Inside this Article
What We Look For in the Best Cloud Hosts for Linux1. Kamatera: The Best of the Best for Linux Cloud Servers2. ScalaHosting: Competitive Managed Linux Cloud Hosting3. HostArmada: Advanced, Secure Linux Cloud Servers at Affordable Pricing4. Liquid Web: Managed Linux Cloud Host for Non-Workaholics5. IONOS: Fast and Customizable Linux Cloud Servers6. Cloudways: Fully-Managed Linux Cloud Hosting, in Every WayOther Notable Linux Cloud Hosting ProvidersThe Best Linux Cloud Hosting for YouFAQ
Short on Time? These Are the Best Linux Cloud Hosts in 2024
- Expert’s ChoiceKamateraKamatera is a popular choice with our readers– Highly customizable and powerful plans offer the best value for Linux cloud hosting.
- ScalaHosting – Affordable managed cloud hosting plans offer great value for beginners.
- HostArmada – Highly secure, constantly updated cloud hosting.
What We Look For in the Best Cloud Hosts for Linux
Linux hosting is, you know, everywhere, so it can be hard to choose from so many options. These are the qualities we look for in a Linux-based cloud host to narrow things down for you (and for us):- Security. Half the point of using Linux is greater security, right? That’s why we like hosts that offer some help in that area, especially if they also throw in some extra security tools for free.
- Good support. Everyone needs help sometimes, even if only to spot that missing semicolon in a config file. The best cloud hosts have trained teams ready to help.
- Convenience. Fun as it is to go full nerd with a server, there are times when you don’t need to make life harder for yourself. That’s why we look for control panel options, managed hosting options, and other ease-of-use features.
- Easy scalability. What’s the point of cloud hosting if you can’t scale it up at a moment’s notice? All of the hosts on this list will let you scale quickly and easily when you’re ready to do so.
- A wide variety of Linux distributions.* The very best cloud hosts will provide you with a number of options to choose from. Some of the beginner-focused options will stick to one, though.
Kamatera is reasonably priced, offering a great deal on Linux cloud hosting. Although clearly targeted at enterprise customers, it’s affordable enough for just about any small business, as long as you know your way around a virtual server. My experience was that it’s also fast, reliable, and generally a joy to use. The combination of simplicity and customizability, along with the per-second pricing, puts Kamatera at the top of my list. Fine-tune your own server plan, choose from 21 different data centers, and get started with the OS of your choice. I’d like to point out that Rocky Linux isn’t listed first here because I like it so much, but because it was first in the dropdown menu. Distros: Rocky, Alma, CentOS, CloudLinux, Debian, TrueNAS, FreeNAS, openSUSE, Ubuntu. Bonus: FreeBSD for the Unix fans.
Kamatera Cloud Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Control panel options. cPanel and Plesk are both available as paid add-ons. Hey, not everyone wants to know what SSH is.
- Extended daily backups. You get regular backups as a matter of course, and for a small fee, you can add extended backups to restore older versions of specific files, directories, and applications, you’ll need to pay extra.
- Multiple IPs. Use them for extra security, organization, or to flex on everyone who only has one IP. It’s up to you.
- Fully-managed option. Pay extra to have pros manage all of your server’s updates and general maintenance for you.
Custom plans? | ✔ |
Support | Email, phone, chat, ticket |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $4.00 |
2. ScalaHosting: Competitive Managed Linux Cloud Hosting
Like Kamatera, ScalaHosting offers decent prices on its managed and unmanaged cloud hosting plans. The self-managed option is a bit more expensive in general, but the entry-level managed options are very competitively priced. Furthermore, the managed hosting service gives you the option of having your cloud server on ScalaHosting’s own infrastructure, or on AWS or Digital Ocean. Whereas the self-managed servers are, as you’d expect, all on ScalaHosting’s hardware. If the preset builds aren’t to your preference, ScalaHosting also offers the option to spin up your own custom server. In addition to choosing the amount of RAM, memory, and storage space, you can also pick from a list of pre-configured purpose-built servers optimized for computer power, storage, or heavy traffic. Distros: Rocky, Alma, CentOS 7, Debian, openSUSE, Ubuntu. ScalaHosting VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from ScalaHosting
Features
- LiteSpeed server software. Want to use your cloud server for some old-fashioned PHP hosting? You can install the LiteSpeed web server during setup and enjoy some surprisingly fast PHP performance – which is nice if you’re planning to launch WordPress-based sites, for example.
