Raidboxes Competitors Analysis

Raidboxes is a web hosting company specializing in green WordPress hosting. It was founded in Germany in 2016.

I’m a marketer and a content writer, so I’ve relied on WordPress for most of my career, but I’ve always found it frustrating that most hosting services come from the USA. Fortunately, the founders of Raidboxes felt the same; that’s why they set up the company.

When I first encountered Raidboxes, I immediately started researching how such a small startup had achieved so much success in so little time. Hopefully, I’ll be able to help answer that question in this article.

First, let me give you some context as to why this industry matters.

In 2019, economists valued the web hosting industry at $56.7 billion. By 2027, economists have forecasted it will grow to $171.4 billion. People are setting up more websites daily, and many need content management systems (CMS), which is where WordPress comes in.

I know what you’re thinking: WordPress hosting is such a niche; is there honestly any money in it? The short answer is yes. Over 455 million websites use WordPress, and that’s a 43% market share. In other words: a lot of potential business.

In this Raidboxes competitors analysis, I’ll explain how one German company successfully disrupted an industry that was, until recently, dominated by American firms. I’ll give an overview of the competition Raidboxes faces in growing its market share, and finally, I’ll discuss why I think the company has something unique to offer.

The Bottom Line Up Front

Raidboxes is a reasonably small WordPress hosting company compared to American rivals like WP Engine. However, it was only founded in 2016 and has already hit over $2 million in annual revenue. It also counts well-known companies like Austrian Airlines and DHL as clients, and I think that’s pretty impressive for six years’ work. After all, everyone loves an underdog, and I know I do.

Having observed the upward trajectory of some of its rivals, I think Raidboxes should diversify its WebOps services and focus on expanding globally now that it has consolidated its position as the leader in the German-speaking region.

List of Raidboxes’ Main Competitors

• Kinsta
• Pantheon
• WP Engine
• BlueHost
• SiteGround

Raidboxes Business Strategy

Raidoxes’ business strategy focuses on delivering WordPress web hosting to businesses through various packages to suit their individual needs. In other words, the company uses a subscription revenue model.

Pricing depends on whether the service is for one or multiple websites. For one website, the WordPress hosting prices are as follows:

• Starter – 14 days free then €18/month
• Fully managed – 14 days free then €30/month
• Pro – 4 days free then €55/month

For multiple websites, the monthly cost is cheaper the more a client has:

• From 5 sites – €15/month
• From 10 sites – €12/month
• From 20 – €11/month

WordPress hosting is Raidboxes’ bread and butter, but it isn’t the company’s only service. It has expanded its offering to include WooCommerce hosting, high-traffic solutions for WordPress, and free WordPress migrations.

Evidently, instead of focusing on just one industry niche, Raidboxes’ growth strategy involves offering new services to reach a more significant number of companies, thereby increasing its overall market share.

However, as I’ll discuss later in this article, some competitors are doing much more to develop new products and branch into different areas of the industry.

With over 16,000 customers, including DHL and Austrian Airlines, Raidboxes has transformed the WordPress hosting industry by offering something previously unavailable: hosting by a company based in Europe.

In 2016, the company received its first seed investment from High-Tech-Grunderfonds, one of Europe’s most significant early investors. The undisclosed money went toward product development and new e-commerce and news market segments.

As a result of this early investment, Raidboxes consolidated its position as the leading WordPress hosting expert in the German-speaking region and one of the most popular in Europe.

The company’s business strategy focuses on becoming the first choice for WordPress professionals throughout Europe and expanding the market leadership.

In my opinion, one of the most exciting things about Raidbloxes is its approach to corporate responsibility. For every new website the company hosts, it plants a tree with Eden Reforestation Projects. It uses 100% green electricity in its data centers and office spaces.

Raidboxes’ ultimate climate goal is to plant 400,000 trees by 2023.

Environmentalism is a popular trend in startups and companies that aim to reach a younger audience (another example is Patagonia, which you can read about in this competitors analysis).

Since Raidboxes is an innovative company primed to disrupt the industry, portraying itself as an ethical brand is a crucial part of its business strategy.

The company hit around $2 million in revenue in 2022.

Raidboxes Competitors Analysis

Raidboxes must compete with the following firms.

Kinsta

Kinsta is a premium WordPress hosting company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Thousands of companies use Kinsta’s services (including myself) in 128 countries worldwide.

Kinsta has a more diverse portfolio of services than Raidboxes, including hosting for publishers, agency hosting, managed WordPress hosting, secure hosting, and multisite hosting.

