So, you’re planning on purchasing a cheap Windows hosting service and looking for an affordable one for saving some bucks. Right?
We know that it can be hard to find out the best (yet cheap) Windows hosting provider as most of the companies specialize in offering Linux based web hosting.
Luckily, this is the right place for finding a reliable Windows host for your business or blog that delivers a great balance between high-end functionality and affordability.
We’ll be sharing some of the top options available in the market backed by the Windows operating system to host your Windows based projects, applications, and websites.
We’ll also review our handpicked hosts’ key features, pricing plans, pros, and cons as well to further help if a specific web host fulfills your needs.
Furthermore, we’ve also included a helpful FAQ section for helping you clear all your confusion related to Windows web hosting. We hope that you’ll love the overall experience.
Before diving, let us explain what actually Windows web hosting is?
What is Windows Hosting?
There are millions of sites running worldwide. All of them are being hosted by companies on their servers. Servers are quite like our computers. And every computer requires software, termed as “operating system” for performing operations.
Today, most web hosting services are backed by Linux (an operating system). These are called Linux hosting services or simply “Linux hosting”. Similarly, web hosting based on Windows is called Windows hosting.
Why is Windows hosting required or demanded?
As mentioned before, Linux is the most popular operating system when it comes to web hosting. But because of the compatibility of Microsoft products and some other reasons, Windows hosting is still demanded and considered useful.
Now, let’s come straight to the list of the best reliable yet cheap Windows hosting providers.
Cheap Windows Web Hosting Providers
- HostWinds
- HostGator
- Kamatera
- InterServer
- Hostinger
- Ionos
To have complete information about the different aspects (like reliability, speed, pricing, customer support, etc.) of the above companies, we recommend our visitors to get through their reviews presented as follows.
Cheap Windows Hosting Reviews 2024
HostWinds
Pro
- Stable uptime (99.99% guaranteed)
- 24/7/365 customer assistance
- Lots of extra features
- Reasonable Pricing (unmanaged Windows VPS starting at $10.99/mo)
Taking the top honors on our list is HostWinds. HostWinds comes intending to offer quality hosting services at affordable rates for making it possible for most users to purchase them. Hostwinds was founded in 2010. Though it isn’t as experienced as Kamatera and some others are, it doesn’t mean that Hostwinds doesn’t know the art of attracting and satisfying customers.
Hostwinds features a variety of cost-effective services. These include shared hosting, VPS, dedicated hosting, reseller, and cloud hosting. What we’ll be discussing is their Windows VPS plan. When getting to their site, you’ll see a 99.999% remarkable server uptime guarantee which means that you may barely see your site being down.
All their unmanaged Windows VPS packages come with lots of extra features and bonuses despite the cheap pricing. You get a 1GBps port, SSD drives (for optimizing performance), and allowed to choose from a number of data center locations. Furthermore, for security purposes, there’s a snapshots feature (for creating backups) and an enterprise-level firewall that keeps you safe from hackers.
Moreover, there’s a custom IOs option available enabling you to choose your desired operating system. Plus, there’s a real-time monitoring system that makes sure your site and server are running smoothly without issues of any kind. Additionally, there’s an instant scalability function, using which, you can easily scale up or down the server resources concerning your business needs.
How do I manage my server?
With the user-friendly cloud control panel, you can perform several tasks for the management of your servers such as expanding volumes, setting up the firewall, balancing the incoming traffic with load balancers, loading custom images, manage the storage devices, and much more.
Hostwinds is an award-winning company that also offers 24/7 customer support for helping you with anything at any time. When it comes to the pricing, Hostwinds is providing all the above features at a very reasonable rate while still maintaining the highest level of data center reliability.
Their unmanaged Windows VPS plans start at $10.99/mo. This starter plan comes with 1CPU core, 1GB Ram, 30GB SSD storage, and 1TB bandwidth. While there are over 10 plans in place with different hardware configurations and pricing. Furthermore, managed Windows VPS is also available at HostWinds.
Kamatera – Best Windows Hosting at Affordable Prices
Pros
- 95% uptime guarantee
- 24/7/365 customer support
- Flexible pricing calculator
- 30-days free trial
- Instant server deployment
Cons
- Extended backups aren’t included for free
Whenever it comes to provide cheap yet reliable Windows hosting, Kamatera cannot be beaten. Though the provider is famous for providing quality-oriented cloud hosting at cheap rates, it doesn’t mean it has nothing to offer here. But we will be talking about their cloud hosting backed by a Windows-based server. Kamatera has been around since 1995 and serving customers with reliable yet cheap cloud services ever since.
