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XREA Review 2024 – Is It Worth It?

Mark Holden Written by: Mark Holden

XREA is a Japanese rental server service owned by GMO DigiRock, Inc. If you’re a Japanese customer (or have a Japanese address), you can get a free or relatively cheap rental server with basic features. XREA also offers DNS services and cloud servers for local clients through its parent company.

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Overview


Xrea Feature
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XREA is part of GMO DigiRock, Inc. that was established in 2001. Based in Japan, Xrea offers free and paid rental web servers and paid mail servers for Japanese clients. Through its parent company, it also provides DNS services and cloud servers. XREA’s website supports Japanese.

Features and Ease of Use

XREA offers a free server on its basic plan (XREA Free), which gives you 1 GB of capacity. If you need more space, there is an XREA Plus paid plan and an email server add-on. The XREA plans come with:

  • 10-64 hosted domains
  • 1 GB-100 GB web space
  • Daily transfer of 1 GB-64 GB
  • 100 email accounts
  • 1-5 MySQL and PostgreSQL databases
  • Support for Perl, Ruby, and PHP (v5.3-7.4 and 7.0 – both CGI/FastCGI versions)
  • Shared SSL
  • WordPress availability

Since XREA uses SSDs, it offers faster hosting speeds and enhanced data security when compared with HDDs. As well, SNI (Server Name Indication) technology allows your server to connect multiple SSL certificates to a single IP address.

XREA also has an API (application program interface), so you can change or update your account without using the control panel. The API is especially helpful if you manage multiple domains and websites.

The availability of cron jobs with XREA Plus will let you schedule tasks on your server or at regular intervals. However, it doesn’t take regular backups, which is a bit disappointing.

Pricing and Support

While there is a free plan available, if you want to access the extra features of XREA Plus, it is also cheap. This plan is payable in Japanese Yen through credit card, bank transfer, WebMoney, and convenience stores. The available billing periods are from monthly to annually, with price discounts for longer billing cycles.

Even though there is no money-back guarantee, you can get a 7-day free trial period with XREA Plus.

You can reach XREA’s customer support via live chat, phone, and an inquiry form. The live chat is available online in Japanese from 10 am-12 pm; 1 pm-5 pm, Monday to Friday; and 10 am-5 pm on Saturdays. For phone support, you’ll need to log into Value Domain, your account managed by GMO DigiRock, Inc. and make a reservation in advance. The inquiry form is also only available for registered users.

I attempted to use its live chat feature to inquire about a few pre-sales questions (with the assistance of Google Translate). The support team informed me that I needed to register first and have a Japanese address before proceeding. Consequently, I was unable to continue with my query.

Xrea support

If you are looking for self-support tools, there is an FAQ section with video manuals and user guides.

Xrea FAQ

Comparison

How does XREA match up to the competition?

1HostingerCompareOur Score4.9Compare
1IONOSCompareOur Score4.8Compare
1XREACompareOur Score4.1Compare
1Go4HostingCompareOur Score2.4Compare

XREA REVIEW: BOTTOM LINE

If you’re looking for cheap Japanese rental web servers, it may be worth looking at XREA. You can register a user account and try its paid plan for seven days without risk, as long as you’ve got a Japanese address

Pros

  • 19 years of industry experience
  • Cheap pricing
  • Free web server
  • 7-day free trial

Cons

  • No money-back guarantee
  • No backups

Check Xrea to get free and cheap Japanese rental web servers.
Mark Holden Mark Holden
Mark is a full stack web developer specializing in HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and PHP. When he’s not busy building websites or geeking out over the latest addition to his ever-growing gadget collection, he enjoys playing drums for his progressive rock band. He can also make a mean Spanish omelet.
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