Pros & Cons
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- Flexible VPS hosting plans
- Reasonable prices
- Dependable customer service
- Prorated, money-back guarantee
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- Lacks dedicated hosting
- Site builder tools could be easier to use
- Only select plans have Windows-based servers
Scala Hosting Specs
| 24/7 Customer Support | |
| Cloud Hosting | |
| Linux Servers | |
| Reseller Hosting | |
| Shared Hosting | |
| VPS Hosting | |
| Windows Servers | |
| WordPress Hosting |
The web hosting category is vast, encompassing low-cost shared servers for blogging purposes and powerful, dedicated servers that can handle high traffic volumes. ScalaHosting believes there's ample space for something in the middle. Although it has many options, its primary offering is cloud-based, managed virtual private server (VPS) hosting. ScalaHosting touts this as the best of all worlds, with reliability, performance, and support that takes server maintenance out of your hands. In our tests, ScalaHosting proved to be a strong contender in the cloud and VPS categories. However, it lacks the numerous tiers and server OS options found in Hostwinds, our Editors' Choice winner for VPS hosting.
Shared Hosting Plans
ScalaHosting has four Linux-based shared hosting tiers. With shared hosting, your website lives on a server with other sites. The websites share server resources (hence the category's name), which lowers the individual costs, making it cheap web hosting. This also means that a traffic spike on Site X may divert server resources from Site Y, potentially affecting Site Y's performance. If you need more resources or reliability, VPS or dedicated hosting is the way to go. More on those in a bit.
ScalaHosting has monthly, annual, and triannual plans. As with many rival hosting platforms, the cost drops as you commit to longer terms.
Mini (starting at $11.95 per month) is the entry-level shared plan, providing sufficient server resources for a single site. It includes 10GB of NVMe storage and unlimited monthly data transfers. The Start plan (starting at $14.95 per month) has 50GB of storage, unlimited monthly data transfers, unlimited site creation, and daily offsite backups. The Advanced plan (starting at $19.95 per month) increases the available NVMe storage to 100GB and adds priority customer support. All plans renew at their respective single-month charges listed above.
The most powerful shared plan, Entry Cloud (starting at $34.95 per month, and renewing at the same price), comes with 50GB of upgradable NVMe SSD storage and dedicated CPU and RAM resources. The latter features are unusual for shared hosting. Although ScalaHosting lists Entry among its shared hosting plans, it's actually an entry-level VPS tier. It serves as a springboard for higher-powered services when shared hosting no longer serves your hosting needs.
These are highly competitive plans, with rates and plans on par with HostGator, our Editors' Choice for shared hosting. However, like HostGator, ScalaHosting lacks Windows-based shared hosting options. For servers powered by Microsoft's operating system, check out AccuWeb. It provides a choice of Linux- or Windows-based servers at competitive prices.
(Credit: ScalaHosting/PCMag)Cloud VPS Hosting Plans
VPS hosting is a step up from shared hosting. With VPS hosting, multiple sites live on the same server, but in a far less crowded fashion than shared hosting. It’s a good option if you’re looking for more server power and reliability, without shelling out dedicated hosting-style money.
ScalaHosting's VPS servers utilize a cloud infrastructure that lets you scale servers to meet your specific needs, similar to Editors' Choice winner LiquidWeb. You can select managed, self-managed, or Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers.
Managed VPS hosting, which involves ScalaHosting handling backend maintenance, is available in four tiers. The Build 1 plan (starting at $49.95 per month) provides two CPU cores, 4GB of RAM, 50GB of NVMe storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. Next up is the Build 2 plan (starting at $165.95 per month). It has four CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, and 100GB of storage. If your website needs more server power, the Build 3 plan (starting at $165.95 per month) bumps the CPU cores to eight, RAM to 16GB, and storage to 150GB. Finally, the high-end Build 4 plan (starting at $239.95 per month) contains 12 CPU cores, 24GB of RAM, and 200GB of NVMe storage. These are pricey plans, but you can slash the prices with an annual or three-year signup.
Self-managed VPS hosting retains the same plan structure, albeit with lower pricing. The Build 1 plan for self-managed cloud hosting (starting at $24.95 per month) has two CPU cores, 4GB of RAM, 50GB of NVMe storage, and 3TB of monthly data transfers. Build 2 (starting at $49.95 per month) gives you four CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, and 100GB of storage. Build 3 (starting at $95.95 per month) boosts those numbers to eight CPU cores, 16GB of RAM, and 160GB of storage. Finally, the Build 4 plan (starting at $183.95 per month) nets you 16 CPU cores, 32GB of RAM, and 240GB of NVMe storage. You can drive the prices down with a long-term commitment.
Scalahosting's managed and self-managed packages renew at their respective single-month charges listed above.
Lastly, AWS VPS services come in four tiers. AWS4GB (starting $61.95 per month) provides 4GB of RAM, 80GB SSD storage, and 4TB of monthly data transfers. AWS8GB (starting at $89.95 per month) has 8GB of RAM, 160GB of SSD storage, and 5TB of monthly data transfers. AWS16GB (starting at $149.95 monthly) has 16GB of RAM, 320GB of SSD storage, and 6TB of monthly data transfers. The highest tier, AWS32GB (starting at $249.95 per month), has 32GB of RAM, 640GB SSD storage, and 7TB of monthly data transfers.
