123 Reg vs Cherry Servers: Which Is Better?

123 Reg Review 2026

123 Reg is one of the UK's leading domain registrars and web hosting providers, offering domains, website hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, professional email, website building tools, SSL certificates, and other services designed to help businesses establish and grow their online presence.

Founded in 2000, 123 Reg has more than 25 years of experience in the internet services industry. The company has registered more than 3.5 million domain names and currently hosts more than 1.7 million websites. 123 Reg is particularly well known in the UK market for its focus on .uk and .co.uk domains and straightforward hosting services.

Company Overview

123 Reg was launched in 2000 with a focus on making domain registration accessible to businesses and individuals in the United Kingdom.

The company grew rapidly during its first decade. By 2004, 123 Reg had become the UK's leading domain registrar, followed by major milestones of 2 million registered domains in 2009 and 3 million domains in 2012.

In 2017, 123 Reg's parent company, Host Europe Group (HEG), was acquired by GoDaddy. 123 Reg subsequently continued operating as a UK-focused hosting and domain brand within the broader GoDaddy ecosystem.

The company celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025.

Today, 123 Reg focuses primarily on helping small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and organizations establish an online presence without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

Domains

Domain registration is at the core of the 123 Reg business.

The company offers more than 400 domain extensions, including popular international domains as well as a broad selection of country-code and industry-specific TLDs.

Its strongest position is in the UK domain market, particularly:

• .co.uk
• .uk
• .org.uk
• .me.uk

123 Reg has been serving UK domain customers since 2000 and has registered more than 3.5 million domains.

Customers can register new domains, transfer existing domains, manage DNS settings, and combine domains with hosting, email, SSL, and website services.

UK Domain Expertise

One of 123 Reg's biggest competitive advantages is its specialization in the UK domain market.

The company has been offering .co.uk and other UK domains for more than 25 years and has built its brand around helping British businesses establish a recognizable online identity.

123 Reg offers:

• .uk
• .co.uk
• .org.uk
• .me.uk
• .com
• .net
• .org
• New generic TLDs
• Industry-specific domains

The company also provides domain privacy services designed to hide eligible personal information from public WHOIS records.

Web Hosting

Web hosting is another major part of the 123 Reg platform.

The company provides shared web hosting designed primarily for small businesses, personal websites, blogs, and growing online businesses.

Current hosting plans use NVMe SSD storage and are designed to provide faster website loading while remaining relatively affordable. Hosting packages can include domain registration, professional email, SSL certificates, and website tools.

123 Reg's web hosting is particularly aimed at customers who want an easy-to-manage hosting environment rather than a highly technical cloud platform.

Typical uses include:

• Business websites
• Small e-commerce websites
• Blogs
• Corporate websites
• Landing pages
• Portfolio websites
• WordPress websites
• Small online stores

WordPress Hosting

123 Reg offers managed WordPress hosting for customers who want to use WordPress without managing the entire server environment themselves.

The service is designed to simplify WordPress deployment, updates, security, and day-to-day management.

WordPress hosting can be used for:

• Business websites
• Blogs
• E-commerce
• Professional portfolios
• News websites
• Content websites
• Small SaaS landing pages

Managed WordPress is positioned as a more convenient alternative to traditional self-managed VPS hosting for customers who prioritize simplicity.

VPS Hosting

123 Reg also provides Virtual Private Servers for customers who require more control and resources than shared hosting provides.

Current VPS plans are available for both Linux and Windows and include features such as NVMe SSD storage, root access, additional IP addresses, unlimited traffic, DDoS protection, monitoring, and automated backups.

Entry-level VPS configurations currently start at approximately 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM and 40 GB NVMe SSD storage, while larger configurations provide additional CPU, memory, and storage resources.

VPS customers can choose monthly or annual billing depending on the product.

Linux VPS

Linux VPS hosting provides customers with root-level access and the ability to configure their own operating environment.

Linux VPS servers can be used for:

• Websites
• APIs
• SaaS applications
• Databases
• Development
• Docker
• VPN servers
• Monitoring
• Self-hosted applications
• Testing environments

The combination of root access, NVMe storage, and scalable resources provides considerably more control than standard shared hosting.

