The efficiency of most organizational cloud hosting costs can be optimized by not buying more server hardware and platform services than required by your production apps and web traffic. This article compares the cloud hosting cost for small businesses, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and individual publishers. Most enterprise companies already run natively on public cloud plans.
Web hosting companies first sold mainly shared, dedicated, and reseller plans until virtualization was adopted. These datacenter-based companies then expanded to include VPS, VM, and container virtualization products targeting customers with high traffic requirements. The advantages of managed cloud products are best realized by using PaaS/IaaS for development. Let’s dive into the best hosts below.
1. Kamatera
Kamatera offers a virtual machine (VM) platform that lets developers choose the exact configuration of hardware and software tools for every project. Servers scale from one to 32 vCPU allocations with options to add up to 128 gigabytes of RAM and one TB SSD storage on accounts.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Ultimate scalability with limitless customizations
- Create and deploy servers in 60 seconds
- Easily add load balancers and firewalls
- Stellar 99.95% uptime guarantee
- Sign up today for a 30-day FREE trial
- Get started on Kamatera now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $4.00 |
| Disk Space | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD |
| CPU | 1 – 32 cores |
| RAM | 1 GB – 128 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.kamatera.com/cloud |
Starting with more than 60 operating system images to choose from, Kamatera is a strong option for developers who know exactly what environment works best for their project. Customize your cloud server as needed and deploy in less than a minute.
Go to full review »Kamatera allows website and cloud-native software developers to get started with costs as low as $4 per month for a single vCPU allocation — that price is pretty tough to beat. Project managers and DevOps engineers can select the OS from a large collection of Linux distros, Windows servers, BSD, and NAS options.
2. IONOS
IONOS cloud servers are based on Intel hardware with VMware virtualization and SAN SSD storage. The $4 per month plan (XS) only includes 512 MB of RAM with one vCPU and 30 gigabytes of SSD storage. For $5 per month (S), you can upgrade to one gigabyte of RAM and build most websites affordably.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Start with $100 in credit for your first month
- Auto scaling with premium Intel processors
- Customized operating systems (Linux or Windows)
- Deploy Linux instances in less than 1 minute
- Transparent costs and by-the-minute billing
- Get started on 1&1 IONOS now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $4.00 |
| Disk Space | 10 GB NVMe – 640 GB NVMe |
| CPU | 1 – 24 cores |
| RAM | 512 MB.- 48 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.ionos.com/cloud |
Boasting 99.998% platform availability, the popular cloud hosting services from 1&1 IONOS deploy more than 2,500 virtual machines each week. Customers flock to the host for its cutting-edge hardware, georedundant network, and always-there support.
Go to full review »If you need more resources, you can scale in real time with virtual hardware through an integrated control panel environment that includes platform statistics for domains. IONOS is a great choice for microservice developers who are using APIs with JSON, Node.js, and GraphQL.
3. DreamHost
DreamHost cloud servers are VMs with similar functionality to Google Compute Engine and network storage that operates like AWS S3. The cloud platform is built with OpenStack. You can start with one vCPU, one gigabyte of RAM, and 100 gigabytes of SSD storage for the price of only $4.50 per month at maximum.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Options for cloud computing & object storage
- Launch cloud servers in 30 seconds or less
- Servers engineered around OpenStack & Ceph
- S3-compatible and redundant object storage
- Support for MongoDB, Redis, Ruby & Node.js
- Get started on DreamHost now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $10.00 |
| Money Back Guarantee | N/A |
| Disk Space | 30 GB SSD – 240 GB SSD |
| Domain Name | New or Transfer |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.dreamhost.com/cloud |
For cloud storage needs, DreamObjects offers a fully scalable solution for app developers and anyone with big data. DreamObjects is compatible with Amazon S3 and OpenStack Swift APIs and integrates with WordPress to automate several functions.
Go to full review »DreamHost lets developers run most Linux, Windows, and BSD operating systems. This platform is recommended for teams that need command line access to servers using Git and other DevOps tools. DreamHost plans provide more storage capacity at a complete total price.