None of these tiers is set in stone, though. ScalaHosting lets you configure your VPS hosting plan using numerous sliders. For example, the RAM maxes out at 64GB, and NVMe storage can reach up to 2TB. Configuring a top-tier, managed VPS server costs a hefty $1,031.95 per month. Most people won't need those specs, but I appreciate the flexibility. ScalaHosting also offers customizable, self-managed VPS plans for those who prefer to take care of their own servers. These plans come with Windows-based servers for an additional $20 per month.
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ScalaHosting's VPS servers are satisfyingly flexible, but don't quite dethrone Hostwinds, our Editors' Choice winner for VPS web hosting. Hostwinds' lowest tier is $10.99 per month, offering one CPU core, 1GB of RAM, 30GB of SSD storage, and 1TB of monthly data transfer. It climbs to $395.24 for a 16-core CPU, 96GB RAM, and 750GB storage, with 9TB of monthly data transfers. Hostwinds also lets you set up a Windows-based server.
Likewise, if you're a small business looking for purely cloud-based hosting options, consider DreamHost, our Editors' Choice winner for small business cloud hosting. If you need more cloud power, check out Ionos, our Editors' Choice winner for enterprise-level cloud hosting.
WordPress Hosting Plans
ScalaHosting lets you install the popular WordPress content management system (CMS) on any server. However, it also has WordPress-only servers in four tiers: WP Mini, WP Start, WP Advanced, and WP Entry Cloud. Specs and pricing mirror the company’s shared hosting options.
Once again, ScalaHosting stands close to the competition. ScalaHosting's Linux-based WP Mini plan renews at $11.95 per month, which is comparable to Bluehost's $11.99 per month Basic WordPress plan. For more robust WordPress services, WP Engine excels by offering easily scalable Essential plans, plus Core and Enterprise servers for larger WordPress-related projects.
Reseller and Dedicated Hosting Plans
If you're looking to enter the web hosting business but don't want to deal with the expense of physical server infrastructure, ScalaHosting has several Linux-based reseller hosting packages. The beginning tier is Scala1. For $19.95 per month, you get access to 25GB of SSD storage, daily offsite backups, and up to 20 CPanel accounts. That scales up to Entry Cloud ($29.95 per month, or $19.95 per month with an annual commitment), which has 50GB of upgradable SSD storage and unlimited CPanel accounts. All reseller plans come with 24/7 support.
That said, Hostwinds remains the top reseller hosting provider. The company's plans mirror its shared hosting plans (starting at $6.99 per month) and come with unlimited email, storage, and data transfers. It also offers dedicated and VPS packages in either Linux or Windows varieties, as well as shared hosting, which is currently limited to Linux. Hostwinds also supplies 24/7 tech support.
However, ScalaHosting lacks dedicated web hosting. If you're interested in that level of high-end hosting, check out AccuWeb Hosting, the category's Editors' Choice winner.
(Credit: ScalaHosting/PCMag)Building a Website
Once you've signed up for service, ScalaHosting has a fairly standard backend client area. You can configure your servers to use either the free SPanel or the industry-standard CPanel, with the latter having an additional licensing cost. CPanel pricing starts at $26.95 for five accounts, and the price increases as you add more websites (for example, $32.95 for 30 accounts).
We built a website using the SitePad website builder. It lets you select a site design from several attractive themes, upload images, and create pages as needed. That said, the bespoke site builders that some other hosts offer contain more user-friendly options that guide you through the process and provide context on how website elements fit together. Squarespace and Wix, for example, offer very easy-to-use website builders.
E-Commerce Options
With ScalaHosting, you have access to several standard e-commerce services. OpenCart, osCommerce, Magento, ZenCart, and more are available for installation with a single click. Just as easily, you can install a shopping cart and create a fantastic online store via simple drag-and-drop functionality.
Uptime and Customer Support
A great site is nothing if it keeps going down. ScalaHosting offers an uptime guarantee that provides a credit equivalent to a percentage of your subscription for every instance of unscheduled downtime that reduces your site’s uptime below 99.8%. If your uptime dips below 99%, you'll receive a 100% credit to your account, which is both cool and reassuring.
ScalaHosting has excellent customer support. If you need assistance, check the company's Knowledge Base and live web chat for answers. The live web chat delivers fast responses in a short amount of time; the customer service reps quickly answered our questions.
ScalaHosting has a 30-day money-back guarantee, providing a full refund if you're unsatisfied. More specifically, the first 30 days of service are fully refundable. If your service exceeds 30 days, ScalaHosting offers an anytime money-back guarantee, which provides a pro-rated refund for the remaining days. These generous conditions make it a service well worth considering.
Final Thoughts
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ScalaHosting
ScalaHosting offers competitively priced, highly flexible cloud VPS hosting plans with scalable resources and robust performance, making it a good choice for both personal projects and growing business needs.