MochaHost is a popular US web hosting provider whose product catalog offers a full range of hosting-related services capable of catering to different needs. Backed by decent performance, a 100% uptime guarantee, and a generous money-back guarantee as well as 24/7 customer support, MochaHost is definitely worth a try. Its cheapest plan, however, is another story.
The story of MochaHost began in 2002 when its future founders realized the deep need for high-quality web hosting(opens in a new tab) in the market and decided to launch one of their own. Founded in San Jose, MochaHost’s main goal was to balance “high-end” services with a pocket-friendly price, while at the same time, covering everything from personal blogs to large businesses.
Today their head office is located in New York and they seem to focus on the local market, as all of their data centers are located there, specifically in Chicago. MochaHost has chosen to name some of its data center features which are: UPS backups, diesel generators, tape libraries, day and night monitoring, security alarms, and hand scanners.
MochaHost offers a lot and we found our way around fairly quickly. In addition to English, there are several versions of the site in different languages: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and a conversion tool that supports 42 separate currencies.
The MochaHost website features a blog made the same (old) and filled with informative articles, the latest updates, and how-to guides. These guides are written in a casual style and feel casual, familiar, and friendly yet useful at the same time. As for social networks, you can follow MochaHost on Facebook and Twitter, although it doesn’t seem to been particularly active over the past year.
Fortunately, they are remarkably active when it comes to supporting environmental integrity, providing and promoting green hosting, and an environmentally friendly approach in general.
Pricing and plans
One thing MochaHost does not lack is the hosting options on offer. There are a minimum of three plans for each type of hosting they offer: Shared Hosting, Managed WordPress Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting Solutions. Shared, VPS, and dedicated servers are available for both Linux and Windows, and packages dedicated to the latter are (as expected) a bit more expensive. The most budget-friendly shared hosting plan is called “Soho” and currently starts at 1.58 EUR ($1.94) per month. This plan should provide you with “ultra-fast performance”, unlimited disk space, traffic, email and webmail boxes, and a “lifetime” SSL certificate. However, free domain registration with two top-tier plans is only granted, as well as a one-click installer.
money back
MochaHost offers a 180-day money-back guarantee, which sounds too good to be true. It is somewhat so since it only offers refunds for unused hosting fees based on the standard monthly pricing for the package in question. As expected, this excludes domain registration and other add-ons.
Plus, there’s a 30-day risk-free guarantee, with which you can get a full refund of your hosting fee if you decide to quit within 30 days after purchase.
MochaHost accepts more than a few payment methods, including all major credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, and Skrill.
Ease of use
One of the features of MochaHost we would like to highlight is something known as a Lifetime Discount Guarantee. What that basically means is that the price you paid for your hosting package will never change. In other words, if you get a discounted price in the beginning, you are free to hold it until the end, which is great news for all the bargain hunters out there. In any case, it’s refreshing not to have to keep price hikes in the back of your mind.
Although there is a free migration policy for websites, it is unfortunately limited to those whose hosts have provided them with an industry-standard cPanel. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, you’re on your own.
When creating an account with MochaHost, the first step is to select your hosting type, operating system, and plan, and there are a lot of them. The next step is to choose a billing cycle, here details about the price and highlights of the plan are provided. There, you can choose whether you want to be billed every month, for three months, six months, a year, two years, or three years, which is refreshingly flexible.
An add-on has been suggested which is the “Spam Filter” which you can include with your purchase for €2.45 (US$3.01) per month. If you choose anything less than the six-month billing cycle, you’ll notice here an additional setup fee of €4.10 ($5.03), which isn’t much but it’s worth noting nonetheless. After that, you can add two more recommended add-ons and proceed to checkout.
To finish creating your account (and your order), you will be required to provide MochaHost with a number of standard personal information. Next, you will set a password, choose your preferred payment method, and complete the purchase.
Although MochaHost offers a decent number of Control Panel options (cPanel, Easy Web Panel, WHM, Plesk), if you decide to get the “Soho” (the cheapest plan), you will be denied one-click WordPress installers, which is simply unfortunate. The drag-and-drop website builder they offer is easy to use even for those who are far from webmasters, but those with “Soho” won’t get it.
Speed and experience
Since MochaHost uses enterprise-grade data centers (SAS 70 Type II certified, specifically), we’d expect nothing less than flawless speed performance. Fortunately, after checking the speed of the main MochaHost site with the help of the much-appreciated GTmetrix, this is very close to the results we got. The site took just 1.5 seconds to load, which looks better compared to the average result of 8.1 seconds. After taking all metrics into account, the GTmetrix rated its speed performance with a grade of A (92%), which is very close to perfect.