- Control panel options. You can use the custom-made SPanel for free. If you want to do a bit of reselling, cPanel/WHM licenses are available for up to 1,000 accounts on the self-managed service.
- Backup storage addon. It costs extra, but you can get as much backup space as you think you’ll need at a good price.
- Automation. If you decide to go for self-managed cloud hosting, there are still quite a few automated tools to help you out. Not least of which is the one that’ll set up your server in 30 seconds.
Custom plans? | ✔ |
Support | Email, phone, chat, ticket |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $20.00 |
3. HostArmada: Advanced, Secure Linux Cloud Servers at Affordable Pricing
Cloud hosting is what HostArmada is all about. Unlike other hosting companies, HostArmada offers its full suite of security tools on all cloud VPS hosting plans. That means that you can be sure that you’ll never have to worry that you’re not getting enough attention to security only because you’re on a lower-priced plan. HostArmada also implements constant updates to keep itself running smoothly and delivering high-quality performances. It offers several fail safes and redundancies to ensure that your site always stays up and running. Unfortunately, you can’t fully customize your VPS with HostArmada just yet, and though it offers plenty of developer-friendly features, it only comes with the CloudLinux distro available. Still, if security is what you’re all about, consider giving HostArmada a shot. Distros: CloudLinux HostArmada VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from HostArmada
Features
- Developer-friendly tools. HostArmada offers root SSH access on demand and full support for languages like Python, Perl, Node.js, Git, Drush, and more.
- Nginx server software. HostArmada offers the powerful Nginx server software on all of its VPS plans, which ensures reliable performance for your website.
- Advanced email features. You get access to an unlimited number of aliases, forwarders, several different protocols, and more.
- Hacked website restore. If your website ever gets hacked, HostArmada offers full hacked website restoration at no extra cost.
Custom plans? | ✘ |
Support | Live chat, ticket, phone, email |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $38.94 |
Liquid Web offers a variety of cloud-based VPS-style hosting plans. On the downside, that means a more rigid pricing structure. On the upside, those VPS-style plans are reasonably priced, and come in varieties suited to everyone from small businesses to enterprise-level organizations. These plans come with a free 50 GB backup plan from Acronis, and pretty good resource allocation. Each plan also includes a slightly more expensive “value bundle” version that can include things like Cloudflare Pro, the Premium Business Email Service, and automatic threat detection. If you want more customizability with more available Linux distros, you can go with Liquid Web’s dedicated cloud plans, but they are significantly more expensive. Distros: CentOS, Alma Linux.
Liquid Web VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Managed VPS hosting. Never update your own software again if you don’t want to. These cloud VPS servers are fully managed. Or they can be, if you pay a little extra.
- Control panels. If you ever get tired of the command line (NEVER!), you have options. InterWorx, Plesk Web Pro, and cPanel Pro are all available to you.
- Off-server backups by default. All backups are automatically put on separate hardware. Gotta love it.
- Real time hotfixes. If you go with the InterWorx option, hotfixes and new features are added to the control panel and server without any downtime.
Custom plans? | ✔ (on dedicated cloud plans) |
Support | Chat, ticket, phone |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $5.00 |
IONOS offers highly-customizable cloud hosting on six truly massive data centers around the world. And hosting is only part of the equation, with IONOS offering cloud solutions for data processing, storage, load balancing, DDoS protection, and more. You can even design your own cloud hosting solution with the Data Center Designer, which allows you to pick your hardware resources, storage, preinstalled OS and security software, load balancers, and more. You can use it to host a site, or integrate some of its specialized services into your existing infrastructure. You can even get Database as a Service, to power those really big WordPress sites. (Okay, most people are fine with WordPress, but I just made a few people incredibly mad.) Distros: Alma Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora CoreOS, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu. Bonus: FreeBSD and OpenBSD
IONOS Cloud Hosting
Plan NameStorageCPURAMPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from IONOS
Features
- Resource-based pricing. IONOS keeps it loose with a pay-what-you-use pricing model and no fixed contracts for cloud hosting. If you only want a server for a week, you can do that.
- Professional consulting. If you have an idea of what you want to do, but aren’t sure how to do it, talk to the (free) cloud consultants first. They can help you figure out the details.
- Backups and S3 object storage. The S3 storage is a reasonably-priced paid addon, but IONOS gives you plenty of options for backing up your data. As it should.
- Live scaling. If you need more power, there’s no delay, and no downtime. Just click the button to pay.
