What is EIG?
EIG, or Endurance International Group, is basically a huge web hosting company that poses as many smaller web hosting companies (or brands, in this case). They currently have over 80 different web hosting brands that advertise as if they are their own companies. Most of these companies you are familiar with if you’ve done any type of research on web hosting.
The History of Endurance International Group (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 its 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. Afterward, the company was listed on NASDAQ under the ticker EIGI and valued at $1.2 billion dollars.
At the end of 2020, EIG announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group L.P in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.0 billion including outstanding indebtedness therefore, it’s no longer traded on the stock exchange and considered as a private firm. But, from our perspective, nothing changed as the pressure to maximize profit is even larger, as that’s the reason private equity investors are doing deals like that. And you know how would it affect its customer, and by that I mean us.
So What’s The Problem with EIG?
If you’ve never heard of Endurance International Group, you’re not alone. In fact, I only recently heard about it myself. This feels a little embarrassing, as I’ve done business with a few of the companies it owns… but now I know, and it certainly explains some things.
When a big company buys smaller ones, that big company still expects to turn a profit. The purchased company is under new management; with new management comes changes in policy, changes in price, and changes in the quality of service you get.
Sometimes the service you receive gets better, because investment companies employ smart people to improve things while still reducing their costs. But sometimes things go wrong.
Problems with EIG-Run Companies
Endurance International, unfortunately, has a history of bad reviews. In all my research for this article, I did not find one person who said, “Yay! EIG bought my favorite hosting company!”
Now every company has its detractors and critics. That’s fine, it’s a part of life. It’d be weirder if no one was saying anything bad. But it’s usually not quite this bad. Every reaction to EIG’s acquisitions that I’ve seen sounds more like, “Oh, great. How are they going to screw up this time?”
Every time EIG buys a new hosting company, people report the same problems:
- Professional customer support teams are replaced with cheaper, slower options.
- Fast server hardware is replaced with cheaper, slower hardware.
- The pricing structure is changed in a way that doesn’t favor the customer.
People who find themselves unhappy with one EIG-run hosting company might jump to another, without realizing it’s also run by EIG. This creates a vicious cycle of dissatisfaction and can make it hard for some people to get their online businesses running.
And that’s why you need to know and care who owns your hosting company.
Hosting Companies and Brands Under EIG
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. - AccountSupport (accountsupport.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - ApolloHosting.com (apollohosting.com)
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. - A Small Orange (asmallorange.com)
Acquired by EIG in July 2010. - Arvixe (arvixe.com)
Acquired by EIG in October 2014. - Athenix Corporation, Athenix Inc. (athenixinc.com)
Belongs to EIG since 2012 or earlier. - Berry Information Systems L.L.C. (berryinfosysllc.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - BigRock (bigrock.com)
Acquired in January 2014. - BizLand (bizland.com)
Former name of EIG. Founded in 1996. - BlueDomino (bluedomino.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - BlueFur (bluefur.com)
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. - Constant Contact (constantcontact.com)
Constant Contact is a member of EIG from around 2019. - Cloud by IX (cloudbyix.com)
Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting. - Directi Web Technologies (Directi, directi.com)
Acquired in January 2014. - Domain.com
Belongs to EIG since October 2011 or earlier. - DomainHost (domainhost.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Dotster (dotster.com)
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. - EasyCGI (easycgi.com)
Belongs to EIG since July 2009 or earlier. - EntryHost (entryhost.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Escalate Internet (escalateinternet.com)
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. - FatCow (fatcow.com, fatcowhosting.com)
Became EIG since May 2007 or earlier. - FreeYellow (freeyellow.com)
Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. - Globat (Glob@t, globat.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Homestead Technologies, Inc. (homestead.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - HostADay (hostaday.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - HostCentric (hostcentric.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - HostClear (hostclear.com)
