cable, some RJ-45 LAN cables, drive bay screws, a key, and the guide.

This enclosure is super minimal, and with the NVMe slots under the device, the overall footprint is pretty small. I was able to add this to a small rack pretty easily, even though this is a desktop model, not a rack-based model. For this current setup, a rack system works well, but for the future, I want the flexibility of putting this on a desktop, making this formfactor perfect for me.

I was able to get things set up pretty quickly, not having to follow any instructions other than confirming the best way to connect to the NAS for the first time. Setup all occurs over at find.synology.com, which I've also used for my other Synology drives, and I was good to go.

For this setup, I have the Synology DS725+ 2.5GbE network port plugged into a Zyxel network switch that also has two media computers connected, and that switch is connected to my LAN. I also have a redundant network line for any potential failover running from the 1GbE port directly into the building.

Once I got that squared away and installed all four drives, I plugged in power and booted it up, then visited find.synology.com to install DSM and set the parameters I wanted. The setup was pretty straightforward, and there were no spots where I felt confused or unsure about what to choose. It probably took about 15-20 minutes from unboxing to using and syncing files.

Synology DS725+: Design & Build Quality

Synology DS725+

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

The physical design of the Synology DS725+ is pretty simple, and I like that. It’s not trying to be flashy. I do wish Synology would adopt more ports on the front for file transfer, as other companies like UGREEN do, but it’s not the end of the world by any means.

For this kind of storage, I understand why they don’t make it the primary focus, as the user base would probably be those who are not in the media space or have other ways of ingesting footage. Though I was able to easily ingest SD cards via an adapter, which was a fun surprise.

This is the kind of NAS you can, of course, tuck away if desired or keep on your desk, and you won’t feel bad about it at all, as it looks clean and sleek with its matte dark grey/black colorway and minimal lighting and badging.

Speaking of the looks, the build quality is great on this; there are no loose pieces or elements that feel cheaply designed. Everything feels quality without feeling so nice that I shouldn’t use it. Sadly, again, there is no expandable PCIe Gen 3 port, but there is an expandable USB-C port on the back for an expansion bay if desired down the road.

One thing that was updated since I received this unit and started testing is that Synology now allows all drive types again. While I do understand the backlash Synology was getting for this move, I see it as a lot like Apple's walled garden.

Yes, there may be part of it that is for trying to make users spend more on their products, but Apple is very particular about what can and will go into their devices, so they can have more control of the outcomes, producing a reliable experience which they could not ensure with products they do not design.

I think Synology was trying to ensure the best performance by only allowing its drives that meet its standards and performance expectations, not just any drive. However, now you can add just about any drive. Synology just notes that it may affect your performance, so make sure you do some research before choosing a non-Synology drive.

Synology DS725+: In use

Synology DS725+

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future )

I’ve had this drive up and running in my team’s media area for several weeks now. Its primary use is as a media server, hosting RAW video and photo files, communicating with a DaVinci Project Server, and working as a sync between Macs and Google Shared Drives, as well as other media folders scattered about. We rely on the cloud sync functionality to keep everything in check, uploading and downloading as needed.

Synology’s DSM 7 software is so easy to use that I can connect to it and work from my iPhone, my iPad, my Mac, or just interact with the file server through Finder. It is incredibly easy to set up and work on.

Right now, I have one volume containing all 16TB of my storage drives, and then both of my NVMe drives are set to cache that volume, making for one big drive that can work as fast as I need it to. I may add another set of drives through the expansion bay in the future and set up another volume, or I may split this volume over time depending on usage, but what’s great is that Synology makes that super easy.

If media storage is not what you need this for, this is even better as a file server, acting as your source of truth, a RAID server that can backup your critical files, or even work as a hybrid with a cloud service, backing up your cloud files, your computer files in the field, or perhaps taking what you store on a more expensive, but sometimes more convenient cloud service, pulling it down to your cold storage Synology backup, and freeing up your more convenient cloud service storage. Either way, this system is fantastic for all types of storage management.

Synology DS725+: Final verdict

Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future
Synology DS725+
Collin Probst // Future

I’ve only touched on the DS725+'s capabilities, which speaks to just how capable it is. However, circling back, its product placement is a bit odd. So, if you are looking for a great NAS for your business professional use, then you should probably check out the DS725+ as well as some of the other DS systems that Synology offers, but if you find a great deal, and you are ok with a 2.5GbE max port, then you should absolutely consider grabbing the DS725+ for your business or use case.

As most things do, this purchase comes down to the right deal and the right use, but at the end of the day, Synology is still highly respected in this space, and for good reason. They make great gear, even if some of it is oddly positioned against its brothers and sisters.


