6 Best Managed Hosting Solutions Tested in 2024

Unmanaged hosting can require a lot of time and work. You need to handle everything from updates to security patches, which demands solid tech proficiency and a lot of spare time. If you lack experience or time (or both), it’s easy to miss critical updates, leaving your site vulnerable.

Managed hosting providers offer a solution by taking care of server maintenance for you. They handle updates, security monitoring, and data backups. This frees you up so you can focus on your site content and business operations without worrying about technical details.

Managed hosting services cater to various needs, making them ideal for many businesses. Whether you’re running a small blog or a large e-commerce platform, managed hosting ensures your site runs smoothly and securely.

I’ve thoroughly tested the features of dozens of managed hosting providers and compiled a list of six hosts that deliver reliable, high-quality service. With several managed solutions ranging from WooCommerce to cloud, my top choice is Hostinger. It’s an affordable host with some of the best performance metrics we’ve tested. You can try Hostinger risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee, or read on to see more outstanding managed hosting options.

What I Looked For in the Best Managed Hosting Providers

I focused on the following features during my tests to find the best managed hosting providers:

• Caters to various user types. Whether you’re a beginner looking for lots of help, a developer who wants to offload server management, a designer with little backend knowledge, or a business owner seeking a cheaper alternative to hiring an IT department, you need a provider that can meet your specific needs. Each host on my list is perfect for one or more unique user types.
• Value for the money. The hosts on this list have affordable pricing or make their price tag worth every penny. It’s also not worth it to pay for managed hosting if you have a limited plan or few resources to work with, so I also looked for providers that include features like free domains, website migration, unlimited storage, and scalability.
  Ease of use. Intuitive user interfaces and easily accessible support are vital. It should be simple for you to manage your site and get help when needed.
• Strong performance. Reliable server uptime and strong loading speeds are non-negotiable. The hosts on my list ensure your site is always available and performs well for potential customers and clients.

1. Hostinger: Best Overall Managed Hosting1

Hostinger is our top choice for managed hosting because of its versatility and excellent price point. It offers managed shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, and managed cloud hosting for larger projects. Although not fully managed, Hostinger’s VPS hosting includes an AI “assistant manager” to help you with your VPS admin, too.

Hostinger’s security team works 24/7 to monitor for vulnerabilities and applies updates promptly. This proactive approach includes DDoS protection, malware scanning, and advanced firewall settings to safeguard your data and ensure uninterrupted service​. This host also includes white-glove services like complimentary domain and website transfers, automatic backups, one-click application deployment, and server management.

Hostinger consistently scores very well on performance and uptime tests thanks to LiteSpeed web servers and tools to help loading speeds like LiteSpeed Cache, data center rerouting, and automatic image optimization. And the best thing is that Hostinger’s managed plans take care of all performance optimizations so you can concentrate on growing your site.

Features

• Valuable free resources. Hostinger offers a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, a free domain (with Cloudflare protected nameservers), unlimited bandwidth, and a free CDN (with higher-priced plans). These features enhance your site’s security and performance at no extra cost.
• hPanel control panel. Hostinger’s hPanel is user-friendly and simpler than cPanel. It offers intuitive navigation and a streamlined interface, making it easier for you to manage your website.
• WordPress vulnerability scanner. This tool alerts you to issues with core software, plugins, and themes. It helps you keep your WordPress site secure by identifying potential vulnerabilities.
• Free website migration. Hostinger’s dedicated migration team ensures a smooth, uninterrupted transfer. Your site remains online during the migration process, allowing for a seamless transition.

Read our full Hostinger review to see our performance results.

2. ScalaHosting: Best Value for Your Money1

ScalaHosting provides great value for your money with its generous cloud VPS plans. They come with free SSL certificates, unlimited bandwidth, daily backups, unlimited email, free domains, and real-time malware protection. All this ensures you get better performance, reliability, and services for your money. Of course, the more you pay, the more you get.

ScalaHosting’s managed VPS plans also include WordPress site staging tools and automatic updates. Plus, the efficient SPanel control panel offers a streamlined interface. From here, you can manage PHP versions, users and collaborators, application installations, and even your web server software (if you’re so inclined). Altogether, SPanel allows you to manage your website with just a click of your mouse.

If you decide its services aren’t for you, ScalaHosting refunds any pre-paid and unused web hosting services. This flexible anytime money-back guarantee lets you confidently try ScalaHosting without risk.