4. Cloudways
Cloudways is a unique solution that allows developers to run VMs under a fully managed cloud framework on DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud hardware. The pricing for one vCPU with one gigabyte of RAM, 25 gigabytes of SSD storage, and one terabyte of bandwidth monthly is $12 on DigitalOcean plans, though you can purchase a cheaper standard plan for $8.25 monthly.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Managed cloud hosting with 24/7/365 monitoring
- Choose from 5 popular cloud providers
- Auto-healing cloud servers with FREE backups
- 3-day free trial with no credit card required
- Host unlimited apps with no contract lock-in
- Get started on Cloudways now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $8.25 |
| Disk Space | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD |
| CPU | 1 – 96 cores |
| RAM | 1 GB – 384 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.cloudways.com/cloud |
If you can’t beat the cloud provider behemoths, offer their infrastructure as a service. Cloudways gives customers their choice of cloud platform: AWS, Google, Linode, Digital Ocean, or Vultr.
Go to full review »If you need public cloud hardware, the cost of the smallest plan at Cloudways on AWS is $38.56 per month. That plan guarantees two vCPU, two gigabytes of RAM, 20 gigabytes of SSD storage, and two-terabyte bandwidth allocations. The price for a similar VM plan on GCP is $7.45 per month.
5. Hostwinds
Hostwinds operates a cloud VPS platform with multiple operating systems that install full-stack solutions down to the application level. Hostwinds makes it easy to install WordPress, Drupal, and other CMS applications with the OS, MySQL, and PHP choices you require.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Choose your OS or application configuration
- Hourly or monthly billing for convenience
- Optional upgrades for cPanel, backups, and more
- Managed services, SSDs, and HDDs available
- Block and object storage, plus enterprise firewall
- 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 |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.hostwinds.com/cloud |
Hostwinds provides supremely scalable and customizable options for the savvy developer or site owner. Customers can customize their cloud environment or choose pre-built configurations optimized to run apps like WordPress, Drupal, and others.
Go to full review »The cheapest Hostwinds cloud server plan has one vCPU, one gigabyte RAM, 30 gigabytes SSD storage, and one terabyte bandwidth for a monthly starting price of $4.99. VPS plans are deployed through templates with available options including Linux, Windows, BSD, and TrueNAS distributions for developers.
6. HostArmada
HostArmada brands all of its shared, WordPress, reseller, and dedicated CPU hosting plans as cloud solutions. HostArmada has adopted the tactic of offering business owners and developers more hardware resources and managed web server optimization with NGINX.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Managed hosting services and security suite
- Root-level access for customizability
- NGINX Web Server Cache
- Host migrations, daily backups, and server monitoring
- 5 FREE cPanel accounts
- Get started on HostArmada now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $29.95 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 7 days |
| Disk Space | 50 GB SSD – 320 GB SSD |
| Domain Name | FREE (1 year) |
| Cloud Hosting Plans |
Powered by NGINX web servers, HostArmada’s VPS plans deliver top-notch speed, scalability, and flexibility to power a fast-growing web presence. Unlike its other server types, HostArmada offers four VPS packages, and its Web Voyager plan is the most popular…
Go to full review »The Web Shuttle plan at HostArmada includes a cloud VPS account with two vCPUs, two gigabytes of RAM, 50 gigabytes of SSD storage, and two terabytes of monthly bandwidth. The cost is $29.95 per month for unlimited websites. Development teams can enjoy the ease of server configuration with industry-leading cPanel.
