SiteGround Review 2025: Rated (7.0/10)
SiteGround Hosting: Quick Overview
SiteGround offers WordPress hosting service which offers reliable uptime but comes with below average TTFB performance and average load handling performance. It comes with excellent control panel, daily backups and a suite of developer tools.
Performance Metrics
Pros
- Excellent uptime at 99.99% over 12 months
- Strong WPBench score of 8.3/10 indicating good server hardware
- Fine tuned excellent custom control panel
- Daily backups with 30-day retention period
Cons
- Below average TTFB at 510ms (12-month average)
- Poor global TTFB performance at 886ms
- Strict CPU usage limits on all plans
- Highest renewal price in the industry
Executive Summary: Is SiteGround Right for You?
SiteGround offers a decent hosting service with excellent uptime but slow TTFB and load handling performance. Their custom control panel is one of the fastest and best compared to other providers. It also adds lot of unique developer tools and quality customer support is another good thing about SiteGround. However, their hosting plan comes with strict resource limits which takes you site down automatically, if you hit the limits. They also do a lot of upsells and collects the highest renewal pricing in the industry. These are some of the things which site owners should consider for long term projects getting started with SiteGround.
| User Type | Suitability Score | Key Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Blogs |
8.0
|
Good for beginners who are getting started as the introductory prices are highly discounted. |
| Small Business |
7.5
|
Offers reliable uptime and good customer support, but watch out for CPU limits as traffic grows |
| eCommerce |
6.5
|
Offers below-average TTFB, average load handling capacity and CPU limits, suitable for very simple fewer product online stores |
| Enterprise |
5.0
|
Resource limitations and upsells on speed features, makes them not ideal for Enterprise customers. |
| Developers |
8.5
|
Excellent developer tools like staging, Git integration,WP-CLI and SSH access |
Key Differentiator
SiteGround stands out with its all-inclusive hosting service with its in-house offered caching and security solutions. It comes with customer friendly control panel with self-help tutorials to access their platform at ease.
In a Sentence
SitegGround offers a reliable WordPress hosting with excellent customer support and developer tools, but lags on performance front with many upsells required to speed up the sites and an not value for money option.
Our Testing Approach
At Hostingstep, We conduct long term testing to measure the real performance of web hosting companies. All hosts, including SiteGround, go through five different testing protocols.
TTFB & Uptime Monitoring
- Tool: Pingdom synthetic monitoring
- Frequency: Every 60 seconds (525,600 checks/year)
- Locations: 22 North American regions
- Metrics: Response time (TTFB), uptime percentage
This continuous monitoring provides real-world performance over time, not just random testing time periods.
Load Testing
- Tool: Loader.io
- Protocol: 0-100 concurrent users over 60 seconds
- Metrics: Average response time, error rate
- Frequency: Monthly stress tests
These tests showcase how SiteGround handles traffic spikes and whether it actually handles the load without any issues.
WPBenchmark Testing
- Tool: WPBenchmark plugin
- Metrics: CPU, memory, file system, database
- Scoring: Standardized 10-point scale
- Frequency: Quarterly benchmarks
These benchmarks evaluate the hardware performance of SiteGround hosting.
Global TTFB Testing
- Tool: SpeedVitals
- Coverage: 40 worldwide locations
- Regions: North America, Europe, Asia, Australia
- Metrics: Region-specific response times
Got sites with international traffic? We test our SiteGround test site from 40 global locations to see if they are fast enough for your visitors.
Standardized Test Environment
- Platform: WordPress with identical installs
- Theme: Twenty Twenty-Four
- Plugins: SiteGround Speed Optimizer plugin, Rank Math, Contact Form 7
- PHP Version: 8.1 across all tests
All our test sites including SiteGround are tested using the same test bench for fair comparisons.
Long-term Data Collection
- Duration: Minimum 12 months of testing
- Data Points: Over 500,000 tests per host
- Baseline: All hosts purchased independently
- Updates: Quarterly reviews of all metrics
We include standard 12-month data collected over a year (Jan – Dec) of the previous year and latest Q1 (Jan – Mar) data for better performance identification.
The Hostingstep Difference
Unlike many review sites that rely on short-term unverifiable tests or affiliate relationships, our methodology-backed test bench setup ensures standardized performance data collection across all hosts including SiteGround using our test sites. We independently purchase hosting accounts (access our invoices), deploy standardized test sites, and conduct performance monitoring 24/7, 365 days a year. This approach brings you the most accurate real-world performance data that users expect to know about the company.
Learn more about our testing methodologies:
SiteGround Verified Performance Data
TTFB Response Time
Q1 2025: 608ms (Poor)
43,800 data points from 22 locations
Uptime Performance
Q1 2025: 99.94% (Strong)
26 mins downtime over 5 outages
Load Test Results
Testing Protocol: 0-100 concurrent users over 60 seconds
Error Rate: 0% (No errors detected)
Compared to Average: 15% slower than average (127ms industry average)
WPBench Score
Global TTFB
Performance Rating Scale
SiteGround Plans and Features
SiteGround offers three different hosting plans. Below are the details with exact specifications, real-world limitations based on our hands-on testing.
