8 Best FTP Hosting Options: Affordable & Secure in 2024

Choosing the best file transfer protocol (FTP) hosting service may seem straightforward on the surface but it’s easy to get lost in the details, unsure of which option provides the best security or most flexibility. Luckily, there are many budget-friendly options you can try, but finding a service that balances affordability with ease of use and fast transfer speeds can also be a challenge.

After extensively testing various FTP hosting providers, I’ve narrowed it down to the top 8 options. In addition to affordability, it’s essential to look for a service that offers FTP account creation with granular permissions, SSH access (plus SFTP and FTPS support), and other crucial FTP features. I also evaluated them on less obvious factors such as customer support and performance, to ensure you get the best value for your money.

For a perfect blend of affordability and functionality, I recommend Hostinger. It offers unlimited FTP accounts, SSH access, and FTP account management tools you can access directly from its beginner-friendly hPanel.

You can get started with Hostinger’s 30-day money-back guarantee or keep reading to discover the best web hosts with FTP access.

What We Look For in the Best Web Hosts for FTP Hosting

I prioritized options that enhance your ability to manage and transfer files securely and efficiently by offering these features:

• Secure FTP connections. The web hosts on my list support secure FTP transfer protocols like SFTP, FTPS, and FTPES. These protocols offer enhanced encryption and security over standard FTP, ensuring the protection of your transferred data.
• Support for FTP clients and SSH. I looked for hosts that provide or support FTP clients like FileZilla and CuteFTP. I also considered hosts with SSH access, which allows you to use FTP over SSH for transfers, adding an extra layer of security and convenience.
• High resources. Web hosts that offer generous or unlimited FTP accounts, bandwidth, and storage ensure you can transfer files without worrying about running out of bandwidth or incurring added costs.
• User-friendly control panel with FTP management tools. An uncomplicated control panel, such as cPanel with its FTP Accounts Manager tool, is vital. It simplifies the management and deployment of FTP functions, simplifying your hosting experience.
• Security tools. Comprehensive security is a must. My top recommendations provide a robust security suite and secure access control tools like password protection, two-factor authentication (2FA), and member account permissions.

1. Hostinger: Affordable Shared Hosting With Free FTP Management Tools1

Providing everything you need for secure FTP transfers, Hostinger is an excellent option for small- to medium-sized websites. All its plans, including shared hosting, offer unlimited FTP accounts and SSH access for FTP over SSH. Additionally, you get unlimited bandwidth, making Hostinger suitable for sites with heavy or unpredictable traffic.

Each Hostinger plan includes an FTP account by default and supports various FTP clients, including SmartFTP and FileZilla. Hostinger’s proprietary hPanel further simplifies FTP account setup. You can use its FTP Accounts menu to configure your FTP access, giving you flexible management over your file transfers.

You can create an unlimited number of FTP accounts, including public access accounts for team members and site visitors or root access accounts for system admins and developers. Keep in mind that FTP is not offered for sites made using the Hostinger Website Builder.

Features

• Helpful knowledge base. Hostinger offers plenty of guides and tutorials in its knowledge base to assist with the FTP setup and configuration process. I found numerous ones on topics like FileZilla, creating an FTP account, and FTP troubleshooting.
• Generous storage limits. Shared hosting plans come with up to 200 GB of storage, providing ample space for your files. Cloud and VPS plans include even more.
• Faster NVMe SSD storage. You can enjoy superior performance and quick transfer speeds with enhanced NVMe SSD storage on all Hostinger plans.
• Automatic backups. Hostinger provides automatic daily or weekly and on-demand backups (depending on your plan), so your data stays secure and easily restorable.

For more on performance, see our expert Hostinger review

2. IONOS: Budget Hosting With Full FTP Support and Security1

IONOS is another great FTP hosting option, offering low-cost shared hosting that supports FTP transfers. In the IONOS console, you can create multiple FTP accounts with varying permissions. This makes it a practical choice for managing access to different parts of your website. It also supports popular FTP clients and provides lots of self-help guides for setup.

