After playing with a paid version Hostmonster, it didn’t meet my expectations. While using the demo I got an idea of the features and services they provide, it still lacked what I was looking for/expected.

• Â SSH, though available, you cannot connect from your computer. You still had to log into cPanel and use its SSH interface. Not only that, but you have to provide a picture to Hostmonster in order for it to be enabled.
• Pear libraries can be installed, but only stable versions. There were a couple of Pear libraries I’d like to use but are in beta (Spreadsheet_Excel_Writer and Calendar just to name a few).

Those two are the major things that stuck out. It wasn’t worth the trouble of switching if I couldn’t get those 2 to work the I wanted it to. So I called them up and cancelled the account. The experience was great! They asked for the domain and they refunded the full amount, no problems. If I didn’t already have a host, I may have gone with Hostmonster just because of the experience. I also used their online chat to ask questions before I got an account and during. They were helpful and efficient.