FatCow Review

PJ Fancher

By: PJ Fancher

PJ Fancher

PJ is a professional web developer with more than 20 years of experience. His background began with writing small web applications using Perl, PHP, and MySQL in 1998. He has well-rounded experience with all aspects of web development, from server and database configuration to scripting, styling, design, and SEO.

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Editor: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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OVERALL RATING 4.6 / 5.0
★★★★★
Features4.5 / 5.0
Ease of Use4.7 / 5.0
Pricing4.6 / 5.0
Reliability & Support4.4 / 5.0
Discount for Our Users See Deals

Champions of udderly good puns, FatCow is also a tried-and-true budget web hosting provider with nearly 30 years of experience. The company offers great hosting features and server performance for a low price, all backed by the friendly Moo Crew support team. If you are searching for a cheap, reliable web host, FatCow should be near the top of your list.

Category Ratings

We had one of our resident hosting experts, PJ Fancher, sign up for a FatCow account and take it for a spin. Below are PJ’s ratings of the FatCow experience, broken down by the types of hosting FatCow offers.

If you decide to go with FatCow, you may get a discount by using our link to sign up. While we often make commissions on purchases made through our links, this had no bearing on PJ’s review.

Here’s what PJ found in reviewing FatCow:

Disclosure: When you sign up through links on our site, we often earn referral fees from partners. For more information, see our ad disclosure and review policy.

FatCow's Overall Rating (4.6 / 5.0)

Best Overall Rating

4.6
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

PJ Fancher

PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

Having some of the most affordable shared hosting out there, plus plenty of extras, warrants FatCow be on our list of top web hosts overall. Their customer service, performance, and focus on environmental responsibility leave you feeling good about yourself and your website. Though their hardware isn’t super modern like some of the other hosts, speeds are decent and very reliable. 24/7 phone and email support is there for you every step of the way, should you run into any issues. Don’t be fooled by their lower price, their feature-rich offerings are adequate for many users, particularly first-timers. Website builders with eCommerce and a free domain get you started quickly and easily; unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and emails give you room to grow. If you are looking for a low-priced web host with a good feature set and you love cow puns, look no further than FatCow.

  • FREE domain name
  • Included point-and-click website builders
  • 24/7 support
  • Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, emails, and databases
  • GREEN: Powered 100% by wind energy
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
7 minutes
FatCow's Cheap Hosting (4.4 / 5.0)

Cheap Rating

4.4
★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

FatCow is one of the better budget hosts out there. They offer great hosting features and server performance for a low price. They are also the feel-good host of the list, with a cute, pun-filled site running 100% on eco-friendly wind power; however, don’t for a second think they aren’t serious about great hosting. New users will love the inclusion of a domain name, unlimited email addresses, and a website builder with eCommerce support. Included integration with popular merchant accounts get you one step closer to selling online. All of it is wrapped up nicely in a simple-to-use control panel, cPanel. All users will love what they call the "Script Barn," which allows for 1-click installation of popular open-source apps and scripts like WordPress, Joomla, phpBB, and more. FatCow is a fantastic budget host, with high-budget features and flexibility with which you can easily grow your site.

  • Included domain name
  • CGI, PHP, Python, Perl, Ruby, and MySQL support
  • 1-click script installs
  • Access to website builders with eCommerce cart
  • 60% off for joining today
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
5 minutes
FatCow's Dedicated Hosting (4.2 / 5.0)

Dedicated Rating

4.2
★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

If you want maximum performance and security for your site, and a host with a customer- and environmentally friendly company, FatCow should be at the top of your list of prospective web hosts. When it comes to dedicated hosting features, FatCow has what you should be looking for: two to four CPU cores, 4GB to 16GB RAM, tons of bandwidth, and tons of mirrored storage. They also offer all these things at a very fair rate. What really impresses us is the many customer-first policies they have. The first that comes to mind is the "predictable pricing model," meaning they don’t financially penalize you for usage overages, nor simply shut you down. Their servers are built on cloud-based architecture, so there is always room to grow and scale with FatCow as your demands increase. Finally, their monthly billing rates are very reasonable when compared to their yearly, which is great for those who are not ready to make a long-term commitment just to save a few dollars.

