Cloud hosting provides better reliability and instant scalability for clients. Cloud hosting works like traditional hosting solutions: you pay for a set amount of web space, RAM, CPU time, and bandwidth. However, your website also gets instant access to extra resources without experiencing downtime. With cheap cloud hosting providers, you can enjoy the benefits of cloud hosting without putting a hole in your pocket.
Cloud hosting is suitable for various hosting applications, including email hosting, business server, and extensive online projects. Even small, simple websites can benefit from cloud hosting with some of the cheaper plans. They only have to ensure they do not sacrifice quality for pricing. Want to learn more about how cloud hosting costs work? Check our Cloud hosting cost page.
To ensure everyone has access to cloud hosting technology, we compared all the top cloud hosting providers on various aspects, such as their features, customer support, and scalability. We also evaluated free migration, free domain name registration, and overall performance. The providers listed here are great for email hosting, blogging platforms, and even eCommerce stores.
Key Points to Consider When Choosing/Key Takeaways
Reviewing web hosting providers is not something we take lightly. We shortlisted the available cloud hosting providers into a long list. We then rigorously reviewed each provider based on several parameters. We discuss these ranking parameters at the end of the article. For simplicity, we distilled these parameters into five points.
- Features: All hosting providers offer the same feature: web hosting. What differentiates them is their extra features in addition to web hosting. These features can include freebies like free domains and free SSL certification. It can also include performance features such as DDoS protection and Cloudflare CDN.
- Support: We wished every provider took customer support seriously, as it can severely hamper a customer’s web hosting experience, but that isn’t the case. User reviews on our website prove that many web hosts do not provide sufficient customer support. For this reason, we make excellent customer support one of our top criteria.
- User-friendly: Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you need a provider that makes it easy to carry out your hosting processes. We recommend fully-managed hosting solutions for beginners and people with little time on their hands. These solutions are expensive, but they make web hosting easier for individuals and businesses.
- Pricing: This review is about cheap cloud hosting providers, so pricing is a significant consideration. However, don’t get carried away by starting prices. Check the subscription renewal prices and the cost of necessary add-ons.
- Reliability: Cloud hosting delivers impressive performance. But you can get more performance from providers that utilize modern connectivity technologies and hardware, such as NVMe SSDs.
The Best Cheap Cloud Hosting Providers of 2023 (Bought and Tested)
- Overall score: 5
- Features: 5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 5
- Pricing: 5
- Reliability: 5
Overall score – 5: HostArmada comes first for many reasons. First, this provider is all about cloud hosting. They even offer cloud hosting technology on their shared hosting plans. Secondly, their plans are very affordable. You can get started on their highest-tier shared hosting plan for less than $6/mo. They also utilize SSD storage and LiteSpeed or Nginx servers to ensure consistent performance. Add their 24/7/365 technical support assistance, and you can see why they’re the number one cheapest cloud hosting provider on our list.
Features – 5: Some of the top features you can expect from HostArmada are unmetered bandwidth, cloud SSD storage, cPanel, free daily backups, free SSL certificate, free domain names, free domain registration, free drag-and-drop site builder, one free website migration, free website transfer, and Softaculous 1-click installer.
Support – 5: This web host arguably offers one of the best customer support services. The customer support team is highly skilled and is available round the clock. You can contact them via telephone, live chat, and the ticketing system. We recommend getting a ticket if you are dealing with a complex issue. Otherwise, you can use live chat and telephone channels. HostArmada also provides a massive collection of in-depth tutorials and an official blog where users can get regular updates.
User Friendly – 5: One reason why HostArmada is popular among many users is the simplicity of its user panel. The user panel is easy to understand and caters to the needs of all clients regardless of their skill levels. And if you have issues locating anything at all, you can contact the always-responsive customer service department.
Pricing – 5: With the Start Dock plan, you can enjoy cloud hosting at $2.99 monthly. This low-cost plan offers 15 GB SSD, 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, and unmetered bandwidth. For best performance, we recommend the Speed Reaper plan. It starts at $5.39 and offers a 40 GB SSD, 6 CPU cores, 6 GB RAM, and unmetered bandwidth. It also contains 3x fewer clients per server, LiteSpeed Web Server, HTTP/3 (HTTP over QUIC by Google), and dynamic caching. You can pay annually, biennially, or triennially.
Reliability – 5: Expect top-tier performance from HostArmada, beginning from the industry standard 99.9% uptime guarantee. They offer nine data centers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia and provide one of the fastest website speeds in their dedicated hosting. They also leverage technologies such as LSCache, Memcached Cache, Brotli Compression, and Cloudflare® CDN to deliver speed, stability, and security.
