Rocket.net Hosting Review: Cloudflare Enterprise + Redis For Lightning-Fast Performance

Here’s how I got a <100ms TTFB with Rocket.net and their Cloudflare Enterprise:

• Benchmark your TTFB in KeyCDN and your LCP in PSI or GTmetrix.
• Sign up for Rocket.net (it’s $1 your first month so that you can try them).
• Let them move your site (many agents have 10 years of experience).
• Upgrade to the latest compatible PHP version, then ask support to install Redis.
• Remove any image optimization, security, or CDN plugins. You don’t need them anymore.
• Retest TTFB/LCP (TTFB is 40% of LCP, that’s why people have seen a 452% improvement).
• Then you add FlyingPress into the mix

Rocket.net Review

You can find more migration results on their TrustPilot profile or read through the feedback they’ve been getting in Facebook groups (along with Ben’s AMA). Ben is a smart dude, and his background is crazy impressive. He was HostGator’s COO, StackPath’s Chief Product Officer, GoDaddy’s Senior Product Manager, and now he’s CEO at Rocket.net. Just watch the interview:

How they can get a <100ms global TTFB comes down to their faster hosting specs and Cloudflare Enterprise. It’s private cloud hosting with NVMe SSDs, Redis, LiteSpeed’s PHP, 32 CPU cores + 128GB RAM. Their Cloudflare Enterprise integration uses APO + Argo Smart Routing with Tiered Cache (unlike Cloudways/FlyingProxy). Argo and Redis are specifically suitable for WooCommerce/dynamic sites. Then, you get Cloudflare Mirage/Polish for image optimization.

Rocket.net’s support/dashboard makes them almost completely hands-off, and their Cloudflare Enterprise works automatically without any setup required. And if you haven’t heard of them, they don’t do aggressive marketing like other hosts. But all I care about are results.

Rocket.net WordPress Hosting Review Specs

Compared to other cloud hosts:

	SiteGround Jump Start	WP Engine StartUp Plan	Kinsta Starter Plan	Cloudways Vultr HF (2GB)	Rocket.net Starter Plan
Type	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud	Private cloud
Server	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx	Apache + Nginx
Cores/RAM	4 cores/8GB	Not listed	12 cores/8GB	1 core/2GB	32 cores/128GB
Reverse proxy	✓	Manual config	$50/mo	✓	✓
Storage	40GB / SATA	10GB / SATA	10GB / SATA	64GB / NVMe	10GB / NVMe
Object cache	Memcached	Memcached	Redis ($100/mo)	Redis Pro	Redis
PHP processor	FastCGI	Not listed	FastCGI	FPM	LiteSpeed
PHP workers	CPU limits + suspensions	Not listed (but common issue)	2	No limit	No limit
PHP memory limit	Adjustable	512MB	256MB	Adjustable	1GB
Database	MySQL	Not listed	MySQL	MariaDB	MariaDB
CDN	$14.99/mo SiteGround CDN	Cloudflare + Polish	Cloudflare APO + firewall rules	$5/mo Cloudflare Enterprise	Free Cloudflare Enterprise
CDN locations	176	285	285	285	285
Full page caching	✓	x	✓	x	✓
Smart routing	Anycast	x	x	Argo/Tiered Cache	Argo/Tiered Cache
Optimize images	Limited	Polish only	x	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish
DNS	Blocked by Google for 4 days	Internal	Route 53 (slower than Cloudflare)	DNS Made Easy ($5/mo)	Cloudflare
Cache plugin	SG Optimizer	Use FlyingPress	Use FlyingPress	Breeze	Use FlyingPress
Data centers	10	14	35	44	Served from Cloudflare edge
Bandwidth or monthly visits	5TB	50GB + 25k	25k	2TB	50GB + 250k
Control panel	Site Tools	User Portal	MyKinsta	Complex	Easy to learn
Email hosting	✓	x	x	x	x
Malware removal	Scanner only	x	Pledge only	x	Imunify360
Major incidents	TTFB, DNS, CPU issues (denies it)	2015 breach	None	None	None
Support	C	C	B	C	A
Migrations	$30/site	Paid (quoted)	Free (most hosts)	1 free + $25/site	Unlimited free
TrustPilot rating	4.6/5	4.5/5	4.2/5	4.5/5	4.9/5
Price	$100/mo	$20/mo when paying yearly	$29/mo when paying yearly	$35/mo with CF Enterprise	$25/mo when paying yearly

