Imperium Hosting is a veteran-owned game server host which caters for a wide range of games. We focused on its place among the best Minecraft server hosting, but if you can think of a game with an online community, Imperium probably has a server plan for it.

For Minecraft, Imperium Hosting focuses on a range of configurable options rather than specific plan names which means a lot of variety. Besides game server hosting, Imperium also provides web hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers. Potentially a good option for someone seeking the best dedicated server hosting, we’ve specifically looked at Imperium Hosting’s dedicated Minecraft server hosting options. Here’s what we found during our time with Imperium.

Plans and pricing

Unlike other game server host providers, Imperium Hosting doesn’t use dedicated names for its plans. Instead, you pick your game then configure the options you need.

For Minecraft, that means you can adjust the memory allocation between 2GB and 20GB, and the disk space between 50GB and 200GB. Additionally, there are options like a superior CPU and other add-ons as needed.

It’s great to have such flexibility but if you’re new to game server hosting, some guidance as to what plan works best for your situation would help.

All plans offer DDoS protection, global server locations, extensive customer support, and one-click mod pack installation.

Refreshingly, while Imperium Hosting offers some add-ons during sign up, like migration, everything is opt-in. As standard, you’re provided with the cheapest plan with Minecraft plans starting from $2.99 for a basic 2GB RAM/50GB disk space plan (you’ll need more RAM in most scenarios). It’s laid out well so you know what you’re getting.

The cheapest plan starts at $2.99 with the price rising to $72 for the maxed out 20GB RAM/200GB disk space/RealTime CPU plan. There’s no extra fee for any of the server location with servers based in Washington, California, Virginia, the UK, France, and Canada. Payment is accepted via PayPal or credit/debit card.

Ease of use

As mentioned, the sign up process on the Imperium website doesn’t involve clicking on specific plan names. Instead, you pick the memory and disk space you need along with the CPU priority you would like. It’s not as clearly laid out as other hosting options (and I never could find full details on concrete differences between the CPU options), but it does give you plenty of control.

In a similar vein, once signed up, the dashboard and control panel aren’t as clearly laid out as others either but there’s all you need once you dig around. Log in and you can dive into the MySQL manager (1 database comes as standard), or the game service manager. The latter is where you’ll be spending much of your time with clearly laid options for adding mods, checking logs, or scheduling tasks? Attractive to look at? Not in the slightest but it gets the job done.

There are many modpacks available as well as the option to switch between Spigot and Paper, or Vanilla. If you’re completely new to setting up a Minecraft server, Imperium Hosting can be a little intimidating but it’s as powerful as you need it to be.

My favorite highlight is how easy it is to add sub users as not every game server host makes that as obviously simple as this. Just go to Create a Sub User and you can easily get set up.

Speed and experience

Imperium Hosting has servers located around the world. These include three within the US, one in Canada, one in the UK, and one in France. When signing up, your options are a little more restricted to Western America, Eastern America, or Western Europe.

Elsewhere in the world, you may find this a little limiting but based in Western Europe, I achieved a steady ping under 40 at all times. While there could be more varied servers, the core market is covered with North America and Western Europe.

As with all Minecraft server plans, aim high if you want to install any mods. Checking out the most basic plan and installing a couple of mods soon maxed out the memory usage. That’s typical when managing any Minecraft server but bear in mind that it’s a smart move to research what you need for your plans as Imperium Hosting doesn’t provide any recommendations.

Support

When it comes to support, it’s a benefit that Imperium Hosting is fairly small. Support is friendly and well-respected by many users. There’s Live Chat, a Discord server, as well as a more typical ticketing system. There’s also a Knowledgebase which covers most queries.

A YouTube channel would round things up nicely but like a lot of the service, Imperium is all about function over form and it still works reasonably well.

Imperium doesn't provide insight into its uptime on the site so there are no statistics to compare with other hosting providers. However, in my experience using the server, there was no downtime.

Final Verdict

Imperium Hosting isn’t the prettiest or most novice friendly of game server hosts, but it deserves some attention. If you’re keen to back a smaller game server hosting service, you’ll gain a decent pricing structure and good customer service.

There’s no chance of paying for features you don’t need here as Imperium Hosting keeps it simply laid out even if it isn’t ideal for newbies. Similarly, while you won’t be regaling Minecraft buddies with tales of how good looking the control panel is, it gets the job done.

Simple yet effective in all the right ways, I’d still recommend Imperium Hosting even if it could be a little more refined in places.

Empower Servers might not be a major name in Minecraft game server hosting but it’s been around since 2018 and offers some key services.

It isn’t quite of the standard to feature among the very best Minecraft server hosting but its choice of standard or premium plans and a sliding scale all ensure it’s well suited for novices and experienced server admins alike.

We focused on our time with its Minecraft server but Empower provides hosting for many of the most popular games including Palworld and Rust. It also offers Discord bots and website hosting if you have wider plans in mind. If you’re looking for some of the best Palworld server hosting, this could be a good option for that as well as Minecraft. There are also options to rival the best Rust server hosting. Here’s how we found the dedicated Minecraft server hosting options within Empower.

Plans and pricing

Pick the game you want a server for and you’re presented with configuration options relating to that game. With Minecraft, that means a choice of tiers between standard and high performance, and the ability to adjust how much RAM you need. Predictably then, there’s a lot of flexibility here.

Once you’ve picked the basics, it’s also possible to pay extra for daily backups, a dedicated IP, plugin and mod install, and a domain registration, As standard, all the Empower plans promise 20GB of NVMe storage, a free subdomain, full mod and plugin support, no player limit, and unmetered bandwidth. Premium plans offer a dedicated IP, daily backups, and unlimited NVMe storage as part of the bundle.

Empower uses a mixture of AMD Ryzen 3900X, Intel i9-11900K, and Xeon-E 2286G CPUs. It’s not possible to pick the specific CPU your server uses if you’re keen for that level of control.