For more storage solutions, we've tested and reviewed the best NAS devices you can get.

StableHost review
7:55 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Hosting | Comments: Off

Based in Arizona (USA), StableHost was established in 2009 by a rather small but passionate team that has since grown to some 15 people today. Privately-owned and with more than a decade of experience, StableHost has specialized in providing powerful, reliable and secure web hosting solutions in all shapes and sizes. They can help you create a personal blog or start a small business all the while supporting much larger enterprise-level businesses. StableHost’s products run from domain registration and basic shared hosting to dedicated servers, VPS and reseller hosting. At the moment, they have multiple data centers in the US, Europe and Asia.

Back in 2018, they became a part of Miss Group, one of the fastest growing hosting companies on the market and a driving force behind many providers and hosting-related brands, such as Miss Hosting, 4 UK Host, Professional Hosting and Funio, among others.

StableHost’s main website design is quite simple (but not simplistic), user-friendly and predominantly colored green, which makes it easy on the eyes. Apart from English language, users are able to select German, Spanish, Swedish and Vietnamese, and as far as we could see the translation is done fully and in a professional way. The only thing that does not meet this criteria is customer feedback at the bottom of the page, but to be fair, pointing out this as a flaw is basically nit-picking.

The official blog stylistically resembles the rest of StableHost’s website and it seems that its only use over the past few years amounted to advertising the company’s products and offering occasional holiday discounts beyond a few updates about the company itself. It appears the blog has been gathering dust since April 2018, so we hoped to find better results in other aspects of their website.

A screenshot of StableHost's hosting plan prices

StableHost has affordable plans and the company also frequently offers discounts (Image credit: Future)

Plans and pricing

All of the available hosting options are reasonably priced, meaning they are affordable enough without the need to compromise on quality. This is particularly true for the shared hosting Starter plan, which offers 50% off the price during the first year of use. This plan starts at $6 (regular price is $11.99) and gets you unlimited disk space and bandwidth, plus a website builder.

If this doesn’t suit your needs, there are more ambitious plans and other hosting options. Reseller hosting starts at $10.99 per month and includes 20GB of disk space and the ability to host up to 10 clients. VPS pricing starts at $11.49 and is recommended as a step up from shared hosting.

StableHost offers a 45-day money-back guarantee, which is longer than we usually see. However, this goes for no more than 7 days for a dedicated VPS. 

You can pay for StableHost’s products with credit cards or PayPal.

Ease of use

Creating a new account and purchasing a plan with StableHost consists of four rather straightforward stages. The first thing to do after choosing a plan is to create a new domain (some names are free for the first year) or transfer an old one. If you want, you can add AlphaSSL for a few extra bucks. The second thing you might notice is that there are more than a few data centers to choose from: Chicago and Phoenix (USA), Frankfurt (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Valencia (Spain) and two servers in Singapore (Singapore).

ID Protection is listed as an additional free-of-charge service, which you’ll enjoy, they promise, for a lifetime. Additionally, SSH (Secure Shell) access can be yours for additional $2.50 (for life). It should be pointed out that it will come pre-selected, so if you don’t want it, make sure you deselect it before proceeding.

After this, you can select a payment method and continue with providing StableHost with the expected personal information (name, e-mail address, phone number and so forth). The only thing that sticks out is a possibility to choose a preferred currency: USD (US Dollar), EUR (Euro) or KR (Swedish Crown), which is a nice touch.

After making a payment, you’ll enter the fourth (and last) stage of the process, after which your newly-created website should appear (at least in 10 to 20 minutes).

cPanel

You can manage your website with cPanel and install popular one-click apps using Softaculous (Image credit: cPanel)

All of StableHost’s plans go with the popular Linux-based cPanel, so you’ll be able to manage all aspects of your website at ease, even if you don't have much prior experience with this control panel. Softaculous comes pre-integrated, so many useful applications such as WordPress, PrestaShop and Joomla are just mouse-click away. And if you prefer, you can use a user-friendly Site.Pro website builder with a drag-and-drop interface that will provide you with tons of themes and templates and an ability to change and customize the design as much as you please.

Performance

We used GTmetrix to test the uptime and performance of our StableHost site (Image credit: GTmetrix)

Speed and experience

Speed test provided by GTmetrix and performed on StableHost’s main website presented us with pretty average results. The time it took to completely load the page was 6.7 seconds, which actually looks a bit better when compared to the average result of 8.1. What's more, it required 75 requests, which surpasses the average of 87. However, the conclusive performance score was C (74%), which is exactly the average result.

