8 Best PCI Compliant Hosting Providers (Feb. 2024)

In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, credit card scams in North America and Europe were at their peak. That’s when you would hear names like the Roselli Brothers, who made more than $40 million in credit card scams, among other criminal organizations that threatened the existence of the credit card industry. Around that time, most people were still getting used to online shopping.

Undoubtedly, online shopping was revolutionary, but cardholder safety was a major concern. To fix the problem of credit card scams and privacy breaches, the bigwigs of the credit card industry (American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, and MasterCard) held a round-table meeting in September of 2006, which led to the birth of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Part of the compliance requirements is that any website handling customer data has to abide by the rules of the PCI Security Standards Council. If you fail to follow the guidelines, you may face hefty fines. But have no fear, I’ve covered some of the best PCI compliant web hosting providers to help you find the perfect match for your eCommerce website.

Before I begin with the countdown of web hosts that meet the PCI DSS standard, I want to mention that not every PCI compliant host is perfect for your website or application hosting. Some offer more benefits than others, which I’ll focus on in the section below. Let’s get started!

IONOS wears many hats, including meeting the PCI Data Security Standard. Usually, when someone mentions this web host, they’re likely talking about its affordability. But that’s only a drop of water in the bucket of reasons you should host your website with IONOS. Besides being affordable, which is great for eCommerce businesses working with a shoestring budget, this PCI compliant hosting provider host has more than 10 datacenter locations worldwide.

Four of its locations, Frankfurt, London, Las Vegas, and Newark, are PCI compliant. These datacenters sit strategically in a way that you can choose the one nearest to your customers to reduce latency and improve performance while at the same time enjoying the benefits of PCI compliance.

IONOS hosts its compliant servers on the cloud, allowing businesses to scale up and down whenever they want to. Since a cloud-based PCI compliant server is more elastic than bare-metal hosting, it helps manage hosting costs during peak and off-peak seasons.

Nexcess is home to more than half a million online businesses. That tells you everything you need to know about its reliability. Besides meeting the PCI standard, this host also uses cloud-based servers.

Customers who want PCI compliant hosting for a WordPress site or online store should look no further. Nexcess specializes in managed WordPress hosting for eCommerce and will set you up with everything you need to be successful.

If you’re unsure how to migrate your website to this host, Nexcess will migrate your website to its servers for free, from start to finish. The company also has 10 datacenters worldwide, all of which are PCI compliant. All you need to do is choose the one nearest to your online customers, and you’re all set.

Some sites are PCI compliant by default, while others need some tweaking. That’s how Bluehost works. For example, its shared hosting plan is not PCI compliant on its own, but you can achieve that by using a CDN provided by Bluehost with your hosting package.

Bluehost is one of the few hosting providers endorsed by WordPress. In addition to a free Cloudflare CDN, eCommerce customers also get automatic WordPress updates and many free themes.

It has all the necessary scripts, tools, plugins, and infrastructure for WordPress hosting, including WooCommerce. So, if you intend to build a website that runs on WordPress or use WooCommerce as your online shopping system while at the same time achieving PCI DSS compliance, this legendary host is a great option.

Wix brought compliance certificates to the party, proving why it deserves an invitation. The best part is that it does not stop at being PCI compliant; it also bears the International Organization for Standardization (IOS) seal for implementing the best practices for managing security risks in the payment processing industry.

On top of that, this popular web host is also TLS compliant, meaning it protects your personal information as you shop online.

Let’s not forget that Wix also has one of the easiest website builders. With this website builder, you can set up your eCommerce store within minutes, thanks to its drag-and-drop features and the availability of numerous templates to choose from based on different niches.

Whatever eCommerce idea you might have, Wix has the right tools to bring it to life.

InMotion Hosting is PCI compliant but only through its VPS and dedicated server hosting plans. That’s entirely fair, given that VPS and dedicated server hosting are great for eCommerce businesses compared to shared hosting. Not sure which one is best for you? Here’s an idea of how to go about it.

If you’re just starting your eCommerce business and don’t have many customers, I recommend starting with its VPS hosting plan.

This plan has tons of resources you can use to grow your online presence. When your website grows, and you begin to attract huge amounts of traffic, you can upgrade to its dedicated servers.

Not all web hosts are PCI compliant on their own; some can help you achieve compliance through third-party payment plugins and server configurations. So, why would you go down this road if you can choose a compliant host by default?

It all boils down to the services and features the eCommerce hosting provider offers. While compliance is key in credit card transactions, it’s not the only thing that will keep your customers returning for more. Sometimes, you need a host that offers a cocktail of everything you need to ensure customer satisfaction and data security.

WP Engine uses third-party payment processors such as Authorize.net, PayPal Pro, Payeezy, Stripe, and Braintree, all of which are PCI compliant. In addition, it does not allow you to store, process, or transmit user data on its platform.

As a result, hackers and other malicious parties won’t find any useful information on your website if they gain access to it. It’s like when someone robs a grocery store only to discover that the store owners do not keep cash at the counter.