All plans have a 48 hour refund policy which is a little brief compared to the competition which typically offers 72 hours, but should still be sufficient for giving you enough time to figure out if you like how Empower does things.

Ease of use

Empower Servers focuses on a simplified process when signing up which continues throughout use. Sign up is simple enough with you picking the game then working out what extras you want to pay for. It’s clearly laid out.

Once set up, the control panel is similarly obvious. It takes seconds to find the console, find plugins or modpacks to add, and all the other essentials you need.

It’s simple enough that you don’t need exactly how to set up a Minecraft server as Empower takes out most of the hard work. In particular, it’s great to see how easy it is to install extras without needing expert knowledge. You can also easily add files via the file manager so it’s not like you’re held back either if you know what you’re doing.

One neat addition is that you can easily add other admins with Empower laying out exactly what each option does via a series of tick boxes. That’s particularly useful for anyone figuring out the basics behind server hosting.

Speed and experience

Empower has servers located in eight locations. These include Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United States, Netherlands, UK, Australia, and Singapore.

While signing up, you can choose the location. I picked the UK one and had a steady ping of around 40 throughout use. Empower promises 100% network uptime.

Unusually, I did have brief downtime with my server crashing and restarting. However, I suspect that was because of a configuration issue rather than a fault on Empower’s end. I’d installed an out-of-date plugin which was causing connection issues. I think that ultimately led to the server rebooting.

It’s possible to sign up for a 2GB RAM plan but it’s not advisable. Empower suggests that such a minimal plan is only suitable for the Bedrock edition and in my experience, 4GB RAM at minimum is best for small server aims.

Once you install a few mods and plugins, less RAM can really negatively affect performance. Fortunately, Empower’s dashboard shows at a glance how your CPU and memory usage is being affected at all times.

Support

Empower offers quite a few different ways to reach out for support. At its simplest, it has an extensive knowledge base which covers a wide range of the most common issues you might come across.

When you need more assistance, there’s also a Discord for more direct help or general advice. Alternatively, there’s a live chat facility with AI assistance at first leading into human help. If it’s not too urgent, you can also email Empower.

Another option is to watch the Empower YouTube channel which offers some great tutorials on how to complete many tasks.

I found the service across the board pretty efficient and also helpful. Having so many choices means you shouldn't feel stuck with any issue or query you might have.

Final Verdict

Empower is good for everyone but its strength lies with being fairly user friendly. It doesn’t dig too deep into the details at first glance unless you want to go looking for it. Instead, it’s welcoming and ensures its control panel and dashboard make logical sense with clearly laid out terms that don’t require as much prior knowledge as you would expect.

The best option with Empower is a premium plan but you can still get good value from money from a standard plan. It all comes down to your needs. For someone looking to host a few friends, a standard plan will suffice, while those looking to create a community may wish to go for the premium plan.

Minefort is a dark horse of a game server hosting company. That’s because its initial focus is on how it provides free plans. It isn’t a perfect service which is why one of the best Minecraft server hosting providers is likely to be better suited for many needs, but for a quick hit, there’s appeal here.

Besides the free plan, there are premium options too. As the name suggests, Minefort exclusively caters for Minecraft players so others may prefer to use the best dedicated server hosting instead if you have bigger plans. Simpler than the best VPS hosting, here’s how we found Minefort for Minecraft server hosting.

Plans and pricing

Minefort offers five plans each named after a type of accommodation. The free plan is named Hut while there’s also Cottage, House, Mansion, and Fort. The free plan is only online when in use and goes into hibernation mode until you restart it. The others are all available 24/7.

There’s no insight into what CPUs are used for each server plan but you’re provided with the essentials -- RAM, max players, backup slots, and storage limits. The free plan starts things off with 10 player slots at most.

Unlike bigger hosts, Minefort doesn’t lead the way with suggestions or even with a sliding scale to adjust plans, but the basics are here. There’s also DDoS protection and support for all plans. The two priciest plans offer ‘Advanced’ and ‘Premium’ DDoS protection but again, details are pretty non-existent as to what that entails. Consider Minefort simple in both good and potentially frustrating ways for micro managers.

Ease of use

Signing up to Minefort takes mere moments. It leans heavily into its free offering so there’s no need to enter card details until you get to the upgrade screen. A clearly laid out control panel is instantly accessible. Head to appearances to get things personalized while there’s one-click plugin installation for many different mods.

It’s also possible to quickly add another admin, create backups, and connect via FTP. That goes for the free plan as well as paid servers too.

On the free plan, you'll need to remember that the server can go into hibernation mode easily when not in use. Also, while you can set up many free servers, only one can be actively online at any one time.

Still, Minefort offers much of what you need from a paid plan while never feeling like you miss out on much when pursuing the free plan too. This is a service that’s appropriate for anyone new to knowing how to set up a Minecraft server as well as more experienced admins.

Speed and experience

Unlike other hosts, Minefort doesn’t explain where its servers are located. You can’t choose the location but a dig around confirms they’re based in Canada. That means if you’re based in Europe like me, ping can be a little higher than average. In my case, it was around 150ish which isn’t too awkward. Certainly not for something a little more forgiving (most of the time) like Minecraft.

The lack of location options feels more of an issue when paying for a plan than it does with the free plan. Your mileage will vary here as obviously, it’s good to have plenty of control when paying a lot, but less relevant on cheaper plans.

Understandably, performance similarly varies depending on what you’re paying. Scant details are provided regarding CPUs and RAM, but the basic free plan lives up to its name which means it’s best just for a few players and not too many mods. It only offers 1GB RAM which is pretty low for most Minecraft installs. Upgrade and you can change things up between 35 players right up to 200. As with other Minecraft server hosts, you get what you pay for.

For any long term plans, aim for the most premium package (or potentially something from the best premium game server hosting).