7. Bluehost
Bluehost is another option for cPanel on cloud VPS plans with the cheapest option priced at $31.99 per month. With that, you receive two vCPUs, two gigabytes of RAM, 120 gigabytes of SSD storage, and unmetered bandwidth allocations. Bluehost is a great option to give popular WordPress sites more power.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Top hardware powered by OpenStack and KVM
- Instant provisioning and guaranteed resources
- Options for 2-4 CPU cores and up to 8GB of RAM
- Quickly manage and scale resources
- Dedicated IP and domain privacy available
- Get started on Bluehost now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $31.99 |
| Disk Space | 120 GB SSD – 240 GB SSD |
| CPU | 2 – 4 cores |
| RAM | 2 GB – 8 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.bluehost.com/cloud |
If you’ve outgrown shared hosting, Bluehost’s platform is a great option. The company makes the transition from its own shared plans seamless. Enjoy the dynamic resources and streamlined monitoring through the host’s intuitive…
Go to full review »WordPress, Drupal, and other open-source CMS software solutions will run faster on Bluehost VPS plans with greater resource allocation than shared hosting. Another nice option for boutique agencies and design teams is the ability to manage multiple VPS plans together.
8. InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting has recently launched a new managed WordPress platform on cloud servers which is fine-tuned for CMS performance. Platform-i is available starting at $7.50 per month for plans with one vCPU, one gigabyte of RAM, 30 gigabytes of SSD storage, and one terabyte of monthly bandwidth.
 | ★★★★★ /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 |
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…
Go to full review »Each Platform-i plan at InMotion Hosting includes a number of dedicated PHP workers with auto-scaling capacity to more efficiently manage large volumes of simultaneous user requests on the web server hardware. You also receive pre-configured Redis caching for WordPress.
9. Hostinger
Hostinger offers a generous configuration of two vCPUs, three gigabytes of RAM, 200 gigabytes of NVMe SSD storage, and support for 300 websites on its $8.99 per month introductory cloud server plans. The platform includes tools for managed WordPress development and a new low-code site builder option.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- User-friendly hosting powered by Google Cloud
- Isolated resources and integrated CloudFlare
- Built on CloudLinux with LVE containers
- Automated, daily backups and integrated caching
- Instant setup with intuitive custom control panel
- Get started on Hostinger now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $8.99 |
| Disk Space | 50 GB NVMe – 400 GB NVMe |
| CPU | 2 – 6 cores |
| RAM | 3 – 12 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.hostinger.com/cloud |
Hostinger offers something for everyone. From two cloud hosting plans that leverage the company’s global datacenter presence to a premium service powered by Google Cloud Platform, you’re sure to find what you need.
Go to full review »Hostinger delivers a fully managed cloud platform for multisite web publishing. Other options include a free domain name registration, hardened platform security tools, a free CDN, and a dedicated IP address. Hostinger also provides free SSL certificates for every domain you add.
10. InterServer
InterServer has a suite of cloud VPS options available that include Linux, Windows, and large storage-optimized plans. The VPS plans are available at $6 per month with a base configuration of one vCPU, two gigabytes of RAM, 30 gigabytes of SSD storage, and two terabytes of monthly bandwidth.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Choose Linux or Windows cloud hosting
- Up to 16 cores and 16TB of data transfer
- Plenty of RAM and redundant cloud storage
- FREE control panel and several OS options
- Pay $.01 the first month with HOSTINGADV coupon code
- 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 |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.interserver.net/cloud |
InterServer’s on-site datacenter and hands-on involvement with configuring and provisioning cloud servers give customers a level of flexibility not seen with many other hosting providers. InterServer rations its VPS and cloud resources through slices….
Go to full review »InterServer provides VPS plans with multiple virtualization frameworks: KVM, OpenVZ, Virtuozzo, and Hyper-V hypervisors are supported. You can save costs by choosing between cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin for system administration with one-click app installation.
11. Liquid Web
The Liquid Web platform includes dedicated cloud servers with managed and bare metal options, as well as private cloud and Studio accounts. Its cloud VPS plans start at $5 per month for one vCPU, one gigabyte of RAM, 30 gigabytes of SSD storage, and one terabyte of monthly bandwidth.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- HostingAdvice fans get 75% OFF
- Cloudflare CDN, DDoS protection, and backups
- Performance-boosting SSDs and cloud flexibility
- Rock-solid reliability with 100% uptime guarantees
- 24/7 Heroic Support® via phone, chat, and email
- Get started on Liquid Web now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $16.00 |
| Disk Space | 40 GB SSD – 200 GB SSD |
| CPU | 2 – 12 cores |
| RAM | 2 GB – 12 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.liquidweb.com/cloud |
Liquid Web balances managed services and hardware power with cloud flexibility — a brilliant solution in cloud hosting. The company’s packages include instant provisioning, CloudFlare CDN, built-in backups, and, of course, the reliability of the Heroic…
Go to full review »Liquid Web operates a second, more advanced VPS line with AMD EPYC servers and 10 gigabytes per second network transfer speeds. VPS plans on this platform are fully managed at $20 per month, whereas the cloud VPS plans at $5 per month are unmanaged. Cloud Studio is a middle option at $15 per month.
