The History of Endurance International Group (EIG)

In this post, we are going to take a closer look at the big conglomerate that took over dozens of web hosting companies for the past few years — the Endurance International Group, aka EIG.

In case you are not aware – EIG is probably the biggest player in today’s web hosting industry. EIG initially began as BizLand in 1996 and has its HQ in Burlington, Massachusetts, but began buying smaller web hosting businesses to grow their customer base. Today, they own some of the most well known hosting companies such as BlueHost and HostGator.

In 2011, EIG was acquired by Accel-KKR and GS Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. Today, the company is listed on NASDAQ (under the ticker EIGI) and valued at $1.2 billion dollars.

If we look at the companies stock, we can see that it’s a pretty huge corporation with a market cap of over 1 Billion dollars.

At this time of writing, EIG has more than 80 web hosting brands under its umbrella (more on this shortly) and over 5 million subscribers all over the world. We will try to cover them all and prepare a list of non EIG hosting companies you can safely use as EIG alternatives.

EIG Hosting, Why Should I Care?

Today, pretty much everyone got the option to start an online business with some great online business ideas, and one of the main reasons for this opportunity is the wide availability of potential web hosting solutions out there, for every use case and pricing expectations.

That’s probably the reason why you are here as well, looking for a great web hosting solution suited for your needs, but, you heard about EIG web hosting and want to learn a bit more about it. Why should you care? The reason is due to the fact that although it seems like there are dozens of potential hosting providers out there, many of those well-known hosting brands such as HostGator, BlueHost, or iPage are owned by one company, EIG. Ok, why should I care?

First of all, it’s a monopoly-like price setting practices when one company controls the pricing of the hosting solutions by a wide range, across a multitude of hosting companies, seem fully unconnected at first. It’s called price-fixing, and with this control, EIG companies would be able to set any price they’ll desire without leaving you any choice because you already have a site on their hosting solution and migrating is not an easy task. So that’s one.

Secondly, because all the hosting infrastructure is shared, EIG had several large-scale outages over the years. The most famous, and perhaps eye-opening, for many customers occurred on August 2nd, 2013. Millions of HostGator, BlueHost, and HostMonster customers lost services as the EIG datacenter in Utah took a hit.

It affected phone lines and servers in all their hosting facilities and was one of the biggest outages the web hosting industry has seen in recent years. As multiple large hosting companies were all under EIG, it made it apparent as to why they all went down at once.

In addition, they are known for the technical issues they suffer from and the throttling they do on bandwidth, connections and etc. Customer support suffers as well from long waiting times and delays in providing the help you looking for.

What Happens for a Hosting Acquired by EIG?

If the past is any indication of the future, we can safely assume that EIG will continue to expand its operations and acquire more and more web hosting properties. As soon as EIG buys a hosting company, it typically makes several changes to the company such as changing the control panels, equipment, data center locations, operational changes to existing staff, and starts moving customers to their own network.

Also, some customers have noticed a significant reduction in the level of customer/technical support following the purchase of a hosting company by EIG.

Another example. Since the purchase of HostGator, some customers have become frustrated with the quality of service. Some have noticed a delay in response time when submitting tickets. Also with accounts being moved from SoftLayer to the EIG data center in Provo, UT there has been an increase in customer complaints. On the outside, HostGator among most of EIG’s other acquisitions has remained the same, while all the changes took place in the administration and technical side of things. It is possible that HostGator is not the same company we once knew to be reliable and focused on high performance. So it’s a great idea to stick to hosting companies not owned by EIG.

The Sad Truth — With EIG owning a number of the top web hosting companies in the industry, even if you are dissatisfied with one host and choose to switch to another there’s a good chance that you might still end up with a company owned by EIG (see the full list of EIG brands below and stick to non EIG web hosting).

Now, it’s important to mention the EIG cycle. EIG business focus is to acquire other web hosting providers with their customer base, keep their brand operating (so it’s not disclosed that the become an EIG brand), but inside the company, to unify all the support, marketing, technological and infrastructure departments. Now, fewer people are working to provide you the service you previously had – immediate degradation to the quality of service you used to receive.

In this case, even if the customer will leave EIG operated web hosting service A, and will move to EIG operated web hosting service B, he will still stay and EIG customer! Rinse and repeat.

That’s why you should remember to verify that the hosting you going to work with is a non-EIG one. For example, the non-EIG & highly secured hosting service by DreamHost.

Start hosting with DreamHost, a non EIG hosting provider >>>

Hosting Companies and Brands Under EIG

What is EIG? EIG is an umbrella company for over approximately 80+ companies, many of which are web hosting companies. Some others are online presence studios and services that are eventually, tightly coupled to the parent company (EIG) business.

