What is Linux Hosting?
Linux is a UNIX-based open-source platform that is used for website hosting. LAMP is the most important feature of Linux for web hosting and is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MariaDB/MYSQL, and Perl/Python/PHP.
What this means is that it offers a combination of server and software technologies that are fully open-source, making it an optimal solution for people that are on a tight budget, or just starting out and simply do not want to spend that much to begin with.
Linux hosting has a reputation for offering a high level of technical support, low costs, easy backup management, being secure and stable, and having simple administration. Make sure to check out all of the Linux hosting reviews for making the best decision.
Who Linux Hosting Server is For
- Newcomers to online hosting providers
- People who want a cheaper alternative to Windows hosting
- Companies and individuals who do not already rely on paid products
- Users that want a high level of flexibility and support
- For the individuals that want the most stable hosting experience
The Best Linux Hosting Services (Bought and Tested)
Rating based on expert review:
- Overall Score: 4.7
- Features: 4.8
- Reliability: 4.5
- User-Friendly: 4.7
- Support: 5.0
- Pricing: 5.0
FastComet, established in 2013, has rapidly grown to become a notable name in web hosting, providing fast and secure hosting solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. With a network of 11 global data centers, they enable users to choose a server location close to their audience, enhancing website performance.
FastComet is known for transparent pricing and preventing significant price increases upon plan renewal, a common concern in the hosting industry. Their commitment to consistent performance, varied plans, and exceptional customer service make them an excellent choice for a range of users, from beginners to medium-sized businesses.
- Affordable pricing across all plans
- SSD-only servers for improved performance
- A choice of 11 global server locations
- Instant 24/7 chat support
- Free daily backups, site and domain migration, and Cloudflare CDN solutions
- Free SSL certificate with all plans
- No free domain offered
- High renewal prices for plans
- Occasional dips in uptime below 99.9%
Features: FastComet offers an array of essential features, including a free website builder, free website transfer, SSL, cPanel, Softaculous, and daily backups. However, they do not provide a free domain with any hosting plan.
Reliability: With a 99.93% uptime guarantee, FastComet ensures reliable hosting services. Although occasionally the uptime dips below the standard 99.9%, overall, their hosting is reasonably fast and dependable.
User-Friendly: The account creation and activation process is straightforward, and they provide easy-to-use control panels like cPanel, WHM, and Softaculous. Finding certain details, such as name servers, may require extra effort.
Support: FastComet excels in customer support, offering an outstanding 24/7 live chat response. Their team provides instant replies and thorough assistance until issues are completely resolved.
Pricing: FastComet’s Linux hosting offers affordable initial rates with essential features included. Customers should note the higher renewal rates. Their transparent pricing ensures no hidden fees, providing good value.
Rating based on expert review:
- Overall Score: 4.5
- Features: 4.5
- Reliability: 4.5
- User-Friendly: 4.5
- Support: 4.5
- Pricing: 4.0
HostArmada, standing at the forefront of Linux hosting, offers a comprehensive suite of services from shared to specialized cloud-based VPS and dedicated CPU hosting. They are celebrated for their exceptional loading speeds, robust security, and customer support.
HostArmada’s global reach is expanded through 15 server locations, and its commitment to using top-of-the-line hardware and SSD storage makes it a strong contender in web hosting. This provider is particularly suited for a broad spectrum of users, ranging from individuals to large enterprises.
- Low client-per-server ratio for improved performance
- Affordable plans with a range of features
- Website optimization services included
- Free domain, migrations, and automated SSL certificates
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited email addresses and a free website builder
- Global network with nine data centers
- Absence of a monthly pricing option
- Higher renewal rates
- LiteSpeed web server limited to the highest plan
Features: HostArmada boasts a diverse array of features and value-added services, including free site migration, daily backups, and an intuitive control panel, appealing to both beginners and experienced users.
Reliability: Their hosting solutions are reliable and fast, with minimal downtime, ensuring a consistent and high-quality service experience.
User-Friendly: The platform is user-friendly, offering an easy-to-use control panel that simplifies website management, making it accessible for newcomers while still catering to the needs of advanced users.
Support: HostArmada provides around-the-clock customer support through multiple channels, ensuring readily available assistance.
Pricing: HostArmada offers great value for money with reasonable pricing for its extensive range of hosting solutions, although it’s noted that there’s no monthly pricing option and the renewal rates are higher.
Rating based on expert review:
- Overall Score: 4.7
- Features: 4.8
- Reliability: 4.8
- User-Friendly: 4.7
- Support: 4.7
- Pricing: 4.7
Hostinger has carved out a strong reputation in the Linux hosting market, demonstrated by its high ratings from a large user base. Serving a wide array of clientele from start-ups to established businesses, Hostinger is noted for its reliable services, affordability, and responsive customer support.
Their hosting solutions are known for consistent uptime and flexibility, making them an ideal choice for bloggers, e-commerce sites, and various dynamic online projects. Hostinger’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction has earned them widespread acclaim.
- Free domain and unlimited SSL
- Advanced security features and free weekly backups
- Free automatic website migration tool
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Comprehensive knowledgebase and tutorials
- Website builder can be slow
- No dedicated server hosting
- Setup fee on lower plans
Features: Hostinger offers a comprehensive range of features, including both Linux and Windows hosting options. Their service is enhanced by a free domain, website builder tool, and an in-built hPanel control panel. However, some features and programming languages are limited on lower-tier plans.
