Host Rocket Review 2026. Is hostrocket.com good web hosting in United States?

📄 Editorial Review

🔃 Host Rocket is part of HostRocket.com
(3*) 🔧 Services: Web HostingDomain Registration Own datacenter
HostRocket.com, Inc. is an independent hosting company based in Clifton Park, New York, operating its own data center and network. The business has been around since 1999, founded by then-students Brendan Brader and John Quaglieri, and has grown into a mid-sized provider focused on traditional Linux hosting, dedicated servers, and cloud VPS through its sister brand DotBlock. The overall feel is of a long-standing, technical operator rather than a marketing-driven mass host.

The core of the offering today is a single SSD shared hosting package (often referred to as the RocketFreedom style plan). Instead of multiple small tiers, there is one all-inclusive plan with:
Unlimited website storage / Unlimited bandwidth / Unlimited websites/domains and subdomains / Unlimited email accounts and databases / 24/7 technical support.

On top of that, shared accounts include a reasonably complete toolbox: POP3/IMAP email with webmail and spam filtering, autoresponders and mailing lists, streaming media support, web-based file manager, custom error pages, URL redirection, phpMyAdmin, cron jobs, SSH access, and a very long list of one-click installs (CMS, blogs, forums, e-commerce, wikis, educational apps, etc.). It is an old-school "all you can eat" shared plan aimed at people who want to park many sites under one account.

Above shared hosting, HostRocket pushes cloud VPS and reseller VPS through its DotBlock brand (linked directly from the HostRocket site). Those VPS plans are SSD-based, built on KVM virtualization with RAID-10 storage, and advertised with features such as guaranteed CPU share, VNC/web console access, and a choice of dozens of OS templates. Pricing starts from around $9.95/month for an entry-level cloud VPS and can be scaled up by adding more "blocks" (cores, RAM, storage, bandwidth) as needed. Reseller VPS accounts can be turned into multi-tenant hosting platforms using cPanel/WHM.

For customers needing more raw power and isolation, HostRocket offers dedicated servers built on Intel E5-2620 platforms. The current standard line-up consists of four main configurations, all including:
12 or 24 visible CPU cores / 16 GB or 32 GB RAM / 2 × 1 TB HDD or 2 × 500 GB SSD / 15 TB monthly bandwidth / 100 Mbit uplink / Free RAID-1

These servers run CentOS or Ubuntu Linux and are backed by the same network and data center infrastructure. They sit in the company’s own facility and target higher-traffic sites, e-commerce, or custom applications that have outgrown shared hosting or basic VPS. Customers can request custom hardware quotes for more specialized builds.

There is also an Upstate NY colocation option, where clients place their own servers in HostRocket’s Clifton Park data center. While the detailed pricing for colocation is handled through DotBlock, HostRocket positions this as a solution for customers who want physical control of their hardware but the benefit of the company’s power, cooling, and bandwidth.

Alongside hosting, HostRocket provides domain registration (.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and others), domain transfers, and SSL certificates (256-bit). Domains and SSLs are typically handled as add-ons, with domain registration and transfer priced at around $20/year each and SSL certificates around $99 for two years.

The company also runs a small web design and VoIP operation (via the ViaTalk brand), but for most potential customers the relevant parts are the shared plan, dedicated servers, VPS/reseller VPS via DotBlock, domains, and SSL. The platform is clearly built around Linux hosting; Windows is available only within the VPS lineup.

Technically, HostRocket comes across as a somewhat "classic" host: a single powerful shared plan, serious dedicated servers, and its own data center and network. Some of the informational pages still show their age and mention older software versions, but the core offer remains competitive if the main requirement is stable, U.S.-based infrastructure with straightforward products.

Unfortunately, a more detailed assessment of hostrocket.com suggests a website that appears largely unmaintained, with a substantial portion of its services redirected to Dotblock. In addition, multiple internal links seem inconsistently configured, routing users between both brands for ostensibly the same products. This pattern indicates weak information architecture and possible operational fragmentation at the backend level.

Taken together, these signals support the interpretation that HostRocket operates primarily as a legacy front-end rather than an actively managed standalone provider, with much of the commercial activity effectively consolidated under dotblock.com.

💰 Price & Cost

Pricing is structured around a single shared hosting plan with multiple billing cycles, plus a small, clear set of dedicated server options and scalable VPS/reseller VPS through DotBlock. All prices are in US dollars (USD).
For SSD shared hosting, the current billing options are:

• Monthly: $12.56/month
• Semi-annual: $9.43/month (billed every 6 months)
• Annual: $8.38/month, with free setup and 3 extra months included
• Biennial: $6.28/month, with free setup and 6 extra months included

All of these tiers include the same unlimited quotas (storage, bandwidth, websites, email accounts) and 24/7 support, so the effective difference is how long you commit and how much discount you get.

