Writer: Andrew Wandola
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
Linux only holds a 3.17% market share of operating systems for desktop computers, which is surprising given its popularity for web hosting servers. Perhaps Microsoft’s grip on the personal computer market is to blame, as Windows dominates this area.
Regardless, Linux’s open-source nature means it’s free to use for server management, keeping hosting costs low. It’s so popular, in fact, that you can assume any shared hosting plan runs on Linux servers unless your host says otherwise.
Linux is not only open-source but also extremely stable, reliable, secure, and scalable. And honestly, who wouldn’t want that? It’s becoming increasingly popular in the cloud hosting arena for several reasons, particularly its compatibility with virtualization and cloud servers. In this article, I’m here to walk you through the top Linux cloud hosting providers so that you can confidently select the best plan for your needs.
1. Kamatera
Kamatera is like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park, offering reliability, time after time. It’s one of the best providers of cloud hosting solutions today. When you sign up, you can choose CloudLinux 7 or 8 as your operating system. CloudLinux 8 is, as you would expect, a more developed and updated version of the software.
Kamatera.com
Monthly Starting Price $4.00
- Best for developers and devops teams needing full control
- Deploy in 60 seconds across 20 global data centers
- Fully customizable: 1–32 cores, 1–128 GB RAM, NVMe SSD
- Hourly or monthly billing — scale up or down anytime
- 99.95% uptime with built-in firewall and load balancing
- 30-day free trial, no charge if canceled
- Get started on Kamatera now.
Surajdeep Singh
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 20 GB NVMe – 4 TB NVMe | 1 – 32 cores | 1 GB – 128 GB |
We all know cloud hosting’s reputation for being reliable and scalable, but Kamatera adds one more trait into the mix: customization. This host allows you to set up your hosting environment from scratch, starting with the memory, number of CPUs and IP addresses, storage capacity, datacenter location, bandwidth, and, of course, the operating system.
2. IONOS
I’ve always appreciated the value of a dollar, which is why IONOS is one of my favorite hosting providers. Its introductory plans let you score a pretty sweet deal on your first six months of hosting (for just $1 per month). In addition to Linux, it also supports Ubuntu servers, OpenSUSE, Debian, and CentOS operating systems. On top of its powerful cloud infrastructure, you can add features like cloud block storage, load balancers to increase redundancy, and cloud backups to protect your data.
IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $5.76
- Start with $200 in credit for your first month
- Intel Xeon processors, Linux or Windows, full root access
- Scale instances up or down with no downtime
- By-the-minute billing — only pay for what you use
- 99.99% uptime, ISO 27001-certified data centers
- Get started on IONOS now.
Christina Lewis
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 10 GB NVMe – 720 GB NVMe | 1 – 24 cores | 512 MB – 48 GB |
Affordability and reliability aside, IONOS is also highly secure. For context, to protect your project from attacks, IONOS comes with a central firewall, including Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS) technologies. IONOS also complies with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, making it a great choice for a project that involves online payment processing.
3. Cloudways
Cloudways can support website owners with even the loftiest of expectations because it has the infrastructure to accomplish nearly anything. This host partners with Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Service, and Digital Ocean, bringing you top-notch performance, flexibility, reliability, and scalability.
Cloudways.com
Monthly Starting Price $6.60
- Choose from AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Vultr, or Linode
- Auto-healing servers with automated backups and free SSL
- 60+ global data center locations
- Pay-as-you-go — no contracts, cancel anytime
- 3-day free trial, no credit card required
- Get started on Cloudways now.
Jack Wallen
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 minutes | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD | 1 – 96 cores | 1 GB – 384 GB |
You might think that Cloudways would be expensive because it gives you access to servers from some of the biggest hosting companies, but that’s not the case. On the contrary, this host is quite affordable for its quality. DigitalOcean is its cheapest server and suits smaller projects that need powerful infrastructure without breaking the bank. Web hosting packages under Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform cost slightly more but are powerful and best suited for medium to large projects.
4. Hostwinds
Hostwinds gives you many different Linux cloud hosting packages to choose from. With this host, you won’t have to worry about signing up for a plan with extras you don’t need. It breaks down its hosting packages into smaller portions, allowing you to choose exactly what’s best for your unique needs and budget.
Hostwinds.com
Monthly Starting Price $0.006+/hour
- 99.9999% uptime guarantee with redundant network
- Hourly billing — deploy and scale in seconds
- Full root access, custom OS or 1-click app installs
- Nightly backups, snapshots, and enterprise firewall included
- 24/7/365 support with free website migration
- Get started on Hostwinds now.