IONOS provides automatic daily and on-demand backups, ensuring your data is always secure and recoverable. Like Hostinger, I appreciate that backups are included in the price, which isn’t always the case with most hosts. To add another layer of security, IONOS also offers georedundant servers, which means it will replicate your data across multiple servers in different US locations.

However, IONOS support can be unreliable. I’ve experienced issues like persistently unavailable live chat and untrained agents. This host is best for experienced users who prefer low prices in exchange for managing their own hosting. If you don’t think you’ll need customer support assistance or more hand-holding than a self-help guide, IONOS may be a great budget option.

Features

• Unlimited storage. If you sign up for the Plus or Ultimate plans, you’ll get unlimited storage, which allows you to expand your online presence. I’d recommend these for content-heavy sites and multi-site managers like developers and designers.
• SFTP/FTPS support. If you want to keep your options open, IONOS supports SFTP and FTPS on Linux and Windows servers.
• Generous discounts. IONOS offers significant first-term discounts, making most of its plans super affordable during the first 6 months on annual terms.
• Unmetered bandwidth. All plans offer unmetered bandwidth. In addition to this, some plans offer connections up to 100 Gbit/sec

Learn more about IONOS in our comprehensive review.

3. InterServer: A One-Size-Fits-All Plan With Unlimited FTP Accounts, Storage, and Bandwidth1

InterServer offers a comprehensive, unlimited shared hosting plan that has no limits on your storage, bandwidth, and FTP accounts. This one-size-fits-all plan also supports unlimited websites and email accounts, making it a versatile choice for most hosting needs. All these features come bundled at a single set price, which is great for budgeting your hosting expenses.

You can also sign up for this plan on a monthly basis for a reasonable rate, starting at only $2.50. This flexibility is ideal if you’re looking for affordable FTP hosting without committing to an annual plan. Of course, the best savings are available on longer-term plans.

While InterServer’s tutorials and guides on FTP are fewer compared to competitors like Hostinger or IONOS, they’re still very useful. The available guides cover FTP setup and management through a variety of FTP clients and control panels. Additionally, I found that InterServer’s support is responsive and generally helpful via live chat and ticket.

Features

• Free InterShield protection. InterServer includes InterShield protection with every plan, providing advanced security measures to safeguard your website against threats like malware and hackers.
• SitePad website builder. You can easily create and customize your website using SitePad, a user-friendly website builder offered through InterServer that requires no coding skills.
• Inter-Insurance security. If your website ever gets compromised, Inter-Insurance will restore it to its original state for free. This also applies to newly migrated sites.
• 1-click installation for 450+ cloud apps. InterServer offers hundreds of cloud apps, including CMSs like WordPress and FTP clients like Monsta, that you can install in minutes.

Read our expert InterServer review to learn more about plans and pricing.

4. A2 Hosting: Turbo-Boosted FTP Hosting With cPanel1

A2 Hosting is a great choice if you’re looking for high-performance FTP hosting. While it recommends its unmanaged VPS plans for FTP hosting, I found its shared hosting plans to be quite sufficient – and much more affordable. You can also easily manage your FTP accounts with the cPanel control panel included with some plans.

The higher-tier Turbo shared hosting plans feature Turbo-Boosted servers optimized for faster speeds. These aren’t just claims, either: we found this host delivers some of the fastest loading speeds of any shared plan we’ve tested (around 0.5 to 0.8 seconds). This makes it ideal for those who prioritize speed but want a host that’s cost-efficient.

However, A2 Hosting doesn’t exactly have the most responsive support team. In some cases, our team has experienced wait times of up to an hour for both live chat and phone support. Despite this, the performance benefits and ease of use make A2 Hosting a good option for FTP hosting.

