Last updated on January 2nd, 2023 at 12:19 pm
When it comes to choosing a web hosting service for your business in South Africa, you want the best of the best.
Afrihost and Mweb are two of the top contenders in South Africa’s competitive market, but which is right for you?
This article aims to provide an in-depth comparison between Afrihost and Mweb’s various hosting packages and services.
We will discuss their individual features, prices, support options, and more to help you make an informed decision.
With this information, you can confidently decide which web hosting provider is right for your business needs.
Table of Contents
Who is Afrihost?
Afrihost is a South African telecommunications and internet service provider (ISP).
The company offers a range of internet and telecommunication services to residential and business customers, including broadband internet, digital voice, and hosting services.
Afrihost was founded in 2000 and has since grown to become one of the leading ISPs in South Africa.
The company prides itself on providing its customers with reliable and high-quality internet and telecommunication services and excellent customer service.
In addition to its core internet and telecommunication services, Afrihost also offers a range of additional products and services, such as website design and development, domain registration, and cloud storage.
The company’s website offers a range of self-service tools and resources for customers to manage their accounts and troubleshoot any issues they may encounter.
Who is Mweb?
Mweb is a South African internet service provider (ISP) that offers a range of broadband and connectivity solutions to residential and business customers.
The company was founded in 1997 and has since grown to become one of the leading ISPs in South Africa.
Mweb offers a variety of broadband internet packages to suit the needs of different users, including packages with different speeds, data allowances, and contract lengths.
Our main focus today is comparing their web hosting services.
Features of Afrihost and Mweb
A. Server Types
A web server is a powerful computer that stores and delivers web pages to users when they request them.
It’s an essential part of the internet, allowing us to browse websites, download files, and access applications.
Now, there are different types of these servers. Let’s look at what each store has got.
Afrihost offers a range of server types that are suitable for different kinds of websites.
They offer shared Linux web hosting, cloud hosting, Windows web hosting, and dedicated servers.
You will also find specialized hosting servers. Here, Afrihost customizes the web server to fit your needs.
For instance, they offer managed dedicated hosting if you want a hands-off arrangement.
All of their hosting solutions are powered by cPanel, providing you with a reliable and user-friendly way to manage your website.
On the other hand, it looks like Mweb offers only shared hosting. This is from the information available on their website.
B. Pricing Structures
Price is everything when choosing a web hosting partner… well, maybe not everything to everyone, but it does matter.
Afrihost offers competitive pricing for its hosting services.
They offer monthly and annual plans, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. They also have promotional pricing for their shared hosting plans, making them cost-effective for your website.
For example, here are various prices for each of their main hosting services.
- Shared hosting starting at R49 per month
- Shared Windows hosting from R69 per month
- Cloud server hosting coming at R360 per month
- Managed dedicated hosting at R1870 per month
Mweb also has competitive pricing for its hosting services.
They only offer a monthly billing cycle.
They also offer promotional pricing for their shared hosting plans, making them cost-effective for your website.
For instance, you get the following with all of their hosting plans:
- FREE co.za Domain name for a year
- FREE Website Builder Tool
- FREE SSL Certificate
- Email addresses
Here is a breakdown comparison of all of their plans.
C. Security and Support
Besides the price, you also must consider the security of the provider.
The last thing you want is to lose all of your hard work to cyber criminals just because your hosting provider failed to do their work.
You should also easily access them whenever you need help, trust me, there will be a time you will want something sorted ASAP.
Back to Afrihost vs MWEB.
Afrihost provides 24/7 server monitoring with firewall, anti-spam, anti-virus, and 24/7 customer support.
Funny thing;
I don’t know how generators will help keep your site safe, but Afrihost provides them.
They also offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, so you can be sure that your website will remain online.
On the other hand, Mweb also offers secure servers with regular backups and 24/7 customer support.
The downside is, you won’t get this if you are on the lower plan.
There’s also malware scanning, which should help eliminate any malicious files uploaded to your site/server.
Yes, Afrihost and MWEB offer customer support, but the service level and quality depend on how much you are paying?.
When evaluating a company’s customer service, consider factors such as;
- the availability of customer service representatives,
- speed of response to inquiries
- level of knowledge and helpfulness of the representatives, and the
- effectiveness of their problem-solving abilities.
Afrihost vs. Mweb: Quality of Service
A. Uptime
Uptime is the percentage of time a web hosting service is active and available for users.
When selecting a web host in South Africa, uptime should be considered as it will determine how reliable your website will be.
Uptime signifies that the server is accessible to visitors and customers through its network connection, hardware, and software – meaning there’s less risk of downtime or other technical issues!
Additionally, a higher uptime rate can make your website appear more reliable and professional in the eyes of potential customers.
While no hosting provider can guarantee 100% uptime, let’s look at Afrihost vs Mweb ratings.
Afrihost’s servers have an average uptime of 99.9%, making them reliable and always available for your website.
The same applies to Mweb’s servers, with an average uptime of 99.8%, making them reliable and always available for your website.
B. Speed and Performance
The speed and performance of a website hosted with either provider will depend on various factors, including the specific hosting plan chosen, the server infrastructure, the type and size of the website, and the traffic it receives.
Some things to consider when evaluating the speed and performance of a web hosting provider include:
- Server uptime: A hosting provider should have a high server uptime to ensure that your website is always available to your users.
- Server response time: The time it takes for a server to respond to a request can affect the speed of your website. A hosting provider with fast server response times can help improve the overall performance of your website.
- Storage and bandwidth: The amount of storage and bandwidth that is included with a hosting plan can impact the speed and performance of your website. Make sure to choose a plan that meets the needs of your website.
- Content delivery network (CDN): A CDN is a network of servers that delivers content to users based on their geographical location. Using a CDN can help improve the speed and performance of your website for users located in different regions.
Customer Reviews
Afrihost
Afrihost has the following ratings on HostAdvice:
- User Friendly: 1.8
- Support: 1.5
- Features: 1.8
- Reliability: 1.5
- Pricing: 2.3
That’s out of 5 stars.
It’s actually a mixture of 1 star and 4.4 stars. But the 1-star looks like a different service Afrihost provides.
Look at this one; they are complaining about the ISP service.
But there are also 5 stars.
Mweb
The only MWEB review I could dig up is this one on hostings.info.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to web hosting in South Africa, Afrihost and Mweb both offer reliable services with a variety of features.
Both offer great customer service, multiple hosting plans, and reasonable prices.
Ultimately, these providers’ decisions will come down to individual needs and preferences.
Those concerned with website speed may find that Afrihost offers slightly faster speeds than Mweb.
However, those looking for maximum storage capacity may prefer Mweb’s higher storage limits.
Users should also consider the additional features offered by each provider, such as domain registration, email packages, and control panels.
Both companies provide their customers with excellent customer support 24/7 via telephone or live chat which can help make a difference when selecting one provider over another.
Related: GoDaddy vs Afrihost: Which is the best in South Africa