Additional parameter – Top tier web hosting provider: HostArmada applies cutting-edge cloud technology to provide one of the best web hosting services in the world. They allow you to upgrade your hosting components with zero downtime and data loss. You also experience lightning-fast website loading speed and multiple layers of security firewalls to secure your web data.
HostArmada has the best cloud SSD hosting infrastructure and top-tier technical support.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extremely user-friendly dashboard interface
- Heavy traffic servers to keep your site speed constant
- Nine data centers worldwide
- SSD storage to boost your site’s loading speed
- Free site migration
- Free domain name
- Free domain registration
- Free daily backups
- Free SSL certificate
Cons
- High renewal rates
- Some features are only available on higher-priced packages
- Overall score: 4.9
- Features: 5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 4.9
- Pricing: 5
- Reliability: 4.9
Overall score – 4.9: Kamatera is a specialized cloud hosting provider founded in 1995. The web host offers satisfactory cloud hosting services through a wide range of flexible and scalable hosting solutions. Kamatera utilizes state-of-the-art hosting infrastructures such as Intel Xeon E5 v4, SSDs, and multiple global data centers. Aside from their affordable pricing, they offer a 30-day free trial account.
Features – 5: One stand-out feature of Kamatera is their free cloud-based projects, thanks to their 30-day free trial. The free trial allows you to use one cloud server with configurations going up to $100, 1,000 GB each for cloud block storage and outgoing internet traffic. Kamatera’s key features include a 60-second server setup, instantly scalable resources, 60+ operating systems, unlimited email accounts, a user-friendly and customizable server management portal, and a built-in firewall system.
Support – 5: Kamatera offers multiple ways to contact their customer support team. You can use the live chat, phone support, or email channel to make queries and get help for web hosting-related issues. It is a great web host for people experiencing cloud hosting for the first time.
User Friendly – 4.9: On the one hand, Kamatera is not entirely beginner-friendly. But with a little time, even newbies will be able to use this web hosting with ease. Kamatera offers an intuitive, easy-to-use dashboard and 24/7/365 customer support to forestall or resolve issues. Additionally, if you don’t want to bother with managing your server, you can request fully-managed hosting at an additional cost.
Pricing – 5: Kamatera’s pricing starts at $4 and goes up to $3,700. You can start on the lowest tier and scale up based on your website’s needs. This provider only charges you for what you use. Cloud servers start from $4 per month or $0.005 per hour, while fully managed cloud services start at $50 per month per server.
Reliability – 4.9: Kamatera delivers impressive performance, fast loading time, and a robust 99.95% uptime guarantee. They also have 13 data centers distributed around the world: four in North America, three in Europe, and six in Asia. All their data centers are AICPA SOC 2 Type II-compliant or better, including parallel backup and the main power supply.
Additional parameter – Affordable Versatility: Kamatera offers developer-friendly customization options besides performance. Users can choose from 60 operating systems and select the number of resources like RAM, processors, storage, IP address, and more. They also offer 13 worldwide data center locations and an easy-to-use control panel. When your project exceeds the limit of your current subscription, you can add more resources without experiencing downtime or data loss.
Kamatera offers a hosting solution that allows complete control over your cloud hosting.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extremely flexible and scalable
- 30-day free trial
- 13 worldwide server locations
- Hourly and monthly billing – no extra fees
- Full root and admin access
- Expert 24-7 customer support
- Suitable for both Linux and Windows operating systems
- Let you install a custom OS
- Server deployment in 60 seconds
- Full cloud-based infrastructure
Cons
- Daily backups aren’t free
- Trial account needs a credit card
- Overall score: 4.9
- Features: 4.8
- Support: 4.8
- User Friendly: 5
- Pricing: 5
- Reliability: 5
Overall score – 4.9: Cloud hosting solutions are either enterprise-level technology from Microsoft, IBM, and others or simple, user-friendly solutions from hosts like HostArmada. Cloudways offers a middle path. The company’s managed cloud hosting solution runs on enterprise-level hosting infrastructure from Amazon, Google, DigitalOcean, Linode, or Vultr. However, they are just as simple and easy to use as web hosting solutions from the regular hosting industry.
Features – 4.8: All Cloudways plans offer free SSL, CDN add-on, free migration, 24/7 real-time monitoring, advanced caches, and auto-healing. Other features include one-click cloning, automated backup and restore, and team collaboration tools for developers. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t offer a cPanel and domain registration.