Compared to shared hosts:

	SiteGround GrowBig	Hostinger Business WP	WPX Business Plan	NameHero Turbo Cloud	Rocket.net Starter Plan
Type	Shared	Shared	Shared	Shared	Private cloud
Server	Apache + Nginx	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	Apache + Nginx
Cores/RAM	Not listed	2 cores/1.5GB	1 core/1GB	3 cores/3GB	32 cores/128GB
Storage	20GB / SATA	200GB / SATA	15GB / SATA	500k inodes / NVMe	10GB / NVMe
Object cache	Memcached	x	x	Redis	Redis / Redis Pro
PHP processor	FastCGI	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed	LiteSpeed
Database	MySQL	MariaDB	MariaDB	MariaDB	MariaDB
CDN	$14.99/mo SiteGround CDN	$.02-.08/GB QUIC.cloud	XDN	$.02-.08/GB QUIC.cloud	Free Cloudflare Enterprise
CDN locations	176	80	36	285	285
Full page caching	✓	✓	x	✓	✓
Smart routing	Anycast	Anycast	x	Anycast	Argo/Tiered Cache
Optimize images	Limited	QUIC	x	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish
DNS	Blocked by Google for 4 days	Internal	Internal	Internal	Cloudflare
Cache plugin	SG Optimizer	LSC	LSC or W3TC	LSC	Use FlyingPress
Data centers	10	8	3	2	Served from Cloudflare edge
Bandwidth or monthly visits	100k	At discretion	200GB	50k	50GB + 250k
Control panel	Site Tools	cPanel	Easy to learn	cPanel	Easy to learn
Email hosting	✓	1GB storage	Low limits	✓	x
Inodes	400,000	600,000	At discretion	500,000	Unlimited
Major incidents	TTFB/DNS/CPU issues (denies it)	Fake reviews, scam reports, 2019 breach	Global outage blamed on dead CEO	2 day outage	None
Support	C	F	B	B	A
Migrations	$30/site	Unlimited (but screws it up)	5-35	1 free	Unlimited
TrustPilot rating	4.6/5	4.6/5 (fake)	4.9/5	4.6/5	4.9/5
Intro price	$3.99/mo (1 year contract)	$3.99/mo (1-4 year contract)	$20.83/mo when paying yearly	$9.98/mo (3 year contract)	$25/mo when paying yearly
Renewal price	$24.99/mo	$14.99/mo	$20.83/mo	$19.95/mo	$25/mo

You have to dig around to find these, so here are some links:

• Rocket.net CDN network with 32 CPU + 128GB RAM + NVMe.
• Cloudways specs with NVMe SSDs and Redis Object Cache Pro.
• Hostinger scam reports, admitted to writing fake reviews, 2019 breach.
• WP Engine 2015 breach, but they barely list any specs on their website.
• WPX’s CEO blamed a global outage on the dead CEO of their partner (Steadfast).
• Kinsta specs with 12 cores + 8GB RAM, $100/mo Redis, declining TrustPilot rating.
• SiteGround’s TTFB, DNS, and CPU issues + threatening people who write bad reviews.
• I also asked these companies several questions if there was no documentation.

Cloudflare Enterprise

There are 5 key things to know about Rocket.net’s Cloudflare Enterprise. First, it’s great for routing since you get prioritized routing on all 285 PoPs, Argo Smart Routing + Tiered Cache, and load balancing. Second, it uses APO + Argo Smart Routing (unlike Cloudways and FlyingProxy). Third, Mirage/Polish optimizes images “on the fly” without adding bloat or using server resources (like plugins do) and has more features like mobile resizing. Fourth, it means fewer plugins since you don’t need an image optimization, security, or CDN plugin. Fifth, it’s free with their hosting and setup automatically, so it starts working as soon as you launch your site.

