Freeola Review 2026. Is freeola.com good web hosting in United Kingdom?

📄 Editorial Review

(3*) 🔧 Services: Web HostingDomain Registration
⇔ Redirected domains: freeola.net freeola.co.uk
Freeola is a long-standing UK internet service provider and hosting company based in Bocking, Braintree (Essex). They have been around since 1999 and operate as an independent ISP, domain registrar and web/email host, with a clear focus on small businesses, home users and clubs that want straightforward, low-cost services rather than a complex cloud ecosystem. Their hosting brand is tightly integrated with the GetDotted domain registrar, so domains, hosting, email and broadband can all be managed from one control panel.

From a hosting point of view, their range is compact but well thought out. The core product is SSD Web Hosting with cPanel, which offers unlimited SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, free SSL certificates for as long as the plan is active, and UK-based support. It is clearly aimed at typical websites – small business sites, blogs, community projects – that need reliable shared hosting without resource micromanagement. All web hosting packages come with a 6-week free trial and no contract, which lowers the barrier to trying the service.

On top of this base, Freeola offers SSD WP Web Hosting, a managed WordPress variant that keeps all the SSD hosting benefits but adds automated WordPress updates, bundled databases and easier WordPress management tools. This is aimed at users who know they will run WordPress and prefer a more guided, "managed" experience instead of handling updates and maintenance themselves.

For more demanding users there is SSD Pro Web Hosting. This tier is designed for developers and complex projects, adding higher database limits, support for PHP, Node or Ruby, Git integration and SSH access. It keeps the unlimited SSD storage and bandwidth but caters to people building custom applications, frameworks or more advanced sites that need more than a basic CMS can offer.

Site creation is supported through Really Quick Sites (RQS), Freeola’s own website builder. RQS allows users to design mobile-friendly multi-page websites and online shops without coding, with features like galleries, forms and shop pages. Designing and building is free; only when the site is published does hosting incur a monthly fee, with unlimited pages and (for shop sites) unlimited products. Every domain registered or transferred via GetDotted includes hosting for a single-page RQS website at no extra cost, which is a nice touch for simple landing pages or "business card" sites.

On the email side, EmailPro is their professional email hosting service. It provides unlimited email addresses on a single domain, POP3/IMAP mailboxes with extendable storage, webmail, spam and antivirus protection and UK-based support. As with hosting, EmailPro is tied into the 6-week free trial model. In addition, every GetDotted domain includes at least one free mailbox and unlimited forwarding, with a smooth upgrade path to EmailPro if more capacity or features are needed.

Finally, Freeola’s broadband and VoIP services are tightly linked with their hosting. They sell UK broadband (including full-fibre up to 2.5 Gbps) and home VoIP, and broadband customers receive £12 per month back to spend on hosting and email packages. For many users, this effectively covers the cost of SSD hosting and EmailPro, creating an attractive "one provider does it all" proposition for UK-based customers.

Overall, Freeola presents itself as a one-stop UK service provider: domains, hosting, email, website builder, broadband and VoIP in a single environment, with generous free extras and simple, "unlimited" plans rather than complicated cloud billing models.

💰 Price & Cost

Pricing is shown in British pounds (GBP), typically per month but billed quarterly, and is listed excluding VAT (which is added for UK customers at checkout).
For SSD Web Hosting, the main packages are:

• SSD Web Hosting: from about £4.25 per month ex VAT (billed quarterly), with unlimited SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, free SSL, cPanel and UK-based support.
• SSD WP Web Hosting: from around £5.25 per month ex VAT, adding managed WordPress features and bundled databases on top of the core SSD hosting.
• SSD Pro Web Hosting: from roughly £6.25 per month ex VAT, keeping all SSD hosting features but adding up to 10 databases, support for PHP/Node/Ruby, Git integration, SSH access and over 100 app installers.

Across their "cheap hosting" information, these plans are presented as unlimited cPanel hosting with free SSL for the lifetime of the package, one-click software installers, a stock image library and no artificial caps on disk space or bandwidth beyond fair use.

For RQS website hosting, building and editing the site is free and users only pay once they publish. Hosting for RQS sites is priced at about £3.75 per month ex VAT and includes unlimited pages and, for online shops, unlimited products. Each GetDotted domain includes free hosting for a single-page RQS site, so a simple one-page presence can be maintained without extra hosting fees.

EmailPro is priced at around £2.50 per month ex VAT. This covers unlimited email addresses on one domain, POP3/IMAP mailboxes, webmail and spam/virus filtering, with the ability to extend storage or add more domains at discounted rates. EmailPro also participates in the 6-week free trial, and can be effectively offset by the £12 monthly hosting credit provided to broadband customers.

Domains registered through GetDotted start at roughly £3.00 ex VAT for common extensions. Each domain includes free extras such as single-page RQS hosting, at least one POP3 mailbox and unlimited email forwarding, with paid upgrades to full hosting or EmailPro when needed.

Broadband pricing itself depends on speed and contract length, but the key hosting-related element is the £12 monthly credit that can be used to pay for Freeola web and email hosting. For many customers this means their hosting and EmailPro can be run for little or no additional charge on top of broadband.