Support – 4.8: Regarding support, you have two options. You can use the 24/7 live chat and easy ticketing support or sign up for the Advanced or Premium support plan. The advanced support plan offers proactive site monitoring and investigations, plus help with customization, and costs $100/month. At $500/month, the premium support plan provides all the support features and includes 24/7 phone support.
User Friendly – 5: Cloudways offers an easy-to-use hosting solution powered by top-tier cloud hosting infrastructure. Since all their plans are fully managed, you don’t have to deal with server management. Subscribe to a product, select your CMS and host your website. Cloudways will handle everything else for you.
Pricing – 5: What you pay depends on your cloud hosting configuration. The cheapest plan costs $10/month and comes with a Digital Ocean data center in New York, San Francisco, London, and a few other cities. It includes 1 GB of RAM, 25 GB of storage, one core processor, and 1 TB of bandwidth. Instead of monthly payments, you can choose the pay-as-you-go rate of $0.0139/hour.
Reliability – 5: Cloudways does not own the underlying hosting infrastructure. When you buy a plan, you can choose DigitalOcean, Amazon, Google, Vultr, or KYUP infrastructure. Each provider is an industry leader, so you are sure to get quality performance. Developers also have the Cloudways ThunderStack to meet their performance needs. The stack includes Nginx, Apache, Memcached, MySQL/MariaDB, Varnish Cache, PHP 7, PHP-FM, and Redis.
Additional parameter – Customizable managed cloud hosting: Cloudways is where easy use meets powerful cloud hosting. We wholeheartedly recommend their managed cloud hosting to website owners that don’t have the skill or time to manage their hosting environments. This category includes bloggers, eCommerce store owners, designers, digital agencies, and developers. You also get any of the paid support plans for a better hosting experience.
Cloudways is known for its wide choice of data center locations and fully managed cloud hosting solutions.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- User-friendly yet powerful managed cloud solutions
- Flexible resources scaling option
- Multiple data centers around the globe
- Fast managed hosting
- User-friendly interface
- One-click apps installer
- Fast and reliable option for WordPress and other CMS
- 24/7/365 live chat support
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL security certificates
Cons
- Phone support comes as a paid plan
- No email
- Overall score: 4.9
- Features: 5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 5
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 5
Overall score – 4.9: ScalaHosting combines VPS hosting with cloud hosting infrastructure to provide robust, scalable web hosting solutions. It allows customers to enjoy the benefits of VPS hosting with the flexibility and scalability of cloud hosting. It is one of the few hosting providers that allows you to set up your server to the smallest detail, even before signing up.
Features – 5: You get a lot of freebies in your managed cloud VPS hosting plan. These include free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, 24/7 real-time cybersecurity, OpenLiteSpeed and caching, dedicated IP addresses, remote daily backups, IP blacklist monitoring, anti-SPAM protection, and developer tools.
Support – 5: You can rely on ScalaHosting’s 24/7 support to help you maintain your website while you focus on growing your audience. You can contact the support team via live chat or by ticket. The support team will happily assist you with anything hosting-related at no extra fee.
User Friendly – 5: ScalaHosting is an excellent option for anything you need. You can use the self-managed hosting plan to create your custom server setup if you want complete control over your hosting environment. If you want to be less involved, you can sign up for their fully managed cloud VPS hosting plans.
Pricing – 4.5: ScalaHosting offers managed and unmanaged cloud hosting plans. The lowest tier managed plan costs $29.95/mo for a three-year contract and $46.95 for a one-month contract. It includes 2 CPU Cores, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe SSD, and unmetered bandwidth. The unmanaged hosting plan starts at $50/mo and offers 4 CPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 240 GB SSD space, and 3,000 GB bandwidth. The price increases as you add more components to your plan.
Reliability – 5: This web host offers SSD cloud servers running on dual CPU E5 Intel Xeon machines with ample RAM, dual power supplies, and redundant network uplinks. The servers also utilize 10 GB/s redundant networks to deliver 100% network uptime. With data centers worldwide, you can choose where you want your SSD cloud server to be deployed.
Additional parameter – Customization: ScalaHosting is a top choice due to its customization options. They allow you to configure your server to extract the resources you need. And if you ever need more resources temporarily or for the long term, you can do so by simply moving a slider. The requested resources will be online in less than a minute after payment. You can also pause your cloud hosting anytime you like.