Support

Minefort has fairly limited support on the free plan with 24/7 access for paid plans. On a free plan, your main route of support is a chatbot until support is available or the knowledge base. The chatbot is reasonably helpful for basic queries while the FAQ also covers many commonly asked questions. There’s also a Discord – an increasingly popular way to solve queries fast by crowdsourcing help in some cases.

It’s not as feature rich as competitors and the lack of a YouTube channel is a missed opportunity. Still, if you know what you’re doing, you may not need support very often.

Final Verdict

Minefort’s strength is in its free offerings. It’s refreshing to find a seemingly catch-free way of enjoying a free server with a few friends. After all, you don’t even need to enter card details. That free server may not offer much power but it’s still sufficient for a quick few sessions with a couple of buddies.

Where it gets trickier to recommend is when it comes to its paid plans. The lack of location choice and the limited details about hardware won’t appeal to experienced server admins and understandably so. It’s well priced but competitors do a better job of explaining all before you commit to anything.

Because of that, Minefort is best suited for anyone who needs an inexpensive or free plan for a short period of time. Something to tide them over rather than if they have plans for a community-driven server.

There’s a place for that kind of service which is why Minefort is worth acknowledging and checking out. Just make sure to temper your expectations. If you know what you’re doing and what you need, there are better alternatives around.

Operating system support: Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CloudLinux, Virtuozzo Linux, Windows.

Portability to different platforms

Plesk has been around for a long time and is supported by many hosts. You also have the option to migrate to cPanel should you decide that Plesk isn’t for you. Plesk also supports a wide array of Linux and Windows operating systems, so you have a lot of options for installing it on various server setups.

Plesk has a straightforward and fair pricing model - you pay for how many websites you use. This makes it great for average web hosters who need the flexibility of Plesk and don’t plan on hosting tons of websites. It is also a good choice for web agencies who plan on hosting websites on behalf of their clients and want predictable pricing. If you plan on hosting lots of websites all for your own use, then cPanel or sPanel offer cheaper plans.

Ease of use

Plesk has the most cohesive user interface of all the admin panels, combining the server-side administration into the same user interface as the website management interface. This has benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand, it’s nice to have the server management presented in a manner that is friendly to non-technical users, but at the same time, it feels a little frustrating to use if you are technical. There’s considerably less of the underlying technical details exposed to users, which is great if you’re worried about breaking things, but if you’re a tinkerer, then you might prefer the more raw experience that cPanel provides. Plesk not only works great on mobiles but even provides a dedicated mobile app so you can manage your websites on the go.

Support

Web server support

It supports a wide array of different web servers and languages. Apache is installed by default, with the option to install Nginx as a reverse proxy, which gives you the best of both worlds. Litespeed is supported, but there’s no support for the free alternative, OpenLitespeed, so expect additional costs.

Database support

Microsoft SQL, MySQL, and PostgreSQL are all supported, making Plesk a great choice for those who need more powerful database options.

Language support

Support programming languages include PHP, Javascript/Node, Perl, Ruby, Python, .NET. There’s even docker support via an official extension, which means effortless support for virtually any language and setup.

Backups

Plesk offers a pretty standard array of backup options with good support for remote backup providers. FTP, Amazon S3, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive are all supported.

Extensions and apps

Plesk has the most impressive extensibility out of any of the admin panels we’ve tried. Along with the usual one-click installers such as Softacolous, you can also install extensions to manage your social media, page speed, harden your WordPress installations - it really does have it all. There’s even a pretty powerful site builder included, meaning you can build your website with zero coding knowledge.

Security

Not only does Plesk come with the usual security software, but it also goes the extra mile to make them more user-friendly. We particularly like how user-friendly the web application firewall is, providing an extra layer of security against malicious requests without overly complicating it. Plesk includes both VirusTotal and Imunify for virus scans with an option for paid upgrades. Kernelcare and other paid security hardening services are available.

Final verdict

Plesk is truly leading the way with the admin panel. It has remained fresh and up-to-date, offering a lot of the latest and greatest software. Everything is easy to use and packaged in a way that isn’t intimidating to non-technical users. It would be nice to see better out-of-the-box performance optimisation, something that sPanel really excels at, but Plesk offers a more broad set of capabilities. It does an incredible job of being both extremely powerful and customisable, without being overwhelming for non-technical users. The bottom line is that if you want an admin panel that does everything and packages it up nicely into a very user-friendly package, then it might be worth splashing a bit more on Plesk.

Operating system support: AlmaLinux, CloudLinux, Rocky Linux and Ubuntu

Portability to different platforms

cPanel is probably one of the most popular admin panels, so it’s no surprise that it’s supported by many hosts. They also include migration tools to migrate between servers and even from a Plesk control panel. Since cPanel is so popular, most alternative admin panels have a migrato,r meaning that if you decide cPanel isn’t for you, you can still easily switch to other admin panels such as Plex or sPanel.

Instead of charging by website, cPanel offers unlimited websites and chargers based on the number of users you have. If you’re planning on hosting a lot of websites, but all for your own use, then it can make it slightly cheaper, although not as cheap as SPanel. However, if you plan on hosting just a few websites or having lots of user accounts, then it will be more expensive than the alternatives. Reselling is available for their plans starting at 46.99/mo, making it slightly cheaper than Plesk for reselling.

Ease of use

cPanel’s ease of use is a mixed bag. It has areas that can be a little daunting for new users, but once you’re familiar with it, it becomes pretty easy to work out where things are. There’s no mobile-specific app, but that’s not required since the web version works well on mobile. The server admin part of cPanel is a lot more daunting than the individual website management section, and the server admin part definitely feels like it would be daunting to non-technical users - although it is nice to have the additional flexibility you get from exposing the raw, technical, internals. The beauty of cPanel’s popularity is that there are plenty of tutorials and videos you can watch if you’re not quite sure how to do something.

