In the market for a 123-reg alternative?
123-reg is one of the best-known names in UK domains and web hosting, and its headline prices are hard to beat. They’re introductory prices, though, so it’s worth checking what renews at what price, and when you can get hold of someone, before you commit.
Introducing Prostack
Prostack is an independent UK hosting company. Alongside managed servers for agencies and e-commerce businesses, we run cPanel shared hosting for start-ups and smaller sites, on the same managed platform and with the same in-house support team.
- 24/7 support from our in-house UK team
- 6-minute average ticket response time
- cPanel hosting on LiteSpeed, with daily backups and malware scanning on every plan
- Unlimited mailboxes and free SSL on every plan
- No teaser rates
- Independent with no parent company
Introducing 123-reg
123-reg is a domain registrar and web host based in Nottingham. It has been part of Host Europe Group since 2003, and GoDaddy has owned that group since 2017. It sells domains, cPanel web hosting, managed WordPress, self-managed VPS and email.
- cPanel web hosting from £1.99/month on a three-year term, paid upfront
- Renewal at the standard rate: £6.99/month on the entry plan
- Free domain and mailboxes for the first year only
- Phone support Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Prostack vs 123-reg: how do they compare?
Both offer cPanel hosting with daily backups. 123-reg’s plans start cheaper and come with more storage. Prostack includes more on every plan, keeps support open around the clock, and doesn’t sign you up on a teaser rate.
| Feature | 123-reg | Prostack |
|---|---|---|
| Control panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| UK-based | Yes (owned by GoDaddy, US) | Yes, and independent |
| Data centres | Europe and North America; country not specified | Two UK datacentres plus Atlanta, US |
| Pricing | From £1.99/mo on a three-year term paid upfront, renewing at £6.99/mo | Monthly plans with no teaser rates. See shared hosting plans |
| Mailboxes | 1 to 5 (1GB each), free for the first year | Unlimited |
| Free SSL | Every plan except Economy, where it’s free for the first year | Every plan, renewed automatically |
| Malware scanning | Managed WordPress plans only | Every plan |
| Daily backups | Included | Included, kept for 7 days |
| Support | Phone Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm; live chat on weekdays and weekend daytimes | 24/7, with a 6-minute average ticket response |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9%, with a 5% credit towards future purchases on request | 100% on network and power |
| ISO accreditations | None stated | ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 |
| Migration | At 123-reg’s discretion, only for domains registered with it, and not over 10GB or 100,000 files | Free managed migration, with no crossover billing |
Prices on both sides exclude VAT.
What sets Prostack apart?
No teaser rates
- ✓ 123-reg’s headline £1.99/month needs a three-year term paid upfront (£71.64), and the next three years renew at £251.64. The free domain and mailboxes last for the first year only. Our plans aren’t teaser rates – we don’t sign you up cheap and sting you at renewal.
Help whenever you need it
- ✓ 123-reg’s phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm, and its live chat needs you to log in and keeps shorter hours at weekends. Our in-house UK team is on hand 24/7, 365 days a year.
- ✓ Our average first response is 6 minutes, whatever time you get in touch.
- ✓ Your shared hosting is looked after by the same team that runs our agency servers.
More included on every plan
- ✓ Every Prostack shared hosting plan comes with unlimited mailboxes, free SSL, Monarx malware scanning, a firewall and WAF, LiteSpeed with built-in caching, and daily backups kept for 7 days.
- ✓ 123-reg’s plans do come with more storage. If your site needs more room than our plans give you, talk to us and we’ll find the right fit.
Moving is on us
- ✓ 123-reg’s migration help is at its discretion, needs your domain registered with it, and stops at 10GB or 100,000 files. It won’t move your content out to another host either, so we do it for you, free and with no crossover billing.
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