12. AccuWebHosting
AccuWebHosting offers Personal, Business, and Enterprise cloud hosting plans that function to support unlimited website publishing requirements. The company also operates a cloud VPS platform with one vCPU, one gigabyte of RAM, 20 gigabytes of SSD storage, and 700 megabytes of bandwidth for $8 per month.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- High redundancy means 100% uptime guarantee
- Powered by Intel Dual Xeon E5 and E7 servers
- Auto-scaling easily handles abrupt traffic increases
- 24/7/365 support available via email and live chat
- FREE account transfer, emails, and daily backups
- Get started on AccuWebHosting now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $4.79 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 7 days |
| Disk Space | 40 GB – 125 GB |
| Domain Name | New or Transfer |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.accuwebhosting.com/cloud |
AccuWebHosting seamlessly combines the performance and stability of cloud hosting with the affordability of shared servers. Site owners can take their online presence to the next level by auto-scaling…
Go to full review »The Personal cloud plans cost $6.49 per month with cPanel, LiteSpeed servers, and LSCache. These plans include cPanel administration of the hardware, email, SSL certificates, and domains. For die-hard Windows fans, AccuWebHosting specializes in cloud hosting solutions for Windows servers.
13. GoDaddy
The GoDaddy VPS platform starts with one vCPU, two gigabytes of RAM, and 40 gigabytes of NVMe SSD storage for $8.99 per month. These plans include support for your choice of control panel with integrated nightly backups taken in stored snapshots. Datacenter support in the US, EU, and Singapore.
 | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Designed to handle traffic with Linux or Windows
- Admin access via root access, cPanel, and Plesk
- High-speed SSDs and 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Unlimited bandwidth and lots of processing power
- Fully or semi-managed servers with optional control panel
- Get started on GoDaddy now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $8.99 |
| Disk Space | 40 GB SSD – 200 GB SSD |
| CPU | 1 – 4 cores |
| RAM | 2 – 16 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.godaddy.com/vps |
If you’re looking to grow and scale your website, GoDaddy has you covered. Developers and web enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that GoDaddy offers root access, making it easy to install PHP modules, applications, stacks, and various customizations to…
Go to full review »Many people register domain names with GoDaddy for reliable long-term solutions and industry-leading performance. Its VPS plan requires a three-year upfront commitment to secure the 40% discount over the listed price of $14.99 per month.
What Is Cloud Hosting?
A cloud computing service can be compared to a dedicated server, in which a VPS hosting plan or VM is providing the same resources at a lower price by running with isolation on multitenant hardware. Use a cloud resource guide to differentiate between services and calculate the best available rates for monthly, annual, and tri-annual cloud computing costs.
Cloud hosting can include elastic scalability to go beyond what a single dedicated server can manage in production for the largest websites and mobile applications. Due to the difference in wholesale and retail pricing, you should review Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Azure Cloud options carefully. Developers need to subscribe to access the latest database and DevOps tools.
How Much Does Cloud Hosting Cost?
The total cloud cost for resources should be compared to the price of a dedicated server and to the cost of operating a private cloud locally for reference. Users of public cloud services require elastic scalability through AWS EC2 or automated Kubernetes servers across multiple datacenters.
