The best Symfony cloud hosting providers reviewed (2023)
The internet is full of people ready to use your Symfony applications.
Whether you are a company, a fresh new startup, a freelancer, or a young developer, choosing the right cloud hosting provider for Symfony is crucial.
Cloudways is a modern managed web hosting platform that will save you tons of time. A must for PHP developers focused on building.
10% off for 3 months with the “CROZAT” promo code… 👀
Vultr is a world-class cloud provider with great hardware and 100% uptime. It also offers affordable VPS configurations for modest projects.
DigitalOcean is a top cloud provider with great products, quality services, UI and UX.
Kinsta is a modern and simple cloud hosting platform relying on Google’s infrastructure and Docker to deploy your projects.
Hostinger is an affordable hosting platform for projects that need cheap hosting in the long run.
Their annual discounts are substantial!
This article uses affiliate links, which can compensate me at no cost to you if you decide to pursue a deal.
I only promote products I've personally used and stand behind.
Table of contents
The best Symfony cloud hosting providers by price
Being cost-efficient is important.
But here are a few things to keep in mind, though:
- Unmanaged cloud providers will cost you money and/or time on DevOps.
- Managed cloud providers take care of DevOps for you.
To summarize, unmanaged cloud providers aren’t the best way to save time and money.
| Provider | Lowest monthly price | Managed |
|---|---|---|
| Vultr | $2.50 | No |
| Hostinger | $3.49 | No |
| DigitalOcean | $4 | No |
| Cloudways | $10 | Yes |
| Kinsta | $20 | Yes |
The top Symfony dedicated and VPS hosting providers
Cloudways
Cloudways is a modern managed web hosting platform that will save developers who build and ship tons of time. You will never have to deal with cloud providers and server provisionning.
And I even managed to get you the “CROZAT“ promo code for 10% off for 3 months… 👀
| Pricing | From $10 to +$3500 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | 3-day free trial without credit card |
Cloudways is a cloud hosting platform that offers managed hosting solutions for businesses of all sizes.
You can easily host your PHP web applications, and online stores on top cloud infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and DigitalOcean.
The platform offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to set up and manage your hosting environment.
Cloudways takes care of all the technical details, including server provisionning (server setup), security, backups, and updates, so you can focus on growing your business.
But one of the great things about Cloudways is its flexibility. You can choose from a variety of hosting plans and infrastructure providers, so you can find the perfect combination that meets your needs.
They also offer a range of advanced features, such as built-in caching, staging environments, and automated backups, which can help improve your website’s performance and security.
Key features:
- 24/7/365 support;
- SSD-based storage;
- Automatic backups;
- Ready-to-use Redis;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 1-click free SSL certificate;
- SSH access to the web server right from interface;
- All their hosting providers have guaranteed +99.9% uptime;
- 60+ global server locations (Cloudways cumulates from all their hosting providers);
- No need for you to have an account for each provider, Cloudways handles everything;
- Reliable. They use the best cloud hosting providers on the market such as AWS, DigitalOcean, GCP, Linode, Vultr and more.
Here's what I love about Cloudways…
- Tailored for PHP projects;
- Backups without paying an extra!
- Cloudways works with the best cloud providers, which makes it reliable.
And what's not so good…
- Don’t remove your server in the trial period or it’ll be cancelled;
Vultr
Vultr is like the big guys you call when you need the work to be well-done and quickly. It offers a big range of products from basic VPS to powerful dedicated servers and even managed databases.
I can’t recommend it enough.
| Pricing | From $2.50 to $14,000 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $200 of free credits |
Vultr is a cloud hosting company that offers a range of cloud hosting solutions to businesses and individuals.
Their services include high-performance cloud servers, scalable block storage, and advanced networking capabilities.
With their easy-to-use interface and straightforward pricing, Vultr makes it simple for anyone to get started with cloud hosting.
One of the standout features of Vultr is their global network of data centers. They have data centers located in strategic locations around the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia.
This allows businesses to host their applications and websites closer to their target audience, reducing latency and improving performance.
Vultr also offers flexible pricing options, including hourly and monthly billing. This allows businesses to only pay for the resources they need, when they need them.
And with their fast provisioning, businesses can deploy new cloud servers in just a few clicks, making it easy to scale up or down as needed.
In addition to their cloud hosting solutions, Vultr also offers a range of developer tools, including APIs and one-click app installations. This makes it easy for developers to build and deploy applications on the Vultr platform.
Key features:
- DDoS protection;
- Automatic backups;
- Awesome UI and UX;
- Great customer service;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- NVMe SSD-based hosting:
- 27+ global server locations;
- Good prices considering the quality of this service;
- 100% uptime (you get free credits when this promise isn’t fulfilled).