Features

• Instant FTP account setup. You can instantly set up an FTP account when you sign up for an A2 Hosting plan. In fact, your welcome email includes your FTP login details so you can set up your access right away.
• SSH access. All plans provide SSH access for strong encryption and remote access.
• Unlimited data transfer. Unlimited bandwidth and storage are available for most plans (except for the entry-level Drive plan). Additionally, all plans feature SSD storage, with NVMe SSD on Turbo plans.
• Dedicated hosting resources. On web hosting plans, A2 Hosting promises dedicated memory (1– 4 GB RAM) and CPU (1 – 4 cores) resources, similar to what you’d get with VPS or dedicated hosting.

For more on A2 Hosting’s features, check out our full expert review.

5. FastComet: Shared Cloud Hosting With an FTP Manager Tool1

FastComet’s shared cloud hosting plans include cPanel, making FTP account setup and configuration easy. You can easily create new accounts, specify access directories, and set quotas and permissions. These features are particularly useful if you want to delegate specific access to developers or collaborators.

The FTP Manager tool in FastComet’s cPanel also allows you to view and terminate active FTP connections if necessary. This tool is great for maintaining control over who accesses your files and when which enhances your site’s security and management efficiency. FastComet also offers unlimited FTP accounts and data transfer.

If there’s one thing I’m hesitant about, it’s FastComet’s minuscule storage quota. This ranges from 10 – 40 GB with shared hosting. From experience, I know this might be restrictive for e-commerce or content-heavy websites, especially if you plan to host multiple sites or a media-heavy portfolio. However, if you need more space, you can upgrade to FastComet’s cloud VPS or dedicated plans.

Features

• Worldwide data centers. FastComet offers data centers across ten countries, including Japa, India, and Singapore. If your audience is near these regions, you’ll benefit from FastComet’s far reach.
• Fantastic discounts for new users. FastComet offers up to 75% off for first-time customers, with the option to lock these promo rates in for up to 3 years.
  SSH access (on most select plans). SSH access is available on most plans, barring the Starter entry-level web hosting plan.
• Unlimited websites. You can host unlimited websites on the Plus and Extra shared hosting plans, making them a good value for developers and agencies.

To learn more about this host, read our full FastComet review.

6. HostArmada: Speed-Optimized Servers for Fast FTP Transfers1

HostArmada’s managed shared hosting is relatively inexpensive and supports FTP, which is perfect for beginners or busy budget-conscious users. While the storage quotas are lower, maxing out at 40 GB on the most expensive Speed Reaper shared plan, the plan’s affordability balances this limitation.

HostArmada offers optimized servers that can greatly improve FTP transfer speeds. Its redundant network, with up to 7000 Mbps speeds, ensures a 99.9% high connectivity rate. HostArmada also avoids overloading its servers with users to avoid network congestion, which can also help FTP speeds.

However, the host has implemented a fair usage bandwidth policy. Though this sounds scary, HostArmada does list the exact figures on its plan pages and these vary per plan. It’s around 30–90 GB per month for shared hosting, 7–8 TB on cloud VPS and dedicated plans, and up to 12 TB on reseller packages. Not bad. There’s no billing for overages, though the host may ask you to lower your usage or upgrade your plan.

Features

• 45-day money-back guarantee. HostArmada gives you just over two weeks longer than the average 30-day period to request a refund should you be unhappy.
• Full root or SSH access. Depending on your plan, you’ll get SSH or full root access, allowing for secure FTP over SSH transfers.
• Dedicated resources. HostArmada’s shared plans offer 2–6 CPU cores and 2–6 GB RAM, while cloud VPS plans offer 1-6 cores and 2-16 GB RAM.
• Unlimited FTP accounts. You’ll be able to create unlimited FTP accounts under your HostArmada plan. Additionally, you can connect to your server using popular FTP clients like FileZilla, WinSCP, and CuteFTP.

Our in-depth HostArmada review has more insights.

Other Notable Web Hosts for FTP Hosting

7. InMotion Hosting1

InMotion Hosting offers unlimited bandwidth on all its shared hosting plans, which include full FTP and SSH access. The cPanel control panel and its user-friendly FTP account tools are also included in these plans.

