Namecheap: How Good (Or Bad!) Is Hosting Speed & Uptime?

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Namecheap started as a domain registrar in 2001, but expanded into hosting in 2008. Their data centers are located in Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia.

I have purchased a hosting plan on Namecheap and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.

Here is the plan information I chose:

Plan NameProfessional
Cost$7.48/month
Disk Space100GB
BandwidthUnlimited
Uptime Guarantee99.9%
Money Back Guarantee14 days
NotesSite was ready within minutes after I purchased.

On this page: Uptime | Speed | Support | Alternatives

Uptime Test

I use Pingdom to report website uptime. Pingdom is configured to make an HTTP request to the host every minute, and report if it is unreachable. It'll also report an error if the host takes longer than 30 seconds to respond (Yes, that's not actually down, but if your site takes that long to respond it is unusable in my opinion). Pingdom performs this test from at least 3 servers worldwide, and reports a problem if 2/3 servers do no respond. This test is important if you are concerned about the reliability of your web host (this is important!)    

Namecheap Uptime Test Results

Namecheap performs okay in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 99.93 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 92.000 %. Namecheap most recent result on Feb 18 was 99.000 %. Namecheap has had a few significant outages (more than a few minutes) since I started testing them. It's nothing horrendous, but other hosts have better reliability.

Let’s see if Namecheap is consistent in its uptime stats:

Recent Raw Results for Namecheap

Date Uptime Downtime Outages Avg Response Time
2019-02-18 99.000% 5 mins 1 497 ms
2019-02-17 100.000% 0 mins 0 374 ms
2019-02-16 100.000% 0 mins 0 396 ms
2019-02-15 100.000% 0 mins 0 470 ms
2019-02-14 99.000% 1 mins 1 498 ms
2019-02-13 100.000% 0 mins 0 486 ms
2019-02-12 100.000% 0 mins 0 500 ms
2019-02-11 100.000% 0 mins 0 579 ms
2019-02-10 100.000% 0 mins 0 479 ms
2019-02-09 100.000% 0 mins 0 454 ms
2019-02-08 100.000% 0 mins 0 525 ms
2019-02-07 100.000% 0 mins 0 535 ms
2019-02-06 100.000% 0 mins 0 495 ms
2019-02-05 100.000% 0 mins 0 549 ms
2019-02-04 100.000% 0 mins 0 490 ms
2019-02-03 100.000% 0 mins 0 455 ms
2019-02-02 100.000% 0 mins 0 393 ms
2019-02-01 100.000% 0 mins 0 387 ms
2019-01-31 100.000% 0 mins 0 406 ms
2019-01-30 100.000% 0 mins 0 377 ms
2019-01-29 100.000% 0 mins 0 379 ms
2019-01-28 100.000% 0 mins 0 390 ms
2019-01-27 100.000% 0 mins 0 374 ms
2019-01-26 100.000% 0 mins 0 361 ms
2019-01-25 100.000% 0 mins 0 360 ms
2019-01-24 100.000% 0 mins 0 375 ms
2019-01-23 100.000% 0 mins 0 372 ms
2019-01-22 100.000% 0 mins 0 370 ms
2019-01-21 100.000% 0 mins 0 367 ms
2019-01-20 100.000% 0 mins 0 384 ms
2019-01-19 99.000% 2 mins 2 372 ms
2019-01-18 100.000% 0 mins 0 395 ms
2019-01-17 100.000% 0 mins 0 436 ms
2019-01-16 100.000% 0 mins 0 349 ms
2019-01-15 99.000% 2 mins 1 412 ms
2019-01-14 100.000% 0 mins 0 415 ms
2019-01-13 100.000% 0 mins 0 366 ms
2019-01-12 100.000% 0 mins 0 379 ms
2019-01-11 100.000% 0 mins 0 453 ms
2019-01-10 100.000% 0 mins 0 429 ms
2019-01-09 100.000% 0 mins 0 383 ms
2019-01-08 100.000% 0 mins 0 869 ms
2019-01-07 100.000% 0 mins 0 421 ms
2019-01-06 100.000% 0 mins 0 388 ms
2019-01-05 98.000% 28 mins 2 431 ms
2019-01-04 100.000% 0 mins 0 416 ms
2019-01-03 100.000% 0 mins 0 467 ms
2019-01-02 100.000% 0 mins 0 499 ms
2019-01-01 100.000% 0 mins 0 392 ms
2018-12-31 100.000% 0 mins 0 399 ms
2018-12-30 99.000% 2 mins 1 379 ms
2018-12-29 100.000% 0 mins 0 412 ms
2018-12-28 99.000% 6 mins 2 394 ms
2018-12-27 100.000% 0 mins 0 392 ms
2018-12-26 97.000% 36 mins 2 435 ms
2018-12-25 100.000% 0 mins 0 381 ms
2018-12-24 100.000% 0 mins 0 532 ms
2018-12-23 100.000% 0 mins 0 365 ms
2018-12-22 100.000% 0 mins 0 466 ms
2018-12-21 100.000% 0 mins 0 439 ms

