The 3 Best Cloud Hosting Services: Which Do I Recommend?
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If you’re weighing up your web hosting options, traditional hosting types, such as shared hosting, are usually the go-to for many website owners. That said, if you need higher performance and expect rapid growth or traffic surges, then cloud hosting could benefit your business. But, which provider should you pick? From our testing, DreamHost is the best cloud hosting service overall thanks to its reliability and dedicated ecommerce and security features.
I’ve done some of the legwork for you by compiling a list of the best cloud hosting providers available, particularly for startups and small to medium-sized businesses.
Our Top 3 Cloud Hosting Services
- DreamHost – Best cloud hosting service overall
- SiteGround – Best for customizable configurations
- Hostinger – Best for beginners
1. DreamHost: Best Cloud Hosting Service Overall
DreamHost is the best cloud hosting provider on our list. The content you’re publishing will go live fast (within 30 seconds), and you can use a variety of Linux systems, including MongoDB, Redis, Node.js, Ruby, and Python. You can even use Windows servers, which is unusual among cloud hosting providers. For this reason, DreamHost is one of the most popular tools among developers.
➡️ Read our DreamHost review for a detailed look at the hosting provider.
Top Tip 💡
Why do most cloud servers use or encourage Linux servers over Windows? Linux has more stability, flexibility, and security. Also, open-source software (like Linux) is preferable to proprietary software (like Windows) because it’s easier to use for collaboration thanks to its public availability.What I Like
✔️ 100% uptime guarantee – or you’ll get compensated for any downtime!
✔️ Lots of security features, including configurable firewalls and data corruption protection
✔️ Fast publishing – your pages can go live in seconds, which is ideal if you’re working on time-sensitive content or events
✔️ Full root access – this makes it easier to configure software, change your settings, and troubleshoot
✔️ Unlimited data transfers
✔️ Usage-based billing – only pay for the first 600 hours used each month
✔️ Windows servers are compatible
✔️ 24/7 live chat and email support – there’s also a callback option for an additional charge
What I Dislike
❌ No free phone support – you can pay for callbacks individually or monthly if you anticipate needing a lot of phone support, but costs can add up quickly
❌ Relatively low storage – each plan comes with 80GB SSD disk and 100GB of block storage
❌ Servers are based in the US – this is fine for US-based customers, but it can cause difficulties for international users
How Much Does DreamHost Cost?
DreamHost cloud hosting is priced based on usage. Each plan comes with a certain amount of memory, and you’ll pay an hourly price. The maximum number of hours you’ll pay per month is 600; the additional hours over that monthly cap are free.
Each plan comes with 80GB SSD disk storage, free bandwidth, and 100GB block storage. The main difference is the amount of RAM allotted. You can see DreamHost’s pricing for cloud services below:
- 512MB RAM (maximum of $4.50 per month) – recommended for simple static websites
- 2GB RAM (maximum of $12 per month) – recommended for small or medium-sized ecommerce stores and sites with rich media content
- 8GB RAM (maximum of $48/month) – recommended for resource-intensive sites like large ecommerce platforms or video streaming services
Who Do I Recommend DreamHost For?
I recommend choosing DreamHost’s cloud hosting services if you’re a small or medium-sized business, particularly if you’re expecting a lot of growth and want to scale online. DreamHost’s plans will grow with you, even to the point of helping you run your own private cloud. However, DreamHost isn’t ideal if you’re a complete beginner to hosting (stick to a more traditional hosting type, like shared hosting or VPS hosting).
2. SiteGround: Best for Customizable Configurations
SiteGround offers a high level of customization, so it’s better suited to users with experience when it comes to managing a website. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommended SiteGround for beginners or those who just want a standard plan. It’s also quite a bit more expensive than other cloud hosting service providers. If you need versatility and adaptability along with good uptime and some free services included, though, you might find it worth the cost.
➡️ Read our SiteGround review for a detailed look at the hosting provider.
What I Like
✔️ It’s fully customizable – SiteGround offers a wide range of options to create your own custom cloud if needed, letting you add more CPU, memory, and storage
✔️ Impressive 24/7 customer support – SiteGround’s satisfaction rate is close to 100%, offering 24/7 live chat, phone support, and help desk tickets to users
✔️ Daily backups – You can also create instant backups as needed
✔️ Excellent reliability and speed – SiteGround uses Google Cloud, PHP, and MySQL to ensure quick website performance and responsiveness
What I Dislike
❌ No Windows servers – SiteGround doesn’t support Windows servers, so this could be a drawback if you don’t like using Linux
❌ Plans are expensive – I’ll dig into pricing further below, but SiteGround isn’t suitable if you’re on a tight budget
❌ Complex security features – SiteGround uses an all-in-one WordPress security solution, as well as IDS/IPS systems to block attacks, but they can be resource-intensive and difficult to manage if you don’t have the technical expertise
How Much Does SiteGround Cost?
SiteGround’s pricing for cloud hosting can be split into four plans with standard options. You also have the ability to configure your own cloud. Here’s a rundown of the four ready-made plans (note that they all include 5TB data transfer):
- Jump Start ($100 per month) – for small to medium ecommerce stores or content sites
- Business ($200 per month) – for medium ecommerce sites or sites with scheduling needs
- Business Plus ($300 per month) – for large ecommerce sites, educational institutions, or high-traffic news sites
- Super Power ($400 per month) – for large companies with complex workflows
These are the prices for one month. With each plan, you’ll save 5% if you sign up for three months, or save 10% if you sign up for six or 12 months.