If you’re using APO or Cloudflare Pro, you don’t get access to all PoPs with prioritized routing, Argo, load balancing, and “routing features” that Cloudflare Enterprise comes with. Ben Gabler was also StackPath’s Chief Product Officer, and I trust his CDN experience more than other hosts.

	RocketCDN	SiteGround CDN	FlyingCDN By FlyingPress	FlyingProxy Cloudflare Enterprise	Cloudways Cloudflare Enterprise	Rocket.net Cloudflare Enterprise
CDN	StackPath	Google Cloud	BunnyCDN	Cloudflare	Cloudflare	Cloudflare
Tbps	100	Not listed	80	192	192	192
Locations	73	176	114	285	285	285
Full page cache	x	✓	x	APO	x	APO
Brotli	x	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Smart routing	x	Anycast	SmartEdge	x	Argo	Argo
Priority routing	x	x	x	✓	✓	✓
Load balancing	x	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Image optimization	x	Very limited	Bunny Optimizer	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish	Mirage/Polish
Compression	x	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
WebP	x	x	✓	✓	✓	✓
Mobile resizing	x	x	✓	✓	✓	✓
Firewall	x	x	✓	✓	✓	✓
Anti-DDoS	x	x	✓	✓	✓	✓
Bandwidth	Not unlimited as advertised	Unmetered	Unlimited	100GB	100GB	Determined by hosting plan
Price	$8.99/mo	$14.99/mo	$.03/GB	$10/mo	$5/mo	Free w/ hosting

Key Features

• APO – Cloudways and RocketCDN still don’t have APO, which is a plus.
• Brotli – compresses pages to smaller file sizes compared to GZIP compression.
• Prioritized routing – your traffic gets prioritized, which avoids traffic congestion.
• Argo Smart Routing + Tiered Cache – detects traffic congestion and routes traffic through faster network paths. Cloudflare says assets load 30% faster and reduce requests to your origin server. Specifically good for WooCommerce/dynamic sites.
• Load balancing – re-routes traffic from unhealthy origin servers to healthy origins.
• WAF – Rocket.net also has built-in WAF rules, Imunify360, and real-time malware scanning. This means your site will be protected at both the server + CDN levels.
• Mirage/Polish – supports image compression, WebP, resizing images for mobile, and optimizing images based on your viewport and slow connections. Most image optimization plugins/CDN don’t support all these (plugins add bloat/backups too).
• Smart caching – smart caching uses fewer resources when purging the cache by identifying what needs purging and when, then only purges necessary assets (i.e. HTML) instead of Cloudflare’s entire cache (fill out the request form to get this).
• Less plugins – you shouldn’t need image optimization, security, or CDN plugins (or a plugin to resize images for mobile devices, like ShortPixel Adaptive Images).
• Less challenge pages – one of the big complaints I had with Cloudways was their Cloudflare Enterprise constantly served challenge pages. Rocket.net only serves 1 challenge page to wp-login, and then it’s gone for a year, and there is none for logged-out users.

Be sure to benchmark TTFB, latency, LCP, and other metrics since hosting affects these too.

Rocket.net Hosting Speed Test

Mirage/Polish Are Faster Than Plugins

Plugins add bloat and use server resources. Cloudflare Enterprise uses Mirage/Polish, which optimizes images “on the fly” without taxing your server. It also includes mobile, network, and viewport-based optimizations like image resizing, which others usually don’t support.

	Imagify	ShortPixel	Optimole	SiteGround CDN	Bunny Optimizer	Mirage/Polish
Compression	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
WebP	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Mobile resizing	x	SP Adaptive Images	✓	x	✓	✓
AVIF support	x	✓	✓	x	x	✓
Serve images from CDN	x	SP Adaptive Images	Cloudfront	Google Cloud	✓	✓
No server use	x	x	x	x	✓	✓
No bloat	x	x	Offloading	x	✓	✓
Price	Free 20MB/mo then $9.99/mo	Free 100 credits/mo then $3.99/mo	Free 5,000 visits/mo then $19.08/mo	$14.99/mo	$9.5/mo or $.03/GB w/ FlyingCDN	Free with Rocket.net

 
Why Aren’t Images Served In WebP?

