Writer: Surajdeep Singh
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
If you’re a sports fan, chances are you’ve looked up the Wikipedia page of your favorite player or team. I often refer to the Wikipedia pages of esteemed athletes to read about their early life (some stories are humbling), careers, and statistics.
The amazing thing about Wikipedia is that it’s not under the control of a single person or organization; anyone can dive in to create or edit a page right from their web browser. Wikipedia is just one of the many wikis online, allowing you to organize and explore data in a way that’s both easy to find and search. Each of these wiki systems runs on collaborative software called wiki software.
Wikipedia, for example, is run by MediaWiki; one of the most popular wiki software on the market. If you plan on launching a wiki website (why else would you be here?), you are in the right place. Here are our picks for the best MediaWiki hosting providers.
1. Hosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $10.00
- AMD EPYC processors and NVMe SSD storage on all plans
- Full root access — install tools, containers, and custom stacks
- Choice of Ubuntu, Debian, or AlmaLinux with optional cPanel
- 10 global data centers with free CDN and 99.9% uptime SLA
- 24/7/365 in-house support — no outsourcing, no bots
- Get started on hosting.com now.
Christina Lewis
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 20 GB NVMe – 450 GB NVMe | 1 – 10 cores | 1 GB – 32 GB |
Hosting.com harnesses the magnificent power of NVMe SSDs and lightning-fast Turbo servers. That’s why it is our top choice for the best MediaWiki hosting provider. MediaWiki is far from the easiest software to install and configure — but don’t worry, hosting.com has your back.
The hosting company provides four exceptional MediaWiki web hosting plans that deliver excellent performance, ongoing security, developer-friendly features, and, most importantly, an effortless MediaWiki setup process.
You can set up the wiki software in one click using Softaculous in your cPanel control panel. When a new version of the software is available, you’ll be notified via email. Simply log in to your control panel to update your software with the click of a button. Other noteworthy hosting features include unlimited websites, NVMe SSD storage space, email accounts, automatic backups, Turbo capabilities, and solid customer support — including live chat.
2. Cloudways.com
Monthly Starting Price $6.60
- Customizable alternative to traditional VPS hosting
- Choice of 5 popular cloud providers
- Scale server resources up and down as needed
- 24/7 monitoring and auto-healing servers
- Get 40% OFF first 4 months with promo code HOSTINGADVICE
- 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 may think major cloud providers like Amazon and Google Cloud Platform are just for the pros, but Cloudways makes them accessible to everyone. Cloudways is a reliable cloud computing hosting company and an excellent option for MediaWiki hosting. With Cloudways, you can launch the MediaWiki engine in just a few steps.
Although this process is not as seamless as with hosting.com, the web host removes considerable setup complexities and offers a comprehensive selection of MediaWiki site hosting features.
These include a CloudwaysCDN subscription, an optimized tech stack (Apache or NGINX, PHP-FPM, and MySQL or MariaDB), automatic, managed backups, dedicated security, a staging environment, advanced caching, and multiple PHP versions. Cloudways also offers a managed MediaWiki website migration service to further ease your burden.
Cloudways is also a global MediaWiki hosting option with more than 50 data center locations to choose from.
3. DreamHost.com
Monthly Starting Price $10.00
- Custom web-based control panel
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Easily scalable RAM
- High-performance SSD drives
- 5 years of security updates with Ubuntu Long Term Support
- Get started on DreamHost now.
Christina Lewis
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Setup Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 30 GB SSD – 240 GB SSD | New or Transfer | 6 minutes |
DreamHost may be best known for its managed WordPress offering (DreamPress), but it also has a ton of other offerings that appeal to different uses. Take its VPS plans, for example. DreamHost offers four tiers of virtual private server plans: VPS Business, VPS Professional, VPS Enterprise, and VPS Premier.
Each plan has more resources and features than the last. What I personally appreciate is that these VPS plans let you scale your website easily — you can upgrade packages as your website grows.
Unfortunately, DreamHost does not offer dedicated MediaWiki hosting plans. However, it does offer support for installing MediaWiki on its servers. You can purchase a virtual private server (VPS) hosting or dedicated server hosting plan and set up the wiki engine on it. Since you need SSH access to log in to your server, a shared web hosting plan will not suffice.
Follow this step-by-step guide to install and set up MediaWiki on a DreamHost server. This guide illustrates how to upgrade your MediaWiki installation in a hassle-free manner. Of course, you need considerable technical ability.
4. HostGator.com
Monthly Starting Price $34.99
- Full root access with fully or semi-managed options
- Redundant network with multiple layers of security
- FREE website, domain, MySQL, and script transfer
- RAID-10 storage for data protection
- Get up to 75% off when you sign up
- Get started on HostGator now.
Lynn Cadet
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 120 GB SSD – 240 GB SSD | 2 – 4 cores | 2 – 8 GB |
Given that the HostingAdvice team is based in Gainesville, Florida, we can’t help but love HostGator’s ode to our favorite swamp reptile. Beyond mascots, the web host has some pretty impressive features. What stands out to me in particular is its use of NVMe SSD drives, which seriously boost your website’s read/write speeds when compared to SATA SSDs.
You’ll also enjoy a dedicated IP address with your virtual private server, a feature typically reserved for dedicated server plans.