Depending on your chosen plan, you can expect between four to 16 CPU cores, 8GB to 20GB RAM, and 40GB to 160GB SSD space.
Who Do I Recommend SiteGround For?
SiteGround is ideal for users looking to customize their own cloud hosting service. It can be an expensive option, and you’ll be forced into using Linux servers, but SiteGround’s flexibility can be great for larger businesses.
3. Hostinger: Best for Beginners
Hostinger is a moderately priced cloud hosting provider that has plans available for small businesses, ecommerce sites, and larger sites. It offers robust security features, an easy-to-use website builder, and great managed WordPress tools. And, if you need a helping hand, Hostinger also offers good customer support to help you overcome any hurdles.
➡️ Read our Hostinger review for a detailed look at the hosting provider.
What I Like
✔️ Relatively low cost – Hostinger’s plans are some of the cheapest for cloud hosting, so it’s great if you’re on a budget
✔️ Intuitive custom control panel – This makes it easy to manage your site’s settings
✔️ Lots of security measures – Each plan comes with robust security features, including enhanced DDoS protection, firewalls, Cloudflare-protected nameservers, malware scanners, and secure access managers
✔️ 24/7 customer support –You can contact Hostinger via 24/7 live chat, so you can get answers almost immediately
✔️ Easy-to-use website builder – Hostinger’s website builder is one of our top-rated builders overall, and it’s incredibly beginner-friendly thanks to its drag-and-drop editor
✔️ International servers – Hostinger has cloud servers all over the world, ensuring a smooth website performance
What I Dislike
❌ No phone support – Unfortunately, unlike the other cloud hosting services in this list, Hostinger has no option to call their customer service team which isn’t great if you’d prefer to speak to a person
❌ No Windows servers – Only Linux servers are compatible with Hostinger’s cloud hosting plans
❌ High renewal fees – Despite the cheap starting prices, Hostinger’s plans do increase in cost quite dramatically after your initial subscription period ends so make sure you budget for this change
How Much Does Hostinger Cost?
Hostinger offers three cloud hosting plans which operate on a monthly fee schedule. Right now, new users get two months free when they sign up for 48 months. And, as long as you sign up for at least one year, you’ll get a free domain for the first year. Hostinger’s pricing for a 48-month term is listed below:
- Cloud Startup ($8.99/mo) – for small to medium websites or ecommerce stores
- Cloud Professional ($14.99/mo) – for medium-sized sites or ecommerce stores, or web design agencies hosting client sites
- Cloud Enterprise ($29.99/mo) – for large-scale websites, enterprise-level applications, or e-learning platforms
Just keep an eye on renewal fees! For example, the Cloud Startup plan will jump from $8.99 per month to $19.99 per month after your initial term.
Who Do I Recommend Hostinger For?
Thanks to Hostinger’s user-friendly interface and cheap plans, I recommend considering Hostinger if you’re a small to medium-sized business owner. It offers a lot of great security features, international servers, and 24/7 customer support. That said, like all cloud hosts, you’ll need to keep your budget in mind since Hostinger’s subscriptions jump in price once it’s time to renew.
How To Choose a Cloud Hosting Provider
If you’re looking for the best cloud hosting provider, it’s important to know exactly which features are most important to you. Your decision will depend on the size and scalability of your business, your budget, and where your users are located.
Here are some factors to consider:
- Scalability: If you’re planning on having your business grow, you’ll want to find a cloud hosting provider that can support you. Does the one you’re considering offer the storage you will need? What about the memory?
- Term policies: Most cloud hosting providers rely on terms spanning a year or longer. If you want to pay month-to-month, look at what those costs are; you may find that they’re quite a bit higher than it would be to sign up for a full year.
- Usage costs: Are you billed a set fee per month, or does it depend on the number of hours or days your site is live? This might make a difference to you.
- Geographical reach: Where are your customers? Are there data centers near them? This will improve performance and minimize lagging and other issues.
- Customer support: Do you prefer to communicate with support via chat or phone? Is your preferred method of communication available? During which hours is support available, and does this line up with when you tend to work?
- Security: You’ll want a secure site, and cloud hosting services will provide it. In some cases, you may need to pay extra. Find out how robust their security is and whether there’s an extra cost.
How We Test Hosting Providers
We want to provide you with the best information out there when it comes to choosing the right cloud hosting provider. We’ve put in almost 2,000 hours of research and analysis to help you narrow down your options.
Our hosting research process includes market analysis, creating a methodology, investigating and collecting data, testing site speeds, and comparing products. We then use our internal scoring algorithm to determine final scores before passing on that information to you.
Summary: Which Cloud Hosting Service Should You Choose?
After reviewing and testing each platform, our top recommendation is DreamHost. It has low prices, pay-for-what-you-use pricing models, and the ability to scale as your business grows.
That said, all three of our recommended cloud hosting services are great options. SiteGround is better if you’re looking for advanced customization, and Hostinger is a cheap and user-friendly alternative. But, if you’re not sure whether you need cloud hosting at this time, you might also want to look into our reviews of shared web hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting providers.
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