Cloudflare Polish usually doesn’t always serve images in WebP if the savings aren’t high enough. However, when I manually converted images to WebP using a free online converter, savings were often 50%+, so I manually converted many above-the-fold images to use WebP:

32 Cores + 128GB RAM + NVMe SSDs

This is listed on their blog.

• 2 x Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2667 v2 @ 3.30GHz (32 Cores)
• 128GB RAM
• RAIDED NVMe SSDs (they switched in 2022 after the post was written)

Kinsta sites have access to 12 CPUs + 8GB RAM, meaning Rocket.net has 16x more RAM (Kinsta also limits staging sites to 1 CPU core + 8GB RAM, but Rocket.net doesn’t). $26/mo on Cloudways Vultr HF gets you only 1 core + 2GB RAM. SiteGround’s entry-level Cloud plan gets you 4 cores + 8GB RAM for $100/mo, which is a total ripoff and has frequent CPU usage issues.

These tests were done using WP Hosting Benchmarks, which you can try.

Redis On All Plans

Redis is free on all plans, and Redis Object Cache Pro is offered on the Business plan or higher. They use the Redis Object Cache plugin, and you’ll need to contact support, who will configure it.

Redis is arguably faster than Memcached, especially for WooCommerce sites. However, several hosts either don’t support it (they use Memcached instead) or Kinsta will charge you $100/mo.

<100ms Global TTFB + Faster LCP

A good way to measure TTFB is to run your site 3 times through SpeedVitals, which tests 40 locations. It would help if you did it 3 times since, according to their website, it ensures resources are cached and served from the CDN’s closest data center. You’ll see your average TTFB worldwide:

Top Performer In Kevin Ohashi’s Benchmarks

Rocket.net was a top performer in Kevin Ohashi’s WP Hosting Benchmarks.

Anyone around the block knows Kevin’s tests are some of the most reliable. Most YouTubers and “fastest WordPress hosting speed tests” are garbage and ranked based on commissions, while Kevin’s methodology and non-affiliated results are more accurate.

These were taken before Rocket.net added NVMe.

Low Storage + Bandwidth

This (and no email hosting) are the 2 main cons.

You need to login to your current hosting account to see how much bandwidth/storage you need, then choose a plan based on that. If you go over, they’re not going to take down your site and lock you out like some hosts, but you’ll eventually need to upgrade. Monthly visits usually shouldn’t be a problem, especially considering Rocket.net has 10 times more than Kinsta/WP Engine.

You’re also getting higher quality bandwidth from Cloudflare’s Edge, while Cloudways (with 1TB bandwidth on their lowest plan) only delivers bandwidth from 1 location. It comes down to your budget and how much you care about speed & core web vitals.

Tips:

• Remove junk from the media library.
• Try not preloading links in optimization plugins.
• Reduce file sizes (my homepage is just 219kB compressed)!
• Scale images and consider manually uploading WebP images.
• Instead of uploading videos to your site, use YouTube instead.
• Use lightweight themes/plugins (obviously, but it’s essential).
• Delete any drafts, spam comments, and inactive themes/plugins.
• For page builders, enable performance settings and code your header/footer in CSS.

No PHP Worker Limits + 10-25x Monthly Visits

Upgrading gets expensive between SiteGround’s CPU limits and Kinsta’s PHP workers.

Rocket.net doesn’t limit PHP workers (a big reason is Cloudflare Enterprise). Here’s a case study for a site with 1M+ visitors per 60 minutes where the need to scale PHP workers was eliminated.

Here is Rocket.net’s chart:

Compare this to Kinsta’s, which recommends WooCommerce sites start at $115/month because of their brutal limits on PHP workers. Rocket.net also has 10-25x more monthly visits.