Much like DreamHost, HostGator does not provide out-of-the-box wiki hosting services. But the HostGator app store allows you to download the MediaWiki software with one click. MediaWiki’s official page even points to HostGator’s shared hosting section.
While you can download the wiki software with a shared hosting plan, it offers few customization options. Opt for a HostGator VPS hosting plan or a dedicated hosting plan to enjoy the best of MediaWiki with HostGator.
5. SiteGround.com
Monthly Starting Price $100.00
- Fully managed cloud hosting with ultra-fast performance and scalability
- FREE SiteGround CDN and daily backups
- SuperCacher, Git, and 1-click CMS installs
- Site Tools, SSH access, and private DNS setup
- Dedicated IP address and iptables firewall
- 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 |
SiteGround is our final pick for MediaWiki hosting. While it is not the best MediaWiki hosting solution on the market, its hosting plans, including the managed WordPress hosting plan, are powerful. You can install MediaWiki on a SiteGround server manually or use the SiteGround App Installer — which I recommended.
The SiteGround knowledge base is spectacular, with several detailed guides that allow you to seamlessly take advantage of MediaWiki. For example, this guide details the MediaWiki software upgrade process. Always remember to create a website backup when you attempt to upgrade an application.
SiteGround offers an impressive selection of virtual private servers that make scaling your site a breeze. Their plans extend up to 16 CPU cores, which is notably higher than the four cores provided by HostGator and the 10 cores from hosting.com.
However, I will warn you that SiteGround is far more expensive than the other VPS plans on this list. While it’s worth every penny, you’ll need a sizable hosting budget to make this web host work for you.
What Is MediaWiki Hosting?
There is a saying, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” That certainly applies to wiki software (also referred to as a wiki engine or wiki application) such as MediaWiki. MediaWiki is a type of content management system (CMS) that allows like-minded, anonymous, and passionate people to create and curate content in a flexible environment for the betterment of others.
MediaWiki powers numerous wiki websites, including Wikipedia, Fandom, and wikiHow, enabling people to share unbiased information on a wide range of topics. In today’s world, where everyone competes for attention with flashy headlines that might barely touch the truth, having reliable content is vital. MediaWiki is complex software, and setting it up on your site can be tricky, especially if you’re not technically savvy.
MediaWiki hosting providers offer plans that simplify the process, offering all the tools you need to set up a MediaWiki-powered website fast.
How Much Does MediaWiki Hosting Cost?
MediaWiki is a free and open-source software that you can download and configure as you please. The software is written and compiled in PHP and requires a relational database management system (RDBMS) such as SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MariaDB for data storage.
If you have the technical know-how to use MediaWiki to run your own website, the infrastructure and its maintenance costs are all you have to bear. If that proves to be time-consuming and expensive, we recommend opting for a MediaWiki hosting service instead.
MediaWiki hosting covers all bases and pricing depends on the type of server. A shared server hosting plan, for example, typically costs between $2 and $15. A VPS hosting plan may cost up to $150.
How Do I Install MediaWiki?
Follow these steps to download, install, and configure MediaWiki on your system:
Step 1: Check if your system meets the basic installation requirements. MediaWiki requires PHP, web server software (like Apache HTTP Server), and an RDBMS like PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, or MariaDB. Refer to this page to understand the latest version requirements. We recommend using an RDBMS like MySQL or MariaDB.
Step 2: Download the latest version of the wiki software.
Step 3: Once you download the MediaWiki file, you need to uncompress it locally or directly on your server.
Step 4: Upload or copy the file to your web server software. Don’t worry, you can directly copy the unzipped file.
Step 5: Set up your database of choice.
Step 6: Finally, run the MediaWiki installation script, configure it to your taste, and keep the software up to date.
MediaWiki also provides a more detailed installation guide. Alternatively, web hosting providers like hosting.com offer a one-click MediaWiki installation process.
What Is the Difference Between MediaWiki and Confluence?
Atlassian Confluence is a popular wiki engine, which, like MediaWiki, is trusted by thousands of teams and businesses. But what is the difference between the wiki software?
MediaWiki vs Confluence — key differences:
| Confluence | MediaWiki |
| A paid software used by teams and businesses to build corporate wikis (internal knowledge bases). | A free and open-source software used to power some of the largest wiki pages in the world. |
| Confluence’s WYSIWYG editor is more user-friendly. | MediaWiki’s markup language is more complex. |
| It has an intuitive and modern user interface (UI). | It is highly flexible and customizable. |
| Supports fewer languages than MediaWiki but offers support for Atlassian tools like Jira. | Supports more than 60 languages. |
Both tools are exceptionally powerful and serve different needs. If you want to build an internal wiki, Confluence is a fantastic solution. MediaWiki should be your go-to wiki software to run a robust wiki website.
Which Is the Best MediaWiki Hosting Provider?
Our experts rank hosting.com as the best MediaWiki hosting provider. Its MediaWiki hosting plans are affordable, super-quick, and rich with features. In general, the MediaWiki installation process may prove to be complicated for most people — hosting.com eliminates this complexity by allowing you to download, install, and set up the software, all with a single click.
Additionally, wiki websites are known as high-traffic points. Owing to its high-performance features, hosting.com ensures your web pages load fast. Cloudways is another solid option, as it offers an excellent MediaWiki hosting recipe.
Thinking about starting a new wiki website? Check out these web hosts to help you get going. And once you’re done, I’d love to see it — don’t forget to send me the link!
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