Superb Internet Review 2024 – Is It Worth the Money?

Responsive, Reliable, and Customer-Centric Hosting

Sure, Superb Internet has been around since 1996 and hosts hundreds of thousands of customers from 150 countries. The company even owns five data centers in the U.S., has won a number of awards, and has a 100% network and server uptime Service Level Agreement.

Superb Internet sells a full range of hosting services, with its primary focus being cloud hosting, dedicated servers, and colocation services for enterprises and high-traffic websites.

But it’s not one of the biggest players on the field. Not even close.

Does bigger always mean better? Can Superb Internet provide better service than the big guys? Does it have all the features you need for your website?

Let’s find out if Superb Internet is right for you.

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In this review, I’m going to dig into the data: the average uptime, server performance, customer support experience, and more. I’ll also run through the whole process of purchasing a hosting plan and requesting a refund to see if Superb Internet delivers on what was promised.

By the end of this review, you’ll know everything you need to know about Superb Internet, such as:

• What’s the expected uptime?
• Are there any beginner-friendly tools?
• Does it support advanced coding languages?
• What’s the customer service like?
• How easy is it to get set up and launch a website? (Spoiler alert: I’ll time the whole process and document it as I go!)
• How fast will my website be when it’s live?
• Are the prices good?
• Can I cancel easily?
• Is there a money-back guarantee?

By the end of the review, you’ll have answers to all of your questions and concerns about Superb Internet, so you can determine whether it meets your needs.

Performance-Enhancing Tools for High-Volume Websites and Scalability

Superb Internet offers an above-average selection of features, whether you’re running an online startup or perhaps the webfront of a large enterprise. For instance, if you’ve got a thriving e-commerce website and wish to scale your online presence, you’ll be pleased to know that Superb Internet has a Flex Cloud Plan that allows you to increase or decrease your resources with just a couple of clicks as needed.

Though there don’t seem to be any specific server optimizations for WordPress, the host offers easy installation of the popular CMS through the same one-click installer. If you’re an advanced user or developer, you’ll be pleased to see FTP and SSH access as well as support for PHP 7, Perl 5, and CGI.

Security and reliability-wise, the data centers are fully redundant with no single point of failure, along with an automatic detection of potential failures that swiftly brings backup systems into play. The servers use SSD storage, which means disk read/write times up to ten times faster than regular HDD.

Superb Internet also offers free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates with the option of procuring custom SSL certificates, automatic daily backups, anti-virus and spam protection, and firewall protection for all plans. You also get a free CDN, which can be set up easily inside your control panel.

100% Uptime Guarantee

Many hosts advertise a high uptime record or guarantee, but oftentimes these are little more than a marketing gimmick.

Superb Internet is different. It has a 100% network and server uptime guarantee, even backing this up with a comprehensive Service Level Agreement that’ll give you credit for every hour of downtime or non-compliance with its service guarantees.

The host claims the 100% uptime is due to its solid infrastructure, which spans 11 fault-tolerant and fully-redundant network sites across five data centers and direct connectivity to all major Tier I providers worldwide. 

High Resource Quotas

Superb Internet provides unlimited bandwidth with all its shared hosting plans. While unlimited always comes with the caveat of reasonable usage, Superb Internet is transparent about the Fair Usage requirements detailed in its terms.

The disk space quotas — 20GB for the starter GridLITE plan, 200GB for GridPRO, and unlimited for GridMAX — and domain allowances are also substantial.

Scripting Language Support

Superb Internet supports a range of scripting languages that’ll be sufficient for most, even offering Windows-based shared hosting for those who need Microsoft-specific features.

In addition to the slightly old-school Perl, Superb Internet also supports PHP 7, which is twice as fast as version 5 (also supported). You’ll find support for Java, Python, and SSI as well.

Custom PHP configurations are enabled, allowing you to configure settings such as the default directory to upload files to when writing scripts and the maximum file upload limit.

Freebies

Super Internet offer a range of free or promotional extras in all of its plans. The cloud hosting plans come with $500 credit towards the plans, so you can get started for free and with no obligation to continue, whilst the dedicated servers include an offer to “supersize your traffic” for a small monthly fee.

The colocation plans come with an option to lease-to-own your server, by adding an additional monthly payment for the first year and the shared hosting plans enjoy $25 Yahoo Sponsored Search credit, MIVA advertising credit, a RatePoint one-year membership, and a free domain (provided you sign up for a one or two-year hosting plan). 

I appreciate the freebies, but given that I’ve been in digital marketing for years, I’d prefer Google Ads or Facebook credit!

Cloud and Dedicated Hosting

Superb Internet offers an extensive range of cloud and dedicated hosting services — far more than most other providers. Each cloud hosting plan features fully dedicated resources with a “no overselling policy” and a comprehensive cloud hosting SLA.

Of course, you’ll also have the option of either a scalable fixed-fee cloud hosting service or an hourly pay-as-you-go rate that affords you incredible flexibility, particularly if you’re a startup, developer, or SMB.

Superb Internet’s dedicated server, cloud, and shared hosting plans come packed with features perfect for you, whether you’re a start-up, a developer, an SMB, or even an enterprise. What’s more, its plans come with an array of features designed for ease of use, such as e-commerce integrations, expert help, and a one-click installer for popular software.

E-commerce Ready

Superb Internet includes easy installations of the most popular e-commerce shopping carts and stores. You can integrate Magento’s shopping cart seamlessly onto your existing website, add Zen Cart’s user-friendly and fully-packaged shopping cart solution, or use osCommerce to set up, run and manage your e-commerce store with no added costs or limitations.