Jack Wallen
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 30 GB SSD – 750 GB SSD | 1 – 16 cores | 1 – 96 GB |
This host supports different Linux-based operating systems, including Debian, CentOS, and Ubuntu. Setting up your Linux cloud server is pretty easy with Hostwinds, and once you’ve signed up, you’ll get full control over your cloud environment with root access for Linux.
5. HostArmada
HostArmada offers CloudLinux for all of its cloud hosting packages. Here, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from when setting up your cloud server. If you want to run a WordPress project, for example, you can choose the Cloud WordPress Hosting plan. The same applies if you’re looking for a reseller, cloud VPS, or even a CloudLinux shared hosting plan. You’ll find everything here, under one roof.
HostArmada.com
Monthly Starting Price $29.95
- NVMe SSD storage with Nginx caching on all plans
- Free Imunify360 security, WAF, and DDoS protection
- Free automated backups and free SSL for all domains
- 23 global data centers — deploy close to your audience
- 24/7/365 support with free website migrations included
- Get started on HostArmada now.
Christina Lewis
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 minutes | 50 GB SSD – 320 GB SSD | 1 – 6 cores | 2 GB – 16 GB RAM |
Note that the CloudLinux VPS hosting package doesn’t come with Linux pre-installed. You’ll need to install it when setting up your VPS server. Even so, it’s not free, so prepare to spend a few extra dollars a month on the CloudLinux OS. That said, HostArmada is a powerful and generous cloud hosting provider. For context, its shared cloud hosting packages feature free SSL certificates for all websites, free cloud migration for your website, no-cost daily backups, website migrations, and web server caches.
6. Hostinger
Hostinger has a plethora of features anyone looking for a reliable cloud hosting provider will appreciate. Quite frankly, I haven’t seen a more generous web host than this. Everything it offers seems like a giveaway. I’m talking about free email addresses, CDNs, domains, dedicated IPs, automatic website migration, and domain privacy protection.
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $7.19
- Managed cloud with 20x more resources than shared hosting
- LiteSpeed servers, NVMe SSD, and built-in CDN
- Daily backups, DDoS protection, and free SSL
- Free website migration — usually done in 20 minutes
- Priority 24/7 support via live chat
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Sead Fadilpasic
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 50 GB NVMe – 400 GB NVMe | 4 – 12 cores | 4 – 12 GB |
No matter the plan you choose, Hostinger gives you unlimited free SSL certificates, bandwidth, databases, FTP accounts, and cronjobs. I know there isn’t such a thing as a perfect web host, but Hostinger comes close.
7. SiteGround
SiteGround is a WordPress-approved and managed cloud hosting provider. If you have a WordPress project in the pipeline, here’s a good place to host it. Its highly scalable Linux cloud server hosting service allows you to build everything from scratch by customizing the memory, processor, and storage.
SiteGround.com
Monthly Starting Price $100.00
- Scalable, speedy, and fully managed
- FREE Cloudflare CDN and choice of 3 datacenters
- Google Cloud partners for top-tier performance
- cPanel/WHM, SSH access, and private DNS
- 24/7 VIP support and a dedicated IP
- Get started on SiteGround now.
Lynn Cadet
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 40 GB SSD – 160 GB SSD | 4 – 16 cores | 8 GB – 20 GB |
This cloud service provider also offers four preset cloud hosting plans dubbed Jump Start, Business, Business Plus, and Super Power if you want to jump right into it and get started with your project. Regarding Linux hosting, this host uses Fedora, which is best known for its stability and user-friendliness.
8. InterServer
If you want total control over your server, InterServer is the Linux cloud hosting provider you need. Full root access aside, InterServer works with almost any Linux distribution. Whether you want to run your Linux server on Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, or even Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), this host has no restrictions.
InterServer.net
Monthly Starting Price $3.00
- Price-lock guarantee — your rate never increases at renewal
- Linux or Windows, with cPanel, DirectAdmin, or custom panel
- Self-healing cloud infrastructure with SSD storage
- Free SSL, DDoS protection, and 24/7 support included
- Pay $.01 the first month with HOSTINGADV coupon
- Get started on InterServer now.
Sead Fadilpasic
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 30 GB SSD – 480 GB SSD | 1 – 16 CPUs | 2 – 32 GB |
InterServer also works for different types of Linux users, from small businesses to individuals, government organizations, agencies, you name it. That said, its features make it particularly suitable for a web developer. Whether you’re working on a project that runs on WordPress, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Perl, or even Python, InterServer has the right tools for the trade.
9. GoDaddy
Most people only know GoDaddy as the world’s largest domain registrar until they find out that this host offers much more, including Linux hosting. One underrated benefit of choosing a popular web host like GoDaddy is that you can get help whenever you need it. That’s because, aside from the well-crafted knowledge base, GoDaddy has a huge community of users all over the internet who can guide you if you have technical questions.
