Flexible and agile, cloud hosting is quickly becoming the ideal solution for companies in search of stable, but affordable hosting opportunities. Thanks to its versatile nature, cloud hosting ensures business leaders can quickly and easily adapt to the changing demands of their website visitors.
If one of your products suddenly becomes the next big thing, cloud hosting will allow you to handle the traffic spike easily without having to upgrade your service in advance.
Currently, cloud hosting is growing at an impressive rate, set to reach a value of $947.3 billion by 2026, with a growth of more than 15.7% per year.
The question is, which cloud host is best?
What is the Best Cloud Hosting Solution?
There are a multitude of excellent cloud hosting options on the market today, each with its own unique benefits to offer. We’ve chosen our cloud hosting solution based on the flexibility of the service, the pricing, and a range of other factors.
1. Hostinger
Best overall & best value for money
Hostinger is the number one cloud web hosting choice for delivering high-quality hosting at competitive prices. The company is constantly offering new discounts and deals for beginners, to ensure you can get up and running quickly. Hostinger also offers a phenomenal 99.9% uptime guarantee.
With a range of plans to choose from, Hostinger allows businesses from all backgrounds to set up a fantastic, hosted experience to suit their needs. You get 24/7 support, and fantastic service, even on the lowest pricing plans. Plus, every customer receives a dedicated IP with their package.
The hPanel dashboard on Hostinger is intuitive and easy to use, even if you’re brand-new to the Hostinger landscape. There’s even a free SSL and daily backups available for your cloud hosting if you need some extra peace of mind.
Key Features
- Excellent customer service: Exceptional support is offered as part of every plan, so you don’t have to worry if something goes wrong with your service.
- 99.9% uptime: Hostinger provides peace of mind with a consistent level of uptime and exceptional speed.
- Free SSL and dedicated IP: Freebies like a free SSL, dedicated IP, and even a free domain name mean you get more value for your money.
Hostinger Pricing
The more time you spend with Hostinger, the less you pay to renew. To begin with, there are three packages to choose from:
- Cloud Startup $9.99 per month
- Cloud professional: $18.99 per month
- Cloud Enterprise: $69.99 per month
Pros
- Free domain and lifetime SSL
- Excellent onboarding experience
- Uses a Multicraft panel to help set up servers.
- Comes with an extensive selection of preinstalled mods.
- Protects servers from DDoS attacks through its advanced automated hardware protection.
- Offers enterprise-level data backup to quickly restore lost or damaged data
- Global server network ensures low latency for players regardless of location
- Flexible selection of pricing options
- Great for dedicated IP addresses
- Competitive Pricing
Cons
- Limited uptime percentage
- No phone support
- Daily backups, SSH, SSH access are only available on higher plans.
- No dedicated hosting
- Can be expensive if one does not opt for a long-term plan
- Performance can be quite inconsistent
- Limited disk space
Starting at
$1.99
per month
2. A2 Hosting
Best for a speedy website
If speed is what you need most from a hosting provider, A2 Hosting provides some of the fastest solutions on the market. The cloud options from A2 are completely customizable to suit your distinct business needs, and they’re all designed to load pages as quickly as possible.
You’ll be able to access features like cPanel within A2 hosting, but there is an extra expense associated with this. On the plus side, you get a powerful 99.9% uptime guarantee and a money-back guarantee for peace of mind.
As an extra bonus, A2 hosting offers exceptional customer service. It’s hard to find much to complain about with this hosting provider when even the simplest plans come with things like 12 CPU cores, 250 GB of storage, and 32 GB of RAM.
Key Features
- Sensational speed: A2 Hosting is all about ultra-fast hosting and loading times, so you can rest assured your site will perform at its best. It’s up to 20x faster than the competition
- Excellent customer support: The “Guru Crew” support service is available to offer assistance whenever you need it, any day of the year.
- Guarantees: The A2 Hosting team offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee, as well as a money-back guarantee you can access at any time.
A2 Hosting Pricing
A2 Hosting prices start at $5, $10, and $15 per month respectively, but you can pay specifically for only the services you used based on how you configure your services. Accessing cPanel costs another $19.95 per month and isn’t available with the lowest pricing plan.
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3. Cloudways
Best managed cloud hosting
Cloudways is among the most popular cloud web hosting providers on the market for a reason. The highly flexible hosting provider allows users to customize their cloud services however they choose. You can even deploy your servers yourself throughout a selection of more than 25 global locations, and you can choose your region and city yourself too.
Cloudways can also offer a range of options for how you want to access your cloud hosting services. As a managed cloud host the solution can manage server control on your behalf. Plus, you can choose from a range of CMS options like WordPress, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), and Drupal.