The following is a list of the host companies acquired by EIG over the years with a list of EIG alternatives to follow:

2slick (2slick.com)

Probably belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Probably belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. AccountSupport (accountsupport.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. ApolloHosting.com (apollohosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. AptHost (apthost.com)

Belongs to EIG as a part of wwwh.com since at least June 25, 2015.

Belongs to EIG as a part of wwwh.com since at least June 25, 2015. A Small Orange (asmallorange.com)

Acquired by EIG in July 2010.

Acquired by EIG in July 2010. Arvixe (arvixe.com)

Acquired by EIG in October 2014.

Acquired by EIG in October 2014. Athenix Corporation, Athenix Inc. (athenixinc.com)

Belongs to EIG since 2012 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since 2012 or earlier. Berry Information Systems L.L.C. (berryinfosysllc.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. BigRock (bigrock.com)

Acquired in January 2014.

Acquired in January 2014. BizLand (bizland.com)

Former name of EIG. Founded in 1996.

Former name of EIG. Founded in 1996. BlueDomino (bluedomino.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. BlueFur (bluefur.com)

Belongs to EIG since at least 25, June 2015.

Belongs to EIG since at least 25, June 2015. BlueHost (bluehost.com)

EIG Bluehost acquisition is one of the biggest here. Acquired by EIG in November 2010. Now it’s Bluehost EIG.

EIG Bluehost acquisition is one of the biggest here. Acquired by EIG in November 2010. Now it’s Bluehost EIG. Constant Contact (constantcontact.com)

Constant Contact is a member of EIG from around 2019.

Constant Contact is a member of EIG from around 2019. Cloud by IX (cloudbyix.com)

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting.

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting. Directi Web Technologies (Directi, directi.com)

Acquired in January 2014.

Acquired in January 2014. Domain.com

Belongs to EIG since October 2011 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since October 2011 or earlier. DomainHost (domainhost.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Dotster (dotster.com)

Belongs to EIG since July 2011 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since July 2011 or earlier. Dot5Hosting.com (dot5hosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007. EasyCGI (easycgi.com)

Belongs to EIG since July 2009 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since July 2009 or earlier. EntryHost (entryhost.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Escalate Internet (escalateinternet.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. FastDomain (fastdomain.com)

Has become part of Bluehost since December 2006 (or earlier).

Bluehost was later acquired by EIG.

Has become part of Bluehost since December 2006 (or earlier). Bluehost was later acquired by EIG. FatCow (fatcow.com, fatcowhosting.com)

Became EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

Became EIG since May 2007 or earlier. FreeYellow (freeyellow.com)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. Globat (Glob@t, globat.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Homestead Technologies, Inc. (homestead.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. HostADay (hostaday.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. HostCentric (hostcentric.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. HostClear (hostclear.com)

Bought by JustHost in October 2011, which was later acquired by EIG

Bought by JustHost in October 2011, which was later acquired by EIG Host Excellence (hostexcellence.com)

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting.

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting. HostGator (hostgator.com)

Acquired in June 2012.

Acquired in June 2012. HostNine (hostnine.com)

Is a sister company of A Small Orange (ASO), which is an EIG.

Is a sister company of A Small Orange (ASO), which is an EIG. HostMonster (hostmonster.com)

Is a sister company of BlueHost, which was acquired by EIG.

Is a sister company of BlueHost, which was acquired by EIG. HostYourSite.com (hostyoursite.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. HyperMart (hypermart.com, hypermart.net)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. IMOutdoorsHosting (imoutdoorshosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. IdeaHost (ideahost.com)

Belongs to EIG.

Belongs to EIG. Impress.ly (impress.ly)

BigRock, which is a part of EIG, launched impress.ly since 15, Dec 2015.

BigRock, which is a part of EIG, launched impress.ly since 15, Dec 2015. Intuit Websites

Acquired and become EIG company in August 2012.

Acquired and become EIG company in August 2012. iPage (ipage.com)

A tool used by iPage and turned into a brand.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

A tool used by iPage and turned into a brand. Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. iPower (IpowerWeb, ipower.com)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007. IX Web Hosting (ixwebhosting.com)

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015. Now redirects to BlueHost.

Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015. Now redirects to BlueHost. JustCloud (justcloud.com)

Belongs to EIG since February 2014 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since February 2014 or earlier. JustHost (justhost.com)

Acquired by EIG in 2010.

Acquired by EIG in 2010. LogicBoxes (logicboxes.com)

Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG.

Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG. MyDomain (mydomain.com)

Belongs to EIG.

Belongs to EIG. NamesDirect (namesdirect.com)

Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier. NameZero (namezero.com)

Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier. NetFirms (netfirms.com)

Was acquired by EIG in 2011.

Was acquired by EIG in 2011. NetworksHosting (networkshosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Nexx (nexx.com)

Was acquired by EIG in 2012 or earlier.

Was acquired by EIG in 2012 or earlier. PowWeb (powweb.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2006 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2006 or earlier. PureHost (purehost.com)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. ReadyHosting (readyhosting.co.uk, readyhosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. ResellerClub (resellerclub.com)

Acquired in January 2014.

Acquired in January 2014. SEO Hosting (seohosting.com, seowebhosting.net)

Was part of HostGator which was later acquired by EIG.

Was part of HostGator which was later acquired by EIG. Site5 (site5.com)

Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015.

Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015. SiteBuilder (sitebuilder.com)

A part of EIG since Q2 2015.

A part of EIG since Q2 2015. Sitelio (sitelio.com)

A part of EIG.

A part of EIG. Sitey (sitey.com)

A part of EIG since Q2 2015.

A part of EIG since Q2 2015. SouthEastWeb (southeastweb.com)

Probably belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Probably belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Spry (spry.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. StartLogic (startlogic.com)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. iPower, StartLogic and Dot5Hosting were acquired by EIG at the same time in 2007. SuperGreen Hosting (SuperGreenHosting, supergreenhosting.com)

Merged with JustHost, which was later acquired by EIG.

Merged with JustHost, which was later acquired by EIG. TightHost (tighthost.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. TypePad (typepad.com)

Belongs to EIG since 2014 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since 2014 or earlier. UsaNetHosting (usanethosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Verio (verio.com)

Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015.

Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015. Virtual Avenue (virtualave.net)

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. VPSlink (vpslink.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010. Web2010 (web2010.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. WebDevHosting (webdevhosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. WebHost4Life.com (webhost4life.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. webhosting.info

Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG.

Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG. WebSiteBuilder (websitebuilder.com)

A part of EIG since Q2 2015.

A part of EIG since Q2 2015. WebstrikeSolutions (WebstrikeSolutions.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. Webzai (webzai.com)

Acquired by EIG in the 3d quarter 2014.

Acquired by EIG in the 3d quarter 2014. World Wide Web Hosting (wwwh.com)

Fictitious Names: PRESSED, WEBSITE.ME, WP MANAGED HOST.

Belongs to EIG since at least June 25, 2015.

Fictitious Names: PRESSED, WEBSITE.ME, WP MANAGED HOST. Belongs to EIG since at least June 25, 2015. Xeran (xeran.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier.

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. YourWebHosting (yourwebhosting.com)

Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier

Conclusion, Avoid EIG Web Hosting

The fortunate fact is that there are several other highly reputable hosting companies in the industry that still have not been taken over by EIG. Slowly but surely, many hosting companies are finding out about EIG and will refrain from a deal if it means a reduction in service, support, and reliability for their customers.

That’s why I recommend you avoid any hosting provider under the EIG umbrella and choosing non EIG hosting services for your site. Next, you will find a list of non EIG hosting companies you can use safely.

EIG Alternatives for Web Hosting

There are options available for those who are looking for non-EIG web hosting. The following independently owned and operated web hosting companies are some of the best in terms of reliability, price, customer service, and performance.

DreamHost Hosting

For example, check out DreamHost, a non-EIG, reliable, and SSD-based web hosting solution. We have already been using them for a couple of years on numerous websites and absolutely satisfied with them. Great uptime and support when I need it. It’s one of the best non EIG hosting services available.

Also, with the 90-days money-back guarantee period, you can feel safe with your money. My first choice. You can also read our DreamHost review.

Start hosting with DreamHost >>>

SiteGround Hosting

SiteGround is a non-EIG hosting solution which positions itself as a company offering high-quality, “well-crafted” hosting solutions. It got more unique developer-oriented features. For example, on “GoGeek” plan they do free PCI compliance and free Git & staging areas. You can also read our SiteGround review.

Start hosting with SiteGround >>>

WP Engine Hosting

Web hosting offering by WP Engine is a more expensive and a premium managed WordPress non-EIG webhosting for demanding users such as agencies and enterprises. You can also read our WP Engine review.

Start hosting with WP Engine >>>

I’ll be updating this post once new companies will be acquired by EIG. Bookmark this page to be able to refer to it once you decide to buy hosting to make sure it does not belong to EIG.



Feel free to ask us any questions about the hosting provider you consider!