Natro.com review

First impression

Natro, formed in 1999 by Hüseyin Caymaz and Tolga Kabakci, is an established web-hosting company based in Istanbul, Turkey. They offer services such as Domain Registrations, Shared Hosting, SSL Certificates, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers, and Email Solution. Natro caters to both everyone, from individual websites to larger complex business needs.

Trial Period

They don’t offer a free trial period for their hosting plans, but they’ve got you covered with something just as reassuring - a 14-day, no questions asked, refund policy. This gives you peace of mind while trying out their services risk free. So, while you won’t get a free trial, you’ve still got a safety net to test the waters, and if things don’t feel like the right fit within those first two weeks, simply cancel your hosting plan for a full refund.

Billing Cycle

With this leading provider, you’ve got plenty of flexibility when it comes to payment options. For Shared Hosting, you can choose between monthly, annual, biennial, and even triennial billing cycles, so whether you’re in it for the short or long haul, they’ve got you covered. If you’re looking at VPS or VDS hosting, you can choose either monthly or annual payments. And, as with most quality providers, the longer your commitment, the better the discount!

They currently accept all major debit and credit cards as valid payment methods.

Control Panel

You have the choice at Natro between cPanel, an incredibly popular, easy to use control panel that is an absolute favourite with newbies as well as veterans for web management, e-mail management, and database management, or Plesk, which is prized for being so adaptable, especially if you have more than one website or if part or all of your set-up is in Windows. Either control panel is available whether on their Shared Hosting plans or on their VPS (Virtual Private Server) and VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server) packages.

Limits

Their Shared Hosting plans, all powered by super-fast LiteSpeed Web Servers with LiteSpeed Cache and blazing-fast SSD drives, are available in six scalable options. These range from the entry-level 'Beginning' plan, which includes 1x Core CPU, 1024MB RAM, 10GB SSD disk space, 1x MySQL database, and 10x POP/IMAP email accounts, to the 'Unlimited Extreme' plan, featuring 2x 4 Core CPUs, 2x 4096MB RAM modules, 10x MSSQL or unlimited MySQL databases, unlimited POP/IMAP email accounts, and SSD storage. These are great specs for the prices of each plan, and what impresses me, even more, is that all Shared Hosting plans come with unlimited bandwidth, free domain registration, a free Positive SSL certificate, and no limits on the number of websites you can host on a single plan.

As for their VPS plans, these are available in eight options, starting with the XCloud Mini plan, which includes 1x vCore CPU, 1GB RAM, and 20GB SSD disk space, and going up to the XCloud Ultra+ plan, which boasts 16x vCore CPUs, 64GB RAM, and 1TB SSD storage.

Website Builder

They do offer a website builder of sorts for an additional monthly fee. However, it's important to note that these are more like ready-made templates where you can edit contact details and images, rather than fully customize your own website design. The plans include over 100 responsive templates and a decent selection of free stock photos. If you're looking to create your own design or need more advanced functionality, it’s better to consider using a CMS like WordPress or Joomla instead.

Security

Natro has implemented a variety of features to keep your data safe and secure across its hosting plans and infrastructure. Their Shared Hosting runs on the CloudLinux OS, which provides robust isolation between user accounts, minimizing the risk of one compromised site affecting others on shared hosting. They also utilize advanced firewall protection to guard against unauthorized access and various types of cyber threats and incorporate DDoS protection, which helps to defend against distributed denial-of-service attacks that can overwhelm your site with traffic. Additionally, their hosting plans come with free Positive SSL certificates, ensuring that data transferred between your site and visitors is encrypted and secure. 

OS

Natro utilized the CloudLinux OS (Operating System), an OS aimed to optimize resource usage, improve uptime, and increase overall security, making it a popular choice for web hosts looking to provide a reliable and secure hosting experience, and Windows 2016, on their Shared Hosting plans. Their VPS and VDS plans on the other hand offer users the option to choose between AlmaLinux, Ubuntu, Debian, and Windows Server 2019 as the operating system.

Support

Natro offers technical support around the clock via Live Chat, which is probably the quickest way to get in touch, as replies are almost instant. They also provide support through Phone, Email, and Support Tickets, if you prefer those options. Their support agents are friendly and knowledgeable, and the wait times are generally short - I received assistance within less than 5 minutes on a support ticket. Additionally, Natro has a detailed knowledge base packed with articles, tutorials, and FAQs, perfect for those who prefer to figure things out on their own.

Conclusion

In my opinion, Natro stands out as a solid hosting option for several key reasons. First off, their range of plans caters to everyone, from beginners to experienced developers, so you can find something that fits your specific needs without breaking the bank. Their Shared Hosting plans come with impressive features (at dirt-cheap prices), like LiteSpeed Web Servers, which help your site load faster, and the option to choose between popular control panels like cPanel and Plesk. The only downside I can point out is that their website builder is quite basic. Overall, if you’re looking for reliable performance, solid support, and a variety of plans, Natro is definitely worth considering.