Support

Web server support

Nginx is supported via free plugins and some command line dabbling, but we’d expect to see a server as popular as Nginx to be supported out of the box. Lightspeed is available but that is a commercial application and requires an eye-watering $25/month license. It would be nice to see support for the free alternative OpenLightSpeed, which is available in sPanel. Overall, cPanel doesn’t offer the breadth of web server support that Plesk does, and it doesn’t provide the performance-optimized web server support that sPanel offers. It does offer clustering, meaning you can join multiple servers together and split the load between them, but that’s quite an advanced feature and not something the vast majority of users will need.

Database support

Supports both MySQL/MariaDB out of the box. Postgres is supported but involves running a command line script, which, again, isn’t ideal for less-technical users - although once it’s installed, then the user interface has very good support for it.

Language support

Supports PHP, Java, and Ruby out of the box, with support for more if you’re willing to install and manage them yourself. We’d expect a mature admin panel such as cPanel to support many more languages.

Backups

Supports offsite backups. Has a good selection of remote backup providers: S3, BackBlaze, FTP, Google Drive, Rsync and WebDAV.

Extensions and apps

Supports Softaculous. It also has a number of paid extensions but nothing that isn’t supported by Plesk. It is very extensible if you’re willing to dabble with the command line, and there’s lots of documentation provided on how to tweak things, but really, an admin panel as mature and expensive as cPanel should have more click-and-play extensions to justify its cost.

Security

Clam AV virus scanner, which is a good virus scanner, with support for more advanced ones such as ImunifyAV (at a cost). 2 factor auth, which is good. Automatic updates are an additional $3/month. This includes ModSecurity as a web application firewall, which I personally trust over an AI solution.

Final verdict

Hosting has changed a lot in the last decade, with new performance-focused web servers, advanced databases and powerful new languages becoming increasingly popular. Unfortunately, cPanel has done little to keep up with these advances, supporting pretty much the same setup it has for the last decade or more. Whilst there is plenty of documentation covering how to install these newer alternatives, it’s really something that cPanel should be supporting out of the box by now. Given the increase in pricing cPanel has seen over the years, it costs just as much as considerably better alternatives such as Plesk. cPanel is historically a very popular and well-known admin panel, so it will be familiar to a lot of seasoned hosters and, despite its shortcomings, its familiarity is often enough to make it people’s go-to admin panel. The bottom line is: unless you already feel most comfortable in cPanel or you plan on reselling, there’s no real reason to choose it over sPanel or Plesk.

Operating system support: CentOS, Linux and Windows

Portability to different platforms

Whilst SPanel is a purpose-built admin panel by ScalaHosting, it is actually available as a standalone tool. It claims to support any virtual or private server and can even be managed by ScalaHosting on Digital Ocean, AWS, and, of course, ScalaHosting itself. The panel is cPanel compatible, which means migration to the platform should be easy, and if you need to migrate by hand, Scala also offers “unlimited migration.” Since it’s a fairly niche admin panel, not many other admin panels have automated importers, so in the rare case that you want to switch to another one, you may have a bit of extra work on your plate.

SPanel offers a no-nonsense pricing structure, which we really appreciate. Instead of holding back features for more expensive plans, it offers the kitchen sink, including unlimited websites, on all plans and instead charges per user. This makes it great if you’re looking for a budget-friendly control panel and have lots of websites to host, but primarily for your own use. Even for reselling, it works out slightly cheaper than the alternatives. However, reselling often demands a more flexible control panel to match customers’ varied demands, so we’d still recommend resellers splash slightly more money on a more mature control panel such as Plesk or cPanel. All plans also include 24/7 server management and support, which can be worth the monthly fee alone for those who need a little extra hand-holding.

Ease of use

When software is designed for both technical and non-technical users, there’s always a risk that an overly simplified user interface can limit the control you have over the underlying software. Thankfully, SPanel does a great job explaining the technical parts without removing any control. SPanel’s creators, ScalaHosting, have a wealth of experience dealing directly with hosting customers, and that really shines in their user interface. Whilst the user interface does work on mobile, it would be nice to have it optimized so there’s less zooming involved.

Support

Web server support

Supports the usual Apache but has a single-click setup for faster drop-in replacements like Lightspeed. It also supports nginx as a reverse proxy, meaning you can have the best of both worlds - using nginx’s lightning-fast performance for static files such as images and CSS files whilst retaining Apache’s flexibility. SPanel really stands out here. There are a lot of easy to setup options and a clear focus on PHP performance.

Database support

Currently, it only supports MySQL/MariaDB, which is enough to host a lot of the most popular apps (WordPress, Magento, Joomla, and Drupal, to name a few), but it would be great to see support for alternative databases such as Postgres, which is gaining in popularity due to the more powerful features they offer. Again, it’s clear that SPanel is laser-focused on traditional PHP & MySQL setups, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if that’s your preferred tech stack.

Language support

Supports PHP and nodejs/Javascript, which is pretty essential. Languages such as Python require manual setup.

Email support

Includes Spam Assasin which is a pretty standard anti-spam tool.

Backups

Every account gets automatic offsite backup.

Extensions and apps

Being an admin panel that is focused on being optimized, SPanel understandably doesn’t boast a huge range of extensions. Like most other panels, there’s support for Softaculous so you have a whole host of apps you can install, but if you’re looking for extensibility in the admin panel itself, then it might be worth looking into cPanel or Plesk.

Security

Automatically set up SPF, DKIM & DMARC for emails, which are special anti-spam records to help prevent your emails from ending up in other people’s spam boxes. It includes 2-factor authentication, which is essential for a high-value target like a server. Regular automatic updates are a welcome addition, even if it does increase the risk of another CrowdStrike debacle. Built-in Let’s Encrypt support means free and easy SSL certificates. It includes a built-in web firewall called SShiel, which uses “AI” to determine malicious visitors. This means potentially more malicious visitors blocked but opens up more scope for false positives.

