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FatCow Review 2024 – Has It Seen Better Days?

James Guill Written by: James Guill

FatCow is an “old school” hosting company that focuses on making it easy for small and mid-sized business to get online. However, if you need a more advanced solution such as VPS or a dedicated server, they can fit that need as well. Flat annual pricing makes them attractive to startups looking to save money.

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Overview


FatCow-mine1

FatCow is one of the oldest web hosting companies on the internet, first opening in 1998. They are a U.S.-based company whose primary focus is providing affordable web solutions to small to mid-sized businesses.

Having been around through much of the internet revolution, FatCow has always maintained a hosting service that is both robust yet easy to use regardless of one’s technical ability.

Features and Ease of Use

FatCow offers a wide variety of hosting services that are perfect for webmasters of all skill levels. Their hosting services provide many excellent standard features, including the following:

  • Free domain name
  • Unlimited domains
  • Unlimited emails
  • Website builder and setup tools
  • Unmetered disk space and bandwidth

Note that for unmetered disk space and bandwidth, you are bound to the TOS which states that FatCow can throttle your site’s connection speed and memory allocation if you’re using too much bandwidth or storage.

FatCow Screenshot

FatCow has a relatively impressive list of advanced features. All of these features come standard where some services only offer them in their top plans or not at all.

  • $100 in Bing and Google Credits
  • Support for PHP, CGI, Python
  • E-commerce tools (Shopsite, PayPal Integration, SSL)
  • Unlimited subdomains
  • Daily server backups

FatCow offers point & click web builder tools with customizable templates along with automatic setup scripts for WordPress and Joomla. Their cPanel is easy to navigate, and with FTP access standard, more advanced webmasters can quickly build a site without being restricted to using beginner tools.

Pricing and Support

FatCow offers two primary hosting services, along with more advanced hosting solutions. Those services are as follows:

  • Original FatCow – This is their main individual plan that allows you to set up unlimited domains. This is great for most any site from webstores to blogs and more. It also includes unlimited email addresses, an SSL secure server, and more.
  • WordPress Hosting – If you plan to build a site using WordPress, FatCow also offers WP hosting that includes a customized control panel and pre-installed themes & plugins. They also provide a second-tier WP hosting that includes faster speed servers, enhanced security, and support from WP experts.
  • VPS Servers – If you’d rather have full control over your website and need features like a dedicated IP address, you might consider one of FatCow’s VPN server options. This is for those users who know how to design and update their site and want to be on less crowded servers.
  • Dedicated Servers – For those needing their own server or have sites that are outgrowing shared hosting solutions, a dedicated server is ideal. Their plans include servers with 4GB to 16GB of ram, up to 1TB of storage, and up to 15TB of bandwidth. You also have from three to five dedicated IP addresses.

If you’re new to website setup and concerned about technical skills, I recommend opting for the WordPress Hosting plan. It’s perfect for absolute beginners, and the plan provides the same set of features as the Original FatCow, but in a user-friendly interface.

FatCow-support

One thing that I really like about their Original FatCow plan is that they have a flat annual pricing option. Also, all their plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk involved.

FatCow’s customer support is available 24/7 and offers multiple options to answer your questions. Their Knowledge Base is fantastic and very comprehensive to answer both basic and more advanced questions.

If you need additional help, they offer toll-free phone support and live chat assistance. I tried contacting customer support and was able to connect to an agent in about five seconds and the agent was very knowledgeable about my issue. However, it was clear he was not a native English speaker, so you may want to clearly communicate any problems when talking to them.

Comparison

How does FatCow match up to the competition?

1HostingerCompareOur Score4.9Compare
1IONOSCompareOur Score4.8Compare
1CompareOur Score4.3Compare
1Go4HostingCompareOur Score2.4Compare

FatCow REVIEW: BOTTOM LINE

FatCow web hosting may look a bit simplistic compared to other services, but it is deceptively powerful. Their service is excellent for beginners and experienced webmasters alike.

Pros

  • Free domain name
  • Supports unlimited domains
  • Website builder and auto-setup tools
  • E-commerce tools available

Cons

  • Potential to have your site throttled
  • Non-native speaking live chat support
James Guill James Guill
James Guill is a veteran writer with a background in IT support. He’s worked for some of the world’s largest companies including Ericsson, Compaq, GE, Bank of America and Dell.
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It’s a company that’s going away quickly

First, their POSTED rates don't match what they are currently charging. Most of their web-pages, help sections, and everything are 3-5 years outdated. They don't clean-up after changes so if you search their help, you might find 2-5 completely different procedures for doing the same thing. And many times NONE of them work because it's all outdated. I've been a LONG time customer and I just got a a curtesy reminder that my yearly billing is coming up. I was paying $179.40 for over 10 years. 2 years ago it went up to $215.28 but today's bill was $311.49 for the upcoming year of service. This reminder email even has a link to what their "current" rates are. However, it's more than 5-years out of date so NONE of the pricing matches. It shows I should still be at the price of $179.40 but that's not it. They have removed ALL forms of contact with them, you can ONLY use their chat. No email, no support tickets, no phone calls. When using their chat, EACH response takes about 10 minutes, so if you want to have a conversation, clear a couple hours because they are TERRIBLE! After talking with other hosting companies, I've found out that what they want for 1 year, I can get 3-years of service elsewhere cheaper.

1 avatar
Jason, USA
February 23, 2024
1

I feel your pain. I got an email reminder that my 2024 billing was coming up, but no courtesy notice well in advance that my MiniMoo was going from $9.99/year to $119.88/year. Shameful business practice. I second your other observations re inability to contact the company by phone or email. Fatcow has been one of my faves for years. This thing they are now is unacceptable. As painful as it will be for me to make a change, I dropped Fatcow like a hot rock. They won't get another dime from me. See how they like that change without warning.

1 avatar
Bibi , USA
March 03, 2024
Family sharingMulti User SharingExpert SupportBackupSmart syncPersonal SolutionBusiness SolutionTeams optionsOffline foldersFile history and recovery
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