Plan Comparison
| Feature | StartUp | GrowBig | GoGeek |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Price | $3.99/mo* | $6.69/mo* | $10.69/mo* |
| Renewal Price | $17.99/mo | $29.99/mo | $44.99/mo |
| Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 10 GB | 20 GB | 40 GB |
| Monthly Visits | ~10,000 | ~100,000 | ~400,000 |
| CPU Seconds (hour/day/month) | 1,000/10,000/300,000 | 2,000/20,000/600,000 | 4,000/40,000/800,000 |
| Inodes Limit | 200,000 | 400,000 | 600,000 |
| Staging Environment | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| On-demand Backups | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Git Integration | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| White-label Clients | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Priority Support | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
*Promotional pricing requires 12-month commitment and renews at regular rates.
Control Panel Experience
Notable Tools
- Site Manager – Intuitive dashboard for managing multiple sites
- WordPress Toolkit – One-click installs, updates, and security features
- Speed Optimizer – Integrated caching and performance management
SiteGround’s custom control panel is 100x better than regular cPanel interface. It has more user-friendly interface, even a beginner can get familiar with the dashboard at lesser time.
Backup System
Restoration Testing Results
- Full site restoration: 7-12 minutes (depends on site size)
- Partial content restoration: Yes, with file/database selection
- User interface: Excellent, intuitive controls
SiteGround’s backup system is one of the best in shared hosting, with multiple restoration options either full or partial or database restore options.
Data Centers
Available Locations
- Los Angeles, California (USA)
- Dallas, Texas (USA)
- Council Bluffs, Iowa (USA)
- Ashburn, Virginia (USA)
- Madrid (ES)
- Paris (FR)
- London (UK)
- Eemshaven (NL)
- Singapore (SG)
- Sydney (AU)
SiteGround is powered Google Cloud infrastructure, giving you data center options across the globe.
CDN Services
Premium CDN Features
- Advanced dynamic caching
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Multi-domain support
The free CDN advertised is kind of misleading with primary domain only eligible for it. From second domain onwards, you need to pay a whopping $14.99/month which is half of the Growbig hosting monthly cost. This makes SiteGround’s per site cost is way higher than managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine.
Resource Limitations: The Fine Print
SiteGround’s biggest limitation is their strict CPU seconds allocation. If the site exceeds the limit, it will go offline until your site falls within the limit or go for an upgrade. If you are running a business website, tracking the uptime is much reliable if you are going with SiteGround. Make sure to limit the following:
- High admin activity (frequent content updates, WooCommerce order processing)
- Resource-intensive plugins (page builders, etc)
- Traffic spikes
There is also inode limits (200,000 on StartUp, 400,000 on GrowBig, 600,000 on GoGeek) restrict the total number of files you can host on your plan. This can be more problematic for sites with extensive media libraries or plugins installed.
In our testing, a regular WordPress site with WooCommerce, Elementor, and moderate traffic (~50 visitors/hour) consumed approximately 30-45% of the allocated CPU seconds on the StartUp plan.
Email Services
Included Features
- Unlimited email accounts
- Webmail access (Roundcube)
- IMAP/POP3/SMTP support
- Email forwarding and autoresponders
Email Performance
- Average deliverability rate: 97%
- SPAM protection: SpamExperts filtering
- Storage limits: 10GB
SiteGround’s email feature are best to use within their control panel. The limits are generous but make sure you are receiving emails when their CDN is turned ON.
Methodology Transparency
At Hostingstep, we believe transparency in our review methodology is essential for maintaining reader trust. Here’s exactly how we tested SiteGround and the complete details you need to know.
Testing Period
- Initial Purchase: August 26, 2020
- Test Duration: 12 months
- Last Data Collection: May 1, 2025
- Review Updated: May 15, 2025
We commit to quarterly updates on SiteGround reviews based on latest performance monitoring data, ensuring our review remains the most accurate on the internet.
Test Environment
- Plan Tested: GrowBig ($6.69/mo promotional)
- WordPress Version: 6.4.x (updated throughout testing)
- Theme: Twenty Twenty-Four
- PHP Version: 8.1
- Caching: SiteGround Optimizer
- Content: Standard test content with Rank Math, Contact Form 7
We use identical test environments across all hosting providers to ensure fair and meaningful comparisons.
Testing Tools & Methodology
- Uptime Monitoring: Pingdom (60-second interval checks)
- TTFB Testing: Pingdom (North America) & SpeedVitals (Global)
- Load Testing: Loader.io (0-100 concurrent users over 60 seconds)
- Server Benchmarking: WPBenchmark plugin (v4.2)
- Feature Testing: Manual verification by our technical team
All performance metrics are verified through multiple testing sessions to ensure accuracy and account for normal variations in hosting performance.
Ethics Statement
This review was conducted independently without input from SiteGround. We purchased our hosting account as a regular customer at regular pricing to ensure we received the same website plan as any customer.
While we use affiliate links that may generate commissions, our ratings and recommendations are never influenced by potential earnings which can be verified by yourself. Our testing methodology remain consistent across all providers, regardless of affiliate relationships.
Hostingstep is committed to editorial independence and transparency. All our top recommended hosts are purely based on data and not affected by any external factors.
Our Commitment to You
We commit to update this SiteGround review regularly with fresh data and insights as SiteGround evolves. Our last data collection was completed on May 1, 2025, and next update will be at the end of Q3 2025. If you have questions about our methodology or custom requirements not covered in this review, please contact our editorial team at info@hostingstep.com.
Mohan Raj, founder of Hostingstep.com is passionate about WordPress and specializes in server management and speed optimization. With experience across top hosting providers, he launched Hostingstep.com to deliver honest, data-backed hosting reviews, helping website owners focus on growing their business instead of troubleshooting websites.