A Variety of Hosting Choices
Icy Evolution gives you three types of hosting to choose from: shared, cloud VPS, or dedicated server hosting. Whether you’re a first-time site owner looking for basic hosting or an experienced user looking for a more privacy-oriented hosting company, then, you’re likely to find a suitable hosting plan at Icy Evolution.
Shared Hosting – from $3.50 per month
Icy Evolution’s strongest offerings come from its shared hosting line, which has three plans for you to choose from. These plans all tick the usual boxes in terms of features, but Icy Evolution gives them to you at incredibly low prices. Each plan comes with unlimited storage and bandwidth, which are big pluses; you’ll also get unlimited databases, plus email and FTP accounts.
However, lower-priced plans put a limit on how many websites/domains you can host with your account. Here’s a look at how these plans are priced:
| Features | Silver Cloud | Gold Cloud | Business Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $3.50 | $5 | $22 |
| Domains | 1 | 7 | Unlimited |
| Server CPU Cores | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Server RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Dedicated IP | No | No | On Request |
| SSL Certificate | No | No | Free On Request |
All plans are built on servers running Intel Xeon E3 and E5 CPUs and equipped with RAID-10 SSD storage. This means you can count on quick retrieval times for your website and data. Whichever plan you pick, you’ll also get the latest cPanel control panel software, so you can easily set up your account and manage your website. Icy Evolution also offers Softaculous one-click installer with all shared hosting plans. Each plan also gets 1 free premium WordPress theme.
You can register a domain name directly through Icy Evolution, but it won’t be free. As a great bonus, Icy Evolution includes automatic data backups with each plan.
You’ll have to contend with long contract terms, as Icy Evolution only bills shared hosting plans annually, biennially, or triennially.
4th Place8.6 out of 10VPS Hosting – from $55 per month
For more resource-intensive or busier projects, you can go for Icy Evolution’s cloud VPS hosting instead. There are 3 plans for you to choose from, and here’s a quick look at the prices and key differences between each:
| Features | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $55 | $89 | $129 |
| Storage | 30 GB | 60 GB | 200 GB |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| CPU Cores | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Dedicated IP | 1 | 1 | 2 |
As with the shared hosting plans, you get unlimited bandwidth and free inclusion of cPanel/WHM control panel software. Since these are virtual private servers, you’ll have control over your own partition of a server. Icy Evolution gives you full root access, so you’ll have the freedom to implement whatever modifications or settings you want. You’ll also get to choose what operating system you’d like to work with; Icy Evolution’s default is Linux CentOS, but you can install Fedora, Debian, or Windows, among others.
All the VPS plans give you unlimited bandwidth, databases, and email and FTP accounts. Icy Evolution will also perform automated server backups and include free firewall protection.
VPS hosting plans are billed either monthly or annually, so at least you have the option of a shorter contract term if you’d rather not get locked in by year-long contracts.
Dedicated Hosting – from $186 per month
For maximum privacy and capability, you can turn to Icy Evolution’s dedicated hosting plans. There are four of these to choose from, each giving you your own server equipped with Intel processors. Like the VPS hosting plans, you’ll get total control over the specifications and settings of your server, thanks to full root access and the ability to install your preferred operating system. (Icy Evolution lets you choose from Linux’ CentOS/Ubuntu/Fedora/Debian, or various versions of Windows.)
You have the option to install cPanel/WHM, though that will cost you an extra $40. You do, however, get unlimited bandwidth and 2-3 dedicated IP addresses for free. Overall, Icy Evolution’s dedicated server packages are pretty average in terms of cost and specifications, though.
Here’s an overview:
| Features | Mercury | Venus | Terra | Mars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $186 | $214 | $228 | $250 |
| CPU | Intel Core i3 | Intel Xeon | Intel Core i7 | Intel Core i7 |
| Storage | 500 GB | 4 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB |
| RAM | 4 GB | 12 GB | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| IP addresses | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Icy Evolution’s dedicated hosting is billed on a monthly basis, but you can also request for longer terms if you want to.
Performance and Guarantees
Icy Evolution’s use of SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth give you speedy connections, but the company doesn’t employ the extra optimization measures that some other providers use to accelerate website performance. That means you can look forward to decent website speeds and performance overall.
Icy Evolution doesn’t offer any uptime guarantees though, so you’re not assured of compensation for instances of unscheduled downtime.
Icy Evolution gives you a 45-day money-back guarantee. You can claim a full refund as long as you opt out of the company’s services within 45 days of registration. Prorated refunds are also available if you cancel your account beyond that trial period.
Customer Support
Icy Evolution offers 7/7 customer support through phone and email. The company also has a live chat channel accessible through their website, but support staff aren’t always available. Icy Evolution doesn’t have a designated knowledgebase, but the company posts many tutorials on its blog.
What's the Verdict on Icy Evolution?
Icy Evolution Review 2020 – Conclusion
For simple, secure, and affordable offshore web hosting, Icy Evolution is worth a look. The company offers you the flexibility of varied hosting options, as well as a choice of Linux or Windows operating systems for your servers. You’ll have room to grow thanks to unlimited storage and bandwidth (for shared hosting plans) and generous resource allowances (for shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting), though the limits on hosted websites for some shared hosting plans can be constricting. The lack of uptime guarantees or advanced security measures are also big disadvantages, but you do get 45 days to see if the company still suits your needs, thanks to their money-back guarantee.
This isn’t the best place for complex or high-traffic websites, but if you’re simply looking to host a modest site on more secure platforms, give Icy Evolution a try today.
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