The company uses a subscription revenue model, allowing clients to pay monthly or annually. Kinsta’s subscription plans include:

• Starter – $35/month
• Pro – $70/month
• Business 1 – $115/month
• Business 2 – $225/month
• Enterprise 4 – $1,650/month

Kinsta’s business strategy focuses on positioning the company as an industry expert ahead of all rivals. As such, on its website, there is a section dedicated to comparing Kinsta’s services with those of competitors.

In 2022, Kinsta hit $13.2 million in revenue – considerably more than Raidboxes. I’d expect a slight difference in revenue since Kinsta was founded before Raidboxes, but an amount as significant as this suggests Kinsta has a clear edge over its rival firm.

One of the reasons for this could be due to the different scope of the companies. Raidboxes focuses primarily on the German and broader European market, while Kinsta’s services reach over a hundred countries globally.

It’s clear Kinsta isn’t just a good WordPress hosting service; it’s also an excellent place to work. In 2022, it was #40 on Forbes’ list of America’s best startup employers.

2020 saw a staggering 75% increase in revenue for Kinsta, and its customer base also grew by 84%. The global pandemic likely contributed to this unprecedented growth, which forced many businesses to move their operations online.

Pantheon

Pantheon, Inc. provides SaaS for website operations (WebOps), offering a platform that allows designers, developers, and marketers to reach billions of people with Drupal and WordPress sites. The company was founded in 2010, and its headquarters are in San Francisco, California.

Since its creation, Pantheon has raised $200 million in seven rounds of funding. Investors include Sageview Capital, Foundry Group, and SoftBank Vision. In 2021, SoftBank provided the company with $100 million in funding, giving it unicorn status.

In my experience, this money has helped put Pantheon on the map more than almost any other WordPress hosting service. It is undoubtedly one of the better-known companies in the industry.

The mission of almost all WordPress hosting companies is to make the best hosting service in the world, but Pantheon goes a step further than this. The company’s mission is to make the best WebOps platform in the world.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on the web hosting industry since it became big business in the mid-to-late 2000s. One theme has become apparent to me: the most successful companies have a business strategy that prioritizes diversification.

Raidboxes’ ambition at the moment is modest, but companies like Kinsta and Pantheon have already expanded their services significantly more. If it wants to keep up, Raidboxes must do the same, branching into new areas of WebOps.

Pantheon uses a subscription revenue model like its competitors, including enterprise and educational institution plans.

Some of the world’s leading brands use Pantheon, including the United Nations, Home Depot, Google, and DocuSign.

One of the biggest concerns Raidboxes faces is data security. Judging by its clients, Pantheon has overcome these concerns, creating a highly trusted service.

Pantheon’s estimated annual revenue is $45 million.

WP Engine

WP Engine is, according to its website, the number one tool for WordPress. The company was founded in 2010 with headquarters in Austin, Texas and offices in London, Brisbane, Krakow, Limerick, Omaha, and San Antonio. It offers fast and reliable hosting for over 1.5 million websites, focusing on agencies and freelancers.

WP Engine operates using a subscription revenue model, offering clients a range of plans for managed WordPress hosting and eCommerce solutions.

Over 150,000 people and companies in 150 countries use WP Engine, including Network Rail, SoundCloud, and AMD.

Like Pantheon, WP Engine doesn’t just offer excellent services; it’s also a fantastic place to work. The company has won several awards, such as Great Place To Work’s “best workplaces for women” in 2019.

WP Engine’s estimated annual revenue is $222.6 million, putting it ahead of both Pantheon and Raidboxes. The company’s acquisition of Flywheel in 2019 for an undisclosed amount undoubtedly helped this impressive figure. Flywheel was a smaller competitor with annual revenue of around $18 million.

In my opinion, this was a smart move because, although the two companies were competitors, their expertise was in different areas. Flywheel focused mainly on smaller businesses, while WP Engine concentrated on medium and larger ones. By acquiring Flywheel, WP Engine could increase its market share almost immediately.

BlueHost

BlueHost is a web hosting company that was founded in 2003. Endurance International Group owns BlueHost, headquartered in Orem, Utah. WordPress officially recommends it, which is a significant accolade.

BlueHost’s services are reasonably wide-ranging, including a website building service, WordPress hosting, shared hosting, dedicated hosting, and domains. In 2015, it was one of the 20 largest web hosts with over 2 million domains.

The list of BlueHost’s customers is considerably less impressive than that of Pantheon. It includes Valere LLC, NexInfo Solutions, Inc., and Innogy Solutions, Inc.