Excellent customer service and support is another stand-out factor from Cloudways. The solution comes with access to all-year support and even 24/7 real-time monitoring to ensure your site never stops working as it should.
Key Features
- Versatile range of options: Configure your cloud hosting environment however you choose with an innovative control panel, support for all PHP apps, and unlimited applications.
- Real-time monitoring and security: Cloudways offers 24/7/365 support with automated backups and managed security to keep your company safe.
- Scalable performance: The optimized hosting stack comes with a built-in CDN, as well as PHP 7.3 ready servers, and auto-healing functionality.
Cloudways Pricing
Cloudways offers pay-as-you-go pricing to suit your budget which differ according to a range of factors. For instance, you’ll get a different price depending on whether you’re using an AWS or Google Cloud data center.
Digital Ocean data centers start at $10 per month for the basic plan or $12 per month for the premium service. Premium solutions come with extra features, like a Cloudflare add-on.
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4. Hostgator
Best budget option
If budget is your primary concern when choosing cloud web hosting services, Hostgator has you covered. One of the most affordable web hosting solutions on the market, Hostgator offers a fantastic range of packages to suit every need, as well as freebies like a free domain and SSL certificate.
The Hostgator environment isn’t just affordable for cloud-hosting newbies, it can also be extremely reliable, with a 99.99% uptime, and consistent performance no matter what happens on your site. Hostgator’s dashboard even makes it easier to monitor the performance of your site too.
With scalable support available at just one click, Hostgator is great for growing brands, and it even comes with bonus features you can’t get from other suppliers, like free SEO tools and a dedicated IP. As an added bonus, there’s plenty of custom support to get you started.
Key Features
- Multiple free features: Packages come with free domains, free site transfers, your own dedicated IP, an SSL certificate, and even SEO tools to help you stand out online.
- Easy backend: The Hostgator environment is extremely easy to use, with one-click installs, and an admin interface where you can track various metrics.
- Unmetered bandwidth: Access the freedom you need to grow your business at the right rate for your customers.
Hostgator Pricing
Hostgator’s pricing is cheaper if you choose the 36-month contracts, which gives you a 45% cheaper overall price. The options include:
- Hatchling: Starting at $4.95 with 2 CPUs, 2 GB of memory, and a single domain
- Baby plan: Starting at $6.57 with 4 CPUs, 4 GB of memory, and unlimited domains
- Business plan: Starting at $9.95 with 6 CPUs, 6GB of memory, and unlimited domains
Pros
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- One-click WordPress install with cPanel transfer
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Exceptionally fast site loading speed
- Really user-friendly UI
- Responsive and reliable customer service
- Unmetered resources
- Heavy discounts for first-time users
- Excellent storage limits
Cons
- No free backups
- Just one website available on the cheapest plan
- Constant upselling on the system
- Has only two data centers
- Not the most affordable for renewals
- No free domain name
Starting at
$2.75
per month
5. Nexcess
Best for ecommerce sites
Designed by the company, Liquid Web, Nexcess promises convenient and fully managed hosting with minimal stress. The company specializes in optimized plans for the world’s leading platforms, including WordPress and WooCommerce, as well as Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento).
The standout cloud hosting service from Nexcess is fantastic for companies looking to scale. The specific plans available can vary depending on what your CMS choice is. Nexcess also has the unique Cloud Accelerator, an additional layer on the cloud stack perfect for increasing load times.
With a dedicated support team on call to help your business 24/7, Nexcess offers phenomenal peace of mind. The company is also an excellent choice if you want access to valuable “bonus” features with your e-commerce store, like WooCommerce premium plugins.
Key Features
- Scalable design: The scalable ecosystem is great for growing e-commerce sites with single-click autoscaling, a 99.99% uptime, and PHP optimization.
- Speed: The Nexcess service comes with near-instant asset caching, auto platform and plugin updates, customizable tech stacks, and container add-ons.
- Security and support: 24/7 support teams are available, along with exceptional monitoring alerts, PCI certification, proactive patching and updates, and SSL certificates
Nexcess Pricing
Nexcess pricing is tuned for online businesses, making it a little more expensive than some of the options on the market. Options include:
- XS: $49 per month: 20 concurrent users, 50G, 1TB of bandwidth, and 10 secondary domains
- S: $99 per month: 40 concurrent users 75GB, 15 secondary domains, and 2TB bandwidth.
- M: $179 per month: 60 concurrent users, 125GB, 20 secondary domains, and 3TB bandwidth.
- L: $299 per month: 80 concurrent users, 400GB, 30 secondary domains, 5TB, 20 VCPU, and 20GB RAM
- XL: $549 per month: 100 concurrent users, 600GB, 40 secondary domains, 8TB bandwidth, 26 VCPU, 26GB of RAM.
