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

Written by: Laura Bernheim

Laura Bernheim

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to our team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida. Today, she edits HostingAdvice content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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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 Node.js Web Hosting

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:

CHEAP RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • FREE Cloudflare CDN and SSD speed boost
  • Optimized caching and 1-click installs
  • Unlimited email, domains, and databases
  • Advanced security and FREE HackScan
  • 24/7 support via phone, chat & tickets
  • Get started on A2 Hosting now.
Starting Price/Mo. $2.99
Money Back Guarantee 30 days
Disk Space 100 GB SSD - Unlimited SSD
Domain Name New or Transfer
A2 Hosting: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

There are plenty of excellent cPanel shared hosting providers out there, so what sets A2 Hosting apart from the rest. Not only does the company offer a ton of features, but it has custom-built its packages for enhanced performance, speed, and security — putting your priorities above pricing.

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Best “Cheap” Node.js Hosting

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.

Node.js logo

Even though it can be difficult to run on a shared server, Node.js is not reserved for expensive hosting plans.

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:

VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • $0.01 for the first month using code HOSTINGADV
  • Then $6 monthly with no contracts, no changes
  • Latest of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby
  • 7 operating system options for Linux or Windows
  • Full root access and choice of datacenter
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Starting Price/Mo. $6.00
Disk Space 30 GB SSD - 480 GB SSD
CPU 1 - 16 CPUs
RAM 2 - 32 GB
InterServer: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

InterServer's on-site datacenter and hands-on involvement with configuring and provisioning virtual private servers give customers a level of flexibility not seen with many other hosting providers. InterServer rations VPS and cloud resources through slices.

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VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • Managed or unmanaged, in Windows or Linux
  • Cloud hosting with hourly or monthly billing
  • Instant upgrades without downtime
  • FREE around-the-clock monitoring
  • Automatic nightly backups available
  • Get started on Hostwinds now.
Starting Price/Mo. $4.99
Disk Space 30 GB SSD - 750 GB SSD
CPU 1 - 16 cores
RAM 1 - 96 GB
Hostwinds: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

Does any hosting provider have more virtual private server packages than Hostwinds. The company offers 10 configurations — and that's just for managed Linux server partitions.

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VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • HostingAdvice readers get 67% off the first term
  • FREE site migrations and 2 hours of Launch Assist
  • 2 - 3 dedicated IP address options
  • FREE cPanel/WHM licenses included
  • Highly available servers with real-time redundancy
  • Get started on InMotion now.
Starting Price/Mo. $14.99
Disk Space 90 GB SSD - 360 GB SSD
CPU 4 - 16 cores
RAM 4 GB - 16 GB
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

Boasting market-leading VPS hardware, slick management software, and free SSD drives and backups, InMotion Hosting competes to win when it comes to managed VPS hosting packages. The host initiates its VPS customer relationship with free website migrations and up to two hours of launch assistance from an experienced sysadmin.

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Best “Cloud” Node.js Hosting

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.

Cloud and VPS servers offer developers and their Node.js applications massive scaling opportunities.

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:

CLOUD RATING
★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
  • Fault-tolerant SSD storage and up to 8GB of RAM
  • FREE control panel with choice of Linux OS
  • Full root access or managed servers available
  • FREE live-state or scheduled snapshots
  • FREE Ansible control mode for automation
  • Get started on InMotion now.
Starting Price/Mo. $5.00
Disk Space 90 GB SSD - 360 GB SSD
CPU 4 - 16 cores
RAM 4 GB - 16 GB
Cloud Hosting Plans www.inmotion.com/cloud
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

With leading-edge cloud technology, InMotion offers free site transfer, setup, and SSD drives for the ultimate cloud solution offerings. They include free data backups and offer unmanaged or fully managed servers to help you scale your site with...

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VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • Managed or unmanaged, in Windows or Linux
  • Cloud hosting with hourly or monthly billing
  • Instant upgrades without downtime
  • FREE around-the-clock monitoring
  • Automatic nightly backups available
  • Get started on Hostwinds now.
Starting Price/Mo. $4.99
Disk Space 30 GB SSD - 750 GB SSD
CPU 1 - 16 cores
RAM 1 - 96 GB
Hostwinds: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

Does any hosting provider have more virtual private server packages than Hostwinds. The company offers 10 configurations — and that's just for managed Linux server partitions.

Go to full review »
VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • $0.01 for the first month using code HOSTINGADV
  • Then $6 monthly with no contracts, no changes
  • Latest of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby
  • 7 operating system options for Linux or Windows
  • Full root access and choice of datacenter
  • Get started on InterServer now.
Starting Price/Mo. $6.00
Disk Space 30 GB SSD - 480 GB SSD
CPU 1 - 16 CPUs
RAM 2 - 32 GB
InterServer: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

InterServer's on-site datacenter and hands-on involvement with configuring and provisioning virtual private servers give customers a level of flexibility not seen with many other hosting providers. InterServer rations VPS and cloud resources through slices.

Go to full review »

See other top-rated cloud VPS hosts »

Best “Dedicated Server” Node.js Hosting

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.

