An honest comparison of UK web hosting providers. See what's really included and make an informed choice. Disagree? Let us know
Last updated: January 2026Feature-by-feature comparison of what's actually included in each hosting plan
*Introductory price, renews higher
*Introductory price, renews higher
| Feature | Happily Hosted | 123-Reg | Fasthosts | Krystal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | £9/mo | £3.99/mo* | £5/mo* | £7/mo |
| Storage | 5-30GB SSD | 10-100GB | 10GB-Unlimited | 10-50GB NVMe |
| UK Data Centre | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 100% Green Energy | ✓ | ✗ | Partial | ✓ |
| cPanel Included | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| LiteSpeed Cache | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Imunify360 Security | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free SSL Certificate | Forever | 1st year | 1st year | Forever |
| Daily Backups Included | ✓ | ✓ | Add-on | ✓ |
| Staging Environment | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Malware Scanning | Included | ✗ | Basic | ✗ |
| CloudLinux Isolation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| 24/7 UK Support | ✓ | Limited | ✓ | Standard |
| Free Migration | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| View Plans | External | External | External |
* Competitor introductory pricing shown. Renewal prices are typically higher.
Understanding what's included can save you money and headaches
LiteSpeed web server is up to 6x faster than Apache. Faster sites rank higher in Google and convert more visitors into customers.
Imunify360 provides the same protection used by major enterprises. Others charge £5-10/month extra for similar protection.
Daily backups with 7-30 day retention included. Some hosts charge £2-5/month for backups or only offer manual backups.
Our UK data centres run entirely on renewable energy. Good for the planet and great for your company's environmental credentials.
Many hosts include SSL free for the first year, then charge £30-100+ to renew. Our SSL certificates are free forever.
Test changes before going live. A professional feature typically only found on more expensive developer-focused hosting plans.
Answers to questions we're frequently asked about hosting comparisons
Budget hosts often advertise low introductory prices that increase significantly on renewal. They also charge extra for essentials like backups, SSL certificates, and security. Happily Hosted includes everything upfront: cPanel, LiteSpeed cache, Imunify360 security, daily backups, and free SSL forever. When you add up the extras at budget hosts, our pricing often works out cheaper.
LiteSpeed is a high-performance web server that can be up to 6x faster than traditional Apache servers. It includes built-in caching that dramatically speeds up WordPress and other CMS platforms. Most budget hosts use Apache, which is slower. LiteSpeed is typically only found on premium hosting plans.
Imunify360 is enterprise-grade security software that provides real-time malware scanning, proactive defence, and automatic patching. It protects against zero-day attacks, brute force attempts, and malware. Most hosts either don't include this or charge £5-10 per month extra for similar protection.
Cheap hosting can work for hobby sites with minimal traffic. However, for businesses, the hidden costs (paid SSL renewal, backup add-ons, security extras) and performance limitations often make budget hosting more expensive in the long run. Slow sites also lose customers and rank lower in search engines.
Yes! We offer free migration for all new customers. Our expert team will transfer your website, databases, and email with zero downtime. Simply sign up and open a support ticket to arrange your migration.
Budget hosts often advertise huge storage figures because most customers never use them — it's a marketing tactic. We provide right-sized, high-performance SSD storage that's genuinely allocated to your account, not oversold shared space. Our storage is backed by enterprise infrastructure with consistent performance. Need more space? You can upgrade your storage at any time as your site grows.
Join thousands of UK businesses who've made the switch to faster, more secure hosting.
View Our PlansComparison accurate as of January 2026. Competitor pricing and features may change. We recommend visiting each provider's website for the most current information. This comparison represents our honest assessment based on publicly available information.