Rocket.net, Kinsta, and WP Engine all count visits more than what Google Analytics tells you since it includes unknown bots and users with ad blockers (around 42.7% of people). The cheapest Rocket.net plan has 250k monthly visits, so you’re unlikely to reach these limits.

Configuring FlyingPress + Perfmatters On Rocket.net

This is the setup I use, and I also confirmed with Gijo to make sure this is correct:

FlyingPress

Configure everything normally. Page caching will remain on, which serves as a fallback cache in case it misses Cloudflare. Do not add Rocket.net’s CDN URL to the FlyingPress CDN settings. I update my FlyingPress tutorial, including the latest version 4, so follow that guide.

Perfmatters

Disable everything except the general settings (mainly used for bloat removal and other features, not in FlyingPress), the script manager, and preloading (only use this to preload resources other than images and fonts, for example, if you want to preload Gutenberg’s CSS or other CSS/JS files). Again, there’s no need to add Rocket.net’s CDN URL to their settings.

Support Is Arguably The Best You’ll Find With Free Migrations

Who picked up the phone the first two times I called? Ben.

It goes against every rule in the book when the CEO answers the phone, yet it shows you he cares. I prepared a list of questions and had my notes ready, and then we were done in 5 minutes.

The next time I called, I finally realized it was Ben, and we talked for a good 45 minutes.

I thought I knew my stuff decently well, but Rocket.net’s support makes me look like an idiot (take it as a compliment to them). If you think Kinsta’s support is good, Rocket.net is like a consultation every time you call.

I used their free migration service, and they did it in about 2 hours with 0 downtime. They also sent me a testing site to make sure everything looked good, which it did. Here’s a trick: go to their TrustPilot profile and search “migrated” (or similar) to see people who’ve already done it.

Ben Gabler

Ben’s credentials are outstanding: COO at HostGator, Chief Product Officer at StackPath, Senior Product Manager at GoDaddy, and now CEO of Rocket.net. I honestly can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a genius in performance and is always looking out for customers to ensure you’re treated right – which also shows in their TrustPilot reviews.

Inside The Dashboard

One thing I dread about moving hosts is learning a new dashboard.

It only took 10 minutes to become acquainted with. Input your website in the Sites section, choose your preferred data center, and install WordPress (disable WP Recommended plugins). All the features are conveniently listed: automatic daily backups, file manager, visitor analytics, and remember to utilize the most up-to-date PHP versions.

You can always request a demo if you want to try it.

Try Rocket.net For $1 – WP Think Rocket.net Hosting Review Special

Step 1: Create a Rocket.net account, and you’re prompted to add a coupon. Get your first month for $1 (renews at $30/month or $300/year (2 months free) when paying yearly.

Step 2: Request free migration. Mine was done in just a couple of hours with no downtime, and they show you your website to check for errors before it’s launched. It was quick and painless.

Step 3: Upgrade PHP versions (I use PHP 8.1) and ask support to install Redis. These are the only things you should do because Cloudflare Enterprise and backups are automatic.

Step 4: Retest your TTFB and click through your site to see the difference. PageSpeed Insights can take 28 days to update results, so use other tools (SpeedVitals, GTmetrix, or WebPageTest).

Step 5: As a bonus to further improve performance, ask Rocket.net to add HSTS preload support if your site is HTTPS only, then submit your site to Google Chrome’s HSTS Preload list.

Excellent Feedback In Facebook Groups

As of writing this, the Rocket.net hosting review also has all perfect 5/5 reviews on their TrustPilot profile.

How Does Rocket.net Hosting Compare to the Fastest WordPress Hosting Options? Rocket.net Review

Rocket.net hosting offers impressive performance in the fastest wordpress hosting comparison. With its advanced infrastructure and advanced CDN technology, Rocket.net ensures lightning-fast website loading speeds. This hosting provider surpasses other options in terms of speed, reliability, and security. Choosing Rocket.net guarantees optimal performance and a seamless user experience for your WordPress website.

Rocket.net Hosting Review FAQs