Is Hawkhost worth it?
Is Hawkhost worth it? On its published pages, the prices and guarantee look strong for shared hosting.
Hawkhost lists shared hosting from $1.46/mo and a 30 day money back guarantee on shared, reseller, semi-dedicated and VPS services. The homepage also lists cPanel, free SSL certificates and free migrations as features.
The terms are where costs can add up. Renewal fees may rise, ending early makes remaining fees due, and restoring terminated data costs a one time $10 fee per service.
This Hawkhost review sticks to what the company publishes.
What is Hawkhost?
Hawkhost is a hosting company founded in 2004 that sells shared, reseller, semi-dedicated and cloud compute hosting, plus domain registration.
Company background in Hawkhost
The About page says Hawk Host was founded in 2004 and names CEO Tony Baird. Its legal entity is Hawk Host Inc., a web hosting company formed under the laws of Ontario, with its principal office in Toronto.
The company describes its aim as reliable, self-sustaining solutions, where services recover from common problems without people stepping in. It says its monitoring is constant and its support is true 24/7/365, and that it draws on extensive web hosting and software development knowledge.
Plans and locations in Hawkhost
Plans include shared hosting, reseller hosting, cloud compute, cloud VPS and domain registration. The About page also lists semi-dedicated hosting among its services. Hosting locations include Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Toronto, London, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Is Hawkhost legit and safe to use?
Hawkhost publishes its legal entity, a CEO name and a Toronto mailing address, which are the basics of an accountable company.
Business details
The terms name Hawk Host Inc. as a web hosting company formed under Ontario law. The About page lists a mailing address at 100 King Street West Suite 5700, Toronto.
Refunds and early termination
The 30 day guarantee does not apply after terms of service or acceptable use violations, and overcharges must be reported within 30 days. Ending a contract early makes unpaid fees for the remaining billing cycles due the next business day.
Contact channels
The contact page lists separate email addresses for sales, support, billing and abuse, so each type of request has its own route. Chat and a ticket form sit on the same page.
How we evaluated Hawkhost
This review is based on Hawkhost's published pages, and HostSiftly did not sign up for or test the service.
We read the homepage, the about page, the domain prices page, the privacy policy, the terms of service, the knowledge base and the contact page. Those pages cover plans, prices, refunds, terms, privacy and support.
Prices come from the pages as printed when we read them. The homepage shows promotional pricing from the Early Black Friday Sale, so those prices may be out of date or change.
Hawkhost output quality and limits
Hawkhost says it protects stored data, but its backup and uptime promises are limited.
Data and backups
Hawk Host says it stores personal and payment information in a secure database. It makes a good faith effort to keep seven days of backups available to clients, but makes no absolute guarantee that a backup can be provided.
The privacy policy says it captures IP addresses and visit times, and that it does not transfer or sell information for third-party marketing lists.
Uptime and IP addresses
Hawk Host does not warrant that services will be uninterrupted, error-free or completely secure. Its IP addresses fall under ARIN policy, so customers must use name-based hosting where possible.
Hawkhost key features
Hawkhost pairs its plans with cPanel and free extras, plus a WordPress option for WooCommerce stores.
Control panel and free extras
The homepage lists cPanel, free SSL certificates, free migrations and a drag-and-drop website builder as features. A 24/7 migration team will transfer and restore your account at no cost.
Performance and WordPress
Datacenters are CloudFlare optimized, and the homepage says CloudFlare is 100% free to enable. WordPress hosting includes WooCommerce hosting.
Hosting locations
The homepage pitches global locations with local speeds, and the About page lists Dallas TX USA, Los Angeles CA USA, New York City NY USA, Toronto CA, London UK, Singapore SG and Hong Kong HK. The site also has a separate hosting locations page.
Hawkhost pricing and plans
The homepage prices are early Black Friday offers, so check the regular price before you commit.
Renewal fees can rise. Hawk Host may increase fees at the start of a renewal term and says it will try to give ten days notice of the change.
Hosting prices
Shared hosting starts at $1.46/mo on the homepage, shown as was 5.22 now 72% off. Reseller hosting starts at $16.05/mo, shown as was 32.09 now 50% off, and Cloud Compute starts at $5.00/mo with 16% off a 1 year contract.
Domain prices
The domain prices page lists .com in its On Sale TLDs at $10.99, alongside a $16.75 price.
What users say about Hawkhost
The pages we read show a handful of customer testimonials, and the company chose which ones to display.
What the testimonials say
The homepage testimonials praise the support team, and one customer says their site was back up within hours after a traffic spike. Others say they have had no downtime problems.
One non-technical owner says the support team walked them through every step of moving files. A web designer says they have stayed with the company for over a year, and another praises the package prices as extremely reasonable.
These are curated quotes, so they do not show the full range of customer experience.
Support, refunds and cancellation
Support runs through a helpdesk, live chat and tickets, and the company says the helpdesk is available 24/7/365.
Support channels
The About page says the support helpdesk is available 24/7/365 for all customers. The contact page offers live chat and a ticket option, and the knowledge base covers billing, cPanel, email and DNS topics.
Popular knowledge base articles cover nameservers, email setup, POP3, SMTP and IMAP settings, and installing WordPress, so customers can search before they open a ticket.
Data after non-payment
The terms say data for unpaid services is kept for up to thirty (30) days past the renewal invoice due date. Restoring it costs a one time $10 fee for each service.
Who should use Hawkhost
Hawkhost fits people who want low-cost shared hosting with a 30 day guarantee and do not need custom enterprise terms.
Resellers and WordPress site owners will find the reseller and WooCommerce options relevant. Anyone who plans to end a contract early should read the early termination rule first.
Shared hosting buyers should look at the renewal terms too, because fees can change at the start of a renewal term, and the homepage prices are sale prices.
Final verdict on Hawkhost
On its published pages, Hawkhost is a low-cost hosting provider with clear guarantees and a long history.
The headline prices and the 30 day guarantee are its strongest points. Read the renewal terms, the early termination rule and the backup limits before you sign, since those set the real cost.
Round-the-clock support and a clear money back window count in its favour, as long as you go in expecting the renewal price, not the sale price.