- XXL: $849 per month: 120 concurrent users, 800GB, 50 secondary domains, 10TB of bandwidth, 32 VCPU, and 32GB of RAM.
Starting at
$49
per month
6. Siteground
Best for excellent customer support
Siteground is ideal for businesses in search of a scalable experience with a lot of hand-holding. Siteground can support users through everything from phone and live chat, to email, as well as offering a strong uptime guarantee of around 99.98%. The provider has a strong reputation for being reliable and trustworthy.
Siteground can make hosting your website easier and more straightforward, with a range of managed services to handle your account for you. You can also access a range of great customization options, including the ability to turn on auto-scaling and add CPU or RAM resources at any time.
You can create your own cloud plan based on your specific needs and adjust your resources to keep costs low in a matter of minutes. Free webmaster tools are also available, like a dedicated IP, free CDN, and free SSL.
Key Features
- Exceptional customer service: Siteground is a leader in fantastic customer service, with 24/7 help center support and extremely fast pickup and resolution times.
- Security features: There are various great security features, like smart WAF, 24/7 system administrations and distributed backups to keep sites secure.
- Various webmaster tools: Get a dedicated IP, free SSL, free CDN, dedicated backups, private DNS, and other features as part of your plan.
Siteground Pricing
You can configure your own cloud according to the resources you need, or use basic plans like:
- Jump start: Starting at $100 per month: 4 CPUs, 8GB of memory, 40GB SSD space, and 5TB of data transfer.
- Business cloud: Starts at $200 per month: 8 CPUs, 16GB of memory, 80GB of SSD space, 5TB of data transfer.
- Business plus cloud: Starts at $300 per month: 12 CPUs, 16GB of memory, 120 GB of SSD space, and 5TB of data transfer.
- Super Power: Starts at $400 per month: 16 CPUs, 160 GB of SSD space, and 20 GB of memory, plus 5TB data transfer
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7. Scala Hosting
Best for custom resource allocation
Scala hosting offers a convenient cloud VPS experience for customers, with all the granular management you’d expect from a VPS hosting package, with the scalability of the cloud environment. What really makes the company stand out from the crowd is its commitment to customization, and helping customers achieve the perfect cloud experience.
Scala is one of the few hosting providers which allow users to set a specific set of resources up before they sign up. Although you can easily just choose one of the company’s pre-set pricing plans, the bespoke package building option is great for companies with specific needs.
Scala Hosting also offers a range of additional add-ons, from LiteSpeed domains to cPanel licenses, depending on your requirements. You can choose your preferred data center location, and your operating system on self-managed plans.
Key Features
- Custom setup: Choose everything from what kind of resources you need to where you want to host your data and even what kind of operating systems you want to use.
- Exceptional fully-managed services: If you want Scala to handle the tough parts of cloud hosting for you, there’s easy access to a range of managed options.
- Unmetered bandwidth: Scala hosting provides unmetered bandwidth on all of its packages, so you can scale as quickly as you need to.
Scala Hosting Pricing
As mentioned above, you can create your own package from scratch or choose between:
- Managed cloud VPS plans: Starting at $14.95 per month and going up to $152.95 per month with 2-9cores, 4-18GB of RAM, and 50-230GB of SSD storage.
- Self-managed cloud VPS: Starting at $59 per month for 4-24 CPU cores, 8-64GB of RAM, and 240GB to 2TB SSD storage.
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The Best Cloud Hosting for Small Businesses
There are a number of different factors to consider when choosing the best cloud hosting solution as a small business. On the one hand, you need the scalability of a cloud system that can hopefully grow with your business as it begins to evolve. On the other hand, you need to make sure your choice of cloud hosting matches your somewhat low budget.
Companies like Hostgator can offer a great solution if you’re looking for something more affordable. The Hostgator hosting packages are some of the cheapest on the market, and they don’t compromise on performance or functionality either.
Alternatively, if you want something more customizable, you can choose the pay-as-you-go pricing options from Cloudways and build the exact resources you need for your cloud environment.
Remember, pricing isn’t the only thing you’ll need to consider. It’s also worth thinking about how much support you’re going to get. As a small business leader, you might not have a great deal of technical support in-house. The right level of guidance from your hosting provider can save you a lot of stress.
For excellent customer support, consider a vendor like Siteground. The team can give you all of the guidance you need to make better use of your hosting.
Cloud Hosting Buyers Guide
What is Cloud Hosting?