Windows VPS

123 Reg also provides Windows VPS hosting.

Windows-based VPS environments are particularly useful for applications and workloads that require the Microsoft Windows ecosystem.

Typical use cases include:

• Windows applications
• ASP.NET applications
• Remote desktop
• Microsoft software
• Business applications
• Development environments
• Database applications

123 Reg specifically notes that Windows VPS can be suitable for websites and applications built using the ASP.NET framework.

Dedicated Servers

For customers requiring physical hardware and dedicated resources, 123 Reg provides dedicated server hosting.

Dedicated servers provide customers with the full resources of a physical machine rather than sharing hardware with other VPS customers.

They are suitable for:

• High-traffic websites
• Large databases
• E-commerce
• Business applications
• Game servers
• High-performance applications
• Resource-intensive workloads
• Customers requiring greater hardware control

Dedicated servers are available alongside VPS and shared hosting, allowing businesses to move to more powerful infrastructure as their requirements grow. 123 Reg's current terms specifically include dedicated-server services as part of its hosting portfolio.

Global Data Centers

Although 123 Reg is strongly focused on the UK market, its VPS infrastructure is supported by data center locations across Europe, North America, and Asia.

The company promotes its global network as a way for customers to select infrastructure closer to their target audience and improve website and application performance.

This gives 123 Reg a broader geographic footprint than a purely UK-based hosting company while maintaining its strong UK market orientation.

Performance and Uptime

123 Reg currently advertises a 99.9% uptime guarantee for its VPS hosting.

Its VPS infrastructure includes 24/7 network monitoring, DDoS protection, performance monitoring, and automated backups. Customers can also receive email alerts when performance or availability issues are detected.

For web hosting, the company uses NVMe SSD-based infrastructure designed to improve website loading performance.

Security

Security features vary depending on the product, but 123 Reg provides several security technologies across its hosting platform.

These include:

• SSL certificates
• DDoS protection
• 24/7 monitoring
• Firewall protection
• Domain privacy
• Domain ownership protection
• Automated backups
• Secure server access
• Malware and website security products

VPS customers receive DDoS protection and dedicated IP functionality as part of the current VPS offering.

Domain Privacy is also available for eligible domains to reduce exposure of personal information in WHOIS records.

Professional Email

123 Reg provides professional email services for businesses that want email addresses using their own domain.

The portfolio includes:

• Professional Email
• Microsoft 365
• Business email accounts
• Email storage
• Spam protection
• Calendar and productivity features

Microsoft 365 services are also available through the platform, allowing businesses to combine their domain with Microsoft's productivity applications. 123 Reg's current promotional bundles include Microsoft 365 email together with .co.uk, .uk, or .com domains.

Website Builder

For customers who do not want to use WordPress or build a website manually, 123 Reg provides a Website Builder.

The service is designed for non-technical users and allows businesses to create and publish websites without coding.

Typical features include:

• Drag-and-drop website creation
• Mobile-friendly websites
• Business templates
• Domain integration
• SSL
• Basic SEO functionality
• Online store functionality on supported plans

123 Reg currently offers a 30-day Website Builder trial for selected customers.

E-Commerce

123 Reg provides website and hosting solutions for businesses that want to sell products online.

E-commerce functionality can be used to create:

• Online stores
• Product catalogs
• Small business shops
• Service-based websites
• Payment-enabled websites

The company's e-commerce offerings are designed primarily for small and medium-sized businesses rather than large enterprise marketplaces.

DNS and Domain Management

Because 123 Reg is primarily a domain registrar, domain and DNS management are important components of its platform.

Customers can manage:

• Nameservers
• DNS records
• A records
• MX records
• CNAME records
• Domain forwarding
• Domain transfers
• Domain renewals

Domains registered with 123 Reg can be connected directly to the company's hosting services, while domains registered elsewhere can also be pointed to 123 Reg hosting using DNS configuration.

Support

Customer support is one of 123 Reg's major selling points.

The company provides support through:

• Telephone
• Live chat
• Support tickets
• Online documentation
• Help centre

123 Reg describes its support as UK-focused and emphasizes assistance from real people rather than relying exclusively on automated systems.

Support availability varies by product. General customer support is available through the main support channels, while dedicated server and VPS technical support currently has specific telephone hours. Live chat is also available during published hours.