Custom plans? | ✔ |
Support | Chat, email, phone |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $7.00 |
6. Cloudways: Fully-Managed Linux Cloud Hosting, in Every Way
With cloud hosting, most customers are looking for an environment they can control completely. If you’d rather just put up your website and be done, but on a Linux cloud server, Cloudways is the simplest option on this list. Being a managed service, everything about the server is handled by the Cloudways team, and everything about handling your website is designed to be beginner-friendly. You don’t even get root access. Now, that might be a dealbreaker for some, but if you’d rather not deal with the nitty-gritty, Cloudways makes Linux hosting easy. Distros: Debian Cloudways Cloud Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Massive server infrastructure (sort of). Cloudways delivers its hosting management service on third-party hardware. This means you can use DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, or Google Cloud without all the usual hassle.
- Easy to manage. Cloudways uses its own custom control panels to simplify… everything. There are even one-click installers for various popular web platforms.
- Single-click scaling. Need more server power, and fast? The name of this feature should tell you everything you need to know.
- Highly-optimized by default. Cloudways pre-configured all the servers for use with WordPress and other PHP-based applications.
Custom plans? | ✘ |
Support | Live chat, phone, tickets |
Managed hosting option? | ✔ |
Starting price | $8.40 |
Other Notable Linux Cloud Hosting Providers
7. Verpex
Like Cloudways, Verpex offers simple solutions for cloud hosting. But while Verpex provides familiar tools, it’s pretty squarely aimed at mid-sized businesses and the e-commerce market. If you want to build an online store on a Linux-based cloud platform, build it with Verpex. Specifically, Verpex is optimized for PHP, and you can choose between the familiar Apache server software or go with the newer and faster (and great for PHP) LiteSpeed server option. There are also secure outbound email servers using MailChannels or SpamExperts if you plan on sending out newsletters or email campaigns. Distros include CloudLinux.8. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting offers outstanding managed VPS plans. Its Turbo Servers promise Linux users up to 20 times faster page loads. Though that might be a bit of an overstatement, it does offer efficient load speeds for those who prioritize speed and performance. You also get the freedom of root access, which allows for in-depth Linux server customization. And, should you face any challenges, A2 Hosting’s dedicated 24/7 support team is always at the ready. That said, it’s still somewhat costlier than other options on this list. However, you can also opt for an unmanaged VPS or CloudLinux plan to cut your costs in half.9. Hostinger
While Hostinger is one of our favorite hosts for shared hosting, it still offers a very decent proposition if you’re looking for an affordable cloud hosting solution. It’s also very beginner-friendly, thanks to its proprietary hPanel for hosting management. Hostinger doesn’t offer quite as many developer-friendly options as some others on this list, but if you’re looking for affordable and intuitive Linux cloud hosting, you can do a lot worse than Hostinger.10. SiteGround
SiteGround shines with its array of developer tools optimized for Linux environments. It offers automated daily backups, staging, and Git integration, simplifying the development workflow. Additionally, SiteGround’s automatic scaling adjusts resources during traffic surges, ensuring uninterrupted service. This feature is invaluable for those anticipating growth or experiencing variable traffic. However, it’s worth noting for budget-conscious users that SiteGround tends to be pricier than its competitors, even when its offering is not that different.The Best Linux Cloud Hosting for You
Sure, you could go for one of “the big three” cloud providers. Or, you could make things easier on yourself by letting one of the many Linux-loving cloud hosting providers listed above handle your needs.
Kamatera leads the pack with its fully-customizable cloud hosting service. You are billed by the second, and only for what you use, but you’ll need expertise to handle this self-managed service unless you want to pay extra for managed support.
ScalaHosting provides affordable managed hosting with the option to use its own data center, AWS’, or DigitalOcean’s.
Finally, HostArmada is the way to go if you’re all about security. Its constant updates also make it a good choice for staying on the cutting edge.
Here’s a helpful table summarizing the Linux cloud hosting options I recommend:
Standout feature | Custom plans? | Managed option available? | Starting price | ||
Kamatera | Per-second pricing | ✔ | ✔ | $4.00 | |
ScalaHosting | Competitive pricing on managed hosting | ✔ | ✔ | $20.00 | |
HostArmada | Outstanding security on all plans | ✘ | ✔ | $38.94 | |
Liquid Web | Superior managed support | ✔ | ✔ | $5.00 | |
IONOS | Data Center Designer | ✔ | ✔ | $7.00 | |
Cloudways | Ease of use | ✘ | ✔ | $8.40 |