Page Speed Test

This test is performed by submitting a typical web page served on the host to WebPageTest and recording how long it takes to load. This test web page is 56 KB of HTML, 287 KB of JavaScript, 51 KB of CSS, and 1,128 KB of images (these are typical according to the HTTP Archive). WebPageTest (a 3rd-party, vendor-neutral organization) uses servers located in Virgina and California to measure the page load waterfall in the latest version of Chrome, on a very fast internet connection. The test is ran 5 times each, and the middle (median) result is what is counted from each location. Then the east coast and west coast times are averaged, which should eliminate any bias due to server location. We're interested in first page load, not the repeat/cached view. If you're really interested, I use the 'Load Time' measurement that's returned from WebPageTest for ranking page speed. I still collect other metrics such as TTFB (time to first byte), fully loaded time, and the speed index, in addition to server setting scores which are translated to grades. You can see these detailed values in the "Raw Results." This test is important if your site resembles a typical website and you're concerned about speed (which you should be!)   In September 2014 I updated this test to be more accurate, and you'll notice page speeds were a bit higher before then. The test used to be run only 3 times from one location using a simulated cable internet connection on Internet Explorer 11. The new method provides much more consistent results.

Namecheap Page Speed Test Results

Namecheap performs stellar in the Speed Test, with an average result of 3.1 seconds. It's best result was 2.00 s but it has been as bad as 72.71 s. Namecheap most recent result on Feb 19 was 2.00 s. Namecheap proves that they have consistent, low page load times. While I bet it could be improved if they enabled compression and caching headers, their stats are something other hosts strive for.

Let’s see if Namecheap is consistent in its page speed stats:

Recent Raw Results for Namecheap

Date Location Load time TTFB Fully loaded Speed index Keep-alive Score Compress Score Caching Score
2019-02-19 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-18 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-17 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-16 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-15 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-14 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-13 Dulles, VA 2.7 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-12 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-11 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-10 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-09 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-08 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-02-07 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2019-02-06 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-05 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-04 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-03 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-02-02 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-02-01 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-31 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-30 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.4s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-29 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-28 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-27 Dulles, VA 2.4 0.3s 2.5s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-26 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-25 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-24 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-23 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-22 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-21 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-20 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-19 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-18 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-17 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-16 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-15 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-14 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-13 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-12 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-11 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-10 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-09 Dulles, VA 31.7 0.0s 31.7s 0.0s F F F
2019-01-08 Dulles, VA 31.7 0.0s 31.7s 0.0s F F F
2019-01-07 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-06 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.8s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-05 Dulles, VA 2.4 0.3s 2.6s 0.8s A A F
2019-01-04 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-03 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-02 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.3s 2.9s 0.9s A A F
2019-01-01 Dulles, VA 2.8 0.3s 2.9s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-31 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-30 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.6s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-29 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-28 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-27 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-26 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-25 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-24 Dulles, VA 2.6 0.3s 2.7s 0.9s A A F
2018-12-23 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 1.0s A A F
2018-12-22 Dulles, VA 2.5 0.3s 2.7s 1.0s A A F

Does Namecheap Suck?

Some people may think Namecheap sucks. Here are some real benchmarks to show you Namecheap‘s speed, reliability, and support – so you can see if they really do suck.