Like Bluehost, WP Engine also hosts websites built on WordPress, but it is a little bit more expensive. That said, it offers more benefits for eCommerce website owners, such as Stripe integration, unlimited staff accounts, unlimited products, and a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Hostinger is a classic example of a web host that is not PCI compliant by default but has many other benefits for an eCommerce website. To ensure your customer transactions are compliant, you need to choose a hosting plan for your website and then integrate it with a payment system that’s PCI compliant. For example, this host works perfectly with PayPal.

Hostinger gives you unlimited free SSL certificates, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited free email accounts (depending on the plan you choose), and dedicated IP addresses (if you choose the cloud hosting option).

You can either start with the basic shared hosting option (I recommend the Business or Cloud Startup options for shared hosting) or Cloud and VPS Hosting for your eCommerce store.

ScalaHosting has compliant datacenters based in Dallas and New York, all available through VPS plans. This is a great hosting option if you want to launch a website targeting customers based in the United States.

For customers based out of the country, you’ll need to integrate PCI compliant payment systems such as PayPal or Stripe into your eCommerce website.

While it has different hosting plans to choose from, I recommend the entry cloud option. It comes with heightened security, dedicated CPU and RAM, and daily backups to keep your customer’s data confidential and secure as they interact with your eCommerce website.

The phrase “PCI compliance” sounds like something you would hear at a tech TED talk, but it is nothing too complicated. It’s a set of rules eCommerce businesses must follow to protect customer card data.

Payment processing companies like Visa and MasterCard want to ensure clients do not lose money to scammers when shopping for a product or service on your website. To achieve this goal, they devised a set of rules every eCommerce website must follow to stay compliant.

That said, getting a PCI compliant web host is not the only requirement. Here are examples of additional things you need to do on top of the PCI DSS guidelines.

Conduct Regular Security Audits

The best way to determine whether your website security systems are functional is by conducting routine tests. Remember when we used to have fire drills in school? That’s how a website security audit works. It involves inspecting the installed security systems, identifying vulnerabilities, troubleshooting problems, and providing solutions.

Install SSL Certificates

An SSL certificate is that padlock icon you see right before your web address on the browser. It is the universal mark of website security and a key player in search engine optimization. Almost every web host offers this certificate, sometimes for free or a small fee. You should always use an SSL certificate.

Install Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Software

Automatic anti-virus and anti-malware software can help detect any threats to your systems and counter them before a disaster happens. Make sure you choose a web host that offers these systems by default and regularly updates them to stay functional and effective.

Restrict Cardholder Data

Not everyone in your business should have access to cardholder data. This sensitive data should only be in the hands of approved individuals. Even so, you should document everyone with access to this data and conduct routine training to ensure the highest security standards.

Check for Default Passwords

If you use any security application or software with a default password, change it. Default passwords are usually easier to track online, putting cardholder data at risk. Plus, you should be changing your passwords regularly anyway. Secure passwords are one of the easiest ways to beef up your security practices in general.

IONOS, Nexcess, Bluehost, Wix, and InMotion Hosting are PCI compliant out of the box. Other hosts, like WP Engine, ScalaHosting, and Hostinger, are not compliant on their own but work with PCI compliant payment processing companies to make digital transactions secure.

GoDaddy is also another great option, but will require some settings to make it compliant. It offers third-party payment processors and comes with PCI-certified products such as GoDaddy Payments. HostGator, on the other hand, has compliant VPS and dedicated servers. Still, you’ll need to contact support to configure the settings.

The same applies to Kinsta. While it does not guarantee compliance, you can contact its customer service team to configure its servers per your request. With that in mind, the host notes that the bulk of the responsibility of making your site PCI compliant rests on your shoulders, and it is willing to do what it can to help you achieve this.

Some popular hosting providers that are not PCI compliant include A2 Hosting and DreamHost. A2 Hosting is well-known as the king of speed, but it certainly hasn’t won the compliance race, at least for now. DreamHost, which proudly bears the WordPress mark of approval, is unfortunately not compliant with PCI standards.

Signing up for a PCI compliant web host isn’t the only way to make your website comply with these standards. It is, however, a great place to start since whatever compliance strategies you implement will only work if your hosting service provider is compliant in the first place. Here are the best practices to make your site compliant.

Protect Cardholder Data

You’re probably thinking, isn’t that the whole point of getting a compliant host? Yes, but not without your help. You should protect the cardholders’ data at rest (when not moving from one location to another) and while in transit with the latest encryption standards.

Secure Cardholder Data Storage Systems

Head over to the server’s back end and check whether it’s safe. This requires technical knowledge, so hire a qualified security assessor to help. Here, they’ll analyze how the storage system retains a customer’s data, gets rid of it when it’s no longer needed, and whether other necessary security systems are in place.

Set Up Encrypted Data Transmission

Cybercriminals often target data in transit because they have a higher chance of finding more vulnerabilities in such data than when it’s at rest. That’s why criminals target a moving cash truck rather than one parked at the station. You need trusted keys and certificates, industry-standard encryption systems, and secure configurations to achieve this type of encryption.

Making your website PCI compliant is a huge step toward protecting your customers’ private information. No shopper will willfully provide their debit or credit card information if they risk having it intercepted by cybercriminals.

Keep in mind that it’s better to fix security issues right from the onset. Once cardholders lose trust in your online business, most won’t return. But, securing customer data with the right hosting provider and security systems doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right host, you can achieve this with ease.