how-to
“Someone should create an app for that.” It’s a common statement. And odds are good that if a consumer has identified a need for a web application, a developer has probably already built a solution. In today’s digital-centric landscape, apps have become a go-to to manage many of our activities. From booking vacations and turning our homes into rental properties to streaming movies and listening to the latest indie band, millions of users turn to these apps every day to make their lives easier.
As a result, the application development space has become an extremely lucrative market where businesses and developers are making their fortunes. And the open-source software Ruby on Rails has become the tool of choice for many of these entrepreneurs. Airbnb, Hulu, and SoundCloud are just a few of the household names developed with the software. Thousands of developers worldwide employ Ruby on Rails because of its ease of use and zero-cost overhead. However, to build the next Shopify, Zendesk, or Basecamp with Rails, you’re going to need a robust, reliable hosting platform. Here, we’ll break down the industry’s best.
Best Overall Ruby on Rails Hosting
When deciding on the best performers in the Ruby on Rails category, we had to look at a number of factors to determine which hosts should sit at the top of our list. While price is certainly top of mind for most aspiring web entrepreneurs seeking to power their Rails applications, we’ve found that performance and flexibility take precedence in most cases.
The hosts below offer an array of shared, VPS, and dedicated server hosting packages that can be optimized to run Ruby on Rails web apps. While the shared hosting packages of yesteryear may not have been up to the task of powering Rails-built sites, many of today’s deliver ample solutions for low-traffic apps just starting out (more on this below). However, if your application has scaled and is attracting a large user base, moving to a managed VPS or dedicated server is probably the best bet to ensure top performance. Luckily, the following hosts provide all these options. Be sure to check out the full reviews in the tables below to see how these hosts’ solutions can work for your Ruby on Rails project.
1.
SiteGround.com
- FREE site transfer or new site setup with 1-click install
- FREE automated daily backups, CDN, email, and SSL
- 24/7 expert support with no wait time on phone or chat
- Recommended by WordPress as a top WordPress host
- Ideal for business email hosting, with 99.9% uptime
- Get started on SiteGround now.
SiteGround: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD - 30 GB SSD | New or Transfer | www.siteground.com |
2.
Bluehost.com
- FREE domain and SSL certificate
- 1-click WordPress installs
- Unlimited site traffic and in-house support available 24/7
- Usually $7.99/month, but our visitors pay $2.95/month!
- Industry-leading hardware and uptime
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com |
3.
A2Hosting.com
- SSDs and Turbo Server for up to 20x faster pageloads
- Host unlimited websites and enjoy FREE site transfer
- A2-optimized plugins and 1-click installs for WordPress
- A2-optimized caching with OPcache and Memcached
- FREE HackScan with restore options
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
A2 Hosting: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Best Overall Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited SSD | New or Transfer | www.a2hosting.com |
Best Ruby on Rails Shared Hosting
Many developers running Ruby on Rails will tell you that a shared environment isn’t the best choice to host sites built with the software. However, if you’re not welcoming a ton of traffic, a shared hosting plan can be a very economical way to power your application.
The shared hosting packages from the hosts below deliver some of the industry’s highest performance, extensive feature sets, and cost-efficient price points. With features, such as CDNs, to accelerate web application speed and 24/7 support should site owners run into problems, these hosts give customers what they need to get their Ruby on Rails sites live. Take a look at the full reviews in the tables below to learn about all the products and services these providers offer.
4.
Bluehost.com
- Known for high-performance, low-cost hosting
- FREE website builder with 1,000s of templates
- Endorsed by the WordPress.org team as a top WP host
- FREE SSL certificate and CDN acceleration
- Usually $7.99/month, but our visitors pay $2.95/month
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/shared |
5.
iPage.com
- An industry-leading shared host with competitive pricing
- Attract visitors with a complimentary marketing suite
- Lots of extras like Google AdWords & SiteLock security
- Start selling in minutes with FREE ecommerce tools
- Get more than 75% off today! (usually $7.99/month)
- Get started on iPage now.
iPage: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Shared Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.ipage.com/shared |
See more top shared hosting packages »
Best Ruby on Rails Cloud Hosting
As noted above, while hosting Ruby on Rails applications in a shared environment (i.e. numerous sites “sharing” resources on the same server) is possible, it’s not ideal — especially when traffic begins to spike. Short of moving to a dedicated server (we’ll cover this ideal scenario in a minute), moving to cloud hosting or a virtual private server (VPS) is probably your best bet.
Technopedia offers a pretty good definition of cloud hosting, describing it as a physical server being “virtualized and consolidated to host several cloud servers, all sharing the processor, memory, storage, network and other resources.” Basically, this means that your site can be powered by a number of machines in a network. Obviously, the computing power and scalability offered by cloud hosting is far superior to that of a shared environment and, in some cases, even outperforms virtual private servers. Below, you’ll find our picks for the top cloud hosts. Dive into the complete reviews to see which one is right for your online mission.
6.
InMotionHosting.com
- Ranked #1 for cloud VPS hosting
- 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
- Get started on InMotion now.
InMotion: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cloud Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 75 GB SSD - 260 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | www.inmotion.com/cloud |
7.
HostGator.com
- Twice as fast and four times the computing resources
- Tons of storage with the scalability of the cloud
- Low-density servers and multiple caching layers
- Unlimited domains and MySQL databases
- Upgrades available for security, backups, productivity, and domain privacy
- Get started on HostGator now.
