Cloud hosting services have improved in the last few years thanks to the advent of new technology. Thanks to these improvements, website owners looking for cheap cloud hosting services today no longer have to worry about getting poor services for low rates.
But while this is the case, the presence of too many cheap cloud server companies has complicated things for consumers. For example, anyone looking to work with such a firm will need to confirm that the company can deliver maximum uptime at the quoted price.
The cheapest cloud provider has to do so without compromising on reliability and sustainability. Below is a detailed look at the best cheap cloud hosting companies of 2022. The guide includes a description of what to expect from their services.
What Is Cloud Hosting?
Affordable cloud hosting services make websites and other applications accessible to web users via cloud resources. Unlike the case with traditional hosting, cheap cloud hosting services don’t deploy the solutions on one server.
Instead, the cloud server provider relies on a network of connected physical and virtual cloud servers to host the application or website, ensuring scalability and flexibility. The key features of a good cloud server include:
- Automated solutions controlled using mobile apps, web portals, and APIs
- Applications and solutions deployed on a cloud instead of a single on-site server
- Cloud hosting can support NoSQL and MySQL databases
- Users only pay for the resources they need
- Resource scaling to support different user needs
Why Consider Cheap Cloud Hosting?
The top reasons you should consider using the inexpensive cloud servers include:
Reliability
The applications and sites are hosted on a network of servers. Therefore, you never have to worry about unexpected downtime arising from hardware failures. The traffic travels across different network interfaces where it’s segregated and secured.
Pay-as-you-go model
Website owners will only need to pay for the resources they use. They can make hourly or monthly payments depending on their subscriptions. The pay-as-you-go model differs from a situation where you pay a flat rate for your hosting needs.
Flexibility
The traditional hosting provided by the cheapest cloud hosting for WordPress providers tend to offer limited bandwidth. On the other hand, cheap cloud hosting companies can scale to accommodate seasonal demands or sudden traffic spikes.
Top Cheap Cloud Hosting Providers
1. Kamatera
Kamatera is unequivocally the best cheap cloud hosting provider in the market today. Its plans are affordable and start at less than $5 a month. What's more, you have a chance to try their services at no cost at all for up to 30 days.
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2. Vultr
Vultr is not only one of the best cloud hosting providers, but it's also low cost and 100% powered by SSDs. Starting price is just $2.50 per month. It has cloud servers in 25 different regions worldwide, spanning a total of 4 continents.
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3. Interserver
Easy scalability is among the top benefits of cloud hosting, which is what you get when working with Interserver. It's recommended for startups as it allows you to scale as your traffic increases.
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4. DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is among the largest cheap cloud hosting companies operating in the US. Fortunately, the company also provides secure cloud hosting services to small and medium-sized businesses looking to develop a cloud-based app, speed up their site, or crunch through big data sets.
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5. GearHost
GearHost operates out of Arizona and only takes a few minutes to complete the onboarding process. As a cheap cloud hosting provider, GearHost has five different cloud plans, each charging different cloud server prices. Cheapest one comes at $5 per month.
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6. Hostwinds
Hostwinds introduces an all-new layer of cloud sophistication by providing an hourly billing option that allows users to pay for the resources they need. Despite being a cheap cloud hosting provider, their services are akin to those of Google Cloud Platform or Microsoft Azure. Starting price is $4.99 per month - perfect for any budget.
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7. DreamHost
DreamHost is the cheapest virtual machine cloud service provider targeting WordPress websites. Today, the platform is actively managing more than 1.5 million websites and applications.
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8. Cloudways
CloudWays is slightly more expensive than the other cheap cloud hosting companies mentioned in this list. However, these extra charges enable you to unlock premium managed cloud services from the best cloud server providers worldwide.
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9. HostGator
HostGator is already known as the champion of cheap cloud hosting. But this hasn't stopped it from making every effort possible to make it the best in the business. For example, in 2016, this affordable hosting provider doubled down its operations by releasing a new platform.
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Who Should Opt for Cloud Hosting?
Cloud hosting is a highly versatile solution. It helps in supporting the operations of firms that require 100% uptime, unlimited bandwidth, and high performance, such as Netflix. But it also works well for start-ups that have just started to scale their services and web traffic.
Thanks to its flexibility, cheap cloud server hosting is available at several levels, i.e., from individuals running high-traffic blogs to enterprise organizations. At its highest level, this service is great for companies that require near-perfect uptime.
The same holds for those who want to continue growing their servers as they deem fit without encountering unnecessary delays. Partnering with companies supplying superb cloud servers can guarantee speedy site performance and solid security.
Others who may benefit from cheap cloud hosting include website owners who record decent traffic spikes and often have to deal with traffic spikes that take them offline. Cloud hosting ensures they have the scalability they need to continue growing.
Choosing to subscribe for cloud services services will allow you to enjoy various benefits such as:
- Scalability and flexibility
- Cost efficiency
- Increased traffic and better uptime
- Downtime and disaster recovery
- Ease of mind
- Collaboration among remote workers and those working in hybrid workspaces
Different Types of Hosting
Perhaps the most complicated decision a website owner has to make is deciding on the hosting plan to use. Anyone who has ever hosted a website knows there are many options to consider, with each varying in its pricing.
But while your budget is important, you shouldn’t base your decision on cost alone. Remember, a WordPress blog will have different needs than an eCommerce platform. Therefore, ensure you select a plan that offers all the resources and features you need to set up your website. As we’ve already discussed what is cloud hosting, below is a look at the other three types of hosting.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is by far the most basic form of hosting. It’s affordable, making it the perfect choice for start-ups and small to mid-level businesses. Websites using this form of hosting will need to share resources with the other websites running on that server.