Features

• SShield security system. SShield provides 24/7/365 monitoring and blocks 99.998% of attacks on websites and emails. It uses artificial intelligence to detect and report malicious activities, ensuring your site remains secure.
• 1-click installer. Install over 400 scripts, including WordPress and Joomla, with a single click. One-click installation simplifies your setup process and ensures a reliable way to get your website up and running quickly.
• Free CDN. Boost your website’s speed with free access to Cloudflare’s CDN. It enhances performance by distributing your content across multiple servers worldwide, reducing page load times for your visitors. You can easily set this up from your SPanel.
• 24/7 live chat support. You can reach help whenever you need it. ScalaHosting’s live chat support is available around the clock to assist with any issues.

See our expert ScalaHosting review to learn more about plans.

3. Nexcess: Best for Managed WordPress Hosting1

Nexcess specializes in managed hosting, and it excels with its WordPress-specific features and support. You’ll benefit from automatic updates, advanced caching, staging environments, and expert “lift and shift” site migration that keeps all your data, URL mapping, and software versions intact.

Nexcess offers a few free perks exclusive to its managed hosting plans. All plans come with the Plugin Performance Monitor, which provides real-time insights into whether your plugins have an impact on site speed. By identifying slow or resource-intensive plugins, you can make informed decisions to enhance performance and improve user experience. You’ll also have access to free visual regression testing and Solid Central to monitor uptime and speed.

Another great thing about Nexcess’ managed plans is PHP autoscaling, which dynamically adjusts your server resources based on traffic demands. This tool automatically allocates additional PHP workers (background PHP processors) when your traffic spikes. This maintains consistent performance without requiring you to do anything.

Features

• Free performance enhancement. All managed plans offer Object Cache Pro, premium image compression, and Cloudflare CDN to help improve site speed by reducing load times and optimizing content delivery.
• Automated WooCommerce monitoring. Nexcess won’t let your hard-earned sales slip through the cracks. WooCommerce Automated Testing flags any issues with WooCommerce payments, checkouts, and logins so you can proactively remedy any problem.
• Solid Security plugin. Your site(s) will get a premium WordPress plugin that reduces spam, blocks bots, monitors suspicious activity, and stops attacks.
• Site management tools. All WordPress plans come with a 1-click staging tool that lets you safely test big changes in a controlled environment.

To learn more about support, read our in-depth Nexcess review.

4. A2 Hosting: Best Managed VPS Hosting1

A2 Hosting offers managed WordPress hosting and managed VPS hosting, but the VPS option is the real star. A2 Hosting’s SwiftServer platform ensures high performance for your VPS infrastructure. By using SSD or NVMe storage and LiteSpeed technology, it delivers faster load times, enhanced reliability, and improved user experience. You can easily handle higher traffic volumes.

With A2 Hosting, managing your VPS is easy thanks to cPanel. This user-friendly control panel allows you to manage everything from your domains to databases and files through an efficient user interface. But while cPanel is generally easy to use, there may be a learning curve compared to Hostinger’s hPanel or ScalaHosting’s SPanel.

On managed VPS plans, you’ll get a pre-installed CloudLinux OS. CloudLinux isolates each tenant using Lightweight Virtualized Environment (LVE), ensuring server stability and security by preventing resource spikes and protecting against malware. There is one place where A2 Hosting falters: backups. While the support team can restore your site in case of a breach or data loss, it’s up to you to set up your own backups.

Features

• Turbo Plans. A2 Hosting’s shared Turbo plans (available for shared, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated server) cost a bit extra but bring faster page loads, better SEO, and lower bounce rates. These plans feature NVMe storage, improved CPUs, and powerful caching technology.
• Free features. All plans receive free SSL, DNS management, and site migration. A2 Hosting also offers its users the Imunify360 security suite to monitor and detect any threats to your site.
• Smart System notifier. Stay informed with the Smart System Notifier, which monitors server performance and stability. You’ll receive email notifications if any server issues arise, allowing you to address problems promptly.
• Full root access. You’ll get full root access to your server, a rare feature for managed VPS hosting. This access allows you to customize your server environment fully when you want to exercise that level of control.

Learn more about VPS performance in our full A2 Hosting review.

5. Kamatera: Best for Managed Cloud Hosting1

Kamatera’s managed hosting is a paid add-on with two plans. You can choose between basic and extended support options, so you receive the exact level of management you need. These plans include proactive monitoring and maintenance, allowing you to focus on your business and not your server.

But that doesn’t mean sacrificing control. Kamatera’s fully customizable servers allow you to build your server precisely as you want it. You can select the exact CPU, RAM, storage, and operating system to match your needs. You get the resources you need without paying for unnecessary extras​.

Unlimited scaling with Kamatera means you can easily expand your cloud infrastructure as your needs grow. From your dashboard, you can add firewalls, load balancers, private networks, and more. But while its managed plans certainly simplify things, Kamatera is overall best suited to experienced users seeking a powerful (and somewhat pricey) solution.