On the dedicated server side, HostRocket currently lists four standard packages (all "lifetime 50% off while supplies last" at the time of review):
16 GB Intel E5-2620 – $119/month / 32 GB Intel E5-2620 – $129/month / 16 GB Dual Intel E5-2620 – $159/month / 32 GB Dual Intel E5-2620 – $169/month
Each includes 2 × 1 TB HDD or 2 × 500 GB SSD, 15 TB of bandwidth, 100 Mbit uplink, free RAID-1, and the standard support/uptime guarantees. A cPanel license can be added for about $29.95/month on dedicated servers. Other add-ons include additional IP addresses, SSL certificates (around $99 for 2 years), domain registrations and transfers (typically $20/year each), and R1Soft backup solutions on quote.

For VPS and reseller VPS, HostRocket’s own pages direct customers explicitly to DotBlock. From there, pricing for a basic SSD cloud VPS starts at roughly $9.95/month, with the ability to scale CPU cores, RAM, SSD storage, and bandwidth by stacking "blocks". Reseller VPS users can add a cPanel license for about $14.95/month, turning a cloud VPS into a reseller platform.

Regarding refunds and money-back guarantees, HostRocket offers a money-back guarantee on its shared hosting – currently a 30-day money-back guarantee for customers who are not satisfied and wish to cancel early, subject to usual exclusions like domain registration fees, SSLs, and other one-time services. Dedicated servers and other higher-end services are typically not covered by the same no-questions-asked refund policy and follow the terms spelled out in the Terms of Service.

In terms of payment methods, billing is handled through the client area with major credit cards. They rely on credit card billing for recurring services and do not currently accept PayPal.

Overall, pricing is mid-range rather than ultra-budget: the shared plan is not the cheapest on the market month-to-month, but becomes more attractive on annual and biennial terms. The dedicated servers, considering 15 TB of Tier-1 bandwidth and RAID-1, sit in a reasonably competitive bracket for U.S. hardware with included management and SLA.

Based on product and pricing continuity over time monitored by WHTop, HostRocket appears to have maintained essentially the same commercial offering since January 2021, with many plan definitions and price points remaining largely unchanged. This level of persistence may be interpreted as a strong indicator of limited portfolio development and an overall stagnation in service evolution.

Dedicated machines are having identically offer. Web-design related products have remained broadly consistent in both presentation and positioning. At the same time, several categories that would typically signal an actively expanding hosting provider—such as reseller hosting, colocation, and dedicated server offerings—seem to have been reduced or discontinued. Collectively, these patterns suggest that HostRocket’s product strategy has shifted toward maintenance rather than growth, with minimal evidence of meaningful iteration in recent years.

🏢 Data Center

One of HostRocket’s strongest points is that it runs its own data center rather than renting generic space from a third party. The facility is located at 21 Corporate Drive in Clifton Park, New York, in an office building of roughly 52,000+ sq. ft., with over 10,000 sq. ft. allocated to the server room and room to expand. The location is in upstate New York, away from typical coastal hurricane zones, which is a plus for risk-averse customers.

From a network and infrastructure perspective, the data center is built around:

• Redundant fiber connectivity (historically OC-class loops through major carriers), with bandwidth on demand and full Gigabit Ethernet internal networking
• Enterprise-grade routing and switching gear, along with filtering to mitigate DoS/DDoS attacks
• Multiple 30-amp circuits per rack, running below maximum capacity for electrical headroom
• Full UPS battery backup across equipment, combined with a diesel generator that can take over within seconds of a power failure and run from an on-site fuel reserve
• Redundant rooftop cooling units keeping the server room around 65°F with controlled humidity

The facility is staffed 24/7/365, so there is always someone on site to handle hardware issues, reboots, and physical checks. This is particularly important for dedicated and colocation customers who may need remote hands.

Reliability is backed by a 99.5% network uptime guarantee, which appears both in the shared hosting features and in the dedicated hosting features. If uptime in a given month drops below that threshold, customers can request service credits or other compensation as defined in the Terms of Service and support articles.

In addition, HostRocket has completed a SOC 2 audit, which is referenced across several informational pages. This is significant for business customers who care about documented controls around security, availability, process integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
All services are currently centered around this single U.S. data center location. For customers specifically needing European or Asia-Pacific locations, that geographic focus is a limitation. For North American audiences, however, the upstate New York footprint is perfectly reasonable and offers good connectivity to major U.S. and Canadian hubs.