ScalaHosting has the best customization features that allow you to choose a specific, custom set of resources at signup and during usage.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Fully customizable VPS resources
- Generous maximums on CPUs, RAM, and storage
- Affordable at scale
- Flexibility to adjust on the fly
- Free domain name for one year
- 30-day full refund with no questions asked
- Fanatic 24/7 customer support
- Free site migration
- Website security suite
- User-friendly for beginners
Cons
- No dedicated IP address add-on
- Discount on longer terms only
- Overall score: 4.9
- Features: 5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 5
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 5
Overall score – 4.9: Kinsta is the ideal cloud hosting provider for anyone looking for a WordPress-specific hosting solution. They offer one of the fastest and most simplified hosting solutions for WordPress websites. Whether it’s a blog, eCommerce store, online tutoring, or enterprise website, Kinsta’s premium managed hosting promises top performance and expert support.
Features – 5: Some of the critical features that Kinsta offers include simplified WordPress installs, SSD storage, free CDN, free premium migrations, multisite support, backup retention, and multiple PHP workers per site.
Support – 5: Kinsta’s 24/7 support team comprises WordPress experts, developers, and engineers to help you resolve any hosting issue. Their full support is available to all users regardless of the tiers of their plans. Along with their best-in-class support staff, you will also have multilingual support, from Spanish, French and Italian to Portuguese and English.
User Friendly – 5: Managing your WordPress site with Kinsta is easy. Thanks to the simple, custom MyKinsta dashboard, you can stay on top of your plan usage, site metrics, and hosting tools. The dashboard also features one-click processes to help you debug your site, set up redirects and geolocation, manage the cache, and switch on the CDN.
Pricing – 4.5: Kinsta’s plans start from $35 per month. This basic plan offers one WordPress install, 25,000 visits, 10 GB disk space, free SSL, CDN, staging, and free migrations.
Reliability – 5: Kinsta focuses strongly on consistent performance, which shows in its technology. They utilize server-level caching, the Cloudflare CDN, and other built-in optimizations. These investments ensure that your website loads fast and remove the need for separate WordPress performance plugins. In addition, they offer 35 data centers and 99.9% guaranteed uptime.
Additional parameter – Kinsta WordPress Hosting: WordPress-optimized hosting solutions can take your website speed and performance from zero to hero. When you combine that with cloud hosting performance, you can expect nothing short of top-tier performance. Kinsta provides that level of performance with WordPress websites. The best part is that they make all their technologies and tools available for free in every plan.
Kinsta has the best cloud hosting infrastructure and tools for managed WordPress hosting services.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Blazing fast cloud-based infrastructure
- Turbocharge software
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Managed WordPress solution
- Awesome technical support
- Simple set-up and migration
- Peace of mind
- Great for traffic spikes
- Optimized for WordPress
- Powerful CDN, free SSL, and last-gen PHP
- 25+ server locations worldwide
- Straightforward dashboard
Cons
- Lacks phone support
- WordPress only
- Overall score: 4.6
- Features: 4.5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly:4.5
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 4.5
Overall score – 4.6: If we were to describe Chemicloud in one sentence, it could be a cloud hosting that works. The company offers cloud hosting infrastructure on all its web hosting plans. They also provide 24/7 support, a free domain, and a 99.99% uptime guarantee. Their plans come with a 45-day worry-free money-back guarantee.
Features – 4.5: The shared hosting plans come with a lot of options, including seven worldwide server locations to choose from, a control panel, 15 GB to 35 GB SSD storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, free website migration, free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate and free daily backups.
Support – 5: ChemiCloud support is available 24/7/365. The web host promises to respond to live chat in less than ten seconds and claims their median time for solving support inquiries is only 37 minutes. Aside from issue resolution, the support team will proactively monitor server issues and keep your software updated. They also offer a knowledge base, video tutorials, and a blog to keep you updated.
User Friendly – 4.5: All the hosting plans from ChemiCloud are easy to use. To start, you simply need to log into your account and use the many cPanel tools. The web host also offers a website builder to help you build and publish a website in less than an hour.
Pricing – 4.5: You can enjoy quality shared hosting solutions from Chemicloud with plans starting at $4.48/mo (the plan renews at $9.95). It offers hosting for one website, 20 GB NVMe storage, unlimited bandwidth, free domain for one year, free website migration, 10 days of backups, and a free SSL certificate. You can check the cloud VPS plan if you want a more robust plan. The entry plan offers 2 CPUs, 4 GB RAM, and 80 GB NVMe and starts at $37.46.
