Elive Review 2025. Is elive.net good web hosting in Ireland?

📄 Editorial Review

(3*) 🔧 Services: Web HostingDomain Registration
⇔ Redirected domains: bn.ie
Elive is an Irish-owned hosting and internet services company established in 1997 and based in Limerick. They manage their own network and operate servers housed in a data center in Cork, Ireland. Their positioning is pragmatic: straightforward shared hosting for small to mid-size sites, scalable virtual servers for growing projects, and dedicated/colocation options for bespoke needs. They also run an accredited registrar business for .IE and .UK domains, plus a small in-house software/design arm.

Shared Hosting focuses on simplicity and speed. All plans include Plesk control panel, SSL (Let’s Encrypt), a website builder, email, PHP/MySQL, webmail, and CloudLinux under the hood. The entry plan is clearly aimed at personal sites, while the upper tiers add more disk, traffic, and email capacity for busier projects or small e-commerce.

Virtual Servers (VPS) are presented with transparent resources and a low starting price. Key specs include dedicated CPU/RAM slices, NVMe SSD storage, a /64 IPv6 block, and optional Plesk. Backups are offered via DropSuite as an add-on. They emphasise no minimum contract on VPS and allow unmanaged or managed modes, the latter at an extra monthly fee.

Dedicated Servers are tailored on request. The messaging makes it clear these are "as-is" deployments with optional monitoring and support, a minimum 12-month term, and possible setup fees. It suits customers who know exactly what they want from bare-metal.

Co-Location is available for clients needing to place their own hardware in the Cork facility. This is a logical path for businesses consolidating infrastructure in Ireland while keeping proximity to Elive’s support team.

Email & Office 365 are offered alongside anti-spam and mail backup options. Domain services cover registration, transfer, and DNS with accreditation for .IE and .UK. Rounding out the stack, they sell SSL certificates, WordPress assistance, and migration services.

💰 Price & Cost

Shared Hosting (annual billing, VAT extra):
– Starter: €49.99/year (≈€4.50/mo) – up to 3 websites, 10 GB disk, 15 GB traffic, 5 email accounts.
– Business: €74.99/year – up to 5 websites, 30 GB disk, 60 GB traffic, 15 email accounts.
– Premium: €119.99/year – up to 10 websites, 60 GB disk, 120 GB traffic, 30 email accounts.
VPS: from €19.99/month (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB NVMe, 2 TB bandwidth). Optional Plesk Web Admin €9.99/month; managed service +€150/month. "No minimum contract" is stated for virtual servers.

Backups (DropSuite): website/file backups from €1.50/month (5 GB) with tiers up to 200 GB; email/OneDrive backups from €3/user/month (IMAP & Office 365) or €4/user/month (Office 365 with archiving).
Dedicated Servers: custom-quoted; minimum 12-month term; setup fees may apply.

Payments & currency: pricing is in EUR and explicitly subject to 23% VAT. Terms mention automatic payments via credit card and SEPA Direct Debit.
Refunds / money-back: domains, SSL, Office 365, and backups are non-refundable. For other services, refunds are at management discretion; there is no blanket money-back guarantee stated.

🏢 Data Center

Servers are located in a state-of-the-art data center in Cork, Ireland. Elive manages its own network (including a full Class-C IPv4 allocation). The SLA highlights physical/site security measures (fenced perimeter, CCTV, 24-hour security, electronic access control, fire suppression, redundant UPS/generator power).
Uptime guarantee: 99.99% network uptime. The SLA also states a hardware replacement target of 180 minutes and a service credit of 10% of the monthly fee if a hardware failure lasts more than 6 hours (issued at management’s discretion).

✍️ Customer Support

Support channels include email, ticketing, phone, and a public knowledgebase. Office hours for phone support are Mon–Fri 09:30–13:00 & 14:00–17:30 (Irish time). Out-of-hours issues can be raised by email/ticket 24/7. They also provide AnyDesk download links for remote-assist sessions. Named contacts (including the Managing Director) are listed on the site, which speaks to accountability and accessibility.

🔨 Control Panel

Plesk is standard across shared hosting and optionally available for VPS. The shared stack is built on CloudLinux, includes Let’s Encrypt SSL, WordPress one-click tools, SMTP auth, IMAP/POP3, FTP, web stats, and DNS management when domains are with Elive. A website builder (Site.pro) is bundled.

🎯 Conclusion

Elive’s proposition is clean and local: Irish ownership, Irish data center presence, and human support with names and numbers. Shared hosting is competitively priced for the feature set, and the VPS entry point at €19.99/month is attractive for small production workloads that want room to grow. The SLA is explicit about network uptime and hardware remediation, and the DropSuite backup options are both clear and inexpensive.

Potential drawbacks: the dedicated server section is sparse and expects an informed buyer; service credits are discretionary; there’s no universal money-back guarantee; and pricing displays exclude VAT (23%), which matters for consumer budgets. For SMEs seeking a straightforward Irish provider with Plesk hosting, domain management, and reachable support, Elive fits well. Teams needing rigid SLAs with automatic credits or deeply prescriptive dedicated builds may prefer to validate terms in writing before committing to long contracts.

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