MochaHost guarantees an amazing 100% uptime, and promises to give credit or offer a month’s free service to all those who experience any downtime. The type of compensation users is entitled to depends on the duration of this inconvenience. Anyway, that’s not something you should worry about too much, because an uptime test (provided by UptimeRobot) that monitored the MochaHost main site for a month revealed a total of 19 minutes of downtime, which equates to 99.95% of uptime. Fortunately, for this, we are entitled to some credit for helping us deal with the downtime our website has been through.
the support
Like most of the well-established web hosting companies in this trade, MochaHost takes the issue of customer support very seriously. In addition to its traditional knowledge base, MochaHost also features a “support portal” that is filled with step-by-step guides and a host of educational videos among other things. The directed voice is horribly automated and monotonous in a sleep-inducing way, but it’s also useful, brief, and gets straight to the heart of the matter.
Although MochaHost’s knowledge base is filled with a sufficient number of useful articles well organized in all relevant categories, the character’s font is microscopic. Browsing the articles, it felt like she was trying to decipher a package leaflet for a prescribed drug.
Besides, you can contact the MochaHost support team by live chat, support ticket, and toll-free phone (available via callback). Of all the available support methods, only 24/7 chat is available.
Windows plans
Linux is the king of hosting. The vast majority of websites run on one of their distros.
However, many webmasters will go to Windows Server for its frequent updates, professional support, and exclusive MS applications. In such cases, MochaHost Windows Server hosting is excellent.
Shared Windows plans come with a set of ASP.NET and MSSQL features. It runs on SolidCP, a specialized control panel for Windows-based solutions. Moreover, it features standard perks like backups, domain registration, refunds, etc. They start at $2.48 per month, making MochaHost one of the most affordable ASP.NET hosts out there.
VPS and dedicated Windows servers are mostly enhanced versions of ASP.NET plans. It allows some new software such as forex trading apps, business intelligence solutions, and other exclusive Windows solutions. They’re great if you need more resources or flexibility.
The offer is generally strong. Mocha has helped me get into Hosting Tribunal’s lists of both the best Windows hosting companies in general and the best Windows VPS providers. The web host can take care of any Windows-based projects at your fingertips.
Managed WordPress Hosting
Everyone loves WordPress. It is one of the most flexible and powerful CMS, and it has one of the largest communities on the web.
Of course, any LAMP stacking plan can support WordPress. However, a specialized provider can really help you get the most out of your CMS. These platforms are usually a little more expensive but give you better value.
If you are a fan of WP, MochaHost has managed WordPress hosting that can make your experience more smooth.
The WordPress-optimized plans run on the standard cPanel. You can use the Softaculous auto-install add-on to install WordPress in a single click.
From there, you get automatic updates, although this only applies to the core software and not to themes or plugins. The platform will keep the app patched, so you won’t miss an important update and put your site at risk.
MochaHost’s WordPress installation comes with the BoldGrid plugin that you can set up through Softaculous. This is a WordPress website builder that upgrades the Gutenberg editor.
The extension allows you to create custom web page layouts, which makes it a lot easier to get a unique design. Additionally, it allows for a host of new SEO, caching, and security tools. It’s a huge step forward if you want to get creative with website design and even access some powerful features.
You can use features like WP-CLI, site setup and cloning, git, and cron access. They are excellent tools for more advanced WordPress users and make managing your projects much easier.
Although MochaHost is by no means the best in WordPress hosting, the plans are well-optimized and include all the great features you would expect.
free immigration
Migration can be an obstacle when looking for a new service. The more complex your project, the more likely you are to do some troubleshooting to get it right.
It’s not a huge obstacle for experienced server administrators. However, most users don’t want to deal with the database and configuration files if they can help with it.
To make the transfer as painless as possible, MochaHost offers a free website migration service.
One tricky aspect is that your original hosting plan has to be on the same control panel that MochaHost uses, for example, cPanel. The service isn’t available to Windows users, and it’s far from great.
Understandably, MochaHost has such a ruling that migrating accounts from a different board is often complicated. Only a few hosts offer transfers from other solutions without charging additional fees. If you are using a different dashboard and want to switch hosts, you can take a look at our KnownHost review, where the provider offers migrations between the three mainboards.
However, it is helpful that MochaHost support offers to transfer your cPanel account.
Free domain for life
Having a domain name is essential to running a website. It may be an expense, but it is necessary.
That’s why many hosting providers offer free domain registration once you sign up. It’s an incentive to get into hosting, and it makes your first payment even easier.
MochaHost hosts other companies. Offers lifetime domain registration with Business and Mocha plans. You can save $10-15 each year, so it’s an excellent addition.
Keep in mind that WHOIS privacy will cost you $6.99 per year. It’s not necessary, but it goes a long way in avoiding spammers. Many domain registrars offer this for free, so this is something you need to consider.