Reliability – 4.5: Soundcloud uses the latest technology, server optimization, and modern security solutions to enable you to enjoy reliable web performance and security and to scale your business. They employ cutting-edge caching technology that is probably better than both NGINX and Apache web servers. They also offer a 99.99% uptime guarantee on their cloud VPS plans and 30 days of backups to secure your data.
Additional parameter – Budget eCommerce solution: Chemicloud cloud VPS hosting is the perfect plan for emerging eCommerce stores that want a hosting solution that allows them to scale. They also offer a lot of freebies to help you save money in your early months of operations. As your hosting needs increase, you can request more hosting resources. On the performance side, the company offers a great combo of SSD storage, Litespeed server, and Cloudflare CDN to guarantee terrific web performance at lightning-fast speeds!
Cloudways is famous for its excellent customer care and terrific web performance.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Powerful LiteSpeed servers
- Excellent load handling
- Data centers set up at 11 locations
- All-round website security
- Excellent customer support
- Generous 45-day refund policy
- Migrate 50 cPanel websites or ten non-cPanel websites for free
- Impressive dev software
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Free domain for life
Cons
- Slightly pricey plans
- No malware protection on the lowest plan
- Overall score: 4.5
- Features: 4
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 5
- Pricing: 4
- Reliability: 4.5
Overall score – 4.5: FastComet hosting plans are very cheap and user-friendly. For instance, a domain you register with FastComet’s web hosting is free forever. Another feature we love about FastComet is their super responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful customer support team.
Features – 4: FastComet shared hosting offers cPanel hosting, Softaculous 1-click installer, drag and drop site builder, free domain transfer, site transfer, fixed renewal fee, daily back-ups, SSL certificate, Cloudflare CDN and unmetered traffic.
Support – 5: FastComet doesn’t compromise on customer service quality. They offer 24/7 support via live chat, email, ticketing, and phone and access to step-by-step tutorials. According to their claims, they have resolved 83% of 10,000 support requests in less than 15 minutes. They also have a vast knowledge base.
User Friendly – 5: Anyone can use FastComet hosting plans. They are mobile-friendly, simple to use, and come with valuable tools to provide a pleasant user experience. The cPanel file management works ideally and is our recommendation for those looking to access the File Manager.
Pricing – 4: Getting the lowest price for FastComet hosting plans requires dedication. For instance, the lowest price costs $1.49/mo. However, that is a discounted price so expect to pay the regular $9.95/mo when you renew. The good part is that you can lock in that low price by signing up for a long-term contract. This low-cost plan contains hosting for one website, free website transfer, free domain transfer, cPanel & Softaculous, 15 GB SSD Space, and a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Reliability – 4.5: You get impressive performance and web loading time thanks to FastComet’s latest server hardware and industry-leading technology. They claim to deliver 70% faster websites than some of the top competitors in the industry. They use server hardware powered by AMD EPYC™, the same hardware used by Facebook and the metaverse data centers. They also implement NVMe SSDs in all their 11 state-of-the-art data centers in North America, Europe, India, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
Additional parameter – Technical support and customer service: FastComet is impressive in speed and performance, but we believe their excellent customer service also deserves some attention. Many people rate FastComet as a top web hosting solution because of the attention and support they give their clients. They provide 24/7/365 support and offer to respond to issues within 15 minutes. They also promise three escalation levels to ensure the right person serves you.
FastComet has one of the best technical support and customer service.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Impressive website loading speed
- Fast, helpful customer support
- Free daily backups
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- Free daily backups, migrations, CDN, and SSL integrations
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Stable infrastructure
Cons
- No server sites in South America or Africa
- High renewal prices
- Overall score: 4.5
- Features: 4.5
- Support: 4.5
- User Friendly: 4.5
- Pricing: 5
- Reliability: 4
Overall score – 4.5: Cheap and budget friendly may seem like the same thing, but they are not. Cheap means the features are worth more than the price. Budget-friendly means you get the features even when you don’t have much to spend. Verpex caters to the budget-friendly group with its low prices entry plans. Unfortunately, its premium plans do not qualify as cheap or budget friendly for high-performance websites.
Features – 4.5: Verpex offers shared cloud hosting in four tiers: Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. While these plans differ in storage space, the number of supported websites, monthly bandwidth, and overall performance, they all come with the same standard features. These features include cPanel, Softaculous installer, SSD storage, free SSL certificates, free domain, daily backups, free website migration, and LiteSpeed Web Server.
Support – 4.5: The hosting provider offers 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and email. They also offer a comprehensive knowledge base that covers the most important topics. Their blog provides updates on the web host and info on general issues.