Is Namecheap slow?

This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better.  Learn more about the Page Speed Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
StableHost2.69 s0.00 s12.29 sTest Results
HostGator2.74 s2.00 s15.02 sTest Results
DreamHost2.82 s0.00 s21.25 sTest Results
GoDaddy2.85 s0.31 s37.97 sTest Results
Bluehost2.95 s0.00 s9.17 sTest Results
InMotion Hosting2.98 s0.00 s14.12 sTest Results
MDDHosting2.99 s2.00 s74.96 sTest Results
Namecheap3.10 s2.00 s72.71 sTest Results
Site53.17 s0.25 s46.29 sTest Results
Yahoo Small Business3.91 s2.00 s60.96 sTest Results

Namecheap performs incredibly in the Speed Test, with an average result of 3.1 seconds. It's best result was 2.00 s but it has been as bad as 72.71 s. Namecheap most recent result on Feb 19 was 2.00 s. Namecheap proves that they have consistent, low page load times. While I bet it could be improved if they enabled compression and caching headers, their stats are something other hosts strive for.

Let’s take a look at some of the times that Namecheap had some poor page speed performance:

Date Location Load time TTFB Fully loaded Speed index Keep-alive Score Compress Score Caching Score
2019-01-09 Dulles, VA 31.7 0.0s 31.7s 0.0s F F F
2019-01-08 Dulles, VA 31.7 0.0s 31.7s 0.0s F F F

Is Namecheap unreliable?

This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
HostGator99.980 %100.000 %97.500 %Test Results
GoDaddy99.970 %100.000 %94.720 %Test Results
Bluehost99.940 %100.000 %84.930 %Test Results
Namecheap99.930 %100.000 %92.000 %Test Results
StableHost99.930 %100.000 %73.000 %Test Results
MDDHosting99.870 %100.000 %64.580 %Test Results
Yahoo Small Business99.850 %100.000 %82.780 %Test Results
Site599.820 %100.000 %50.690 %Test Results
InMotion Hosting99.610 %100.000 %0.000 %Test Results
DreamHost79.840 %100.000 %0.000 %Test Results

Namecheap performs mediocre in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 99.93 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 92.000 %. Namecheap most recent result on Feb 18 was 99.000 %. Namecheap has had a few significant outages (more than a few minutes) since I started testing them. It's nothing horrendous, but other hosts have better reliability.

Let’s take a look at some of the times that Namecheap had some poor uptime performance

Date Uptime Downtime Outages Avg Response Time
2019-02-18 99.000% 5 mins 1 497 ms
2019-02-14 99.000% 1 mins 1 498 ms
2019-01-19 99.000% 2 mins 2 372 ms
2019-01-15 99.000% 2 mins 1 412 ms
2019-01-05 98.000% 28 mins 2 431 ms
2018-12-30 99.000% 2 mins 1 379 ms
2018-12-28 99.000% 6 mins 2 394 ms
2018-12-26 97.000% 36 mins 2 435 ms

Does Namecheap have poor customer service?

This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.

HostAverageBestWorst
MDDHosting0.11 h0.10 h0.20 hTest Results
GoDaddy0.12 h0.10 h0.30 hTest Results
Site50.28 h0.10 h0.80 hTest Results
StableHost0.37 h0.10 h1.70 hTest Results
InMotion Hosting0.94 h0.20 h2.30 hTest Results
Namecheap2.20 h0.10 h6.00 hTest Results
DreamHost2.79 h0.20 h11.00 hTest Results
Bluehost34.67 h0.10 h168.00 hTest Results
Yahoo Small Business50.89 h16.00 h124.00 hTest Results
HostGator53.40 h0.30 h168.00 hTest Results

Namecheap performs mediocre in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 2.2 hours. It's best result was 0.10 h but it has been as bad as 6.00 h. Namecheap most recent result on Mar 22 was 2.20 h. Something I like about Namecheap is their honesty. While most hosts hide the fact that they oversell (put more customers onto one server than it can handle), Namecheap admits they do it. They explain that not only is it the only way for a host to survive (profitably), but usually it's fine because 99% of websites don't get that much traffic (and aren't using all the resources they're allocated). Thanks for telling the truth, Namecheap.

