13 Best Node.js Hosting (Feb. 2024): Cheap, Cloud & Windows Hosts

Looking for the best Node.js hosting plans? Whether you need something budget-friendly, super scalable, Windows-based, or supercharged resources, our guide will point you in the right direction.

It’s not uncommon to ask “How can I do two things at once? What about five?” Applying that idea to web browsers and servers inspired Ryan Dahl, who was among the many marveling at an early demo of a file upload progress bar. The interactivity was new, but implementation was tough: The browser had to repeatedly query the server for updates, eating up I/O resources. By creating Node.js, Ryan moved the processes from the browser to the server.

Now, the popular run-time environment enables developers to run server-side scripts to produce dynamic online content before the page is sent to a user’s browser, emphasizing concurrency and speed. Major companies, including GoDaddy, Netflix, Uber, and PayPal (and us), use Node.js, so we explored the best and brightest of Node.js hosting — read on for our recommendations.

Best Overall | Cheap | Cloud | Dedicated | Windows

When Google launched the Chrome web browser in 2008, it built the JavaScript interpreter as a separate project called V8. To create Node.js, Ryan moved the V8 engine from the browser to the server. V8 quickly translates the JavaScript into native machine code, making it faster for servers to run. The event loop function transmits data when it exists, rather than waiting on countless and constant browser queries.

Because real-time communication through the event loop doesn’t require much memory, Node.js applications can scale to millions of users. Developers can spend more time working on their app’s functionality rather than it getting bogged down in queries and traffic, making Node.js a popular tool. The platform’s reach lags behind more established web servers, such as Apache, NGINX, Microsoft-IIS, and LiteSpeed, but it is a top choice for high-traffic web sites and applications and is seeing steady growth.

The open-source Node.js runs on Linux, Microsoft, and macOS operating systems with a variety of processing powers. That flexibility is key, and one of the many reasons we recommend A2 Hosting for all-around Node.js hosting. In addition to being one of the few providers that enable shared hosting customers to run Node.js, A2 Hosting excels in affordable server performance and developer-friendly software. Learn more about them below by reading through our review:

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Given the server access required to install and configure Node.js and its related packages, the run-time environment is typically reserved for more powerful (read: more expensive) VPS and dedicated server plans. Although you can sometimes improvise your way into running Node.js on a shared server, you run the risk of being caught and forced to upgrade (if you’re not found in violation of your hosting terms and banned).

Typically, cheap hosting refers to the mass-market, one-size-fits-all shared hosting plans that help beginners get started with their first website. For this more nuanced approach, however, we’re examining budget-friendly virtual server packages. The upgraded infrastructure doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if you have the skills and experience to opt for a self-managed server environment.

The scalability of virtual servers and of Node.js itself means you can squeeze a lot of performance out of a basic, entry-level VPS. We already mentioned A2 Hosting‘s unique Node.js-friendly shared hosting plan, but application developers need only fork over another dollar or so per month to upgrade to the company’s base VPS plan.

Hostwinds and InterServer are two other companies offering great introductory VPS rates to those interested in deploying Node.js. Of course, as with all VPS plans, the ability to seamlessly scale and add more computing resources is a big perk of starting your Node.js app in a virtualized environment. Compare our three most recommended and affordable Node.js hosting options below:

Many of our favorite VPS hosting providers, including the ones listed below, rely on cloud infrastructure to power their VPS environments. The difference between the two server configurations boils down to how many physical servers are supporting the website or application. A VPS is a virtual machine running on one server, while an infinite number of servers can contribute to a cloud network.

Depending on the cloud provider you choose, you can enjoy more fine-grain control over your hosting space — which can be good or bad. Both cloud and VPS hosting plans typically require a greater deal of technical experience with server maintenance, but public cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform won’t help or support customers nearly as much as the more traditional hosts we recommend.

Compared to a VPS, cloud hosting is much more scalable — and additional capacity and resources can be added in real time. A VPS is restricted to the physical host machine’s limits and often requires rebooting when scaling resources. VPS plans, however, tend to be cheaper and feature predictable monthly costs; Some cloud hosting options bill by the hour or amount of computing resources consumed.

These hosts below offer the best of both worlds: the speed, security, and reliability of cloud infrastructure with the affordability and responsive support and managed services of a VPS from an established web hosting provider. Check out our reviews below to get more information about these options:

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Moving up the hosting ranks will eventually land you with a dedicated server. Representing the top tier of power and control, dedicated hosting gives customers a highly customized environment for their Node.js web application. As the sole occupant of an entire server, your web app will thrive with the highest performance, security, and support features available from your provider.

You’ll be able to choose exactly the operating system, CPU, RAM, disk space, and other software programs in which to run Node.js, along with a unique IP address — particularly helpful for any search rankings and compliance requirements. Plus, by investing in a robust managed services plan, you can rest easy knowing a team of experts are available around the clock to help troubleshoot any issues or upgrade your infrastructure.

Dedicated servers are the most expensive hosting option, but businesses and application owners who are ready to fork over the extra money will appreciate the myriad options available from our three favorite dedicated hosting providers. The hosts, reviewed below, include all the features and support needed to succeed with a massively scalable Node.js application.

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Even though the Windows operating system appears on more than 80% of the world’s desktop and laptop computers, that market dominance does not extend to web hosting servers. Linux distributions, especially CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu, cover more than two-thirds of the hosting industry. As such, developers may need to do some extra digging to find a suitable plan that offers Windows hosting.

Node.js is cross-platform, so it will perform the same on Windows as it does on Linux machines. Because of the added licensing costs hosting providers have to absorb by offering Windows, packages with that operating system tend to be slightly cheaper than those powered by open-source Linux software.

To find the best Windows hosting provider for your Node.js application, look for plans that offer you a choice of multiple versions of the operating system. Along with the Plesk control panel, the hosts below offer the modern hardware to run Windows environments with speed, security, and scalability:

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Given the ample resources and administrative server access to successfully run Node.js applications, you should expect to pay a nominal fee for hosting.

Free services sound great in theory, but Node.js is definitely a case where you’ll want the added support, security, features, reliability, and overall peace of mind of choosing premium services from a highly regarded hosting provider.

All that said, starting with a free trial or other temporary services provides a low-pressure environment for developers to experiment with Node.js and determine if the platform is sustainable to use for the long haul.

None of the free hosting providers we typically recommend support Node.js development, however, so we’re stepping a bit outside our comfort zone to point you toward these more specialized services.

Respected brands Heroku and Red Hat OpenShift provide limited — but free forever — plans that support Node.js development, along with simple transitions to upgraded services.

Both Platform-as-a-Service solutions operate as containerized environments that enable rapid development, deployment, and experimentation with a variety of technologies.

Today, the Node.js Foundation boasts more than 9 million instances of the popular application platform and recently celebrated passing 1 billion downloads.

The asynchronous, event-driven run-time for JavaScript empowers developers to follow the “one language to rule them all” mantra and use the same language for both server-side and client-side operations — no more switching between JavaScript on the frontend and PHP, C++, Python, Ruby on Rails, or other programming languages.

The super-fast V8 engine from Google enables Node.js applications to fly, quickly reading or writing to databases, network connections, or the file system.

The parallel connections and increased throughput give developers and their applications a much higher ceiling for instant, scalable success. Because Node.js is an open-source technology, the vast community shares a repository of more than 50,000 packages and modules that further tailor your development experience.

Take your time shopping for the hosting option that best meets your dev needs. You’ll likely need a more advanced server environment and root access, so be prepared for the added expense and learning experiences.