HostGator: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cloud Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 days | 120 GB - 240 GB | New or Transfer | www.hostgator.com/cloud |
See more top cloud hosting packages »
Best Ruby on Rails VPS Hosting
Probably the most popular way to power a Ruby on Rails web application is by employing a virtual private server. Many see similarities between VPS hosting and shared or even cloud hosting. However, the main difference is that, instead of leveraging machines across a network (cloud hosting) or vying for resources among users on a single server (shared hosting), VPS hosting partitions off a portion of a dedicated server. This way, you’re never really sharing resources — your space is guaranteed. Think of it as a mini version of a dedicated server.
Cloud and VPS hosting solutions each have distinct upsides, but both are perfect for running Ruby on Rails applications. You’ll find our top contenders for VPS hosting below. Read the full reviews and look for features, such as SSDs, to increase site performance and uptime rates.
8.
Hostwinds.com
- Managed or unmanaged virtual servers available in Windows or Linux
- Cloud hosting instances with hourly or monthly billing
- Instant upgrades without downtime
- FREE around-the-clock monitoring
- Automatic nightly backups available
- Get started on Hostwinds now.
Hostwinds: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | VPS Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 30 GB - 750 GB SSD | New or Transfer | www.hostwinds.com/vps |
9.
InterServer.net
- $0.01 for the first month using code HOSTINGADV
- Then $6 monthly with no contracts, no price changes
- Latest versions of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby
- 7 operating system options for Linux or Windows users
- Full root access and choice of datacenter included
- Get started on InterServer now.
InterServer: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | VPS Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 30 GB SSD - 480 GB SSD | New or Transfer | www.interserver.net/vps |
See more top VPS hosting packages »
Best Ruby on Rails Dedicated Server Hosting
The Ferrari of Ruby on Rails hosting, dedicated servers bring the speed and functionality of a high-performance sports car and prices to match. But don’t let sticker shock get you down. If your app has scaled enough to warrant a dedicated server to power it, odds are good your bottom line can handle the associated costs. And the returns on investment are definitely worth the higher price tag.
The hosts below offer dedicated server packages at reasonable costs and deliver the features necessary for continued growth. With these hosts, SSDs, network redundancy and backups, and around-the-clock monitoring are the norm. Read through our comprehensive reviews of both providers to see how going dedicated could be one of the best business decisions you’ve made.
10.
LiquidWeb.com
- 100% network and power uptime guarantees
- Custom configurations, SSDs, and instant provisioning
- Auto-migrations, backups, and real-time monitoring
- Block/object storage and load balancer add-ons
- Windows or Linux servers with 100% uptime guarantee
- Get started on Liquid Web now.
Liquid Web: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Dedicated Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 480 GB - 2 TB SSD | New or Transfer | www.liquidweb.com/dedicated |
11.
InterServer.net
- 24/7 uptime monitoring and privately owned datacenter
- Up to 24 cores, 256GB RAM, and 100TB bandwidth
- Choose from 12 operating systems and 3 control panels
- Custom configurations built and maintained in-house
- Price-lock guarantee without contracts
- Get started on InterServer now.
InterServer: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Dedicated Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 250 GB - 12 TB SSD | New or Transfer | www.interserver.com/dedicated |
See more top dedicated server hosting packages »
Best Budget-Friendly Ruby on Rails Hosting
If you’ve just developed the next big social media app with Ruby on Rails but don’t have the same budget or number of users as, say, Twitter, don’t fret. There are a number of cost-friendly hosting providers that can power your Rails site. The lowest prices often come with shared hosting packages, and, as discussed, the shared environment is not ideal for scaling.
However, while you’re starting out, the shared hosting packages offered by the providers below will work just fine. And, once you’re ready to grow, migrating to one of the hosts’ VPS or dedicated server solutions is simple. Our reviews in the tables below should deliver all the information you need to make an informed decision on these low-cost plans.
12.
Hostinger.com
- Unlimited everything, from bandwidth to databases
- FREE site builder & WordPress performance upgrades
- FREE daily or weekly backups
- 90+ auto-installation scripts and custom control panel
- SSH access & SSL certificates
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Hostinger: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cheap Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 10 GB SSD - 30 GB SSD | FREE (1 year) | www.hostinger.com/shared |
13.
Bluehost.com
- Known for performance at a low price
- Endorsed by WordPress.org team
- FREE Weebly site builder
- FREE Cloudflare CDN
- Get 63% off today (was $7.99/month)
- Get started on Bluehost now.
Bluehost: Our Expert's Review
| Money Back Guarantee | Disk Space | Domain Name | Cheap Hosting Plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 50 GB - Unlimited | FREE (1 year) | www.bluehost.com/shared |
See more budget-friendly hosting packages »
Best Free Ruby on Rails Hosting
While the budget-friendly providers and the dedicated, cloud, and VPS solutions listed above are much better options to host Rails applications than the free packages being marketed around the industry, some zero-cost hosting plans may work with the open-source software.
Both 000webhost and x10hosting offer free plans with sufficient storage to handle a basic Ruby on Rails application. Follow the links in the tables below to learn more about these bargain-focused packages. But, again, dishing out a few extra dollars for a more robust shared plan or making an investment with a dedicated, cloud, or virtual private server is still probably the best bet.
14. 000webhost.com
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15. x10hosting.com
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See more free hosting providers »
These Hosts Have What it Takes to Power Your Ruby on Rails-Based Apps
Thousands of developers are leveraging Ruby on Rails to build the web-based applications and tools modern consumers and businesses rely on every day. And the hosts presented here offer the power necessary to boost the performance of these applications, ultimately enhancing the experience for end users.
So, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur launching your first project or an established enterprise seeking to super-charge online products, there’s sure to be a shared, cloud, VPS, or dedicated server solution right for your mission. Browse our reviews of top hosts and make an informed decision.
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