Considering that StableHost promises 99.9% uptime, we had no choice but to put it to the test. After monitoring StableHost’s main website for more than a month, all with the help of UptimeRobot, we got a stable result. Not a second of downtime was recorded and although there were a few major oscillations in response time, this is unlikely to escalate into a problem.

Support

StableHost's knowledgebase provides simple and to the point solutions to common web hosting problems (Image credit: StableHost)

Support

As far as we can tell, StableHost’s knowledgebase has a decent amount of articles on various topics from technical support to politics. Since technical support is mostly related to the topics of our interest, we inspected further and found an additional division into subcategories covering a broad range of essential topics and potential issues. Most of these articles go directly to the point and offer step-by-step solutions. Some of them offer links to video tutorials as well.

Speaking of these, we should mention that there should be a self-help option on StableHost’s website titled “Video Tutorials”. However, choosing that option will get you nowhere since the link appears to be dead.

When customer service is concerned, StableHost offers all of the expected contact channels: e-mail, ticket, live chat and telephone. The e-mail based support is available around-the-clock for all the users, while the 24/7/365 telephone is reserved for those with high-end plans.

After reading a couple of customer reviews and then trying our own luck with the live chat support, we’ve got an insight into the disreputable reputation it has gained in the recent years. The agent we’ve got in touch was kind in every way, but we didn’t get a straight answer to our question. Instead, we were presented with a link to their article, which we could probably find ourselves. When all is said and done, the live chat support isn’t bad in itself, but it didn’t help us save time.

The competition

StableHost is a smaller company than Hostgator, and yet it manages to offer a whole range of hosting choices, customizations and features. Both present a great value for money, offer good performance and a decent (although far from perfect) customer service and feature a generous 45-day money-back guarantee. However, if you are trying to save a buck, Hostgator might be a better option.

Krystal Hosting is a fellow independent host, yet from the UK. Much like StableHost, they offer a free website builder with all of their plans and Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, but they go a step further with the refund policy. While StableHost’s money-back guarantee is valid for 45 days, Krystal Hosting allows its customers to change their minds for up to 60 days after the purchase.

Bluehost is the master of ease of use and is a difficult web host to compete with. In all fairness, StableHost does give beginners everything they need for a good start. Still, what Bluehost adds to the mix is its enhanced cPanel with an extremely newbie-friendly interface and this should make a buyer’s choice a bit easier.

Just like StableHost, HostRocket is a US-based host offering a variety of hosting-related services, good performance and industry standard cPanel with access to many popular apps. Despite this, its above-average prices and ridiculously expensive “additional” setup fees might take you by surprise, and not in a pleasant way.

Final verdict

StableHost is more than a capable web hosting provider in its own right but it’s hardly a match for bigger hosting companies like Bluehost, Hostgator or Hostinger, which can offer similar plans at more attractive prices. However, if you want to support an independent, honest and quite likeable host with a decent variety of products, enough data centers to choose from and guaranteed stability, give StableHost a chance.

HostNoc review
7:49 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Website Hosting | Comments: Off

HostNoc is headquartered in Ontario, Canada, but has offices in the US, the UK and the UAE as well. It has been serving individual customers and businesses of various sizes all over the world. Being founded in 2016, HostNoc is a rather young company, and yet it managed to become one of the more popular web hosting options out there. Next to basic shared hosting, they offer cloud hosting, VPS and dedicated servers, all packed with numerous features and first-rate cyber security.

HostNoc’s main website features a nice-looking intuitive interface and feels user-friendly at first, but fails to provide more relevant information about the host itself. In addition, information on locations of HostNoc’s data centers are not available at the moment. There are a decent number of languages to choose from, but the translation is only partial, so the users who are not familiar with the basics of English language at least may feel slightly deceived.

  • Want to try HostNoc? Check out the website here

On the other hand, HostNoc has an official blog and a pretty good one to boot. You’ll be able to search the blog using the search box, or browse articles sorted by date of publication or by topics. In addition, the archive is also available, in which all the articles are classified by the month of their publication. The oldest one dates back to August of 2018, so we can safely conclude that’s the time the blog was created. These articles appear to be informative enough and the blog seems to be updated on a weekly or biweekly basis at the very least.

When it comes to social networks, HostNoc is present on Facebook and Twitter and both accounts appear to be active.

A screenshot of HostNoc's Linux shared hosting plans

HostNoc routinely offers steep discounts on its hosting plans (Image credit: Future)

Plans and pricing

HostNoc’s pricing system appears to be pleasingly transparent. Users are able to choose between a few pre-made plans (their number depending on a hosting type) or create a custom plan, whichever suits their needs. With shared hosting plans, as an example, the price will vary depending on whether you choose Windows or Linux as an operating system. The Windows Essential shared hosting plan packs more extra features, so it will cost you a bit more.