User Friendly – 4.5: The Verpex website is only available in English, but it provides pricing in USD, GBP, or EUR. You can get everything you need from the well-designed and informative dashboard. And if you encounter any issues, customer support is always eager to help resolve them.
Pricing – 5: You can get a Vertex hosting plan for less than a dollar. Their entry plan starts at $0.50 for the first month and renews at $5.00/mo. You get a 20% discount if you sign up for a year. It is great for personal blogs and low-traffic websites with support for one website, 10 GB bandwidth, 1 GB NVMe SSD storage, free SSL certificates, free migrations, daily backups, LiteSpeed Web Server, and cPanel Control Panel. You also get a 45-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.
Reliability – 4: All the shared hosting plans from Verpex run on CloudLinux OS and are SSD-powered. These features protect your site against external threats and ensure its loading speed, stability, and overall performance. There is a 99.5% uptime guarantee for the starter plan. You get a 99.99% uptime guarantee on the other plans.
Additional parameter – Super affordable cloud hosting: If you are on a tight budget and still want to use a cloud hosting platform, then you should check out Verpex’s shared hosting plans. They are very affordable and offer an impressive set of features. You can also go for the annual plan to get more savings on your hosting cost.
Verpex is famous for its affordable hosting annual prices and industry-standard uptime guarantee.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Responsive and helpful support
- Cheap budget plans with a free domain
- cPanel and Softaculous one-click installer
- Unlimited free migrations
- Free SSL certificates
- Free Domain
- Routine daily backups
- Reliable 24/7 support
Cons
- Limited storage space in the cheapest plan
- Managed hosting plans are overpriced
- Overall score: 4.5
- Features: 4.5
- Support: 4.5
- User Friendly: 4.5
- Pricing: 4.5
- Reliability: 4.5
Overall score – 4.5: Nexcess is one of the oldest web hosts on the market. They have existed for over two decades and still provide outstanding hosting services.
Features – 4.5: Nexcess’ cloud hosting plan comes with great features. The standard features across all plans include multiple website hosting, ample storage space and bandwidth, free SSL and email, 25 to 150 PHP workers per site, 24/7/365 support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Support – 4.5: The cloud experts at excess are available 24/7 to address any hosting issue and to help you switch plans. They also provide developer-friendly services such as workflow implementation, software deployment, and connection of your cloud server with SSH.
User Friendly – 4.5: While the platform is developer friendly, they also make everything easy for all users. They specifically make their hosting focus on online businesses. So whether you are aiming for secure payments or handling traffic spikes, Nexcess cloud hosting has you covered. They also managed technical issues at the backend to ensure smooth operations.
Pricing – 4.5: The cheapest cloud hosting plan starts at $49/mo. It provides support for up to 11 sites, 50GB storage, 1TB bandwidth, 25 PHP workers per site, 50 autoscaled PHP workers per site, free SSL, free email, 24/7/365 support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Reliability – 4.5: if you are keen on having your website stay up and running at all times, then Nexcess is the provider to choose. The provider puts a lot of effort into ensuring their clients’ websites stay online. They provide multiple data centers, utilize virtual environments, and conduct constant monitoring of servers. They also offer an impressive 99.99% Uptime guarantee.
Additional parameter – eCommerce-focused cloud hosting: All of Nexcess’s primary offerings (Magento, WooCommerce, and WordPress hosting) are great options for eCommerce websites looking to grow. Depending on their specific needs and CMS, online sellers can also use the standout cloud hosting service.
Nexcess is best known for its managed hosting of online stores and other platforms.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 24/7 customer service
- Choose from six different plans
- High-impact hosting for eCommerce websites
- Worldwide data centers
- CDN for fast and reliable performance
- Developer-friendly environments
- Server-level Redis included
- Specializing in managed web hosting
- Magento association platinum partner
- Exceptional uptime and reliability
Cons
- No unmanaged hosting options
- More pricey than standard hosting
- Overall score: 4.5
- Features: 4.5
- Support: 5
- User Friendly: 4
- Pricing: 4
- Reliability: 5
Overall score – 4.5: When it comes to choosing a provider that offers it all, Liquid Web is a top contender. However, the major drawback is the cloud hosting cost. Expect to spend more than you would, as their cloud dedicated plan costs $149, while the VMware Private Cloud requires $520/mo for the starting plan. If you are on a budget, get the VPS plan for only $25/per month.
Features – 4.5: Liquid Web offers a wide array of features on its cloud hosting plans. These features include sub-accounts to manage individual websites, InterWorx, Plesk Web Pro, or cPanel Pro, easy and flexible backup solutions, easy-to-link cron job, and one-click installation of the latest CMS (WordPress, phpBB, Joomla, etc.).