It’s a setup that works well for small business websites, as many of them don’t need a whole server for their operations. While shared hosting is cheap, it does have significant drawbacks, especially when a website experiences a sudden traffic spike. A spike will cause the website to slow down due to limited resources.
VPS
VPS hosting refers to a virtual private server. It’s a type of hosting that’s one step above shared hosting. Most owners will upgrade to this plan after their business website has outgrown the resources present in a shared hosting plan.
In this setup, the business website or blog will continue to share the resources of a single server with other websites. However, the number of websites you have to share resources with will reduce significantly, and you can even get optional root access if you need it.
You should consider VPS hosting if your website has large files such as images and videos.
Dedicated
Dedicated servers are normally considered the best option for individuals looking for hosting providers. Here, you’ll get a dedicated server that specifically handles your website needs alone.
Dedicated hosting offers many more benefits, such as faster speeds and more uptime, with one catch – it’s costlier than the other hosting plans mentioned here. The fact that your website isn’t sharing resources with others means it will operate at peak performance at all times.
If you opt for a dedicated server, you can expect lightning-fast loading speeds and high uptime rates. It guarantees that you never have to worry about traffic from other sites impacting the performance of your website.
Features | Shared Hosting | VPS Hosting | Dedicated Hosting | Cloud Hosting |
Price | Low | Intermediate Higher than shared hosting but still affordable | High | Low Due to the "pay as you go" model |
Performace | Good | Great | Best | Best |
Sharing resources | Yes | No Sharing the physical server only | No | Depends Different types of plans |
Load balance | No | No | Depends A variety of providers with different offers | Yes |
Security | Good | Great | Best | Best |
Scalability | Low | High | High | High |
Important Features to Look For
Almost all businesses today have moved or are in the process of shifting their operations to the cloud. Most of them are doing so because they have become aware of the benefits offered by cloud computing. But before you choose a cheap cloud hosting provider, there are several factors to consider:
Performance
Latency can sometimes become an issue for cheap cloud hosting providers. As a business, you’ll want to ensure that you’re working with a host that has a reliable and sturdy connection.
Security
What kind of security does the provider have in place? The best providers are those with data, operational/physical, system and network, and application security solutions. You can’t afford to work with a provider having a lax security system.
Support
Cloud hosting companies often provide various tools to their users. Some will even go the extra mile and provide specialist services to assist with the management of cloud-hosting environments.
Sensitive Data
Businesses that work with sensitive data may need to separate data at the hardware level. A setup of this nature will involve using dedicated servers or any other options that may apply to the business.
Other factors to consider include:
- Backup
- Uptime guarantee
- Company experience and profile
- Type of cloud
- Cost factors
Do I Need Managed or Unmanaged Cloud Hosting?
Cloud computing has radically changed how information technology works. It has helped to contribute to a new infrastructure model and a smarter way of doing things. As a result, companies that want to shift to the cloud will have to choose between:
Managed Cloud Hosting
These providers include a service layer on top of the hosting infrastructure. For example, they can offer virtual machine instances with services through the middleware and database layers or the operating system.
Unmanaged Cloud Hosting
The cloud hosting providers will offer infrastructure resources to the cloud consumers. Their availability, however, will not go beyond that particular layer. Here, database, middleware, and OS management services aren’t available.
If possible, you should opt for managed cloud hosting, especially if you have a mission-critical website. Such websites will require you to have scalable components operating in a virtualized interface and having automated lifecycle features.
Unmanaged cloud hosting works best for cloud-native environments. These are environments that call for the use of elastic demand infrastructure. E.g., in development and test environments or systems of engagement.
What Is “Pay as You Go,” And Is It Important?
Pay-as-you-go is a payment model for cloud computing where billing occurs according to resource usage. It’s a practice that’s very similar to utility bill payments, in example. Meaning, you only pay for the resources you need at that moment.
The greatest benefit of this model is that you never have to worry about wasting resources. You’ll only need to pay for the services you have procured for your website for use at that time. Instead of allocating resources the site may not use.
With the pay-as-you-go model, your cloud hosting provider will allow you to design the computer resources you need and charge you for what you have used. You’re, therefore, at liberty to select the CPU, storage, memory, and OS you need.
Presently, there are three different types of cloud computing services, and each can use a different kind of pay-as-you-go model. These are:
- Infrastructure as a service: Consumers pay per use and can choose to pay hourly, weekly, or monthly.
- Platform as a service: The best cheap cloud server service provider can price the services per gigabyte of memory consumed per hour or user.
- Software as a service: Providers can price their services per user, storage capacity, or based on the available features.
Ready to Choose
Cheap cloud hosting is an excellent solution for businesses with growing websites. If you’re using shared hosting that can no longer support the needs of your website, it’s time that you consider shifting to the cloud.
A cloud hosting plan will provide you with more performance power, storage space, and computing resources. These, coupled with its increased scalability, flexibility, and resilience, will ensure that your web traffic matches your business growth.
Looking at this guide, it’s clear that there are many best cheap cloud server companies to consider. Make sure to do your research and assess your business needs before selecting a hosting provider.
Remember, the choice you make today will impact your business moving forward. So, use the pointers provided earlier to help you select a hosting company. Look for one offering the best cloud server prices, uptime guarantee, and platform security.
Cloud hosting is best for IoT deployments, interactive sites, web apps, and online stores.
If you want to read more on the best cloud server hosting providers – check this out.
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