Money-Back Guarantee

123 Reg provides a 14-day money-back guarantee on eligible web hosting and VPS products.

For VPS hosting, customers can request a refund within the first 14 days, although domain registration costs are excluded because registered domains cannot simply be unregistered.

This provides new customers with an opportunity to test the hosting service before making a longer-term commitment.

Pricing Strategy

123 Reg follows a value-oriented pricing model aimed primarily at small businesses and customers entering the online market.

The company frequently uses introductory promotional pricing for domains and hosting, with standard renewal prices applying after the promotional period.

Current examples include:

• Web hosting from around £1.99/month on selected promotional terms
• VPS from around £3.99/month on selected annual plans
• .co.uk domains from around £3.99 for the first year
• .com promotional offers
• Website Builder from around £3.99/month

Prices can vary significantly according to promotional campaigns, billing terms, VAT, and renewal periods, so the renewal price should always be checked before purchasing.

Who Is 123 Reg Best For?

123 Reg is particularly suitable for UK-focused customers who want to manage their domain, website, hosting, and business email through a single provider.

Typical customers include:

• UK small businesses
• Startups
• Freelancers
• Entrepreneurs
• Agencies
• Local businesses
• Bloggers
• E-commerce businesses
• Developers
• Website owners
• Small organizations

Typical use cases include:

• Business websites
• .co.uk and .uk domains
• WordPress websites
• E-commerce
• Professional email
• Landing pages
• Small SaaS websites
• VPS applications
• Databases
• Development environments
• Remote applications

123 Reg's Main Competitive Advantages

123 Reg's biggest competitive advantage is its strong UK market presence and long history in domain registration.

Key advantages include:

• Founded in 2000
• More than 25 years of industry experience
• More than 3.5 million domains registered
• More than 1.7 million websites hosted
• 400+ domain extensions
• Strong .uk and .co.uk expertise
• Web hosting
• Managed WordPress
• Linux VPS
• Windows VPS
• Dedicated servers
• Professional email
• Microsoft 365
• Website Builder
• SSL certificates
• Domain Privacy
• DDoS protection
• NVMe SSD hosting
• 99.9% VPS uptime guarantee
• 24/7 network monitoring
• UK-focused customer support
• 14-day money-back guarantee on eligible products

Overall

123 Reg is a long-established UK domain registrar and web hosting provider that has been helping businesses establish an online presence since 2000.

Unlike infrastructure-first providers such as Contabo, Database Mart, or Kamatera, 123 Reg is primarily focused on the domain-to-website journey. Its ecosystem is designed to make it easy for a customer to register a domain, create a website, set up professional email, add SSL, and eventually move to VPS or dedicated infrastructure as the business grows.

Its strongest market position remains the United Kingdom, particularly around .co.uk and .uk domains. The company combines more than 25 years of domain expertise with web hosting, WordPress, VPS, dedicated servers, email, website building, and business services.

For UK small businesses and entrepreneurs looking for an all-in-one provider, 123 Reg can be a convenient option. For advanced developers and enterprises requiring highly customizable cloud infrastructure, however, providers such as IONOS Cloud, Kamatera, or other dedicated cloud platforms generally offer a broader infrastructure toolset.

Overall, 123 Reg is best described as a UK-focused domain registrar and full-service web hosting provider, with additional VPS and dedicated server capabilities for customers whose infrastructure needs grow beyond traditional shared hosting.

Cherry Servers is a European cloud infrastructure and bare metal provider headquartered in Lithuania. The company provides dedicated servers, virtual servers, cloud VPS and VDS infrastructure for developers, businesses, agencies, startups, Web3 projects and other organizations that need direct control over their computing resources.

Founded more than 25 years ago, Cherry Servers has developed from a local infrastructure project into a global hosting provider with data center locations across Europe, North America and Asia. The company focuses on high-performance infrastructure, flexible billing, automation and direct access to technical support.

Company Overview

Cherry Servers positions itself around the idea of providing cloud infrastructure without unnecessary complexity or vendor lock-in. Its platform combines dedicated bare metal servers with virtual infrastructure, allowing customers to choose between physical hardware and more flexible virtual environments depending on their workload.

According to the company, Cherry Servers has been in business for 25 years, provisions more than 30,000 new servers annually and has recorded an average annual revenue growth of 39% over the previous three years.