Support – 5: Get prompt, helpful assistance from the 24/7 Heroic Support® via phone, chat, and email. The support agents are always available to resolve any hosting issues and put your mind at ease.
User Friendly – 4: Liquid Web is easy to use. For website owners that experience constant traffic hikes, the web host offers autoscaling. You can pay for extra resources.
Pricing – 4: You can enjoy cloud hosting solutions for as low as $149 per month on Liquid Web’s cloud-dedicated servers. This entry plan offers four cores, 16 GB RAM, 408 GB SSD, and 5 TB bandwidth. You can also decide to use a Linux or Windows operating system. This plan is great for hosting small apps and medium-traffic websites.
Reliability – 5: It is no surprise that Liquid Web gets a total score for performance and reliability. The company has five privately owned data centers in the United States and Europe. It also utilizes state-of-the-art technology, geo-redundancy, and supreme disaster recovery support to ensure your website stays online. This web host promises a boastful 100% network and power uptime, with 1,000% account credits due for every unplanned outage.
Additional parameter – Premier managed hosting: There are many reasons why you should go for Liquid Web for managed hosting. They offer exceptional customer support, high-powered innovations, and a 100% network and power guarantee. And while their managed hosting plans are a bit pricey, the value you get in return outweighs the price. You get one of the best hosting environments, user-friendly tools and dashboards, and other freebies like unlimited email accounts.
Liquid web is famous for its 100% network and power guarantee.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free email accounts
- Responsive live chat support
- Great page loading speed (270 ms)
- Free website migration.
- Powerful servers for mission-critical sites
- Big introductory discounts
- 100% uptime guarantee
- 24/7/365 knowledgeable support
- Premium security
Cons
- No free domain
- Expensive pricing
Ranking comparison between the Top Providers
Best Cheap Cloud Hosting Provider Services: Final Recommendations
Cloud hosting is perhaps the future of hosting. Our research has shown ten standout cloud hosting providers. Each provider has a unique offering that differentiates it from the pack, so it’s important to know what key feature to consider.
If you’re looking for the crème de la crème of cloud hosting, HostArmada is the best choice. It offers many better features than the competition at an affordable cost.
While HostArmada is our top recommendation, it is not the only great option. You can check out other great cloud hosting providers, such as Kamatera and Cloudways. Both providers follow up close behind HostArmada and offer good flexibility and customizability. If you are short on cash and do not need too many hosting resources, we recommend Verpex with cloud hosting costing from just $5 per month upon renewal.
How Do We Rank, and How Should You Choose Your Best Cheap Cloud Hosting Provider?
- Scalable Resources12%
- Cost-efficiency7%
- Uptime Commitment8%
- Speed and Performance7%
- Security and Backups7%
- Cloud Hosting Features8%
- Ease of Use5%
- Customer Support8%
- User Reviews30%
- Money-Back Guarantee4%
- Other Factors4%
We rank providers based on how well they perform on specific criteria. We focused on eleven factors for this list of the best cheap cloud hosting providers. Each factor is weighed based on its importance to other ranking factors. The higher the percentage, the more importance you should give to that factor. Here is a rundown of the factors we used for testing and ranking the best cheap cloud hosting providers:
- Scalable Resources (12%): The key benefit of cloud hosting is scalability. So it would be embarrassing for a cloud hosting feature not to offer scalable resources. However, how each provider offers scalable resources differ. Some providers allow you to temporarily increase your housing resources during traffic spikes and purchase another plan if the spike becomes normal. Others allow you to increase your allocated resources without upgrading to another plan.
- Cost-efficiency (7%): Cloud hosting solutions can be cheap or expensive, depending on your hosting needs. However, since you only need to pay for the services and resources you use, it is more cost-effective than other hosting times. However, you should ensure that the plan you choose offers all the resources you need to start your website so you don’t keep paying for extra resources.
- Uptime Commitment (8%): High uptime is a given with cloud hosting plans, but there are still variations. Some providers claim they can provide a 100% uptime guarantee, while others stick with the industry standard of 99.99% uptime. You should not settle for anything less than 99.95%.
- Speed and Performance (7%): You are right to expect top website speed and excellent server performance with cloud web hosting providers. However, your website can perform better with extra features such as SSD drives, CDN, and server optimizations.