Bought by JustHost in October 2011, which was later acquired by EIG - Host Excellence (hostexcellence.com)
Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015 with IXWebHosting. - HostGator (hostgator.com)
Acquired in June 2012. - HostNine (hostnine.com)
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. - HostYourSite.com (hostyoursite.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - HyperMart (hypermart.com, hypermart.net)
Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. - IMOutdoorsHosting (imoutdoorshosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - IdeaHost (ideahost.com)
Belongs to EIG. - Impress.ly (impress.ly)
BigRock, which is a part of EIG, launched impress.ly since 15, Dec 2015. - Intuit Websites
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. - 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. - IX Web Hosting (ixwebhosting.com)
Acquired by EIG in Q4 2015. Now redirects to BlueHost. - JustCloud (justcloud.com)
Belongs to EIG since February 2014 or earlier. - JustHost (justhost.com)
Acquired by EIG in 2010. - LogicBoxes (logicboxes.com)
Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG. - MyDomain (mydomain.com)
Belongs to EIG. - NamesDirect (namesdirect.com)
Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier. - NameZero (namezero.com)
Belongs to EIG since 2011 or earlier. - NetFirms (netfirms.com)
Was acquired by EIG in 2011. - NetworksHosting (networkshosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Nexx (nexx.com)
Was acquired by EIG in 2012 or earlier. - PowWeb (powweb.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2006 or earlier. - PureHost (purehost.com)
Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. - ReadyHosting (readyhosting.co.uk, readyhosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - ResellerClub (resellerclub.com)
Acquired in January 2014. - SEO Hosting (seohosting.com, seowebhosting.net)
Was part of HostGator which was later acquired by EIG. - Site5 (site5.com)
Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015. - SiteBuilder (sitebuilder.com)
A part of EIG since Q2 2015. - Sitelio (sitelio.com)
A part of EIG. - Sitey (sitey.com)
A part of EIG since Q2 2015. - SouthEastWeb (southeastweb.com)
Probably belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Spry (spry.com)
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. - SuperGreen Hosting (SuperGreenHosting, supergreenhosting.com)
Merged with JustHost, which was later acquired by EIG. - TightHost (tighthost.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - TypePad (typepad.com)
Belongs to EIG since 2014 or earlier. - UsaNetHosting (usanethosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Verio (verio.com)
Belongs to EIG since the 4th of August 2015. - Virtual Avenue (virtualave.net)
Belongs to EIG since May 2007 or earlier. - VPSlink (vpslink.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010. - Web2010 (web2010.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - WebDevHosting (webdevhosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - WebHost4Life.com (webhost4life.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - webhosting.info
Acquired by Directi, which was bought by EIG. - WebSiteBuilder (websitebuilder.com)
A part of EIG since Q2 2015. - WebstrikeSolutions (WebstrikeSolutions.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - Webzai (webzai.com)
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. - Xeran (xeran.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier. - YourWebHosting (yourwebhosting.com)
Belongs to EIG since April 2010 or earlier
What are EIG alternatives?
If you’re looking for an EIG alternative, we recommend taking a look at the following web hosting companies:
- ASPHostPortal – most affordable alternative
- HostForLife.eu – best for startups
- InMotion Hosting – all-purpose web hosting
- Liquid Web – fully managed provider
- Rocket.net – all-in-one WordPress platform
- WP Engine – best for enterprise WordPress plans
Is Bluehost owned by EIG?
Yes, Bluehost is owned by EIG. They acquired Bluehost in 2010. Are you considering Bluehost? We found service lacking in many areas. It has the most basic hosting features you could ask for, but not much else. The admin interface can be problematic, and the support experience has been described as “backward.” Even their good server performance can’t save them, especially when you have to pay at least a year in advance so things don’t get very expensive.
Does EIG own GoDaddy?
No, GoDaddy is not owned by EIG. GoDaddy is a publicly traded company and has no ties to Endurance International Group.
Why don’t people like EIG?
Throughout the years, customers have complained about the customer service and reliability of EIG-owned web hosting companies after their acquisitions. This is because, as a public company, EIG was encouraged to cut costs and redundancies.
Service and reliability has improved in recent years, though. This is partly thanks to new leadership and the commitment to focus on their key brands — Bluehost, HostGator, and iPage.