The company is headquartered in Lithuania and operates infrastructure in multiple regions around the world. Its current locations include Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, the United States, Singapore and Japan.

Infrastructure and Data Centers

Cherry Servers operates a distributed infrastructure designed to provide low-latency connectivity and regional deployment options.

Its listed data center locations include:

• Lithuania — Šiauliai
• Netherlands — Amsterdam
• Sweden — Stockholm
• Germany — Frankfurt
• United States — Chicago
• Singapore
• Japan — Tokyo

The company's network uses 10 Gbps connectivity at individual locations and a redundant backbone of more than 100 Gbps, with direct Internet Exchange peering and DoubleZero interconnection.

This geographic distribution allows customers to deploy workloads closer to their users and choose infrastructure based on latency, regional requirements and workload location.

Dedicated and Bare Metal Servers

Bare metal is one of Cherry Servers' core offerings.

Customers can choose from pre-configured instant dedicated servers or order customized hardware for specialized workloads. The company offers current-generation Intel and AMD processors, high-memory configurations, NVMe storage and GPU-capable systems.

Cherry Servers lists dedicated configurations with up to 128 physical CPU cores and up to 768 GB of RAM for its instant server offerings. Custom configurations can reach up to 1,152 GB of RAM and as many as 10 storage disks, with configurations supporting up to 80 TB of NVMe storage.

Instant dedicated servers are designed for relatively fast deployment, while custom servers allow customers to modify hardware components according to their specific requirements.

Virtual Servers and Cloud Infrastructure

Alongside bare metal, Cherry Servers provides virtual infrastructure for workloads that require faster deployment and greater flexibility.

Its virtual server portfolio includes:

• Cloud VPS
• Cloud VDS
• Storage VPS
• Cloud ARM VDS
• Premium VDS
• Performance VDS

Virtual servers can be deployed within minutes and provide root access through SSH or a VNC console. Depending on the configuration, customers can select shared or dedicated resources, NVMe or HDD storage and different operating systems.

Cherry Servers also introduced ARM-based virtual dedicated servers in its Lithuania location, expanding its infrastructure options for workloads where performance-per-watt and ARM compatibility are important considerations.

Hardware and GPU Infrastructure

Cherry Servers supports compute-intensive workloads through modern AMD and Intel processors, high-memory systems and GPU-enabled infrastructure.

Its current server portfolio includes AMD EPYC, Ryzen and Threadripper processors, including newer generations of AMD hardware. GPU accelerators are available on selected custom server configurations for artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and other compute-heavy workloads.

This makes the platform suitable for applications that require substantially more CPU, memory or dedicated hardware resources than conventional shared hosting environments.

Network and Connectivity

Network performance is an important part of Cherry Servers' infrastructure strategy.

The company operates locations connected through high-capacity network infrastructure and direct Internet Exchange peering. Its current platform advertises 10 Gbps connectivity and up to 100 TB of included traffic on selected dedicated server configurations.

Cherry Servers also participates in the DoubleZero network, connecting several of its European data centers to a high-performance network designed for distributed systems and latency-sensitive workloads.

Developer Automation

Cherry Servers provides several tools for customers who prefer infrastructure-as-code and automated provisioning rather than manual server management.

The platform supports:

• REST API
• CLI
• Python SDK
• Go SDK
• Ansible
• Terraform

This allows development and DevOps teams to integrate server provisioning into existing deployment pipelines and infrastructure-as-code workflows.

The Client Portal provides another way to manage infrastructure, including server deployment, configuration and account management.

Operating Systems

Cherry Servers supports a broad range of Linux distributions and virtualization platforms.

Available operating systems vary by product, but include distributions such as:

• Ubuntu
• Debian
• AlmaLinux
• Rocky Linux
• Fedora
• openSUSE
• Arch Linux
• CentOS

Selected dedicated server configurations also support VMware ESXi, while Windows Server is available as an additional paid option.

Web3 and Blockchain Infrastructure

Cherry Servers has developed a significant focus on Web3 and blockchain infrastructure.

The company offers infrastructure specifically designed for blockchain workloads, including Ethereum and Solana servers, validator infrastructure and RPC infrastructure. Its platform is designed for workloads where dedicated hardware, high network performance and predictable infrastructure are important.