GoDaddy.com
Monthly Starting Price $8.99
- Designed to handle traffic with Linux or Windows
- Admin access via root access, cPanel, and Plesk
- High-speed SSDs and 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Unlimited bandwidth and lots of processing power
- Fully or semi-managed servers with optional control panel
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
Lynn Cadet
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 40 GB SSD – 200 GB SSD | 1 – 4 cores | 2 – 16 GB |
Back to the day’s business, this host doesn’t offer Linux cloud hosting (cPanel) right out of the box, so you’ll need to set it up yourself after signing up. The setup process is pretty straightforward and takes less than five minutes. Perhaps the most important thing you need to know about the quality of GoDaddy’s cloud services is that this web host partners with Amazon Web Service, the most dominant cloud hosting provider today.
10. Liquid Web
Enterprise-level projects requiring cloud dedicated servers and personal cloud environments can really benefit from choosing Liquid Web. This Linux cloud hosting provider comes heavily loaded with powerful features that make it stand out from the crowd.
LiquidWeb.com
Monthly Starting Price $5.00
- Best for businesses that can’t afford downtime
- 100% uptime SLA — network and power guaranteed
- AMD EPYC processors with Cloudflare CDN included
- Acronis backups and DDoS protection built in
- 24/7 Heroic Support® via phone, chat, and email
- Get started on Liquid Web now.
Christina Lewis
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 30 GB SSD – 440 GB SSD | 1 – 6 cores | 1 GB – 16 GB |
Liquid Web’s base plan (cloud dedicated server hosting) has six CPU cores, 16 gigabytes of memory, and up to 480 gigabytes of SSD RAID-1 cloud storage. This setup is ideal for big projects. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t host a small website at Liquid Web. You can, but I find it very robust and worthy of a more significant project to put its powerful resources into good use.
11. AccuWebHosting
AccuWebHosting is a smart choice if you want some variety. This host works best if you’re unsure about the Linux cloud resources you need for your project and need help choosing the right one. Here, you’ll find more than 50 hosting packages with unique features and resources.
AccuWebHosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $6.49
- 100% uptime SLA backed by high-redundancy infrastructure
- Intel Dual Xeon E5 and E7 servers with NVMe SSD storage
- Auto-scaling handles traffic spikes without intervention
- Free daily backups, SSL, and account migration included
- 24/7/365 live chat support — avg. 7-second response time
- Get started on AccuWebHosting now.
Jack Wallen
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 40 GB – 200 GB SSD | 1 – 4 cores | 1 GB – 16 GB |
AccuWebHosting lets you take control of your hosting experience by choosing exactly what you need. Take a look at its base plan, for example. It offers 8GB of memory, while the highest tier plan offers 1 TB. The best part? Each one of these custom hosting plans supports Linux.
What Is Linux Cloud Hosting?
To understand what Linux Cloud Hosting is, you’ll need to know how operating systems work. Every electronic device, be it a smartphone, a laptop, or a web server, has an operating system.
Your operating system, or OS, is the software that enables you to interact with your machine, manage your website’s files, and execute commands. Without it, your server would be nothing more than a large, expensive paperweight.
Linux is the most popular operating system for web servers. It’s open-source, free to use, and more secure than other choices, such as Windows. When you buy a Linux cloud hosting plan, that simply means you’re renting space on a cloud server that’s run by a Linux OS.
How Much Does Linux Hosting Cost?
If there’s one thing on every website owner’s mind, it’s “How much will this cost me?” Linux hosting doesn’t come at a fixed price. However, it’s generally pretty affordable because the OS is free to use. Windows hosting is usually more expensive because your host has to pay for a license.
There’s a lot that goes into the cost of your hosting plan, including:
- The size of your website
- The amount of traffic you expect
- Your storage needs
- Speed requirements
- Customer support quality
- The type of hosting you choose (shared, virtual private server, or dedicated Linux cloud hosting)
It’s all about finding the right mix of resources for your Linux cloud hosting project. Generally, the more resources you need, the more you’ll pay for them.
Is Linux Web Hosting Good?
Absolutely. Linux is the most popular OS for a reason. However, that’s not to say that every server that runs on Linux is good. What defines “good” usually depends on what you need your server to do. In other words, it depends on what kind of website you have and how much traffic it gets (plus other features your web host offers).
A major enterprise that processes healthcare information for millions of people can’t do squat with a shared WordPress hosting plan. However, for a home cook who is just starting to monetize her foodie blog, a shared WordPress plan is ideal.
Scaling the Cloud With Linux Cloud Hosting
If you’re searching for a Linux cloud hosting plan, you’re in luck. There are plenty of Linux-based servers available. As you explore your options, remember to consider the features you need and your budget. By reviewing the choices we’ve shared, we’re confident you’ll find the perfect plan.
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