Features

• Pre-built server option. You can choose from various prepackaged plans to quickly deploy a server. There are nine different plans ranging from 1 vCPU and 1024 MB RAM up to 4 vCPU with about 16 GB RAM. This is a flexible and convenient option if you don’t want to build your server from the ground up.
• Monthly billing. Prorated monthly fees allow you to scale up whenever necessary. You only pay for what you use, making budgeting for your server easy and predictable​​.
• 30-day free trial. Experience Kamatera’s cloud services at no charge for the first month. This trial covers up to $100 worth of cloud services, so you can thoroughly test the platform risk-free​​.
• Hundreds of preconfigured apps. Customize your site and your server with a wide range of preconfigured apps, operating systems, developer environments, and more.

Not sure if Kamatera is right for your project? Check out our full expert review.

6. InterServer: Best for Managed Hosting on a Budget1

I’ll be upfront: InterServer technically doesn’t offer straightforward managed hosting plans. But if you purchase four or more VPS slices (cores), InterServer will throw in managed services for free. This means you’ll get support for security patches, control panel reinstallations, and server maintenance for web, mail, DNS, and SQL. If you opt for Windows VPS hosting, InterServer will do a complete reinstall of your OS.

While there’s no managed solution for shared hosting, it offers enough customer support and value to be competitive with the managed solutions on my list. InterServer has an affordable month-to-month plan starting at $2.50, allowing you to avoid long-term commitments. You’ll get unlimited SSD storage and bandwidth, plus unlimited websites, which means you won’t face restrictions as your sites grow.

While there’s certainly a lot of value here, I wouldn’t recommend InterServer if you’re new to hosting (even with managed services) as it’s not as intuitive as Hostinger when it comes to user experience. And if you’re looking for powerful managed VPS solutions, Kamatera might be a better option.

Features

• In-house security. Web hosting plans come with InterShield Security, which protects your site from threats with real-time malware detection. The system monitors for vulnerabilities and blocks harmful IP addresses, keeping your website safe from potential attacks​​.
• Optimized servers. Inter-Proxy Caching enhances your site’s performance by storing frequently accessed data closer to users. This reduces load times and improves the overall user experience without extra costs​​. Add Cloudflare CDN, and your site’s speed is faster than it would be for most budget-friendly hosts.
• Free website builder. InterServer’s WYSIWYG editor, SitePad, lets you build and edit your website easily, even without coding skills.
• Excellent performance. Our tests showed that page load speeds averaged 1.2 seconds. InterServer also had an uptime of 100% during our weeks-long monitoring.

Our InterServer expert review has more details on ease of use.

The Best Managed Hosting Solution Depends on Your Needs

All the hosts on this list are excellent in their own ways, but they aren’t equally good for every site. So, the best one for you depends on what you’re looking for in a managed hosting provider.

Hostinger is our top all-around pick1. Its affordable prices, performance optimizations, and managed hosting solutions can meet a broad variety of needs. Plus, all plans come with free domain, free SSL, backups, unlimited bandwidth, and 24/7 support.

If you’re willing to invest a little more, ScalaHosting offers great value for the money1. While its managed cloud hosting costs a bit more than Hostinger, it also offers unmetered bandwidth, offsite backups, and its proprietary control panel SPanel.

If WordPress is your preferred platform, Nexcess is the best host for managed WordPress1. Ideal for high-traffic business and e-commerce sites, you’ll get multi-site management, core and plugin updates, and SEO backend optimizations.

FAQs

Can managed hosting services scale with my growing business needs?

Most managed hosting providers offer some level of scalability, but the level depends on the host’s available resources. Nexcess’ managed WordPress hosting offers autoscaling, which automatically allocates resources to your site when you experience traffic spikes.

Are there any disadvantages to managed hosting?

Managed hosting generally costs significantly more than unmanaged hosting. And then there’s the issue of third-party platform integrations – many managed hosts limit your options. Luckily, ScalaHosting offers over 400 scripts for installation, making it an easy choice if you plan to use CMSs and apps.

How much control over my site do I have with managed hosting?

Most managed hosting providers limit your server access for security reasons. However, there are a few select hosts that do give you full control. For example, A2 Hosting’s managed VPS plans offer full root access to your server, as does InterServer on its unmanaged VPS plans.

Is managed hosting expensive?

The cost of managed hosting varies widely. A top-tier customized server with all the best features can cost thousands of dollars to manage. On the other end, Interserver offers reasonably priced VPS plans – but you’ll have to purchase four or more cores to quality for managed support.