That said, good luck getting hold of customer support by the phone (and please let me know when you do, as I’m still waiting). InMotion Hosting’s phone support is only available to higher-tier plans only, as is NVMe SSD storage. However, along with the price increase, you can host unlimited websites with faster performance thanks to InMotion Hosting’s proprietary layered caching.

8. SiteGround1

SiteGround offers free SSH and SFTP access on all of its shared plans, as well as unlimited FTP accounts. Its shared plans are relatively inexpensive – however, I had a small heart attack when I realized cloud hosting prices jump drastically, which is a big issue if you need dedicated resources. You’ll have to migrate if you aren’t happy to shell out at least $2.99/month to upgrade to its cloud plans.

Like some of the other hosts on this list, low storage limits (40 GB on the GoGeek plan) are also a problem. Because the first-term discounts are so high (sometimes up to 80% off), renewal rates can also be a shock. However, don’t let all that dissuade you. If performance and reliability are your priority, SiteGround is a solid choice.

The Best FTP Hosting Options For You

Sure, you can easily find a host that offers file transfer via FTP, but not all web hosts offer the best plans or performance for this. The top FTP hosting options on my list offer secure file transfers, reliable connectivity, and ease-of-use features like beginner-friendly control panels for FTP management.

With its generously discounted shared, cloud, VPS, and WordPress hosting plans, Hostinger provides excellent value1. They all support FTP and offer unlimited bandwidth, making Hostinger ideal for small- and medium-sized websites.

If you need to store or transfer a large number of critical files, IONOS is your go-to host1. You can sign up for an unlimited bandwidth and storage plan at a reasonable price. The host also offers FTP-friendly HiDrive storage-only hosting solutions with top-notch security protocols to keep your files secure.

InterServer stands out1 for its straightforward pricing, offering a single low-cost one-size-fits-all shared plan with unlimited resources. There’s also cloud VPS and Windows plans that support FTP, plus FTP-compatible storage-only hosting.

FAQ

What is the difference between uploading files via a control panel and FTP client?

Uploading files via a control panel, like cPanel’s File Manager, is easy and accessible from any browser. A2 Hosting’s plans offer free cPanel access, as do many other hosts, especially when it comes to shared plans. cPanel tools are ideal for small file transfers. FTP clients, like FileZilla and CuteFTP, are better for handling numerous file transfers at once.

Are there affordable FTP hosting options?

Yes, there are many affordable FTP hosting options, such as Hostinger, IONOS, and InterServer. Their shared plans are ideal for small- to medium-sized websites, and they also offer advanced cloud, VPS, and dedicated plans at reasonable rates. InterServer’s low-cost FTP-friendly plans come with essential FTP-friendly features like ample storage, secure file transfers, and reliable customer support.

What are the benefits of using a custom control panel for FTP hosting?

A custom control panel simplifies your FTP account setup, permissions handling, and password management. It offers an intuitive interface, advanced functionality, and better integration with other tools, enhancing overall efficiency and user experience. IONOS offers a free proprietary control panel, while some hosts include or charge extra for a third-party service.

What secure protocols should I look for in FTP hosting?

Look for protocols like FTPS (FTP Secure) and SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). FTPS adds a layer of security to the standard FTP protocol by using SSL/TLS encryption, while SFTP uses SSH to provide a secure channel for file transfers. However, with SSH access only, you’ll struggle to create multiple FTP accounts or ones with varying permissions. IONOS’ plans support FTPS/SFTP and include easy-to-use FTP account management tools.

How can I choose the best FTP hosting provider for my business needs?

You need to ensure the host or plan supports FTP transfers. You’ll also need a control panel with FTP account management tools, like Hostinger’s user-friendly FTP tools, or SSH access for FTP over SSH. Then, identify your storage and transfer requirements. You may need a lot of storage space and bandwidth, so look for unlimited hosting plans. You should also look for hosts that offer reliable service like the ones that top our best hosting services in 2024.