  • Fully managed servers
  • RAID 1 mirrored storage for data protection
  • Cloud-based flexibility and scalability
  • Predictable monthly costs with no overage charges
  • 3 dedicated IP addresses per plan
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
500 GB - 1 TB
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
6 minutes
FatCow's VPS Hosting (4.3 / 5.0)

VPS Rating

4.3
★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

FatCow offers very customer-friendly VPS plans with a lot of storage for the price. If you are looking for a reliable host, with great support and a lot of disk space, give FatCow a serious look. FatCow’s VPS plans are all fully managed and come with cPanel for ease of use. They take the hassle out of installing software like Apache and MySQL and handle the hardware monitoring for you. We also appreciate the plethora of pre-installed scripts. Arguably the most feel-good host on our list, FatCow’s datacenters and offices are 100% powered by eco-friendly wind power. They also want the best for their clients' sites and do not penalize with overage charges, should your site exceed its limits. Founded in 1998, FatCow has been in the hosting industry for a long time. Don’t let their cheeky image throw you though; they are committed to providing excellent service and value in their hosting packages. If you are looking for a nice VPS hosting solution with a lot of storage, check FatCow Out.

  • Instantly deploy and scale
  • Predictable monthly costs with no overage fees
  • Guaranteed RAM and resources
  • Fully managed with around-the-clock monitoring
  • Anytime money-back guarantee
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
40 GB - 120 GB
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
6 minutes
FatCow's WordPress Hosting (4.5 / 5.0)

WordPress Rating

4.5
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

FatCow is a solid, budget-minded option for those looking for an affordable place to host their WordPress site. With two choices (WP Starter or WP Essential), you can choose the hosting package that best fits your budget.

With either plan, site owners will receive a free domain, plus unlimited transfers and disk space. The company's WP Essential plan, the more expensive of the two plans, benefits from an all-SSD infrastructure that provides greater speeds than the WP Starter package.

Fat Cow adds enhanced security from SiteLock, which virtually eliminates malware attacks on your WordPress website. Customers can rely on 24/7 phone support with either plan, with WordPress experts available to help customers of the Essential plan. If you find yourself needing a little help now and then, consider this package over WP Starter.

For more experienced WordPress users on a budget, the WP Starter plan may work for you. Though lacking some of the extras and support of the bigger package, their WP Starter plan is one of the least expensive WordPress hosting plans you can find.

Both plans come with pre-installed plugins and curated themes to get your site up and running sooner. FatCow is a great budget WordPress web hosting solution, offering great hosting features and decent server performance for a low price.

  • Curated themes and pre-installed plugins
  • Unlimited disk Space, bandwidth, and email accounts
  • Choice of two value-based hosting packages
  • Premium plan formore speed, security, and support
  • FREE domain with registration
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
6 minutes
FatCow's Website Builder (4.7 / 5.0)

Website Builder Rating

4.7
★★★★★

Price:

Setup Time:

Aimed at the low-budget customer, FatCow gets you online in only a few minutes for only a few dollars each month.

If you need a very simple website with only a few web pages, it’s hard to argue with FatCow's value. Using the CM4All and creatively named WebsiteBuilder drag-and-drop design platforms, you can get a site online pretty quickly.

Each FatCow plan comes with a free domain name, which saves you the trouble of purchasing one separately and waiting for name servers to propagate.

For those looking for a little more design flexibility, FatCow offers support for popular blog and CMS software such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others. Integrated galleries and forums are also available.

Finally, FatCow give you advertising credits toward sites like Google, Bing, and Facebook to get the ball rolling on your website's exposure. If you are on a budget and in need of a small, simple webpage today, with options to grow in the future, check out FatCow’s site builder offerings.

