Award Space Starter Semi Dedicated, $ 15.99/mo. on Semi Dedicated

Starter Semi Dedicated has been updated on December 28, 2025 (added July 18, 2016), Aggregate Rating (7.3 out of 10 from 66 reviews)

🔌 Hosted domains :	unlimited
🆓 free domains :	1
📌 Dedicated IPs :	0
💳 Payment Methods :	Credit / Debit / Prepaid CardsPayPal
🔨 Control Panel :	[In-house]
🔧 Category :	BackupWebsite Builder
✍️ Support Options :	Help DeskLive ChatAvailable 24/7
🌏 Server Locations :	Bulgaria
⚑ Targeting :	AU CA NZ UK US
💰 Money-back guarantee :	30 days
🚀 Uptime :	99.9 %

See also initial Starter Semi Dedicated plan location on their website!

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*📜 Plan description

📄 Editorial Review

AwardSpace is a long-running European hosting brand that grew out of the early free hosting era and has been online since 2003. The company focuses strongly on lowering the entry barrier: anyone can start with free hosting, then move seamlessly into paid shared hosting, semi-dedicated plans, or VPS cloud servers as traffic and resource needs grow. Over the years they have attracted millions of users worldwide and built their own clustered hosting platform instead of relying on third-party systems.

Ownership sits with two related companies, AttractSoft GmbH (Germany) and Zetta Hosting Solutions Ltd., and the main office is in Kiel, Germany, while the production data center is in Sofia, Bulgaria. This structure shows up directly in the platform: there is a strong in-house engineering culture, a proprietary control panel, and a hosting architecture designed specifically around their free-plus-premium model.

At the entry level, AwardSpace offers free web hosting that is significantly more capable than many "trial" services. A free account can host up to four websites (one own domain plus three subdomains), use a one-click installer for popular CMSs such as WordPress and Joomla, and run ad-free websites with 99.9% uptime and 24/7 technical support. There is a web-based file manager, bandwidth statistics, email accounts, firewall and spam/virus protection, and access to their custom control panel. For students, hobby projects, or "testing before going live," this free tier is one of the more generous options in the market, especially because it does not force upgrades or overlay ads.

For production projects, the shared hosting and WordPress hosting lines form the core of the portfolio. Both use the same three paid plans (Basic, Web Pro Plus, Max Pack Plus) and differ mainly in the way they are packaged and explained to WordPress users. All three plans come with unlimited disk space, unlimited monthly traffic, MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, support for PHP 5/7/8 and Perl, weekly backups, the Zacky website builder, and the same in-house control panel. The main differences are the number of domains (2, 10, or unlimited), domain freebies (no lifetime domain on Basic, one or two lifetime domains on the higher tiers), and pricing. For small business websites and growing blogs, these shared/WordPress tiers are the natural progression after testing on the free plan.

Above shared hosting sits semi-dedicated hosting, a proprietary in-between product that behaves like very powerful shared hosting without the operational complexity of a full VPS. The three semi-dedicated plans (Starter, Pro, Advanced) all provide unlimited disk space, unlimited traffic, unlimited hosted domains, and the same database and scripting stack as shared hosting, but each account gets a defined share of CPU and RAM on the server plus higher MySQL query allowances. This effectively reserves more resources per site, so heavier traffic and dynamic applications run more smoothly while the user still manages everything from the familiar shared control panel. For busier e-commerce stores or popular content sites that are not yet ready for full server administration, these plans are a practical middle step.

At the top end, VPS cloud hosting covers users who need root access and fully isolated environments. AwardSpace offers three main unmanaged Linux VPS plans (Starter, Pro, Advanced) powered by XEN virtualization. Each comes with dedicated CPU (from 100% up to 400% / 2 vCPU), RAM from 1 to 4 GB, SSD storage from 25 to 100 GB, monthly traffic from 2 to 8 TB, and one dedicated IP address. Customers can run Debian or various Ubuntu and CentOS versions, with options for their own easy VPS control panel or Webmin. Features such as OS reprovisioning, rescue OS, reboot from a web console, bandwidth graphs, and full root access make these VPS plans suitable for developers and agencies who want low-level control but still appreciate a hosted environment.

Around these core hosting products, AwardSpace also offers domain registration, SSL certificates, CMS-specific hosting (for example Drupal, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Moodle, MediaWiki, various CRMs), and a website builder integrated into their platform. A free reseller hosting program under the ResellerCluster brand lets technically minded users spin up white-label hosting services built on the same infrastructure. Documentation, WordPress tutorials, video guides, and a sizeable knowledge base complete the offering and make the service approachable even for beginners who are just learning how hosting works.

AwardSpace has kept essentially the same product lineup since March 2020, with prices moving higher over time, which points to significant stagnation from a technology and product-evolution perspective.

Overall, the portfolio covers a coherent path from a completely free, low-risk start right up to VPS servers and large semi-dedicated accounts, all backed by the same platform, data center, and support team.