It is important to note that HostNoc frequently offers hosting at discount prices that go up to 50% of the original price. Even though there is no free trial, the money-back guarantee is valid for 30 days after the purchase, so you’ll have enough time to make a final decision.

As for paying methods, HostNoc accepts credit cards and PayPal.

Ease of use

The plan you choose will appear in the View Cart section, where you’ll be able to go through all the specifications and details before proceeding to checkout. Before that, if you want a new domain name, you can check its availability and add it to the cart as well. It’s necessary to note that the price for a new domain, although reasonable, will be calculated for the whole year.

Before finalizing the purchase you’ll be required to add your personal information (albeit pretty regular ones), generate a password and select a paying method. In addition, you may leave any further notes related to your purchase and choose if you want to join HostNoc’s mailing list.

cPanel

If you want to use cPanel to manage your site, you'll have to choose from one of HostNoc's shared Linux hosting plans (Image credit: cPanel)

The shared hosting plan will provide its users with a standardized control panel: Plesk for the Windows users and cPanel for Linux. If you have any prior experience with either of these, you’ll have no trouble finding your way around. Even with unmanaged plans, the script installation is automated, and by using Softaculous, you’ll be able to install software like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, Drupal and Prestashop, among others, with a single click.

Websites you need to host are run on SSD storage which is supposed to offer top-notch performance. Failures and breaches involving data stored on disks should be prevented by the provided RAID configuration. To offer additional safety, the provider will give you around-the-clock infrastructure for monitoring paired with security mechanisms that feature antivirus protection and a shield against DDoS attacks.

Performance

We used GTmetrix to measure the performance and uptime of our HostNoc site (Image credit: GTmetrix)

Speed and experience

As reported by the speed test run through GTmetrix, HostNoc should offer a reasonably good service, at least judging by their main website. It took 10.2 seconds to fully load the page which doesn’t look too good in comparison to an average of 8.1, but it’s nothing too extreme. Additionally, the loading of the site required mere 39 requests which looks outstanding compared to an average of 89. In conclusion, GTmetrix rated the speed of HostNoc’s official website with an A (93%) which is an excellent result, especially when compared to the average grade, which is C (77%).

As expected, HostNoc offers an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. During our uptime test of their main website which ran for two weeks, we did not manage to record any downtime at all. However, there were a few oscillations in response time, but nothing worth worrying about.

Support

HostNoc has an extensive knowledgebase but you will need to be a registered user to access it (Image credit: HostNoc)

Support

If you get stuck somewhere along the way, you can always consult HostNoc’s first-class and well-documented knowledgebase which will provide you with thorough step-by-step guides and solutions for issues you may encounter, pictures included. From there, you are able to search the knowledgebase with the help of the search box, by one of the categories, or by selecting one of the most popular articles (if the issue you have is a common one).

However, to enter HostNoc’s knowledgebase you need to be a registered user, which may be a reasonable decision on their part, but doesn't seem to be a necessary one.

As an alternative, you are able to contact HostNoc’s customer support via telephone, live chat, ticket, e-mail or online contact form. The support is available round-the-clock and is responsive once you are registered on the website.

At the moment, HostNoc doesn’t appear to have a support forum.

The competition

When comparing the two, the first difference you’ll notice is that Tsohost is a UK-based provider while HostNoc’s main office is in Canada. Both offer a whole variety of options and customizations at budget-friendly prices, with plans often offered at a significant discount. However, Tsohost throws a free domain name in the bundle, while HostNoc doesn't.

When it comes to being beginner-friendly, both HostNoc and Hostgator both pass the test without any doubt. They offer good value for a quite affordable price and have enough hosting options for most customers. At the same time, each Hostgator’s plan includes a free website builder which might be decisive for some users.

Similar to HostNoc, Certa Hosting provides relatively cheap hosting options with a wide range of features and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Another similarity they share, and not a good one, is not providing any information regarding the location of their data centers.

Bluehost is another big competitor to HostNoc, offering everything HostNoc does and even more at pretty much the same prices. In addition, Bluehost offers a free SSL certificate with all of its plans to ensure the safety of visitors to your site, which is a good thing to have.

Final verdict

HostNoc claims their goal is to lower the burden on their customers while providing them with maximum service at a budget-friendly cost. Based on what we saw, we can conclude with certainty that they are well on their way to achieving that. Although they offer a good value for money (particularly for small to medium-sized businesses), some aspects of their offer as well as their main website could be improved. If you are not sure if HostNoc is the right choice for you, you can’t go wrong with Hostgator or Bluehost as more than suitable alternatives.

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