This lack of notoriety comes as no surprise to me since BlueHosts’s website pales in comparison to the websites of its competitors. You wouldn’t get your hair cut at a salon where the hairdressers had bad hairdos, would you? That’s how I see it, anyway.

BlueHost was also the subject of some controversy in 2009 when a Newsweek article called it out for censoring the web pages of some customers from countries the US government considered to be rogue states.

While BlueHost experienced rapid success after it was founded, it seems to have slowed considerably over the past year, with the company announcing no product developments since August 2021, when it released its website builder without boundaries.

BlueHost’s revenue is estimated at $157 million, putting it behind WP Engine but ahead of Raidboxes and Pantheon. However, judging by the trajectory of its competitors, I believe BlueHost will soon lose market share to startups like these.

SiteGround

SiteGround is a web hosting company founded in 2004 with headquarters in Sofia, Bulgaria. It offers cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, shared hosting, WooCommerce hosting, email hosting, domain registration, and enterprise solutions.

As you’d expect, SiteGround uses a subscription revenue model with various plants to meet the needs of each client. On its website, SiteGround advertizes that it can make sites run 500% faster.

The company’s business strategy focuses on hiring talented, friendly team members and turning them into experts to provide the best customer service. In the web hosting industry, good customer service is crucial.

SiteGround hosts roughly 2 million domains worldwide and has over 3 million clients. It is a direct competitor of Raidboxes because it operates closely in the European market.

The company has offices in Madrid, Stara, Plovdiv, and Zagora.

SiteGround’s current revenue is estimated at $66.4 million, putting it ahead of Kinsta, Raidboxes, and Pantheon.

Raidboxes SWOT Analysis

This SWOT analysis provides an overview of Raidboxes’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Strengths

• Raidboxes disrupted the WordPress hosting industry by providing a European alternative. Previously, American companies dominated the industry
• The company has a robust set of values and a good work culture
• Corporate responsibility exhibited through green goals helps the company to reach its target demographic
• It is a leader in the European market
• It offers a comprehensive suite of features to streamline the user experience

Weaknesses

• Raidboxes’ business model means it is reliant on the success of WordPress
• The company has achieved little brand awareness compared to competitors
• Only offers services for WordPress and WooCommerce, which is very limiting
• People have raised questions about the platform’s security regarding data protection and hackers
• Older audiences may dislike the company’s green agenda because they see it as virtue signaling

Opportunities

• The web hosting market is massive, and there are many other areas Raidboxes could expand into
• Thousands of new websites are being set up every day on WordPress, and these are all potential customers
• Raidboxes could increase its spending on marketing to create better brand awareness
• In the future, the company could expand into new markets outside of Europe
• Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, so Raidboxes has the opportunity to diversify its product offering by taking advantage of new ideas

Threats

• Several well-established American firms also operate in Europe and compete for a market share
• Data security is a big concern; lots of hackers target WordPress
• WordPress itself may evolve, so there is less need for hosting services
• European economies are struggling to recover following Covid-19 and due to the ongoing war in Ukraine

Raidboxes Competitors Analysis FAQs

Conclusion

I think Raidboxes is a WordPress hosting company with a lot going for it, considering it was only founded in 2016. It has already begun expanding its services and has successfully acquired some well-known customers like DHL.

Now that Raidboxes has consolidated its position as the leading web hosting company in the German-speaking region, the next step is to implement a growth strategy that will allow it to become a leader in the US and other parts of the world.

Raidboxes faces fierce competition from WP Engine and BlueHost, but these companies have been established for much longer, so it’s no surprise they have a larger market share. Ultimately, Raidboxes has all the necessary attributes to succeed.

Recommended reads:

• SAP Competitors Analysis
• Airbnb SWOT analysis
• Patagonia Competitors Analysis
• Instacart Competitors Analysis
• Starbucks Competitors Analysis
• Barry Weiss Bio: The Real Story of the Millionaire Treasure Hunter

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David Borgogni

David Borgogni used to work as a digital marketer until he discovered the world of online content creation. Now, he helps other people truly understand all there is to the world of business. Whether you’re passionate about digital marketing or learning how to become a better entrepreneur, David wants to help shape you into becoming the best business owner you can possibly be.

There’s nothing that David’s spent more time doing than learning about the digital industry. While most of his experience comes with working as an SEO specialist, he wants to spend his time inspiring others to get involved with affiliate marketing. He knows how a company can blossom overnight with the power of affiliate marketing and he wants to help you turn into a success story. So no matter where you’re at with your business journey, all of David’s content on Business Chronicler will help you to grow into becoming the business person you’ve always dreamt of becoming.

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