- Security and Backups (7%): Since you are not relying on a single server, cloud hosting is more secure than traditional hosting. If one server goes down, other servers within the cluster will take up its role, ensuring your website is up and running with no downtime or delays. However, you want to check if the provider offers other security solutions to fend off attacks from malicious actors.
- Cloud Hosting Features (8%): We are talking about bandwidth allocation, storage space, RAM, and OS options. If you have specific needs, ensure that the provider provides those needs. For instance, some server-side applications use Microsoft OS, while some developers require root access to configure their hosting environment effectively.
- Ease of Use (5%): User-friendliness is a crucial factor to look out for, especially if you are a beginner or do not want to spend too much time managing your site. We recommend you go with providers that offer easy-to-use popular control panels, such as the industry-standard cPanel or Plesk. You may also get more value with a managed hosting option, as it takes the stress of managing a server off your hands.
- Customer Support (8%): 24/7 customer support is the industry standard. However, this always-on support might not be available for all channels. Furthermore, some channels might only be available to higher-tier customers or as a paid option. Ensure you read the fine print and test all the support channels during your trial period.
- User Reviews (30%): At HostAdvice, we value customer feedback about hosting providers. We implement AI technology to sort through reviews and accurately picture how well a cloud hosting company keeps to its word and treats its clients.
- Money-Back Guarantee (4%): Any web hosting provider worth its value will offer either a trial period or a money-back guarantee. However, the policies are not uniform. Some offer refunds for only a few days, while others offer up to 45 days refund window.
- Other Factors (4%): We look at other countries, such as awards, establishment date, brand reputation, and past incidents.
What Is a Cheap Cloud Hosting Provider, and Who Is It For?
Cloud hosting is a hosting solution where your site gets its website resources from multiple virtual servers in the cloud. Each server has a specific role; if it goes offline, other servers within the cluster will automatically take up its specific tasks.
The most significant benefit of cloud hosting is that your website will run smoothly, even if some servers are experiencing downtime. It is rare for more than one server within a cloud hosting infrastructure to have a problem simultaneously. Your website is safe from unplanned downtime and will record increased uptime rates.
In addition to server stability, cloud hosting will ensure smooth website performance even when your website exceeds its allocated resources. For instance, if your web traffic exceeds the limits of your plan, you can quickly get more resources manually or automatically to ensure your site stays online.
There are many more benefits to using a cloud housing plan. Here are the top ones:
- Scalable bandwidth: You can quickly increase your bandwidth allocation to meet the demands of traffic spikes to your website without having to upgrade your plan. The resources also come online within a minute of making a payment.
- Variable costs: Most cloud hosting solutions allow you to only pay for the resources you use. Some even support hourly billing, so you only pay for the days your website is online.
- Limited downtime: Since your website relies on a cluster of servers, downtimes rarely occur. Even when they do, they occur for a short period before things return to normal.
Who Is Cloud Hosting For?
Cloud web hosting is suitable for websites with medium to high traffic, especially when the traffic fluctuates during the day or in particular seasons. It is also ideal for websites and businesses that are rapidly growing. Lastly, it can be an excellent choice for a budget-conscious website owner. Since they only have to pay for what they do, they can plan their funds effectively.
On the other hand, cloud hosting is not suitable for some kinds of websites. These include:
- small personal websites
- small blogs or micro-businesses
- resource-hungry websites
For tiny websites, traditional shared hosting services will be enough for them. For resource-hungry projects, we recommend cloud-powered VPS hosting solutions or dedicated server hosting, depending on their needs.
How to Get the Best Cloud Hosting Solution For You
Every cloud hosting provider has different features and benefits compared to others. However, there are specific features to look out for when evaluating a cloud web host.
- Scalable Resources: With cloud hosting, you only need to know the bandwidth, storage, and disk space for your first few months or year of operation. Make sure you look for a cloud hosting provider that allows you to configure your server resources in real time from your admin dashboard. This way, you can constantly adjust your hosting resources to meet your needs.
- Price: Here, you have to consider several things. You need to compare the starting price with the annual fee and see if the features justify the price in the long run. You should also consider the cost of adding extra resources to your hosting plan. We recommend you check the website for the pricing structure for additional resources or contact customer care for that info.
- Speed and Performance: Cloud hosting is supposed to increase your website’s capacity to handle more traffic and improved functionality. The idea is to use a plan that delivers content from the nearest remote server. It will make your website responsive and load quickly. You can also check reviews to know the provider’s uptime and loading speed.
- Security: Regardless of your hosting type, you want to ensure your provider is taking measures to keep your website safe. Fortunately, all the providers in this list offer additional security protection to keep your site data secure from authorized access.