There is another requirement for lifetime registration that most MochaHost reviews fail to mention.
Namely, you cannot have both domain registration and lifetime price discount. You can either go for a three-year plan and get a discounted forever deal or pay annually/biennially and get the free forever domain.
You get a little extra value either way, but you can’t take advantage of both. It’s a minor detail in the ToS, but it’s important when it comes to deciding if you should buy MochaHost’s services.
Great extras
You want your hosting provider to offer you solid plans. However, some hosts add non-core services that you can use in your solution to get more use out of it.
MochaHost has plenty of integrations that you can use, either for free or for a small fee.
Attracta SEO tools are integrated into the MochaHost dashboard in the Business and Mocha hosting plans, for a start. This software creates XML sitemaps, submits them to search engines, makes SEO adjustments, helps build links, and covers many other things. If you are new to SEO or just want to speed up your optimization, Attracta is a useful addition.
Proprietary email marketing tools are one of the things that many user-generated MochaHost reviews praise. These allow you to create a mailing list, manage marketing campaigns, and analyze results afterward.
You can send up to 12,000 emails per month to up to 2,000 subscribers for free. If you get past that, there are a bunch of paid plans. The service can handle 3 million subscribers and 18 million emails per month. It’s a great offer if you want an alternative to popular mail solutions like MailChimp.
You can buy premium SSL from MochaHost. Covers both Single Domain and WildCard certificates. This is just a validated domain, but it comes with full installation, support, and a $1,750,000 liability guarantee.
You can get it for $32.48 per year ($64.50 per year for the Wildcard). It’s a good price if you want something more reliable than Let’s Encrypt SSL.
Finally, you can hire a web developer through Mocha if you need some custom work on your site. The price depends on what you need, but you can get a free quote and go from there.
MochaHost has many add-ons if the basic hosting line doesn’t cut it completely.
Free Website Builder
MochaHos – 50% Off LifeTime Guarantee + Free Easy Website Builder, Unlimited Emails & Promotional Tools, Unlimited Space & Bandwidth, 24/7 Support, 30-Day Money Back & 100% Uptime Guarantee
Creating a website can be a tricky business for beginners. Even easy-to-use solutions like WordPress can take time to learn and master.
If you need something a little easier, you can install a beginner-friendly website builder directly from the MochaHost Control Panel. It’s a proprietary solution developed by the host themselves, and it comes bundled with most plans.
The builder makes it relatively easy to build a responsive website. You just need to choose a template and play with the WYSIWYG editor until you get the desired result. It allows you to get a website up and running in less than 15 minutes.
Admittedly, the default templates look a bit outdated. You may need to do some customization if you want a really modern look for your website.
However, you will get decent e-commerce and blogging features, social media tools, and analytics. It provides a lot of flexibility to create the site you want.
Decent features at a decent price
MochaHost has all the features you’d expect from a website host, plus some that were a nice surprise. Its cheaper “Soho” package misses a lot of the basics, like a one-click installer, so you’ll likely need to upgrade to a Business or Mocha package, especially since these packages are still pretty cheap.
MochaHost offers a free domain name on the top two packages for as long as you stay with the company. It also promises 100% uptime, so if you experience any downtime at all, you may qualify for a discount or even a month of free hosting.
Free gifts galore
All MochaHost hosting plans come with a decent Google Ads credit and free migration assistance. As if that wasn’t enough, you also get a lifetime discount guarantee (if you opt for the three-year plan) so that renewal costs stay the same for the entire time you’re committed to the company. Prices increase at many other hosting companies after your first term ends.
Unlimited Free SSL Certificates
SSL certificates are becoming increasingly important for modern webmasters, and while most hosts of this size include one free SSL certificate, there aren’t many that offer unlimited certificates. This is good for your Google rankings and for the security of your site as a whole, and it will also help your visitors to trust you with their personal information.
Best Features of Mochahost Hosting
There are many features that Mochahost provides for people who are completely unique. The feature itself is not unique, but the way it presents it is.
Unlimited bandwidth and disk space
Mochahost offers unlimited bandwidth and disk space on all of its hosting plans. Although this is not entirely unique, it is always good to see because many hosting providers do not offer unlimited bandwidth and disk space. Many are guilty of setting extremes on these two scales. Not having to worry about it will ensure that users do not receive a “bandwidth exceeded” error.
180-Day Risk-Free Warranty
This is definitely a feature that piqued my interest. Not every hosting provider offers a full six-month money-back guarantee. By reading further into the Terms of Service, what this means is that you can cancel within the first six months, but you will not receive a 100% full refund. Instead, you’ll receive a split refund. After six months, you will not be entitled to a refund of all that amount. This is definitely something to consider.