  • Easily build a 6-page site
  • CM4All drag-and-drop website builder
  • FREE domain name
  • Compatible with WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others
  • $250 in advertising credits
  • Get started on FatCow now.
Money Back Guarantee
30 days
Disk Space
Unlimited
Domain Name
FREE (1 year)
Setup Time
6 minutes

Features

(4.5 / 5.0)

World-Class Technology

  • Unlimited Disk Space, Transfer, and Bandwidth
  • Unlimited Domains and MySQL Databases
  • Web Hosting Control Panel
  • 24/7 Network Monitoring
  • Visitor Statistics/Site Traffic Reporting
  • Free Cloud Storage Account
  • Unlimited Email Addresses at Your Domain

Advanced Tools

  • CMSs (Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress)
  • Blog, Forum and Photo Gallery Installs
  • POP3/IMAP Email Accounts
  • NetApp Snapshot Data Backups
  • Dual OC-48 Connections on Diverse Backbones
  • High Performance Load Balanced Servers
  • FTP Manager

Marketing Your Site

  • Access to Online Marketing Guides
  • $100 Google AdWords Offer
  • $50 Credit for Yahoo!/Bing Sponsored Search
  • $50 Credit for Facebook Advertising
  • Free Yellowpages.com Listing
  • Free Toll-Free Phone Number (US Only)

Selling Online

  • Free Online Store
  • Choice of Shopping Cart
  • PayPal Integration
  • ShopSite Shopping Cart
  • Starter osCommerce Shopping Cart
  • AgoraCart Shopping Cart
  • Shared SSL

Ease of Use

(4.7 / 5.0)
Tools to Build & Design Your Site
FatCow Review
1-Click Installations
FatCow Review
Online Stores & Selling Tools
FatCow Review

FatCow has many beginner level tools for getting your site up and running. From drag & drop site builders to easy eCommerce setup to marketing assistance. A novice will have little trouble getting a great site up and running quickly.

Pricing

(4.6 / 5.0)

Shared Hosting

WordPress Hosting

Website Builder

FatCow often offers promotions, coupons, and special offers to customers during their initial term. You can find these deals on the FatCow site itself as well as reputable coupon sites. All sign-ups come with 24/7 phone, chat, and email support, a free domain registration, and an anytime money-back guarantee.

Reliability & Support

(4.4 / 5.0)

FatCow comes with an extensive online help center and ticketing system, plus step-by-step tutorials for using your account. They provide 24/7 phone, chat, Twitter, and email support with calls answered in about a minute. Their staff goes through rigorous QA testing. Plus, feel safe with an anytime money-back guarantee.

FatCow Includes:

24/7 Phone, Chat, Twitter, and Email Support, Extensive Online Help Center and Ticketing System, Rigorous QA Testing of Staff

Other Hosts vs. FatCow

Wondering how FatCow stacks up againt other web hosting services? See our host-vs-host reviews below and compare them side by side.

FatCow vs. HostGator

In this comparison, we’re taking a good look at two of our favorite animals in the hosting industry: HostGator and FatCow.

See full comparison »
HostGator vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
HostGator vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

FatCow vs. GoDaddy

“Luke…I am your father” — that’s how we imagine the folks at GoDaddy answer the phone.

See full comparison »
GoDaddy vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
GoDaddy vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

FatCow vs. iPage

FatCow and iPage are similar to olives and sauerkraut: each a deliciously fermented food with unique flavor profiles.

See full comparison »
FatCow vs iPage

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
FatCow vs iPage

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

FatCow vs. Bluehost

Bluehost and FatCow: two well-respected hosts duke it out for first place in this host-versus-host comparison.

See full comparison »
Bluehost vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
Bluehost vs FatCow

Overall Rating

★★★★★ 4.9/5.0

FatCow is the winner
1 out of 4 times.

The Rundown

PJ Fancher

PJ Fancher

Hosting Expert:

To recap, here's a rundown of what FatCow has to offer

FatCow hosting customers get unlimited everything: disk space, bandwidth, databases, domains, and email addresses at those domains. Plans include an easy-to-use site builder, online store, and marketing tools as well, so you can launch your blog, professional website, or eCommerce site with ease. Customizing content is easy, with installs for your choice of CMS, forum, or photo gallery, too. All in all, FatCow is great for first-time users or those looking to grow, and the team is always there to help you when you need them.

FatCow review

Overall Rating

4.6 / 5.0
★★★★★

About The Author

PJ Fancher is a professional web developer with more than 20 years of experience. His background began with writing small web applications using Perl, PHP, and MySQL in 1998. He has well-rounded experience with all aspects of web development, from server and database configuration to scripting, styling, design, and SEO. Today he brings his passion for web development to the team at Digital Brands Inc., helping to develop unique, high-quality, highly-optimized websites. He is ready to share his extensive knowledge and experience with the world of web hosting.
PJ Fancher
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