Final verdict

SPanel is a welcome new player to the market. It clearly has a narrower focus than some of the more traditional admin panels like Plesk and cPanel, but that narrow focus allows it to offer a considerably more optimized experience. Performance has been greatly enhanced with SPanel, which provides very easy options to speed up your website, which is vital for potentially computing-hungry applications such as WooCommerce. It also comes with a fantastic support offering, borrowing expertise from SPanel’s hosting company, ScalaHosting. While you will sacrifice a bit of flexibility with a simpler admin panel like SPanel, if you want to host a standard PHP and MySQL/MariaDB application and you want it to be fast, then your best bet is SPanel. I'd recommend this to people who are hosting their own PHP & MySQL/MariaDB apps and care about performance. It could also be a good option for seasoned hosters who want something easy but aren't afraid to install system packages directly when they need something not supported out of the box.

Podbean comes at an affordable price and includes all the necessary features you need from a podcast host. So, we decided to put it to the test and explore its features, value for money, customer support, migration process, etc.

For this Podbean review, we tested its basic version and researched other people’s experiences with the platform.

Find out our results and how well Podbean performed in our real-time podcast hosting test below!

Advantages of Podbean (Pros)

1. Easy to Use & Set up

Podbean is beginner-friendly, and setting up everything will take you less than 5 minutes (if you have your audio files ready). Even if you’re a complete novice in podcasting, you will find Podbean quite easy to begin with and host your first podcast.

2. Unlimited storage and bandwidth

Except for the free plan, all Podbean plans come with unlimited storage and bandwidth, meaning they can host an unlimited number of podcasts. And it will even cope with thousands of downloads without hampering your podcasts’ performance.

3. Free podcast recording app

Available on the App Store and Google Play Store, you can download the podcast recording app Podbean, which lets you record, edit, and publish your podcast right from your mobile device. Through the app, you can also invite guest speakers without needing to use your laptop.

4. Excellent monetization tools

Podbean is packed with powerful monetization tools without putting you under restrictions. You can earn money through subscriptions, sponsorships, advertisements, fan clubs, etc., via Podbean.

5. Budget-friendly

Podbean stands as our top pick when we speak about podcast hosting providers due to its value for money. The free plan lets you test out its features, and once you’re enjoying it, you can upgrade to the paid plan, which starts at $9/month.

Who is Podbean Right For?

Podbean is great for people looking for a budget podcast host and video podcasters.

The plan starts at $9/month and includes all the essential features you need from a podcast host. Within a fair price, you get AI-powered features, unlimited storage and bandwidth, advanced statistics, a blog to podcast, video to podcast, etc.

Similarly, certain plans are tailored for video podcasters, and you can easily record or convert your existing video to a podcast with a few clicks. You can also record a new video podcast and upload it on YouTube directly through Podbean.

Using Podbean (Interface)

Podbean has a clean and easy-to-understand user interface, making it easier to publish your episodes.

One-click import audio makes it easier to upload your audio without any learning curve.

Setting up your account and publishing your first episodes took us less than 2 minutes. Similarly, the dashboard comes with all the options to view your podcast, distribute, monetize, etc., at the sidebar.

Upon publishing your episode, you get a free custom landing page that you can share with your audience and even customize as per your branding colors.

Lastly, you can directly manage (install or deactivate) plugins at the click of a button through your dashboard.

Overall, we’d rate Podbean's interface as beginner-friendly, packed with all the necessary features that are easy to access.

Features Breakdown

Podbean AI

The Podbean AI turns your bad-quality audio into the highest quality automatically, but that’s not all it does. The AI-driven solution allows you to optimize, edit, and generate within a few clicks. Podbean AI will cut extra noise, remove filler words, and take care of the filtering.

On the other hand, it can automatically generate titles, notes, transcripts, etc.

Livestreaming & Live Podcasts

Start live streaming and conducting live podcasts where you control everything. Through this feature, you can directly interact with your audience by answering them live. Moreover, your audience can send you virtual gifts that you can monetize and also allow you to create a fan club for recurring revenue.

Convert blog posts into a podcast

Podbean lets you repurpose your blog posts into podcasts easily with the support of 150+ languages and 500+ different accents. You can choose the AI voice, and Podbean will automatically convert it into an audio format, boosting accessibility and repurposing. Note that you get a limited number of credits to use this feature, depending on the plan you pick.

YouTube Video To Podcast

If you already have YouTube videos, you can convert them into podcasts and upload them directly. This is actually great if you want to repurpose your videos for your listeners to hear on the go and diversify your revenue streams through podcasts.

How to Get Started With Podbean?

RSS.com's Super Easy User Interface

Once you’ve signed up with Podbean, you can use the following steps to make your episode live.

Step 1: Go to episodes and click on “Publish Episode.” Now, import your audio file or simply generate one from AI with Podbean.

Step 2: Once you import the audio file, add your title and description of the episode.

Step 3: Once you’re done, click on publish now.

Podcast Distribution With Podbean

Podbean helps you submit your episodes/podcasts to multiple directories, but the process isn’t entirely automatic. Whether you’re on the free plan or the paid one, your podcast will be automatically submitted to Podbean's own directory. However, for other directories, such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc., you need to manually submit them.

Podbean offers a centralized dashboard to simplify submissions to major podcast directories. So, with one click, you can manually submit them.

Note that if you’re on the free plan, you won’t be able to submit your podcast to any directory (except Podbean’s own) unless you upgrade to the paid one.

While submission is one-click, the distribution feature could have been improved with automatic submissions, even for the free plan users. For example, BuzzSprout, its competitor, offers automatic submissions to all major directories, even for free users. In the same way, Podbean could use some fine-tuning here.

Migration from Other Podcast Hosting to Podbean

Step 1: Click on Import Existing Project

Step 2: Tap on Import Existing Podcast and enter your RSS feed URL.

Step 3: Now, select your import option. Note that this process may take some time, depending on your existing podcast size.

Step 4: Once your import is completed, set 301 redirect. You can also customize the URL to fit your requirements.

