Overview: What is iPage?
iPage, founded in 1998 and now part of Endurance International Group, offers web hosting services worldwide, claiming to power over one million websites across two US based data centers. Wikipedia
1. Pricing & Plans
- Shared Hosting – introductory rates start as low as $1.99/month, typically renewing at $7.99/month Consumers AdvocateTechRadar.
- WordPress Hosting – two tiers (“WP Starter” and “WP Essential”) priced around £3.75/$4.68/month and £6.95/$8.68/month respectively (introductory rates). Renewals may be higher ProfileTree.
- VPS & Dedicated options are available but relatively limited and more expensive (dedicated starting at ~$120/month) TooltesterTechRadar.
Pros:
- Very affordable entry-level pricing.
- Free domain (usually first year) and unlimited websites/storage on shared plansTechRadarProfileTree.
Cons:
- Renewal costs jump significantly.
- Add-ons like backups, SiteLock, or migration often cost extra Consumers AdvocateTechRadarDiggity Marketing.
2. Performance, Speed & Uptime
- Load times: Reports show average load times around 650ms to 3 seconds; Bitcatcha grade C+, TTFB over 2 seconds; Pingdom shows 1100ms+ProfileTreeTechRadar.
- Uptime: Roughly 99.94%, with occasional outages beyond the advertised 99.9% ProfileTree.
- Global performance: Servers based in the US; visitors from other countries may experience slower site loading Diggity MarketingIsItWP – Free WordPress Theme Detector.
3. Features & Usability
- Shared hosting includes:
- WordPress plans add pre-installed plugins/themes, SiteLock, malware removal, expert support on higher tierTechRadarProfileTree.
- Missing Features:
- No free daily backups (costs extra) Diggity MarketingTechRadar.
- No staging environment or migration tools TechRadarSlashdot.
- Basic control panel (vDeck) is less user-friendly than cPanel TechRadarWebsite Builder Expert.
4. Customer Support & Reputation
- Support availability: 24/7 live chat and email. Some sources report quick response times (< 1 minute)ProfileTree.
- However, quality concerns:
- Live chat may escalate to tickets, delaying solutions Diggity Marketing.
- Users report aggressive upselling during support interactions Diggity Marketing.
- Billing issues and poor customer service are major complaint themes Consumers AdvocateDiggity Marketing.
- Trustpilot: Low rating — TrustScore around 2 out of 5, many negative reviews about billing auto-charges Trustpilot.
- User testimonials: “They non stop charge your credit card…” “iPage will just arbitrarily charge you triple their going rate with no forewarning… some rugpull scammy…”Reddit. “Support is very bad… don’t have a staging server… everything is bad…”Slashdot.
5. Comparison with Competitors
- Vs Bluehost: Bluehost generally offers stronger uptime, performance, more plan options (VPS, dedicated), and better features. Bluehost ranking ~4.8/5 vs iPage ~3.8/5 Website Builder Expert.
- Vs Hostinger: Hostinger provides faster speed, better control panel, free migrations, backups; iPage is cheaper but feature limited TechRadar.
Summary Overview
| Category | iPage Highlights |
|---|---|
| Price | Very low initial cost ($1.99/mo), but sharp renewals. Add-ons often cost extra. |
| Performance & Uptime | Average speed, decent uptime (~99.94%), slower overseas. |
| Features | Unlimited domains/storage, vDeck, WordPress installer; lacks backups, staging, migration. |
| Support & Reputation | Mixed: quick responses but upselling, billing complaints, low Trustpilot score. |
| Alternatives | Competitors like Bluehost, Hostinger provide better performance and tools. |
Final Verdict: Should You Choose iPage?
Good fit for:
- Budget-conscious beginners needing basic shared hosting.
- Simple personal or small business websites with low traffic.
Better to avoid if:
- You need reliable speed, strong uptime, or global performance.
- You want advanced features like free backups, staging, migration.
- You’re concerned about transparency in billing and customer support quality.