Cloud computing can also be used to build desktop replacement services for work groups or development. The total cloud service cost depends on the hardware configuration and managed cloud resources available. A quick guide to cloud pricing is offered in the table below:
Starting costs of popular cloud hosts:
- Kamatera — Starting at $4 per month
- IONOS — Starting at $4 per month
- DreamHost — Starting at $4.50 per month
- Amazon Web Services — Starting at $3.50 per month
- Google Cloud Platform — Starting at $0.017 per hour
- Microsoft Azure — Starting at $5.08 per month
It is important to compare cloud hosting platforms to the price of hardware at public cloud hyperscale datacenter companies. On services like Microsoft Azure, the price of resources in a datacenter is determined by whether you use pay-as-you-go, subscription, or spot billing.
Amazon Lightsail is industry-leading for VPS plans with a $0.50 per month edge over the cheapest cloud hosting costs at IaaS/PaaS providers. This allows retail web hosts like Kamatera and IONOS only a small margin to compete with companies like GoDaddy using AWS hardware.
Is Cloud Hosting Cheaper Than Web Hosting?
This depends on the type of web hosting you’re considering. Cloud hosting is a subtype of web hosting; in terms of pricing, it typically sits in the middle.
The pricing of $3.50 per month for a VPS plan at AWS guarantees two vCPUs, 512 MB of RAM, and 20 gigabytes of SSD storage configuration in a single datacenter. A one-gigabyte RAM configuration is $5 per month for Linux servers and $12 per month for Windows. IONOS and Kamatera pricing is competitive in this area.
Web hosting running IaaS/PaaS solutions either operate their own datacenters or rely on multicloud networking through other hyperscale datacenter companies. AWS, GCP, and Azure lead the market for hardware resources by operating hyperscale facilities, but they’re not always cheaper. You also need to consider the web server hardware and network speeds provided.
Which Cloud Hosting Provider Is the Cheapest?
According to the data collected for research, Kamatera currently has the cheapest starting cost at $4 per month for a cloud server with one vCPU, one gigabyte of RAM, and 20 gigabytes of SSD storage. With IONOS plans, you only get 512 MB of RAM for $4 per month, so Kamatera wins here.
| | ★★★★★ /5.0 |
- Ultimate scalability with limitless customizations
- Create and deploy servers in 60 seconds
- Easily add load balancers and firewalls
- Stellar 99.95% uptime guarantee
- Sign up today for a 30-day FREE trial
- Get started on Kamatera now.
| Starting Price/Mo. | $4.00 |
| Disk Space | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD |
| CPU | 1 – 32 cores |
| RAM | 1 GB – 128 GB |
| Cloud Hosting Plans | www.kamatera.com/cloud |
Starting with more than 60 operating system images to choose from, Kamatera is a strong option for developers who know exactly what environment works best for their project. Customize your cloud server as needed and deploy in less than a minute.
Go to full review »Google Cloud has the advantage of pay-as-you-go billing at hourly rates. But business planning requires publishers to factor in the cost of cloud storage vs. a dedicated server. A cloud server with elasticity will increase the overall cloud server cost with reserved instances. Shared hosting can be a viable means to reduce cloud computing costs in small business organizations.
Make sure you know the difference between cloud hosting, web hosting, and shared hosting service requirements before signing up, or have a professional audit done to see how you can optimize IT resource spending. Small businesses need enterprise tools at low rates.
Find the Cheapest Cloud Hosting Solutions
The main advantage of a cloud provider is not only saving money on the costs of a cloud service. Businesses are signing up to access IaaS/PaaS tools for custom software development and app design. Companies like A2 Hosting that maintain their own datacenters may not be able to compete with Google cloud storage and cloud costs for Amazon S3 resources operating at hyperscale.
WordPress hosting and shared hosting do not require the development complexity of database plans on Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Azure, and AWS. The requirements of Cloud SQL are part of most managed cloud hosting plan offers. For the best cloud hosting costs, use a fully managed platform instead of employing your own datacenter engineers for security.
AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud pricing for storage and managed database features set the standard for cloud service provider companies at hyperscale. A cloud hosting service is vital for high-traffic websites where you can use the total cost of hardware, storage, and server stack resources to differentiate the tech options that you need and find the best web hosting deals.
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