You can get started with a broad range of cloud services including simple cloud servers, cloud block storage, private cloud network, cloud-managed, and cloud firewall, etc. What we’re going to talk about is simple cloud server hosting.
Kamatera is also very popular for its flexible customization options.
At their site, you’ll see a flexible pricing calculator. Firstly, you choose the type of your plan, hardware resources (like CPU, Ram, SSD storage, and bandwidth). Then, you’re free to choose any data center location from dozens of wide-spread locations. Furthermore, there’s are advanced options such as choosing an operating system, operating system add-ons. Plus, extended backups and managed services can also be chosen optionally.
Being in operation for more than 2 decades, the company knows that server downtime is the biggest enemy of an online business. That’s why the company features a 99.95% server uptime guarantee. Though it isn’t very good, it isn’t very bad either but average. Furthermore, there’s also 24/7 technical support included in all plans.
Another marvelous stand of the company is the 30-day free trial. You aren’t even charged from the credit card during this free trial period. So, evaluating the company gets easier.
Regarding the infrastructure, the company promises to use fast Intel Xeon processors paired up with fast SSDs and backed by a 40GBs network; all this for helping you boost the performance. Thankfully, all their cloud servers get ready for operation in under 60 seconds. So, you can start using them right away.
How do you manage your Windows-based cloud server?
For the management of your server, there’s an easy and simple API that enables you to easily set up your server however you want.
Is Kamatera any cheap?
Kamatera has many reasons that compel the seekers to consider them when choosing cloud-based hosting. And cheap pricing is one of them. Their cloud plans start as low as $4/ mo. This cheapest Windows hosting plan is backed by CentOS Linux and comes with 20GB storage, 1GB Ram, 1000GB bandwidth, and 1CPU core. There are various Windows versions available. Pricing varies on which one you choose.
With a Windows 8.1 32-bit version, the pricing becomes $13/mo. While if you choose to bring your licensed operating system, the pricing remains $4/ mo. For further details, I recommend visiting their official website.
HostGator
Pros
- 99% uptime guaranteed
- 24/7/365 award-winning support
- Free site builder, SSL, 4500 site templates, and a 1-click installer
- 45-days money-back guarantee
Don’t want to get confused between different web hosting and related terms but want everything as easy and simple as a click of a button? Look no further other than HostGator because it’s primarily defined for its simplicity which makes it a beginner-friendly web hosting platform. The provider was bootstrapped in 2002 and has some exciting features alongside simplicity that compelled us to include them in the list.
Being a competitive web hosting company, HostGator is very crucial about reliability. That’s why it has managed to achieve the highest level of uptime and also guarantees a strong 99.99% server uptime. Having company agents for support is always better and proves to be extremely useful whenever the need arises. When it comes to HostGator, it includes 24/7 customer assistance from experts.
For management, you get a cPanel alternative popular as Plesk. It’s a windows hosting panel which can be used for managing your account, creating websites, deploying apps, etc. Moreover, their plans include free site-building tools for enabling you to turn your imaginations into reality without spending much. Moreover, 4000 free site templates and a one-click installer are also among the features included in all plans.
The features like Unlimited Sub Domains, FTP Accounts, and Email Accounts will also be remarkably appealing perks for many. What happens if the company fails to provide what it features? Fortunately, there’s an above industry-standard 45-day money-back guarantee. While free SSL certificate(s) is another significant addition.
Willing to migrate to HostGator? It would be delightful to know that the company offers free site migration. Moreover, all plans come with unlimited MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and Access databases.
Is HostGator any cheap?
With Windows hosting plans starting at $4.76/mo, they’re easy on your pocket. This starter plan comes with unlimited bandwidth & storage while limiting hosting a single site only. For having an allocation of hosting up to 5 domains, you can go with a higher plan which starts at $14.36/mo.
InterServer
Pros
- 24/7 customer support
- Reasonable pricing
- Free SSL, CDN, and SSD-based servers
- Free site migration and 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- No free domain neither daily backups (but weekly)
When it comes to the best cheap Windows web hosting, how could we forget InterServer? InterServer has been around for more than 2 decades and knows what people want from a web host, and aims to provide all that. It was founded in 1999 and serving customers with a variety of affordable packages ever since.
As mentioned before, Interserver has a variety of web hosting plans. These include web hosting, Windows hosting, reseller hosting, cloud VPS, and Windows VPS. Furthermore, storage servers, GPU servers, and colocation services are also available at them. Alongside a reasonable price, all their windows hosting plans come with some exciting features and bonuses we’re going to talk about.
Besides the generous unlimited policy of Interserver (for storage and bandwidth), it enables you to host over 25 sites even on the cheapest package. That’s an easy way of saving bucks. Moreover, there are unlimited emails, CDN, and free SSL certificates. So, you won’t have to spend additional for buying these.
