VpsCity.co.nz review

First impression

VPSCity, started in 2006, is a New Zealand web hosting company offering a range of services including Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Cloud Servers, Dedicated Servers, Domain Registrations, VoIP Solutions, Internet Connectivity, and Shared Hosting. It is owned by GlobiCom Limited, a holding company for a portfolio of retail brands. The company offers customizable server solutions to meet a range of client needs.

Trial Period

Thinking of giving VPSCity a try first to see if they're a good match for you before committing? Sorry, no trial available. Don't count them out just yet, though! They do offer a 7-day money-back guarantee, so you can sign up, try out their hosting, and if it's not exactly what you were looking for, you can request a refund within the first 7 days. It's not a very long trial, but it does give you a little bit of leeway to see if their service is the right one for you or not.

Billing Cycle

VPSCity does offer some flexibility in their billing cycles - you can pay for your hosting (Shared Hosting, VPS, or Dedicated Servers) monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, whichever is most convenient for you. There’s no need to sign up for a long commitment if you don’t need to, which is great. That said, don’t expect any discount for prepaying a longer term - it’s the same price if you pay month-to-month or prepay for a year. So, while it’s great to have choices, there’s no cost savings to be had to commit to more than you need.

They now accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, and PayPal payments, as well as Bank Transfers.

Control Panel

As for control panels, they keep things simple. Their Shared Hosting packages come with cPanel as a standard, so running your site is as easy as can be. But if you’re going down the VPS or Dedicated Server route, they leave the keys in the ignition and let you have at it. With root access, the decision of which control panel you want to use is entirely yours - cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, or maybe something a bit more specialized. Want cPanel? You can buy a license directly through VPSCity, or you can go out and get and install an alternative panel that’s more suited to what you’re after. Just keep in mind, it’s all on you to buy and install, so some technical savvy will go a long way!

Limits

Their Shared Hosting options, all based on LiteSpeed web servers with LSCache and super-speedy SSD storage, are available in three versions: the Starter, Essential, and Business. The Starter version includes a 100GB traffic limit, 1 MySQL database, and 1 POP/IMAP email account. The Essential version raises these to 5 MySQL databases and 5 POP/IMAP email accounts, and removes bandwidth limits too. The Business version takes this one step higher, with 10 MySQL databases and 10 POP/IMAP email accounts, with no bandwidth limits, just as there are with the Essential version. One of the standout features of all shared hosting options is the inclusion of unlimited SSD storage - not something you see every day, you'll agree!

VPS plans, however, are fully customizable, by choosing the amount of CPUs, RAM, SSD hard drive capacity, etc. that you need. But they do offer a number of choices to base your customization on. These range from 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, and 20GB SSD hard drive capacity on the ECO Flex plan, to 16 vCPUs, 32GB RAM, and 100GB SSD hard drive capacity on the OPTi Enterprise plan.

Website Builder

VPSCity does not include a native website builder with their hosting plans, but they do make it easy enough to begin on a website. Their shared hosting plans include Softaculous, which enables you to install popular CMS software like WordPress, Joomla, and more, in a matter of seconds - perfect if you want to build a site but have absolutely no interest whatsoever in laying a single line of code. If you're on a VPS or Dedicated Server, however, you do have the option to add a SiteBuilder Pro license, for an extra monthly fee. SiteBuilder Pro is a drag-and-drop site builder that's designed to make building sites as simple as possible, even if you're completely non-techie. It includes pre-built templates, an intuitive interface, and built-in tools to customize your site, so you can get a professional-quality website online without the fear of coding.

Security

VPSCity has the fundamentals sorted in security. They run daily backups and store them in multiple locations to guard against data loss. Their servers also run under 24/7 monitoring, so any problem which may crop up is seen and fixed in no time. For physical security, their Auckland data center is highly secured with CCTV monitoring, biometric gates of access, and mantraps to guard against intruders. Every one of their hosting plans also comes with a free SSL certificate by Let’s Encrypt, an extra layer of encryption to sites, and improved security against DDoS and misalliance attacks. Moreover, all incoming and outgoing traffic is being monitored 24/7 to keep things running smoothly. If you're looking for more advanced security features like intrusion detection systems (IDS), web application firewalls (WAF), or malware scanning, however, you'll have to install them yourself since VPSCity does not provide them as add-ons to their shared hosting or VPS packages. ImunifyAV+ and Imunify360 are available at additional costs on VPS and Dedicated server packages.

OS

This host maintains rock-solid stability and security on their shared hosting plans by utilizing CloudLinux OS, which maintains accounts isolated and performance on an even keel. But where they truly excel is with their VPS operating system offerings - it’s possibly the largest I’ve ever had the pleasure to see. They offer all the standard suspects like Rocky Linux (8 or 9), AlmaLinux (8 or 9), CentOS (7, 8 Stream, or 9 Stream), Oracle Linux 8, VzLinux 8, Ubuntu (22.04 LTS / 220.04 Desktop / 20.04 / 18.04), Debian (10 / 11 / 12), Arch Linux 2021, FreeBSD 12, FreePBX v16, Mint Linux 20, pfSense 2.6.0, but they also offer some hidden gems. Manjaro 21, for example - this Arch Linux distro is known for being easy to use but still granting power users complete control over their configuration. Then there’s Zorin OS 16, a clean and user-friendly Linux distro designed to feel like home to Windows users, so it’s a solid choice for those transitioning to Linux.

Whether you require a light desktop OS, a beast Linux server, or even a Windows-based configuration (they support everything from Windows Server 2008 R2 right on up through the soon-to-be-released 2025 version), VPSCity grants you more autonomy than most hosts out there.

Support

They have multiple support avenues for their customers. You can contact their help desk by emailing support@vpscity.co.nz. They also provide support through phone, support tickets, and a live chat feature on their website - although live chat is only available during business hours. Even non-customers are welcome to call in with questions. VPSCity also has a huge knowledge base on their website, with questions and answers to common issues about their platform and hosting services. I was thoroughly impressed with their support - response times on tickets were under an hour, and the reps were not only extremely knowledgeable but super friendly too!

Conclusion

If you're looking for a no-frills, no-hassle New Zealand host that will get the job done, VPSCity is definitely worth a look - especially if you like being able to tinker with your hosting configuration. Their VPS and dedicated server packages are full of options to customize, so they're ideal for power users, developers, and businesses that need some serious oomph. Their shared plans are a solid option too and offer unlimited SSD storage! You can't go wrong with this - they're definitely worth a look!