Cherry Servers has also worked with the DoubleZero network to improve connectivity for blockchain workloads across its European infrastructure.

Gaming and High-Performance Workloads

Dedicated servers are also offered for game development and gaming infrastructure.

Cherry Servers highlights low latency, direct hardware access and geographically distributed server locations as important factors for game developers, studios and game service providers. Dedicated infrastructure can be configured for different game server workloads and scaled as requirements change.

Other workloads promoted by Cherry Servers include AI/ML, data processing, streaming, trading, web hosting and self-hosted WordPress.

Storage and Networking Services

Beyond compute, Cherry Servers offers additional infrastructure services including:

• Elastic Block Storage
• Backup Storage
• VM Backups
• Floating IP addresses
• Public IP subnets
• Private networking
• Load balancing
• Local BGP

These services allow customers to build more complete infrastructure environments around their virtual or dedicated servers.

Billing and Payment Options

Cherry Servers supports flexible billing models designed for both short-term testing and longer-term infrastructure deployments.

Customers can use hourly billing, while fixed-term billing can provide discounts on selected infrastructure. The company also supports cryptocurrency payments in addition to conventional payment methods.

The company advertises more than 20 payment methods across its infrastructure products and supports crypto payments through providers such as CoinGate and BVNK.

Technical Support

Cherry Servers emphasizes direct access to human technical support rather than relying exclusively on automated support systems.

The company provides 24/7 technical assistance through live chat, email and phone. It also assigns customers a personal account manager who can assist with infrastructure requirements and account-related needs.

Cherry Servers currently states that customers can reach a technical engineer through live chat in under 45 seconds, while its dedicated web-hosting offering advertises an even faster target of approximately 15 seconds.

Reliability and Service Level

Cherry Servers provides SLA-backed infrastructure for its dedicated server services. The company currently advertises a 99.97% uptime SLA for dedicated servers, supported by infrastructure monitoring and 24/7 technical assistance.

Actual performance can vary depending on the server configuration, location, network conditions and workload, so customers should evaluate the SLA and infrastructure characteristics relevant to their particular deployment.

Who Is Cherry Servers For?

Cherry Servers is primarily suited to customers who need more control over infrastructure than conventional shared hosting platforms provide.

Typical users include:

• Developers and DevOps teams
• Startups and technology companies
• SaaS businesses
• Web agencies
• Game developers
• Blockchain and Web3 projects
• AI and machine-learning teams
• High-performance computing workloads
• Streaming platforms
• Trading and latency-sensitive applications
• Businesses running self-hosted applications

The combination of dedicated bare metal and virtual infrastructure gives customers the option to start with virtual resources and move to dedicated hardware when workloads require additional performance or isolation.

What Makes Cherry Servers Different?

Cherry Servers' infrastructure strategy is centered around several key principles:

Bare metal performance: Customers can access dedicated physical hardware rather than relying exclusively on virtualized cloud instances.

Cloud-style automation: Servers can be provisioned and managed through APIs, CLI tools and infrastructure-as-code integrations.

Global deployment: Infrastructure is available across multiple European locations as well as North America and Asia.

Flexible infrastructure: Customers can choose between instant dedicated servers, customized hardware and different virtual server products.

Human support: Technical assistance is available around the clock, with personal account management available to customers.

Developer-focused tooling: API, SDK, Terraform and Ansible integrations make Cherry Servers suitable for automated infrastructure workflows.

Web3 and specialized workloads: The company maintains dedicated infrastructure solutions for blockchain, AI/ML, gaming, trading and other performance-sensitive applications.

Cherry Servers Today

Today, Cherry Servers operates as a European infrastructure provider combining bare metal servers with cloud-based virtual infrastructure. Its platform is aimed at customers who want more control over hardware, networking and deployment than is typically available from large hyperscale cloud platforms.

With infrastructure spanning seven listed locations across Europe, North America and Asia, modern AMD and Intel hardware, GPU options, automation tooling and 24/7 technical support, Cherry Servers provides infrastructure for workloads ranging from small development environments to demanding production applications.

For DohoHub, Cherry Servers represents a provider focused less on traditional shared hosting and more on developer-oriented infrastructure, dedicated hardware and flexible bare metal cloud services.