Further aiding the company’s generosity is the industry-standard 30-days money-back guarantee which makes you fearless when evaluating them. If you’re willing to transfer your existing site (if any) to the Interserver, it would be delightful to know that site migration is free and the company is ready to take the headache of safely transferring your site to them.
For security purposes, there is a weekly backup service for the protection of your data while the Intershield protection feature is also in place. Don’t be put off by the lack of customer support because InterServer has managed to provide 24/7 support to its customers by company experts. So, you’ll always have experts available for helping you drive efficiencies.
Regarding the data center infrastructure of InterServer, they’ve managed the data centers well maintaining the highest level of professionalism and making sure there’s isn’t a single point of failure. For performance optimization, there is the utilization of SSD disks alongside free CDN and 10GB network. So users get an optimized performance for delivering a satisfying experience to their visitors.
Willing to host a WordPress site on Windows hosting at InterServer?
Thankfully, there’s a 1-click wordpress installer feature for quickly getting started with WordPress. While features like using any plugin, automatic updates, and weekly backups are also in place. Moreover, the company also allows you to register the domain for as low as $7.99/ year.
Now let’s come straight to their attractive pricing.
Unlike others, they don’t have a bunch of Windows hosting plans but just one. And this only package includes almost all the important features you could ask for. Anyway, it costs $8/ mo. As mentioned before, at this affordable rate, you’re allowed to host over 25 sites and thankfully, storage and bandwidth are unrestricted. So, there’s nothing to worry about.
Hostinger
Pros
- 24/7/365 customer assistance by experts
- IPv6 support, dedicated IP, and full network access
- SSD-based servers
- 30-days money-back guarantee
Cons
- Pricing isn’t quite affordable (starting at $26/mo)
Hostinger has always been a top choice when it comes to getting web hosting services at cheap rates. Though their pricing for Windows hosting isn’t that affordable, it isn’t expensive either. But pretty reasonable if we keep their hardware resources, extra features, and bonuses in mind.
Hostinger was founded in 2004 and kept growing steadily to become one of the giant web hosting companies the world has ever seen. Today, it holds over 29 million customers which makes it among the most trustable hosting companies.
All their Windows hosting packages come with SSD storage, dedicated IP, IPv6 support, and are hosted in cloud infrastructure- all this for boosting the performance. Don’t know what cloud hosting is? Don’t worry. Our FAQ section has it covered. Furthermore, you also get complete admin access which means that you can freely set up your server however you want.
Additionally, Hostinger assures that all their Windows servers are connected with an unrestricted 100mb/s network. Being a competitive web host, Hostinger features award-winning dedicated support which is available 24/7/365 to help you with anything.
Thankfully, all their Windows hosting packages include free daily backups which prove to be extremely useful in an event of data loss. Regarding the interface, alongside the user-friendly control panel, you get an easy-to-use interface based on Windows 8. See the picture below.
So, everything becomes much easier.
As you’ll be using the most wide-spread operating system; Windows, there will be support for a wide range of applications and databases. Overall, there will be a Microsoft environment and you’ll be allowed to do anything Linux can’t.
Now let’s come to their pricing. There are 4 Windows VPS plans, starting at $26/ mo. This starter package comes with 2GB Ram, 50GB storage, 4TB Bandwidth, and 4 CPU cores. So, you get dedicated resources.
IONOS
Pros
- 24/7/365 expert support
- Free SiteLock, SSL, and domain
- DDoS-protection
- Free CDN, latest Windows version, and HTTP/2 protocol for performance optimization
Cons
- No free CDN with starting Windows plans
Ionos is another prominent name in the hosting industry and one of the top-notch platforms to avail Windows hosting backed by cutting-edge server hardware. It was founded in 1988 which easily makes it one of the oldest and most experienced hosting companies around. Today, it features a broad range of web hosting services including different types of hosting, domains, SSL, emails, office, etc.
When it comes to cloud hosting, IONOS features Windows hosting plans packed with lots of additional features and bonuses you’d love to know. Not just that, Ionos uses the latest Windows version for providing you with more possibilities and capabilities.
Don’t be put off by the lack of customer support because the customer support agents of IONOS are some of the best around. Their customer support team is knowledgeable, fast, and friendly, and available 24/7/365 to help you with anything. So, you’ll get complete inner satisfaction. On the other hand, the company also has FAQs sections on their site.
Ionos is one of the only companies that are highly curious about security. All their data centers have been backed by lots of security precautions to make sure your server and data are safe and secure. Furthermore, there’s a free site lock and free SSL to make sure your website and visitors’ information is protected and secure from hackers.
