KnownHost vs SiteGround: Tough to Choose

Table of Contents

KnownHost vs SiteGround: Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of KnownHost vs SiteGround:

Both KnownHost and SiteGround have their own set of limitations. Let’s go into more detail below.

KnownHost vs SiteGround: Pricing

SiteGround is a lot more expensive than KnownHost – the most significant difference between them. Earlier, this was already the case, but the gap has grown enormously after SiteGround’s colossal price increase by almost 50%. It might not seem so high because of the massive SiteGround discounts, but you’ll receive a shock when your hosting renews.

KnownHost, on the other hand, is far more affordable. Here’s the KnownHost coupon code list to see all the deals. This is the best KnownHost coupon code:

61% off:

Here are the discounted and renewal prices of both KnownHost and SiteGround:

	KnownHost	SiteGround
Discounted Price	3.47	2.99
Renewal Price	8.95	14.99
Discount Percent:	61%	80%

The vast discount percentage of SiteGround makes it seem as if it costs almost the same as KnownHost, but don’t be deceived. The renewal price is far higher, and many customers have suffered from bill shock when receiving SiteGround’s massive renewal invoice. While KnownHost isn’t as cheap as others, it’s much more affordable than SiteGround.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Pricing Ratings

KnownHost Price Rating: ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
SiteGround Price Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5

Winner: KnownHost easily wins this round

Features: SiteGround vs KnownHost

These are the most attractive SiteGround features:

• 30-days of daily backups
• Data centers in Asia
• NGINX reverse-proxy caching
• It really is very fast

And these are the best KnownHost features:

• LiteSpeed server
• Server-side caching with ESI includes
• Free malware scanning and removal
• cPanel
• Full SSH access

Here’s a comparison table of the features:

	KnownHost	SiteGround
Webserver	LiteSpeed	Apache + NGINX reverse proxy
Disk Space	5 GB – Unlimited	10 GB – 40 GB
Free Backups	✅	✅
Free Malware scanning	✅	❌
Full SSH	✅	❌
Control Panel	cPanel	Custom Interface
Server-side caching	✅	✅
ESI caching	✅	❌
Free CDN	❌	✅
Databases	2 – Unlimited	Unlimited
Unlimited E-mail IDs	5 – Unlimited	Unlimited

Web Server: NGINX vs LiteSpeed

KnownHost is one of the few hosts that offer LiteSpeed on all their plans, along with NameHero and GreenGeeks. Here’s a list of the best LiteSpeed hosting providers, where you can compare the features for yourself. SiteGround uses an NGINX reverse-proxy setup, which is even rarer and allows them to implement server-side caching for free. Here are the other hosts with NGINX web hosting.

Control Panel: cPanel vs Custom Interface

SiteGround moved away from cPanel at the same time that cPanel raised its licensing price. They now have a customized web administration interface that’s good but not as good as cPanel. This is a shame because SiteGround’s high prices can easily cover the costs, and it’s one of the reasons why I no longer recommend SiteGround.

KnownHost, on the other hand, uses a standardized cPanel interface. It’s familiar to users, and there’s no learning curve. In this aspect, it’s better than SiteGround.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Feature Ratings

KnownHost Feature Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5
SiteGround Feature Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Winner: This round is a tie. Both KnownHost and SiteGround have good features, though not the same ones.

KnownHost Backups vs SiteGround Backups

Both KnownHost and SiteGround have free automatic backups and restore. However, there are a few differences:

SiteGround Backups Pros and Cons:

• 30-days of backups
• Immediate restoration

• On-demand backup not available on StartUp plan

KnownHost Backups Pros and Cons:

• On-demand backups available on all plans

• Restoration of backups isn’t immediate
• Only 2-days of backups are stored

KnownHost also provides free backups for its VPS packages that don’t count toward your disk quota. Here are more details on how the KnownHost backup service works. I prefer SiteGround’s backups to KnownHost. My personal experience with SiteGround’s backups has been great.

SiteGround StartUp Plan Doesn’t Have On-Demand Backups

Unfortunately, if you’re using the StartUp plan, you can’t take manual snapshots, and that’s problematic. I like to take a snapshot just before making significant changes on my site. Without that option, working on your site becomes more dangerous. So if you don’t want to buy the higher-tier SiteGround plans, KnownHost is better for backups.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Backup Ratings

KnownHost Backup Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5/5
SiteGround Backup Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Winner: SiteGround comes out ahead of KnownHost for backups. But just by a little, thanks to the lack of on-demand backups on the StartUp plan.