Let’s take a look at some of the times that Namecheap had some poor support response performance:

Date Support Ticket Submitted Support Ticket Resolved Response Time
None found!

Still think Namecheap sucks?

I’ve presented you with lots of data that will show you whether or not Namecheap sucks. So, what do you think? Are they reliable, fast, and helpful? If not, consider these Namecheap alternatives.

Support Response Test

I personally contact each host's support department with a new question/concern and measure how long it takes for them to get back to me. This test is important for every host - it's imperative your web host is able to quickly address your concerns in a timely manner, even if you're an expert webmaster. Who wants to deal with a host that has poor customer service? Tech is hard, and tech support is critical!  

Namecheap Support Response Test Results

Namecheap performs okay in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 2.2 hours. It's best result was 0.10 h but it has been as bad as 6.00 h. Namecheap most recent result on Mar 22 was 2.20 h. Something I like about Namecheap is their honesty. While most hosts hide the fact that they oversell (put more customers onto one server than it can handle), Namecheap admits they do it. They explain that not only is it the only way for a host to survive (profitably), but usually it's fine because 99% of websites don't get that much traffic (and aren't using all the resources they're allocated). Thanks for telling the truth, Namecheap.

Let’s see if Namecheap is consistent in its support response stats:

Recent Raw Results for Namecheap

Date Support Ticket Submitted Support Ticket Resolved Response Time
2016-03-22 Mar 10, 4:21pm Mar 10, 6:30pm 2.2 hours
2015-02-24 Feb 24, 3:34am Feb 24, 6:05am 2.5 hours
2015-01-27 Jan 27, 5:57am Jan 27, 8:10am 2.2 hours
2014-12-20 Dec 20, 2:55pm Dec 20, 3:33pm 0.6 hours
2014-11-28 Nov 28, 4:38pm Nov 28, 7:23pm 2.8 hours
2014-10-26 Oct 26, 10:57am Oct 26, 4:56pm 6.0 hours
2014-09-06 Sept 6, 6:49pm Sept 6, 9:06pm 2.3 hours
2014-08-09 Aug 9, 3:00pm Aug 9, 3:03pm 0.1 hours
2014-07-12 July 13, 2:15pm July 13, 3:22pm 1.1 hours

Namecheap Alternatives: Better speed, reliability, and support

Are you having problems with Namecheap? It’s not uncommon to want to change to a better host if your current host has issues with being slow, down, or unsupportive. Let’s see if we can find a Namecheap competitor that has better uptime, faster load times, and speedier support.

Hosts faster than Namecheap

This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better. Learn more about the Page Speed Test.

If Namecheap is having page speed problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
StableHost2.69 s0.00 s12.29 sTest Results
HostGator2.74 s2.00 s15.02 sTest Results
DreamHost2.82 s0.00 s21.25 sTest Results
GoDaddy2.85 s0.31 s37.97 sTest Results
Bluehost2.95 s0.00 s9.17 sTest Results
InMotion Hosting2.98 s0.00 s14.12 sTest Results
MDDHosting2.99 s2.00 s74.96 sTest Results
Namecheap3.10 s2.00 s72.71 sTest Results

Hosts more reliable than Namecheap

This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.

If Namecheap is having uptime problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
HostGator99.980 %100.000 %97.500 %Test Results
GoDaddy99.970 %100.000 %94.720 %Test Results
Bluehost99.940 %100.000 %84.930 %Test Results
Namecheap99.930 %100.000 %92.000 %Test Results

Hosts more helpful than Namecheap

This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.

If Namecheap is having support response problems, consider these alternative hosts that score better:

HostAverageBestWorst
MDDHosting0.11 h0.10 h0.20 hTest Results
GoDaddy0.12 h0.10 h0.30 hTest Results
Site50.28 h0.10 h0.80 hTest Results
StableHost0.37 h0.10 h1.70 hTest Results
InMotion Hosting0.94 h0.20 h2.30 hTest Results
Namecheap2.20 h0.10 h6.00 hTest Results

Namecheap vs Other Hosts

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