Editor's opinion
Sean Thompson
I am a full-time web developer & IT professional with more than 18 years experience. I have been working with numerous hosting companies over the years.
First impression
HandyHost is a Russian Web Hosting Services provider that was established in 2009, with their head office in Kirov, in the Arzamas region of Russia. This service-oriented company has a solid client base of more than 25,000 customers and operates 2 data centers, located in Moscow and St. Petersburg respectively, and has a server presence in Germany for European-based clients. The services they currently offer include Domain Registrations, Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting on both Linux and Windows platforms, Dedicated Server Hosting, as well as SSL certificates.
Trial Period
New users can give HandyHost's Shared Hosting plans a spin with a 30-day trial period to see if it suits them. Just sign up on their website to take advantage of this offer. Additionally, HandyHost provides a brief 3-day money-back guarantee on their VPS plans, giving you a chance to test the waters risk-free.
If you are transferring from another provider you can have up to 3 months free, which should be ample time to decide if they are the right fit for you or not.
Billing Cycle
HandyHost provides flexibility in their payment options for both Shared and VPS plans, allowing users to choose between monthly or annual commitments. However, their Dedicated Server plans are available for monthly signups only.
Accepted payment methods include major credit cards like MNP, Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay, as well as payment systems like ENOT, Robokassa, and Webmoney, a global online payment settlement system that originated in Russia in 1998.
Control Panel
Their Shared Hosting plans come with the ISPManager control panel, renowned for its user-friendly interface and convenience. It's a popular choice among users and is more cost-effective compared to other panels like cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin. Additionally, their VPS plans offer various free panels like BrainyCP, VestaCP, Hestia, and FastPanel alongside ISPManager.
Limits
HandyHost's Shared Hosting plans offer lightning-fast performance thanks to NVMe SSD drives, which are up to 7 times faster than standard HDDs. They come in 8 different options, starting from the vHost-0 plan with 3GB NVMe SSD space, 512MB RAM, 1x MySQL database, and 5x POP/IMAP mail accounts, up to the VIP-100 plan with 100GB NVMe SSD space, 2700MB RAM, 100x MySQL databases, and 300x POP/IMAP email accounts.
It is worth noting that you can independently choose the PHP version for your site. Available PHP versions include 5.2-5.6, 7.0–7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2.
Their Linux and Windows-based VPS plans, which include full root access, dedicated IPv4 addresses, and VNC access, are available in various configurations. The entry-level plans feature 1x Intel XEON Core CPU, 1GB RAM, and 20GB NVMe space, while the top-tier plans boast 4x Intel XEON Core CPUs, 8GB RAM, and 120GB NVMe disk space. Linux users also have the choice of hosting their VPS server in Russia or Germany, while Windows-based plans are only hosted in Russia.
Website Builder
Even though they don't provide a website builder with their hosting plans, they offer five cost-effective "Constructor" plans that utilize the Site Pro website builder. This user-friendly builder comes with over 200 editable templates and includes all the tools you need to create professional-looking, and 100% responsive websites quickly and without any coding knowledge. It includes features such as SEO - website optimization, online payment systems, integration with social networks, the option to edit and add code (CSS, HTML, JS), and more.
Security
They keep their hosting accounts secure by providing free SSL certificates by Let’s Encrypt, automated protection against DDOS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks, and Anti-Virus and Spam software that runs daily scans of all files.
All their client’s data are in RAID arrays and daily backups are being made to a separate server, so in the unlikely event that your files get breached, you can run a restore without hassle.
More advanced SSL certificates from Comodo, Thawte, RapidSSL, Geotrust, and more, are available at an additional monthly fee.
OS
HandyHost’s Shared Hosting plans run on the CloudLinux Operating System, famous for being ultra-reliable and super secure, whilst their VPS plans offer a wide range of OS options, such as CloudLinux, CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, Astra Orel, AstraLinux SE, FreeBSD, Fedora, as well as Windows Server 2008 R2, windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019 for Windows-based VPS plans.
Support
Their support agents are available around the clock, 365 days a year via a Ticketing System, Email, Phone, or Live Chat. Although there is a slight language barrier, their agents are friendly, professional, and quick to assist. Expect response times of less than 30 seconds on Live Chat and about 30 minutes on mail.
Conclusion
Pros |
Cons |
- Budget Friendly Plans;
- Good Support;
- 30-Day Trial on Shared Hosting;
- Free SSL Certificates.
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- Website only in Russian;
- No Free Website builder.
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When you weigh everything, Handy Host emerges as a solid option for folks seeking Shared or VPS hosting services. Their plans are reasonably priced, and secure, ensure reliable uptime, and their support is reliable. It's a particularly good fit if you're located in Europe or Russia.