Step 5: Wait for the email, as RSS will update you as soon as the final import is done.

Note here: If you only have a couple of episodes, it’s faster to migrate to Podbean. For instance, we had one episode up, and it took us less than 5 minutes to migrate.

Monetization Options

Podbean has multiple monetization options to make podcasting an active revenue stream, such as:

• Podcast Advertising
• Apple Podcasts Subscriptions Integration
• Dynamic Ad Insertion

You can list your podcast on the Podbean marketplace and allow potential advertisers to find you. Further, you can also charge subscriptions to your readers to access your podcast through Apple podcasts subscription integration, making it easier to make extra money from your podcast directly.

Analytics & Data

Podbean offers quite detailed analytics into how your podcast is performing and also gives detailed insights into your listeners. You can find your analytics under the “statistics” tab on the left side of the dashboard.

Through analytics, you can also track your downloads up to the last 24 months. Other than that, you can get:

• Where Your Audience Comes From
• Downloads by Time of Day (GMT)
• Download Sources
• Most downloaded episodes
• User Retention
• Listeners data

Further, you can review the performance of episodes and compare performances from a set period. However, complete insight is only available to paid users. The free version can only have a small overview of their overall analytics.

Podbean Pricing & Plans

Podbean offers a range of pricing plans catering to different types of podcasters, from beginners to large networks.

The free plan offers basic features to test the podcast hosting service, but it comes with limited features. You only get 5 hours of total storage and 100GB monthly bandwidth with the free plan. You also don’t get access to directory submissions. So, if you’re serious about podcasting, you’ll have to upgrade to its paid plan.

Coming to its paid plan, they start at $9/month, offering unlimited storage and unmetered bandwidth. It’s affordable and offers amazing features, including Podbean AI, blog posts to audio, videos to podcasts, etc.

If you’re working with both audio and video, the Unlimited Plus (at $29/month) is a great option that adds 20GB of monthly uploads, though it might feel a bit pricey for those who don’t need video.

Lastly, the Network plan, priced at $79/month, is great for large podcasters and packed with essential scaling features.

Overall, Podbean offers competitive pricing plans with unlimited storage. It’s great for anyone looking for an affordable yet robust podcast hosting provider.

Customer Support & Resources

Podbean has excellent customer support and resources and has positive feedback from people. One of its users also shared their experience (screenshot below), highlighting their prompt response, and we had a similar experience.

Whether you’re stuck somewhere and need a DIY solution or are starting your first podcast, you can join its dedicated Podcast Academy. This academy contains:

• 24 tutorials
• 8 webinars
• 57 events
• 18 interviews

And all of these are free to check out. You can also check out their separate 70+ articles for help.

Lastly, if DIY doesn’t work, you can raise a ticket with the customer support team, and the average turnaround time is 2-3 business days.

Verdict: Is Podbean Worth It?

Overall, Podbean is worth paying for people looking for an affordable yet feature-loaded podcast hosting provider. It’s especially an excellent option if you want to do video podcasts since it comes with a dedicated plan that offers the same.

You can try its free version to see if it aligns with your requirements before upgrading to the paid version.

Meet the authors

PebbleHost has been around since 2017 and despite not often featuring among best Minecraft server hosting provider lists it is still a great host. It offers three different types of plan encompassing budget, premium, and extreme. Understandably, the prices vary wildly depending on what you choose here with the budget servers proving the highlight for those on a tight budget.

PebbleHost sticks to focusing on its Minecraft server hosting rather than including other games, but you can also sign up for VPS hosting or dedicated server hosting if you want more freedom. For gaming communities, there’s also Discord bot hosting. If you’re looking for the best dedicated server hosting, it could be worth checking out PebbleHost but in this review, we’ve focused on its dedicated Minecraft server hosting options. Here’s how we found the PebbleHost experience to be.

Plans and pricing

PebbleHost offers three tiers of Minecraft server plans. All its plans offer 24/7 customer support via Discord, a free MySQL database, full FTP access, unmetered storage, a free subdomain creator, unlimited slots, and global server locations. Where plans differ is in terms of the hardware involved.

The budget range uses older CPUs such as the Intel i9-9900k and Ryzen 5700X, and DDR4 memory. The premium range uses the Ryzen 7900 CPU and DDR5 memory, with the Extreme range using the same hardware but also offering dedicated CPU threads. The two pricier plans also provide a one-click Modpack installer and free automatic backups which are bordering on essential for any Minecraft server admin.

For all servers, you can use a sliding scale to increase the RAM involved, and whether you want any additional CPU threads for your server. The cheapest budget server offers just 1GB RAM but costs only $3 per quarter. A more mid-range option comes from the Premium server with 5GB RAM which is $11.25 per month. The cheapest Extreme server has 6GB of RAM and 3 threads and starts at $37.50.

PebbleHost offers a 72 hour refund policy which isn’t the longest but is fairly standard with other competitors like Shockbyte offering similar.

During the signup process, Advanced DDoS mitigation is added onto the price tag but you can unselect it. Another options include a dedicated IP, and additional MySQL databases. Whatever you decide, payment is possible via credit or debit card, Apple and Google Pay, as well as Paypal, FastSpring, and crypto currencies. Costs can ramp up (more on if it’s worth it later) but everything is laid out in a clear and obvious manner.

Ease of use

The sign up process with PebbleHost is straightforward and instantly offers up access with passwords for the client side of things and the control panel. During sign up, you’ve already picked what server type you want installed so that’s one step removed. All you really need to do is get the server started and operational.

On the control panel, there’s a list of options on the left hand side with easy ways to check out the file manager, set up your MySQL database, and add subusers which is great if you want to add admins or even a co-owner to your plan. The jar manager helps you switch between different versions like Paper, Vanilla, or Spigot.

For the most part, everything is clearly laid out so you won’t get confused. Opt for anything but the budget plan if you want a one click install for mod packs as well as automatic backups, and there’s even less work involved for you.