Cloud hosting is a form of hosting gaining a lot of attention in recent years. In a traditional environment, a site is usually hosted on a single server – this could be a server you own by yourself or one you share with a range of other tenants. With cloud hosting, your web host doesn’t connect to a specific location, but instead, resources are distributed through multiple servers in the cloud.
In a cloud hosting environment, each cloud server will be responsible for various tasks, but they’re also equipped with redundancies. This means if the server in one cloud fails, another will automatically supplement its services.
Cloud hosting can offer an extra level of security and peace of mind for those who need to ensure their website continues to operate at its best no matter what. You’re not placing all of your hosting requirements in a single basket, so you have more flexibility if something goes wrong.
What are the Benefits of Cloud Hosting?
The best cloud hosting solutions offer a number of convenient benefits to today’s business owners. From better server uptime to improved cost efficiency, you can accomplish a lot with the right hosting solution. Some of the advantages of cloud web hosting services include:
- Greater server uptime: Your website’s performance is directly correlated with server uptime, fortunately, cloud hosting ensures there are additional systems in place to keep your site running if one server fails.
- Cost savings: Cloud hosting doesn’t have any of the costs associated with building infrastructure, and you can access advanced performance for a lower price.
- Enhanced security: With traditional hosting, resources are shared among multiple websites. With cloud hosting, you get multiple layers of security and protection. Most providers offer everything from encryption to backup recovery.
- Scalability: Cloud hosting simplifies the allocation of resources in your environment with the emerging needs of each business. You can add extra bandwidth and other functionality based on your needs.
- No fixed location: Cloud hosting servers available via the internet with a connection to any mobile or internet-focused device in the world.
- Innovation: Cloud hosting providers are better equipped to take advantage of the latest technologies. Users can automatically integrate and customize software applications based on business needs and preferences.
Cloud hosting is also environmentally friendly. You can reduce your carbon footprint and eliminate the need to rely on servers in-house.
What to Look for in the Best Cloud Hosting?
The best cloud hosting solution will always be dependent on your specific needs. Some people will be searching for the best possible price, without compromising on performance, while others will want to access innovation and new features with their cloud provider.
When examining the available cloud web hosting services for your business, think about:
- Scalability: A cloud hosting solution needs to be able to grow with your business at a rapid rate. This means ensuring you can upgrade the functionality of your cloud hosting solution at any moment, without having to start from scratch. Look for a provider who won’t keep you limited to a single package.
- Reliability: Reliability is an important consideration for any company investing in hosting solutions. You’ll need to ensure your cloud solution comes with a range of servers and data centers around the world capable of offering failover support if something goes wrong with your performance. A good uptime guarantee of 99.99% is a great thing to look for.
- Security: While cloud web hosting can be naturally more secure than some other hosting options, it’s still worth looking for the additional security services your hosting provider can implement. Consider not just the encryption and software-based security elements, but also the protection in place for physical security too.
- Cost efficiency: The right cloud hosting solution should ensure you get a phenomenal level of service for the lowest possible price. Don’t just look for low costs, make sure you’re actually getting the service you need for the best possible price.
Cloud Hosting FAQ
Q: How does cloud hosting work?
Cloud hosting is a hosting solution leveraging a network of virtual servers accessing resources from a variety of physical servers. Instead of running a program or task on one machine, workloads are divided among multiple machines, allowing for more flexibility and redundancy.
Q: Who would benefit from cloud hosting?
Cloud web hosting services are usually better-suited to larger companies who need scalability. If you’re running a store and you’re not sure when you might see changes in demand for your products and services, your cloud hosting solution will allow you to adapt at the right pace.
Q: Are there downsides to cloud hosting?
Cloud hosting can be an excellent choice if you have a need for scalability and flexibility. However, it can be more expensive than a standard shared hosting environment.
Q: Is cloud hosting the same as VPS hosting?
With a VPS hosting solution, you get a portioned part of a server which you can customize according to your needs. However, with dedicated cloud hosting, you’re not limited to the resources of a single server. Instead, you can access features from a range of machines.
Choosing the Best Cloud Hosting
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for choosing the best cloud hosting. There are a multitude of great options on the market, all with their own pros and cons to consider. The right solution for you will depend on the security, scalability, and innovative features you need.
Solutions like Scala Hosting give businesses more control over custom resource allocation, but you do require more technical knowledge. Nexcess is great for e-commerce sites looking to scale, though it can be pricy, while Hostgator offers a more budget-friendly solution for beginners.
If you’re looking for the best-managed cloud hosting, Cloudways offers fantastic hand-holding through the hosting process. Alternatively, Hostinger delivers the best overall experience in terms of value for money, excellent customer service, and great uptime.
Have your own experiences with these cloud hosting services? Share your insights on the cloud web hosting in the comments below.