Lifetime Discount Guarantee
This is a unique feature. What this means is that your price will never change. If you sign up at a discount, you’ll always stay at the rate – they’ll never raise their prices on you. This now means that you can sign up for a less expensive plan for as little as $2 per month. If you’re going to keep Mochahost as your hosting provider, that means you’ll pay no more than $2 a month – never.
100% uptime guarantee
This is also unique in the future. Every other hosting provider I’ve seen has, at most, a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee. Mochahost offers a 100 percent uptime guarantee. As part of this guarantee, they will compensate you with free hosting if you find your website down. Interestingly enough, they don’t have a server status page that tells you if they’re experiencing a technical issue or not. Either way, this is a feature not seen anywhere else.
Uptime is a great indicator of a site’s success. When server availability is perfect, you won’t even notice. However, if the server goes down, clients won’t be able to see any of your content, and they’ll move on to the next website. Get a lot of downtimes, which is as good as no site at all. You’ll only pay for the questionable pleasure of not owning one.
MochaHost surprises you right away with a 100% uptime guarantee. This is only the second provider that I’m aware of doing this, the other being DreamHost. The Service Level Agreement states that you can request a partial refund only if the uptime falls below 99.9%. It’s a pretty ordinary phrase, so MochaHost doesn’t offer anything out of the ordinary.
To be clear, most hosting providers have scheduled downtimes occasionally. This allows them to apply patches to the operating system, implement structural changes if needed, and other necessary maintenance operations. These updates usually require a restart of the hosting machine. It is a standard event, which hosting providers contact in advance.
Highly reliable cloud infrastructure
MochaHost has flawless uptime, all thanks to its advanced access.
For starters, the hardware is excellent, with each server featuring 2.40GHz Xeon CPUs, 256 DDR4 RAM, RAID-10 SAN SSD storage, and a 1Gbps upload link. Systems feature 100% redundant components, and some data center hardware is redundant up to N+2.
The provider virtualizes the physical server infrastructure and deploys a cloud platform. Your data is stored across many physical devices, protecting you from hardware failure. It also adds an automatic failover, which means that if a virtual machine fails, another machine will take over automatically, reducing downtime.
The host’s Never Reboot system is fun, too. Reduces scheduled maintenance downtime because the provider does not have to restart the server after each patch.
In addition, Mocha’s load protection service means that the tech team monitors all shared servers 24/7. The provider takes care of any websites that put too much stress on the platform by contacting the owners and discussing a repair or upgrade plan. This means that your performance will not be affected if someone else’s site is blown up.
Add a host of other monitoring tools, PCI scanning, and more, and MochaHost can ensure your server (and website) continues to function as intended.
The competition
Both MochaHost and MilesWeb(Which open in a new tab) try to cover all the needs of the users and keep giving them a lot of money for the money. Both are major players, MochaHost specifically in the US and MilesWeb in the Indian subcontinent. However, while MochaHost makes the impression of an honest provider with transparent pricing and price locking with a lifetime discount guarantee, MilesWeb, and its questionable marketing practices may feel on shaky ground.
HostGator is a competitor to MochaHost that is based in the US and has data centers located within US borders. With a full range of hosting options and features, decent support, and pricing, both can offer a little something to suit everyone’s needs. However, since HostGator offers one-click installs (included with WordPress) with all of its plans (even the first tier) and no MochaHost, newcomers should check out Hostgator first.
Although Leaseweb has been around for longer, MochaHost is still able to provide more pocket-friendly packages. Leaseweb is aimed more at larger companies, while MochaHost has hosting solutions that will appeal to users with simpler needs as well. Additionally, MochaHost offers an incredible 180-day money-back guarantee, while Leaseweb offers no guarantee.
Bluehost and MochaHost are both suitable for newcomers and veterans alike, although neither host is without its drawbacks. With the cheapest MochaHost plan, you won’t get as many valuable features as with Bluehost. On the other hand, unlike Bluehost, MochaHost won’t surprise you with a price hike after the initial period, thanks to its lifetime discount guarantee.
Final verdict
Although it is not without flaws, MochaHost is a lovable host with a full range of hosting options, a decent number of features, and some rather unique selling points. It is good to have a lifetime discount guarantee, unlimited SSL certificate, 100% uptime guarantee, and environment-backed hosting, and with 180 days of money-back guarantees, it is recommended to test it with no worries.
The one thing you can (and should) skip without a hitch is a shared hosting plan called “Soho” since its existence seems almost useless. By going to the next plan and paying a little more, you can get a much better deal. Alternatively, if you really want to save for days, you can take it one step further and check out entry-level plans from other hosts like HostGator and Bluehost before making a final decision.