Additionally, you get a DDos protection feature that keeps you safe from DDoS attacks.
Regarding the infrastructure, the company uses top-notch server hardware for performance optimization. With the HTTP/2 network protocol, the company ensures that your site loads screamingly-fast. Furthermore, there’s a CDN that further boosts your site’s performance. Overall, you get to deliver a delightful experience to your visitors.
Alongside the free SSL certificate(s), all their Windows hosting plans come with a free domain (for 1st year). There are three different Windows plans designed for different business needs. The starter one is suitable for a single project (site) and comes with 25MS SQL databases, 100GB storage, and 25 email accounts.
With the latter, you get 250GB storage while databases and email accounts increase to 100 (both). The cheapest Windows hosting plan costs $5/mo while the latter ones cost $6/mo and $8/mo respectively.
Cheap Windows Hosting FAQs
What is Windows web hosting?
Just like Linux and Mac, Windows is an operating system and frequently used in our personal computers. When it comes to web hosting servers or computers, they mostly use Linux as an operating system. A web hosting that uses Linux operating system is called Linux hosting. Similarly, When web hosting is backed by a Windows-based server, it is called Windows hosting.
What is a site migration?
Site migration means migrating from one web hosting company to another. Site migration is a time-consuming process that depends upon your business level. As clear, migrating an entry-level business or blog from one host to another won’t be as complex as the migration of an enterprise-level site will be.
What is an SSL certificate(s)? How do I get it?
SSL certificate is one of the security precautions in web hosting. It allows your site to provide encrypted access to your customers/ visitors when they’re purchasing a product or a service.
There are two basic ways of getting an SSL certificate(s). You can either get it from an SSL provider at monthly costs or simply get it as a bonus from the hosting company. Because most of the competitive hosting companies provide SSL certificate(s) for free.
Is Windows Hosting more expensive than Linux Hosting?
Generally, Windows hosting is way too expensive than Linux. Linux hosting is affordable because its operating system is open-source that cuts the overall price by twice compared to Windows servers.
As mentioned, Linux is an open-source operating system and easier to use as compared to Windows, in servers. In fact, Linux hosting is the most popular operating system for servers and better for start-up companies. While Windows hosting, on the other hand, has more support than Linux and chosen mostly by large projects.
What is Cloud-based Windows hosting?
A windows hosting service which is based on the cloud infrastructure is known as cloud-based windows hosting. Don’t know what cloud infrastructure or cloud hosting is? Let me explain.
What is Cloud hosting? Why is it used?
Cloud hosting is an advanced web hosting kind that utilizes a network infrastructure that interconnects different servers from the world. This network infrastructure is generally called cloud infrastructure. Cloud hosting is advantageous in many ways.
When someone visits your site, the data is pulled from the nearest server location. In this way, visitors get a delightful and satisfactory experience because the performance is optimized.
Another benefit of cloud hosting is that whenever one of the interconnected servers gets out of order or misbehaves, its tasks are automatically assigned to another server and your site (project) keeps running without any downtime. In this way, cloud hosting ensures the highest level of reliability.
Which company offers the best Cloud-based Windows hosting?
If you’re willing to enjoy a satisfactory speed by cloud-powered Windows hosting, look no further other than Kamatera because despite being a trustable platform, it carries a lot of reasons that compel the customers to consider them when looking for Cloud-powered hosting services.
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS Hosting is generally a stepping stone between shared hosting (where a server is shared among various users) and dedicated hosting (where users get whole dedicated servers). In VPS Hosting, a dedicated server is still shared among different users but at least, server resources like CPU cores, Ram, and storage are dedicated. In this way, in VPS web hosting, users get better performance and more control as compared to traditional web hosting called shared hosting.
Conclusion
Windows hosting isn’t very popular neither as demanded as Linux hosting is, but is still useful for being compatible with Microsoft programs and for some other purposes. Anyway, for the people hunting for the best cheap Windows hosting, this article will be delightful. Because it aims to present them and point out their pros and cons as well.
But we won’t leave you on your own making the decision. But let me help you further by talking about the companies we recommend the most for cheap Windows hosting.
Hostwinds is our top choice, despite the reasonable pricing, the company provides a lot of features and extras that qualify it as the first position. Getting the backups service, enterprise-level firewall, and 1GBps port (with server) for free are some of the extra-ordinary features. On the other hand, SSDs as storage drives for boosting performance is also a marvelous stand of the company.
HostGator earns the seconds place in our list. But why? Alongside the straightforward, simple, and easy-to-understand interface and control panel, the provider includes free SSL certificates, a money-back guarantee, unmetered bandwidth and storage, and much, much more.
Hope I’ve made it easier for you to find the right cheap Windows hosting service for your business.