If you’ve never set up a Minecraft server before, you won’t get too confused here.

Speed and experience

PebbleHost offers servers located in North America (Canada), Europe, and the UK. Premium server users also have the option of a server located in Australia or Singapore, as well as the US. When signing up, keep an eye on what’s available as some server locations sell out.

I used a server based in Europe, as am I, and saw a steady 30-35 ping. There was no downtime either which is always welcome news.

How well the server operates really does depend on the plan you choose. While $3 per quarter seems like a bargain for the cheapest plan, in reality, you won’t get far with it. Even with no one active on the server, half the RAM is allocated, and once someone logs on, the CPU usage soars. It’s best to invest a little into something that actually suits your needs.

That’s even more important if you plan on installing mods or plugins (and you should). Still, even at its most basic, PebbleHost demonstrates what it offers. Just make sure you opt for a Premium plan at minimum if you want to gather together friends with no hassle. Although, bear in mind that if you opt for one of the more expensive plans, it could work out cheaper to go elsewhere.

Support

PebbleHost has two main forms of support -- a ticketing system and a Discord server. The Discord server is reasonably active and useful for quick advice from both staff and experienced users. It can also prove useful if you need advice about mods or other community elements which PebbleHost isn’t equipped to advise on.

When using the ticket system, I received a response within less than 10 minutes. It was both friendly and informative. If you’re truly stuck, you can pay $10 per month for advanced Minecraft support so someone on the PebbleHost team will setup up to 30 Forge/Fabric mods, as well as setup many other key additions for your server.

Besides direct support, PebbleHost also has a knowledgebase which is helpful and incorporates some YouTube videos. PebbleHost is also transparent with uptime with its server status page breaking down every server and part of the company’s infrastructure. At time of writing, its 7-day average uptime is a very respectable 99.992%.

Final Verdict

PebbleHost’s speciality is offering well performing Minecraft servers for those looking for something cheap or mid-range. It gets a little expensive for the most premium/Extreme options which makes your decision a little harder. When it comes to the budget price point though, it’s hard to fault PebbleHost.

I was particularly impressed with how quick and efficient support was (without being cold or unfriendly), and how straightforward the PebbleHost Control Panel is to use. The addition of a Discord server is always useful too.

The sweet spot here is going for a PebbleHost Premium server. Anything pricier is a little too expensive for all but the most high-end user, and the budget option is a little too basic and slow. Stick with the Premium server and you can have a good quality Minecraft server set up in no time. The backup of speedy support will ease any worries newbies to being a server admin may have.

Behind every great website is a reliable host keeping things running smoothly. In this review, we’re diving deep into UltaHost, a fresh face in the hosting world that’s been turning heads.

Launched in 2018 by ScriptSun Ltd in Istanbul, UltaHost has quickly made a name for itself. The company offers a diverse range of services, including shared hosting, WordPress, VPS, dedicated servers, and even game, ecommerce, and social network hosting.

Unlike many competitors, UltaHost owns and operates its own data centers. This level of ownership often translates to faster performance, stronger security, and fewer headaches for you. With data centers spanning 15 countries across 5 continents, including the US, Canada, Germany, Japan, and India, it ensures faster loading times and reliable service for worldwide audiences.

We’ve taken UltaHost for a full spin - checking its speed, uptime, and giving their support team a good workout. And trust us, we know hosting inside and out. We’re here to give you the truth so you can decide if UltaHost is the right fit for you.

Plans and pricing: What types of hosting does UltaHost offer?

Whether you're just starting out or managing a large-scale operation, UltaHost offers a variety of hosting plans to suit everyone. Their options - including shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and reseller hosting - are designed to meet any challenge you throw at them.

If you're ready to commit to a three-year plan, shared hosting starts as low as $2.99 per month. Alternatively, if you prefer the flexibility of a month-to-month subscription, you can get started for $5.99. It's a small price difference, but a solid entry-level deal if you're new to hosting.

The shared hosting plan comes with perks like unlimited bandwidth, free backups, a free domain transfer, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. However, the "Starter" plan only offers 30 GB of disk space, which can quickly become a bottleneck for sites with heavy media or rapid growth. As a result, you may need to upgrade to a higher-tier plan sooner than expected.

For those who need more control or power, UltaHost offers VPS hosting starting at $4.80 per month. This includes 1 CPU core, 1 GB of RAM, and 30 GB of NVMe SSD storage, providing dedicated resources for your site. Plus, managed server support and added security like firewalls and a dedicated IP to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely.

If you’re looking for even more control, dedicated servers start at $116.91 per month, providing a full server dedicated to your needs. With powerful specifications and the flexibility to handle high-demand applications, these servers are perfect for large-scale operations. UltaHost also offers virtual dedicated server (VDS) hosting, which offers similar benefits to dedicated servers but at a more affordable price point, starting at $37.50 per month.

While the initial pricing is budget-friendly, it’s worth noting that some plans renew at a higher rate. For instance, the shared hosting plan increases to $5.99 per month once the promotional period ends. Still, there are no major hidden costs, and the money-back guarantee allows you to test it out risk-free.

UltaHost offers a variety of payment options, including credit/debit cards, PayPal, and Bitcoin, giving you plenty of flexibility. You can also choose from a range of control panels, including Hestia, CyberPanel, Plesk, and cPanel, with Hestia and CyberPanel available for free.

Ease of use: How user-friendly is UltaHost?

Starting out with UltaHost is a cinch - whether you’re launching your first site or managing a bustling online business, the entire process is designed to be as simple as possible.

Signing up with UltaHost is fast and hassle-free. Once you choose your hosting plan, you’ll either register a new domain or transfer an existing one. After that, just select your preferred payment plan, fill in a few personal details, and you’re all set. Once the payment is complete, one thing UltaHost excels at is simplicity - cPanel is included in all shared hosting plans, making management a breeze. If you're already familiar with cPanel, you’ll feel right at home. The intuitive dashboard lets you manage everything from emails to domains and databases. Want to set up a site or install apps? It's all just a couple of clicks away.

