5 Best MediaWiki Hosting Providers (Feb. 2024)

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 beauty of Wikipedia is it’s not run by a single person or organization; anyone can create or edit a page through a web browser. Wikipedia is one of many wikis on the internet that let you structure and consume data in a discoverable and searchable format. Each wiki system is powered by a 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.

A2 Hosting 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, A2 Hosting has your back. The web hosting company offers four magnificent MediaWiki web hosting plans that include superb performance, continual security, developer-friendly features, and most importantly, a streamlined 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.

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 A2 Hosting, 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 datacenter locations to choose from.

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.

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.

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 is 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.

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 tens of thousands of wiki websites (including Wikipedia, Fandom, and wikiHow), allowing people to share unbiased content on a wide range of subjects. This is necessary in a world where everyone is scrambling to craft headlines that catch the eye but may only contain a kernel of truth. MediaWiki is a complex software, and setting it up for your website may prove to be difficult, especially if you are not technically sound.

MediaWiki hosting providers offer plans that simplify the process, offering all the tools you need to set up a MediaWiki-powered website fast.

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.

Follow these steps to download, install, and configure MediaWiki on your system:

MediaWiki also provides a more detailed installation guide. Alternatively, web hosting providers like A2 Hosting offer a one-click MediaWiki installation process.

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.

Our experts rank A2 Hosting 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 — A2 Hosting 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, A2 Hosting ensures your web pages load fast. Cloudways is another solid option, as it offers an excellent MediaWiki hosting recipe.

If a new wiki website is on your mind, check out one of these web hosts to help you get started. And don’t forget to send me the link when you’re done!