DEDICATED RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Bare-metal or managed servers available
  • 1-on-1 time with a server administrator
  • 99.99% uptime via Smart Routing™ technology
  • Tier 1 network with redundant bandwidth
  • SSH root access and DDoS protection on all servers
  • Upgrade for cPanel, migration, and auto backups
  • Get started on InMotion now.
Starting Price/Mo. $69.99
Disk Space 1 TB SSD - 3.2 TB SSD
CPU 12 - 32 cores
RAM 192 GB DDR4 - 512 GB DDR4
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
PJ Fancher (HostingAdvice.com):

InMotion Hosting offers amazingly fast and reliable dedicated hosting on market-leading hardware — making it an easy choice for anyone seeking a premium dedicated server host. From free SSDs to a fanatical support team, InMotion has all the bases covered for both small-scale and large-scale operations.

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DEDICATED RATING
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Explore server deals to find the best rates
  • High powered modern AMD and Intel processors
  • Unlimited traffic and 1 Gbit/s network connectivity
  • 8-minute deployment with full API control
  • Auto backups, DDoS protection, and RAID-1 storage
  • Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
Starting Price/Mo. $32.00
Disk Space 480 GB SSD - 2 TB HDD
CPU 2 - 32 cores
RAM 12 GB - 256 GB
1&1 IONOS: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

If you need blazing-fast speed, optimum uptime, top-notch flexibility, and full control over the fate of your website the dedicated servers from 1&1 IONOS have you covered. The company offers an assortment of entry-level, performance-focused, and business-class server options.

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DEDICATED RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • Linux or Windows with choice of 3 control panels
  • 100% network and power uptime guarantees
  • Custom configurations and instant provisioning
  • Auto-migrations, backups, and real-time monitoring
  • Block/object storage and load balancer add-ons
  • Get started on Liquid Web now.
Starting Price/Mo. $75.00
Disk Space 480 GB SSD - 960 GB SSD (+ 2 TB SATA)
CPU 4 - 16 cores
RAM 16 GB - 64 GB
Liquid Web: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Liquid Web's strong suit is managed dedicated server hosting. The company owns and operates five state-of-the-art datacenters in the US and Europe works tirelessly to build and maintain custom solutions for added performance and security.

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See other top-rated dedicated server hosts »

Best “Windows” Node.js Hosting

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:

WINDOWS VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • Cloud-powered SSD VPS with Intel Xeon vCPUs
  • Run any Linux or Windows operating system edition
  • Superb 99.95% uptime rate and 24/7 support
  • Up to unlimited Plesk licenses available
  • 30-day FREE trial with no hidden fees
  • Get started on Kamatera now.
Starting Price/Mo. $23.00
Disk Space 20 GB SSD - 4 TB SSD
CPU 1 - 32 cores
RAM 1 GB - 128 GB
Windows VPS Hosting Plans www.kamatera.com/vps
Kamatera: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

Featuring tons of scalability and operating system choices, Kamatera represents an affordable VPS hosting provider for Windows users. The web host’s global presence and optional managed services ensure your site is performing optimally.

Go to full review »
WINDOWS VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.6/5.0
  • Top-rated virtual servers with Windows OS
  • Ideal for high-traffic websites and apps
  • FREE site migration service and FREE SSDs
  • Get total peace of mind with managed servers
  • Intel Xeon processors and 10TB of bandwidth
  • Get started on Liquid Web now.
Starting Price/Mo. $65.00
Disk Space 40 GB SSD - 200 GB SSD
CPU 2 - 12 cores
RAM 2 GB - 12 GB
Windows VPS Hosting Plans www.liquidweb.com/windows-vps
Liquid Web: Our Expert's Review
Alexandra Anderson (HostingAdvice.com):

Liquid Web is trusted by millions of website owners, and the company’s premium fully managed VPS plan comes with the choice of Windows or Linux operating systems. Enjoy 100% network uptime and blazing-fast SSD speed for your fully customizable Windows...

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WINDOWS VPS RATING
★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
  • Managed or unmanaged virtual servers available in Windows or Linux
  • Cloud hosting with hourly or monthly billing
  • Instant upgrades without downtime
  • FREE around-the-clock monitoring
  • Automatic nightly backups available
  • Get started on Hostwinds now.
Starting Price/Mo. $12.74
Disk Space 30 GB SSD - 750 GB SSD
CPU 1 - 16 cores
RAM 1 - 96 GB
Windows VPS Hosting Plans www.hostwinds.com/windows
Hostwinds: Our Expert's Review
Laura Bernheim (HostingAdvice.com):

Does any hosting provider have more VPS packages than Hostwinds? The company not only offers 10 configurations for managed Linux server partitions, but also provides 10 additional plans each for managed Windows VPS — and unmanaged varieties of both.

Go to full review »

See other top-rated Windows hosts »

Why You Don’t Want Free Node.js Hosting

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.

Great Hosting Helps You Rapidly Develop and Scale Your Node.js App

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.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura has spent more than 12 years crafting engaging and award-winning articles that share the passion behind organizations' products, people, and innovations. As a long-time HostingAdvice contributing expert, she combines a reputation for producing quality content with rich technical expertise to show experienced developers how to capitalize on emerging technologies and find better ways to work with established platforms. A professional journalist, Laura has contributed to The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the Sun Sentinel, and the world's top hosting providers.

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