For VPS hosting users, UltaHost offers several control panels to choose from, including Hestia, CyberPanel, Plesk, and cPanel. Hestia and CyberPanel come at no extra cost, while Plesk and cPanel require a bit more investment. This flexibility lets you pick the control panel that best suits your skill level, whether you're a beginner or need advanced features.

If you're planning to use WordPress to create your site, you’re in for a treat. UltaHost offers automatic WordPress installations, complete with staging tools, plugins, and backup features. The platform also supports one-click installs for a variety of other apps and software. Need an ecommerce tool or a different content management system? Just click and go. This makes it easy to dive right into building your site without getting bogged down by setup tasks.

All shared hosting plans come with NVMe SSD storage, which means faster site load times, unlimited bandwidth, and free backups. Plus, you get antivirus protection to guard against DDoS attacks, and free backups keep your data safe, even if something goes wrong.

All in all, UltaHost nails user-friendliness. Quick sign-up, a simple control panel, and features like auto WordPress install and daily backups make hosting effortless. Even beginners will have an easy time getting their site online and running smoothly.

Speed and robustness: How fast and reliable is UltaHost?

If there’s one factor that can make or break your site, it’s speed. Thankfully, UltaHost doesn’t disappoint. With a 99.99% uptime guarantee, backed by tier-3 and tier-4 data centers, reliability is clearly a top priority. Using UptimeRobot for our tests, we found zero downtime. The tool pings your site every 5 minutes, and the fact that it recorded no issues speaks volumes about UltaHost's reliability.

But what about speed? UltaHost leverages NVMe SSD storage, which provides faster data retrieval compared to standard SSDs. This means your site loads quicker, even during traffic spikes. Plus, their built-in caching and use of HTTP/2 help reduce server load, further boosting speed. The WordPress-optimized servers also bring performance enhancements specifically tailored for WP sites.

In practice, this translates to a smooth user experience with fast loading times and zero interruptions. Whether you’re running a small blog or a high-traffic ecommerce site, UltaHost delivers. Simply put, UltaHost excels at both speed and reliability.

Security: How does UltaHost protect your data?

UltaHost is backed by a strong security suite, including firewalls and automated malware scans, providing solid protection for your site and data.

It utilizes a web application firewall (WAF) to detect and block potential threats before they can harm your site. This proactive layer of defense shields your site from common attacks like SQL injections and cross-site scripting. Plus, DDoS protection is included, safeguarding your site from malicious traffic spikes that could cause outages or slow performance.

However, security doesn’t stop at the firewall. UltaHost offers automatic malware scanning to detect and remove harmful code before it can spread. Additionally, two-factor authentication (2FA) for account logins provides an extra layer of security, protecting your admin credentials. This helps prevent unauthorized access and keeps your hosting account safe from hacking attempts.

In the case of a security breach or technical issue, daily backups ensure you can quickly restore your site to its previous state. UltaHost provides these backups at no extra cost, giving you peace of mind that your data is always safe. A free SSL certificate is also included with all plans, encrypting data exchanged between your site and visitors, which helps secure sensitive information like payment details and personal data.

UltaHost also includes advanced tools like BitNinja to monitor your server and block threats before they cause harm. Plus, there’s IP whitelisting for controlled access, allowing you to specify which IP addresses can connect to your server via SSH or SFTP. This feature is especially useful for developers who want to maintain tight control over server access.

Support: What is UltaHost's support like?

With round-the-clock support, UltaHost ensures you’re never left stranded. You can choose from live chat, phone, email, or ticket options to get the help you need at any time.

The live chat was a highlight for us. We connected with an agent quickly, bypassing any automated hassle. The assistance was fairly prompt and helpful, but it was a bit annoying when the chat window disappeared after minimizing the browser.

For those who prefer phone support, UltaHost offers dedicated helplines in the US and Turkey. However, our attempt to reach them from outside these countries wasn’t successful.

Email support is another solid option, which is becoming less common among hosting providers. You can also submit a support ticket, which is ideal for more complex issues, as it keeps an ongoing conversation with an assigned agent until your problem is resolved.

For those who like to troubleshoot on their own, UltaHost’s well-stocked knowledge base is packed with FAQs, guides, and video tutorials. We found these video how-tos particularly useful - they’re well-made and simplify complicated topics.

The competition: What are the best alternatives to UltaHost?

When it comes to web hosting, there are several alternatives to UltaHost, each with its own strengths.

Bluehost is an excellent choice for WordPress users, with direct backing from WordPress.org and strong WordPress-focused tools. It excels in customer support and performance, but UltaHost holds an edge with its broader flexibility and free features. While Bluehost is a solid competitor, UltaHost offers better long-term value, especially with its transparent pricing and added flexibility beyond WordPress.

Hostinger is another budget-friendly option, but UltaHost takes the lead with more server location choices, giving users better control over performance. Hostinger’s pricing is attractive, but UltaHost delivers more consistent service and flexibility, making it the better choice for users who need a well-rounded hosting experience.

SiteGround is a superb option for business sites, offering robust performance and advanced tools. However, its pricing is higher than UltaHost’s, and while SiteGround excels in business hosting, UltaHost offers similar performance and better value.

Final verdict

For small to medium-sized sites, UltaHost delivers solid and cost-effective hosting solutions. With strong uptime, NVMe SSD storage, free malware scanning, and multiple server locations, it packs a punch for the price. The user-friendly dashboard is an added bonus, making it a superb choice for those new to hosting.

The limited disk space in shared hosting plans could be a challenge for bigger sites or those scaling quickly. Additionally, keep in mind that renewal prices rise after the initial term.

Still, UltaHost delivers great value, but if you want more space from the start, you might want to explore higher-tier plans or other providers.

FAQs