30 Days Unlimited Assistance

The first few days and weeks after setting up with a new host can be stressful, especially if you’re running any volume of traffic. To counteract that, the team at Superb Internet will step in for the first 30 days to provide unlimited help.

The technicians will assist with the setup and configuration of your website(s), email accounts, apps, and databases. While this sounds great, I’m not sure how this differs from the ongoing support — because after the first 30-day period, you can still get day-to-day assistance with your account 24/7/365.

One-Click Installer

Superb Internet offers a one-click installer to quickly and easily install over 30 popular programs. Granted, it’s not the best auto-installer out there (some have over 300 apps). However, all the most popular software is included, such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, and so on. This means you can easily get started with no prior coding experience, or you just want to save some time.

Creating a New Account

Creating a new account with Superb Internet was easy, taking me less than five minutes to create an account and pay. Though the registration process was simple, it was mildly disappointing that the account setup was not instantaneous.

In fact, I needed to wait six hours for customer service to contact me and finish the process. Aside from that delay, the process was smooth and I benefited from helpful customer support.

Connecting a Domain and Installing WordPress

Once my account was created, I connected my domain and installed WordPress. There’s an unusual workflow to connecting a domain (as payment and processing for domain orders are handled separately from hosting, Superb Internet will apply the credit for the domain after you’ve paid for your hosting) but the rest of the process was smooth.

With the help of a how-to article detailing the process step by step, I installed WordPress with a few clicks.

Lightning-Fast Load Speeds and Superb Uptime

Before I signed up with Superb Internet, I did exactly what most savvy website owners (like you!) do: I read all the internet reviews I could find.

I have to admit, I found a mixed bag: there were a few outstanding testimonials, while others were less than positive. However, it was clear that the older reviews were a bit hit-and-miss, while the newer reviews were generally better.

For the entire time I was with Superb Internet, I had a great experience overall: website loading speeds are fast and the uptime is outstanding. The only time I encountered downtime was with their email hosting; however, their support staff was always efficient and solved all problems in a timely manner.

I ran a speed test via the Sucuri Load Time Tester. The results were great: 0.174s connection speed, 0.972s for the first byte, and 0.973s total time. The fastest load speeds were in San Francisco, Dallas, and Montreal, while the slowest were in India, Singapore, and Amsterdam (consistent with a North American CDN).

First-Class Support Wholly Based in the U.S.

Superb Internet has a good range of customer service channels. The one downside is that all of these are U.S.-based, so foreign customers are at a disadvantage.

For starters, there’s a toll-free North American number as well as local numbers for Hawaii, Washington, and Virginia. You can also reach them via several email addresses along with live chat. Technical support is available 24/7/365 (although I did experience a six-hour lag period when I contacted them during U.S. night hours).

Personally, I’ve contacted support on several occasions and was happy with the level of service.

If you prefer to solve problems on your own, Superb Internet also has a decent knowledge base accessible via the control panel or from its main website. You’ll find resources to help with connecting a domain, installing WordPress, updating nameservers, and so on.

Live Chat

I contacted Superb Internet via live chat several times during the setup process. During North American daytime hours, I received a response immediately from a helpful operator. When he didn’t have the answer, he contacted the relevant team member and got straight back to me.

My first question was whether the hosting plans came with a CDN, as it wasn’t clear from the website. He promptly responded and said that customers do get a free North American CDN, accessible in the control panel.

The second time I contacted support was to confirm whether or not Superb Internet owned its data centers (it does). Within seconds, the support representative sent me links to the relevant pages for me to read.

Be warned that live chat isn’t 24/7 though: while the live chat operator picked up instantly during North American daytime hours, it was offline at night.

Email Support

After I purchased my hosting plan, I received an automatic email saying my account was being processed. As I was confused that it wasn’t an instant setup, I hopped on live chat to confirm. It was night-time in the U.S. and live chat was offline, so my live chat message was sent as an email instead.

Though I didn’t receive an email response, within six hours I got a call from customer service. My account setup had been held up as a security measure and they needed to verbally confirm my order. The caller was warm and professional, and he answered all of my questions.

Support via Facebook

I also contacted Superb Internet on Facebook. Though the company’s policy is not to provide support via Facebook, their agents got back to me quickly and directed me to the appropriate channels for customer support.

Great Value, But Best for Long-Term Holders

Unless you have a large or extremely high traffic website, you’ll have more than enough resources in the GridLITE plan, which gives you 20GB storage, unlimited bandwidth, free SSL certificates, and a free domain.

However, if you’re a developer or advanced webmaster, you may want to move up to GridPRO to get SSH access, cron jobs, and raw log files. If you need a dedicated IP address or unlimited disk space, you need the GridMAX plan.

At first glance, the prices seem pretty good. However, to enjoy the best discounts, you need to purchase a two-year term. While Superb Internet does offer month-to-month pricing, you’ll pay a premium for the flexibility. Three-month terms are equally pricey, while anything above six months begins to get rather steeply discounted.

Cancellations and Refunds

There’s a 30-day money back guarantee, so if you’re unsure whether the service is a perfect fit for you, you can try Superb Internet relatively risk free.

I tested the process myself and requested a refund (which needs to be done through live chat or ticket). I’m happy to confirm that Superb Internet followed through with its refund policy. Within 20 minutes of cancellation, I received a full refund.