✍️ Customer Support

Support is provided 24/7/365, with multiple channels:

• A web-based helpdesk where customers can log in, manage their account, and submit tickets
• A knowledgebase with articles on billing, control panels, DNS, mail, dedicated servers, and general troubleshooting (available in several interface languages, not just English)
• A network status page for checking outages or maintenance
• Contact options via email and fax, plus phone support for sales and technical issues

HostRocket offers fast, friendly technical support and the fact that support is available regardless of whether a user is on a shared, reseller, or dedicated plan. In short, the promise is that even low-cost plans still have access to the same support channels.

Because the company operates its own data center and network, many support tasks (hardware swaps, reboots, local diagnostics) can be handled directly on site. For dedicated customers this matters quite a bit; there is no separate data center landlord that they have to go through.

The support model is typical of a long-standing shared/dedicated host: tickets are the main channel, with phone support as a complement rather than a fully managed "white glove" concierge. Still, with 24/7 staffing in the data center, enterprise connectivity, and a long history, the support proposition is stronger than that of many low-end budget providers.

🔨 Control Panel

On shared hosting, HostRocket currently uses DirectAdmin as the main control panel. The shared hosting features page explicitly lists DirectAdmin (control panel) along with standard management capabilities. DirectAdmin allows users to manage domains, subdomains, email accounts, databases, FTP accounts, and basic security settings through a graphical interface.

Interestingly, the same feature list also mentions free site backups via cPanel. This reflects HostRocket’s history with cPanel and suggests that some backup tools or migration options may still be cPanel-based behind the scenes, even though DirectAdmin is the primary day-to-day panel for new shared accounts.

For reseller VPS and dedicated servers, cPanel and WebHost Manager (WHM) are available as paid options:

• On reseller VPS through DotBlock, a cPanel license costs about $14.95/month and unlocks full cPanel/WHM functionality, complete with branding options and customer account management.
• On dedicated servers, cPanel is an add-on at around $29.95/month, allowing the server to be used as a classic multi-site hosting platform with cPanel for end-users and WHM for administration.

HostRocket also has a "Hosting Interface" information page that explains its GUI philosophy in more general terms: a web-based control panel to manage passwords, email, statistics, and even e-commerce features, with support for Apache, MySQL, FrontPage extensions (legacy), and other common components.

In short: DirectAdmin for standard shared accounts, optional cPanel/WHM for resellers and dedicated hosting. Customers with a strong preference for cPanel on shared hosting should check with sales or support; historically cPanel has been present in the platform, but DirectAdmin is positioned as the current default.

🎯 Conclusion

HostRocket is a veteran of the shared hosting world: privately owned, in business since 1999, and operating its own data center and network in upstate New York. The combination of a single, generous unlimited shared hosting plan, serious dedicated servers, scalable cloud VPS/reseller VPS via DotBlock, and colocation makes it suitable for both individuals with multiple sites and businesses that might grow into heavier infrastructure over time.

Key strengths include:

• Long track record and independent ownership, with founders who have been in hosting since the late 1990s
• Own data center in Clifton Park, NY, with redundant power and connectivity, 24/7 on-site staff, UPS and generator backup
• A clear 99.5% uptime guarantee and a documented SLA for dedicated/network services
• SOC 2 audited operations, which is reassuring for businesses with compliance requirements
• A simple, unlimited shared plan that removes many low-end resource caps and works well for multiple small or medium sites
• Decent value on dedicated servers (RAID-1, 15 TB bandwidth, customizable hardware) given the included support and SLA
• A 30-day money-back guarantee on shared hosting, giving new customers room to test the service

On the other hand, there are some aspects that might not appeal to everyone:

• The product line and many informational pages clearly show the company’s age; references to older software versions and legacy features can feel dated, even if the underlying platform is kept updated
• Only one shared hosting tier is available, so there is no ultra-cheap "micro" plan for a single low-traffic site
• All infrastructure is concentrated in one U.S. location, which is fine for North American audiences but less ideal for projects with strict latency or data residency requirements elsewhere
• VPS and reseller VPS are managed through a separate brand (DotBlock),
• Domain and SSL pricing is closer to traditional hosting add-on rates than to discount registrar levels

Overall, HostRocket was a solid option for users who prefer an established, technically focused provider with its own data center, a very straightforward shared plan, and the ability to move up to dedicated servers or colocation when needed. It is not the most modern or aggressively marketed host in the market, but it offers a stable, well-understood environment that many long-term customers value.

🌏 Server locations:

New York

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