FatCow vs SITE5

FatCow was founded in 1998 in New Mexico and is now headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. They built their reputation on simplicity, offering one shared hosting plan with unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain name for the first year. Their platform includes practical tools like a point-and-click website builder, one-click app installers, daily backups, unlimited email hosting with spam filtering, and ShopSite eCommerce integration for small business owners. Their WordPress WP Essential plan adds SSD infrastructure for faster performance and SiteLock protection to help prevent security threats. Pricing starts at $4.08 per month for the main shared hosting plan during the first term, with WordPress hosting options starting at $3.75 per month. This competitive pricing makes them appealing to individuals and small businesses looking for a budget-friendly hosting provider. Customer feedback over the years has shifted, with many users praising the easy setup and affordable introductory pricing but raising concerns about limited hosting options, slow support, and billing issues. FatCow’s lack of VPS, dedicated, or cloud hosting plans can be restrictive for larger projects, but for those who need a straightforward, low-cost way to get a website online, they offer a simple and functional solution.

Site5 launched in 1999 in Dallas as a hosting provider geared toward designers, developers, and small businesses. Before becoming part of Network Solutions, they offered shared, reseller, and managed VPS hosting with unmetered bandwidth, free SSL certificates, nightly backups, and free site migrations. Their platform was easy to manage, supported multiple programming languages, and included tools like cPanel, SSH, and Softaculous. Users appreciated the reliable uptime and developer-friendly setup, though limited server locations and the use of traditional hard drives were notable downsides. This quick overview reflects Site5’s services before their transition under Network Solutions.