Instead of a standard money-back guarantee, Freeola leans on free trial periods. All web hosting and EmailPro packages come with a 6-week free trial; customers can cancel during the trial without being billed. Older products like the InstantPro site builder had a 30-day money-back option, but the main modern model is "try for six weeks free, then continue if you’re happy". Anyone expecting a post-purchase refund window should note this difference and rely on the free trial to evaluate the service.
Supported payment methods include Visa and Mastercard credit/debit cards, PayPal and Direct Debit, all managed via the MyFreeola control panel.

🏢 Data Center

Freeola does not go into deep technical detail about individual facilities, but the overall picture is clear: websites and email are hosted on high-speed servers in UK data centres with an uptime level of more than 99.9% quoted in website.

Hosting is SSD-based, and the SSD plans are described as providing unlimited SSD disk space rather than older HDD storage. Free SSL certificates are included for all hosted domains for the lifetime of the plan – not just as a first-year promotion – and DDoS protection is mentioned as part of the standard hosting environment on their free/trial pages.
EmailPro is explicitly described as "reliable and resilient email hosting based in UK data centres," reinforcing that data remains in the UK. Combined with the broadband and VoIP focus on UK infrastructure, the overall positioning is very much "UK hosting for UK customers" rather than a distributed global cloud.

There is no public, detailed SLA document with compensation tables, tier ratings or power diagrams available in the marketing text. Instead, reliability is communicated through the 99.9%+ uptime claim, the use of SSD servers, built-in DDoS protection and the long operational history. For typical small business and personal sites, that level of detail is usually sufficient; customers with strict contractual requirements would want to review the general terms and possibly contact Freeola for more formal assurances.

✍️ Customer Support

Support is one of Freeola’s stronger talking points. They offer UK-based support with human responses rather than outsourced call centres or automated-only systems.
Support is available seven days a week, with published opening hours:

• Monday to Friday: 9:00–18:00 (UK time)
• Saturday and Sunday: 9:00–14:00

Customers can contact the team by:

• Telephone, via a standard geographic number (01376 55 60 60)
• Live Chat, available from the website during weekday hours
• An online support request/ticket form
• A structured support centre with FAQs and guides

The support centre is organized into sections for broadband, hosting, email, VoIP and general issues. There are detailed, step-by-step articles on using cPanel, managing backups, configuring email clients, setting up passwords and adjusting billing settings. This documentation, combined with direct channels, makes it easy for users to either help themselves or contact support when needed.
Customer feedback highlighted on their site often praises quick and friendly responses, long-term reliability and the convenience of talking to real staff. For urgent problems, Freeola encourages customers to use phone or live chat rather than waiting on email, which suggests that critical services like broadband and email are actively monitored and can be escalated quickly.

🔨 Control Panel

Freeola uses a layered control-panel approach that keeps things tidy while still giving users full control.
At the top level is MyFreeola, the central account portal. From here customers can:

• Manage billing and payment methods
• Control broadband and VoIP services
• Manage domains and DNS (via the integrated GetDotted system)
• Access hosting and email settings
• Jump directly into cPanel for SSD hosting
• Create and manage RQS website projects

MyFreeola also handles security features such as two-factor authentication for account access.

For SSD Web Hosting, Freeola uses cPanel. Customers manage their websites, databases, email accounts, FTP users and backups through the standard cPanel interface. Documentation shows how to log in via MyFreeola, use the File Manager, set up password-protected directories and perform backup/restore operations. Two-factor authentication can also be enabled for cPanel itself, which is a useful extra security layer.

The RQS website builder is managed from within the MyFreeola environment, where users can design their sites, configure shop features and then activate RQS hosting once they choose to publish.
Domains are managed through the GetDotted panel, again accessible from MyFreeola, where customers can update DNS records, forwarding and domain-specific settings.

Together, this creates a cohesive setup: MyFreeola as the main account hub, cPanel for technical hosting management and RQS for no-code site building, all under one login and billing system.

🎯 Conclusion

Freeola is a mature, UK-focused provider that combines internet access and hosting into a single, coherent ecosystem. Their strengths lie in:

• Long experience as an independent ISP and host since 1999
• Simple, unlimited SSD hosting packages with cPanel and free lifetime SSL
• Clear options for WordPress users (managed SSD WP hosting) and developers (SSD Pro with Node/Ruby, Git and SSH)
• A genuinely useful free website builder (RQS) where users only pay once they publish
• Professional email hosting with EmailPro and generous free email/hosting extras bundled with domains
• Strong integration with UK broadband and VoIP, including £12 per month credit towards hosting for broadband customers
• UK-based support available seven days a week, with phone, chat and extensive documentation

On the caution side, Freeola is firmly in the shared-hosting and builder space; they do not aim to be a full-blown VPS or enterprise cloud provider. Their uptime and reliability claims are solid but not backed by a highly detailed, compensation-based SLA in public marketing, and they rely on free trial periods rather than broad post-purchase money-back guarantees. For customers who require formally documented SLAs, global regions or complex infrastructure, another provider may be needed alongside or instead of Freeola.

For UK individuals, clubs and small to medium businesses who want domains, hosting, email, broadband and VoIP from a single, long-running UK company – with straightforward pricing, generous trials and friendly support – Freeola is a very credible and convenient option.

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