Security: KnownHost Beats SiteGround

While both SiteGround and KnownHost have security features, KnownHost includes free malware detection and removal. SiteGround makes you pay extra for the “SG Site Scanner” for similar functionality.

KnownHost integrates the Imunify360 tool for free. You can access this from the cPanel interface and use it to scan your site for malware. It also checks your site’s scripts in real-time. In addition to a WAF that blocks brute-force attacks and more, KnownHost’s security is top-notch.

SiteGround, on the other hand, maintains only a WAF. It’s pretty good, but it’s not enough without malware protection.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Security Ratings

KnownHost Security Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
SiteGround Security Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5/5

Winner: KnownHost wins this round because of free malware scanning and removal, while SiteGround makes you pay extra for it.

KnownHost vs SiteGround: Server-Side Caching

Both SiteGround and KnownHost offer server-side caching. This is when the server itself stores a copy of a page’s HTML to serve to subsequent visitors so that your site doesn’t have to generate a fresh copy each time. This is faster than implementing it via plugins like W3 Total Cache on WordPress. I consider server-side caching to be one of the most important features of web hosting.

However, KnownHost has better server-side caching than SiteGround. Thanks to the LiteSpeed webserver, KnownHost can include advanced cache functionality like Edge Side Includes (ESI), which lets you cache even dynamic pages by specifying which parts of the page you want to exclude. SiteGround has nothing similar, even though their SG Optimizer WordPress plugin is packed with functionality.

KnownHost Integrates with QUIC.cloud

QUIC.cloud is a unique cloud service that acts as a reverse proxy for your site. You can cache your pages at your server and POP locations worldwide. It’s a paid tool with a free tier. Luckily, LiteSpeed users get a generous free tier for image optimization and page caching services. KnownHost benefits from this immensely, and SiteGround doesn’t have anything to match.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Caching Ratings

KnownHost Caching Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5
SiteGround Caching Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5/5

Winner: KnownHost beats SiteGround easily, thanks to ESI functionality and QUIC.cloud.

KnownHost and SiteGround Data Center Locations

Unlike KnownHost, SiteGround has data centers on four continents:

• Chicago, United States
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• London, UK
• Singapore
• Australia

Compared to this, KnownHost has no data center in Asia. Here are the locations:

• Seattle, US
• Atlanta, US
• Amsterdam, Netherlands

At least KnownHost has a west coast data center, which SiteGround doesn’t have. SiteGround’s data centers also double as CDNs, which gives them an edge over KnownHost.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Data Center Ratings

KnownHost Data Center Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5
SiteGround Data Center Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Winner: SiteGround beats KnownHost here. It has more locations, including one in Asia.

SiteGround and KnownHost Customer Service Comparison

I can vouch for SiteGround’s excellent customer service. Over seven years, I’ve contacted them for all kinds of issues, and the support staff is very knowledgeable. They can solve almost all problems directly over live chat.

KnownHost, on the other hand, has live chat only for its sales and billing team. You have to raise a ticket for technical support, which is worse than SiteGround’s live chat systems. It’s not a surprise that most of SiteGround’s extra price comes from its excellent customer service, which is the most expensive part of providing web hosting.

KnownHost does have a forum for customers, which SiteGround doesn’t. So that’s a plus because the community is excellent. But apart from that, SiteGround’s customer support is superior to KnownHost.

KnownHost vs SiteGround Customer Support Ratings

KnownHost Customer Support Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3.5/5
SiteGround Customer Support Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Winner: SiteGround. The constant live chat and technical expertise of the staff win out.

Best Alternative to SiteGround and KnownHost: NameHero

As an alternative to both SiteGround and KnownHost, I suggest NameHero. It has all the features of KnownHost, but with instant restorations, unlimited databases, and emails. And best of all, it’s cheaper than KnownHost, starting at just $1.34/m. NameHero is already the best SiteGround alternative.

Best NameHero Coupon with 85% off:

Final Thoughts on SiteGround and KnownHost

Despite its shortcomings, I feel KnownHost edges out SiteGround as a better web host. SiteGround is too expensive, and its benefits don’t make up for the additional cost. In my opinion, NameHero is a good option for those looking for an alternative.