Reliability: Utilizing LiteSpeed web servers and a containerized environment, Hostinger provides fast services and allows customers to choose from global data center locations, ensuring optimized performance.
User-Friendly: Hostinger’s in-house developed WAF and free SSL ensure security, while their hPanel control panel, though different from traditional cPanel, offers a user-friendly experience.
Support: Hostinger’s support team is accessible and efficient, particularly through live chat, but they don’t offer phone support and have limited support for self-managed VPS.
Pricing: Hostinger’s pricing is competitive, offering affordable starting prices and discounts for first-time users. However, some plans have a setup fee and the 3-month free offer is limited to higher plans.
Things to look out for when you want to buy the best Linux web hosting:
- Are the uptimes and load times up to your standard?
- What kind of security features are you getting with the cheap Linux hosting solution?
- How much bandwidth and storage can you expect?
- Does it provide you with free backups?
- Does it provide you with free SSL certificates?
Linux Based Hosting Compared
People or businesses that rely on Microsoft tools and software packages primarily use Windows hosting. This is due to the fact that they can be a hassle to port and use on Linux.
Aside from that, Windows is known for being a lot more heavyweight when it comes to resource usage, and a lot more prone to crashes and downtime. Linux on the other hand is lightweight and extremely stable by comparison, and even lets you do just about anything you can think of doing due to its open-source nature. Linux users also rely on cPanel most of the time in order to manage their web development tasks, while Windows Hosting plans rely on Plesk.
If a website uses ASP.NET, Microsoft Access, or Microsoft SQL Server Files, it simply has to be hosted on a Windows-based server hosting due to the fact that it has the highest compatibility.
If a website uses PHP, Perl, WordPress, MySQL, and so on, it can be easily integrated on a Linux-based hosting plan. Their main difference however relies on the capabilities they offer their users.
Linux is the leading operating system on servers (over 96.4% of the top 1 million web servers’ operating systems are Linux).
Factors to Consider for Linux Server Hosting
When it comes to Linux Hosting, it has a lot to offer if you are a newcomer, especially if you are not tied to any pre-existing technology that demands the Windows hosting option. That being said, Linux hosting offers a wide range of solutions; however, you still need to consider a few things before deciding to buy Linux web hosting.
- Analyze the Reliability and Uptime – When it comes to consistency, it can play a huge role in how your server behaves, and as such you need to find a reliable hosting provider that can guarantee 99% uptime as well as a high level of reliability when it comes to maintenance periods. The best way to do this is to pick a hosting provider with a proven track record as well as a good reputation.
- Conduct and Analysis of the Security Systems in Place – You need to analyze each hosting provider and find one that offers a firewall, DDoS protection, 24/7 network monitoring, and much more.
- Make Sure It Offers a Solid Support Team – The command line in Linux can be a challenge, especially if you are new and this is your first time managing a Linux server. It is at this moment in time that you need a solid support team more than ever, and that is why it is an essential part of any hosting provider.
- Level of Support the Hosting Plan Has in Terms of Software and Applications – Linux essentially supports just about anything and everything in this regard, and there is no limit as to what you can do, so whatever you end up picking, you will have full support.
- The Costs You Can Expect by Going through The Linux Hosting Route – Many of the software features used in Linux-based hosting are free of charge because they are open-source. Even if you end up finding ones that are paid, they are typically extremely affordable, which makes this one of the cheapest ways to get a website up and running with all of the bells and whistles.
Last Words About Linux Dedicated Server Hosting
Dedicated Linux Hosting Services provide an entire server that’s fully available and reserved for you as the client. You can host multiple websites on it, and the single server in the network has everything it needs in order to support the websites hosted on it. It is essentially a rented space to serve a specific business need.
It gives you root access, larger bandwidth, the ability to upgrade and scale, a higher level of security and reliability, and much more customization.
When it comes to Cheap Linux Dedicated server hosting, these do require a bit more technical know-how from your end to manage, and you have plenty of packages to choose from based on your specific needs. You can start with 2GB of ram, 2TB storage, and a 2-core processor for example, and move your way up from there per your specific needs.
Support
While Linux server hosting is the most common starting point for newcomers who might not know exactly what they are doing and obviously need a high level of support, let us for a second imagine that you are a Linux server expert. Even if you know absolutely everything there is to know, you will still need a high level of support.
This is due to the fact that, while you can remotely access the server, manipulate all of the files, and do everything that you need to, at the end of the day, the server is in a physical location somewhere else in the world. This could be thousands of kilometers or miles away from you. As such, it can be costly and inconvenient for you to have to physically go there and resolve any issues. This is why customer support is important, as they can resolve this issue for you. You should always pick a hosting provider that has a reputation for having the highest level of customer support.
Choosing the Best Linux Server Hosting For You
Linux hosting plans essentially support about 90% of all of your needs. The only exception to this rule is if you are already relying on many Microsoft-based services that you have to opt-in for that kind of hosting plan instead. You get everything in terms of tools that can help you build the next ecommerce conglomerate, even on the cheap Linux web hosting plans, or simply open up a blog and share your knowledge in a specific niche with the world. Hosting Linux servers will even empower you to create unique development for your website, so make sure that you educate yourself as much as possible before picking the perfect Linux hosting plan for your specific needs.