Here's what I love about Vultr…
- World-class cloud hosting in terms of reliability and hardware.
And what's not so good…
- High-end plans are less available globally (but you don’t need high-end plans unless you’re really big);
- There’s a DDoS protection, which is nice to have, but it can easily be overwhelmed. Switch to a better solution as your business scales up.
DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is one of the best cloud provider. Some of their products can be costly, but you’ll get what you pay for.
They’re also going all-in on serverless and have an app platform as well as managed databases.
| Pricing | From $4 to +$2,000 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $100 of free credit |
DigitalOcean is a cloud computing platform that provides developers with an easy-to-use, affordable way to deploy and scale their applications.
With data centers around the world, DigitalOcean offers high-performance cloud hosting solutions that are reliable and secure.
Whether you’re a startup, a small business, or an enterprise, DigitalOcean has the tools and resources you need to build, deploy, and manage your applications.
From web apps to databases to containers, DigitalOcean makes it easy to get your projects up and running quickly.
One of the best things about DigitalOcean is its simplicity.
With a straightforward user interface and intuitive tools, you can quickly create and configure virtual servers, load balancers, and other infrastructure components.
And with flexible pricing plans, you only pay for what you use, making DigitalOcean an affordable choice for developers on a budget.
So if you’re looking for a cloud computing platform that’s easy to use, affordable, and reliable, look no further than DigitalOcean.
Key features:
- SSD-based hosting;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 14+ global server locations;
- Advanced users can still manage their own VPS;
- Reliable. I can’t recall a time where my servers were down;
- Deploy any PHP app instead of managing servers with their App Platform.
Here's what I love about DigitalOcean…
- Great hardware;
- Killer user experience and interface;
- Managed databases are great (a little pricey, though).
And what's not so good…
- You cannot scale down from a VPS with a bigger storage;
- Not enough global locations. I can’t set up a VPS in Paris for example.
Kinsta
While the cost can quickly go up with Kinsta, it won’t be a problem for businesses that need to scale thanks to Google’s great infrastructure.
And the use of Dockerfile makes it easy for large teams to have similar local and production environments.
Kinsta is fresh and simple, I like it a lot!
| Pricing | From $20 to anything you want |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $20 off your first invoice |
Kinsta is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) hosting provider that offers fast, secure, and scalable web application hosting.
With over 55,000 developers and digital entrepreneurs, Kinsta offers 25 locations across five continents that offer the fastest Google C2 machines running on Google’s Premium Tier network.
They provides a developer-focused feature set with support for popular languages and frameworks.
Kinsta offers internal connections, dedicated databases, and a choice of data center locations for maximum speed.
Their dashboard provides an easy way to deploy and manage apps, with unlimited users and support for developers by developers.
The support staff is made up of experts, developers, and engineers that provide fast and multilingual support.
Kinsta offers resource-based pricing, so you only pay for what you use, making it simple, transparent, and predictable.
Key features:
- Easy-to-use dashboard;
- Auto-deploy on Git push;
- Battle-tested infrastructure;
- Premium hardware from Google;
- Easily scale up or down your services;
- Use your Dockerfile to deploy your app;
- Temporary URL until you start using your own domain;
- Environment variables management from the dashboard;
- Free and unlimited team members. Great for large teams;
- Backed with Cloudflare, so you won’t have to fear DDoS attacks;
- 24/7 support in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese from competent developers.
Here's what I love about Kinsta…
- DDoS protection!
- Temporary URLs until you’re ready to go public;
- A clean UI and good UX makes the product a joy to use.
And what's not so good…
- One hosting service and one database for each app, which can quickly make salty invoices.
Hostinger
Hostinger gets you everything you need to get your project off the ground. They offer substantial discounts if you pay for years upfront, which is interesting for people looking to save some money on web hosting.
| Pricing | From $3.99 to $79.99 |
|---|---|
| Annual discount | Up to 70% off |
| Guarantee | 30-day money back |
Hostinger is a fantastic solution for those who want to run their websites smoothly and efficiently.
With VPS hosting, you get more power and flexibility than their shared plans, allowing you to customize your server to suit your specific needs.
Hostinger offers VPS hosting with high-performance servers, unlimited bandwidth, and full root access, which means you have complete control over your server environment.
You can install any software or application you need, and Hostinger’s 24/7 customer support team is always ready to help you with any questions or issues.
With Hostinger’s VPS hosting, you get all the benefits of dedicated hosting, without the high cost.
You can choose from a range of plans that suit your budget and requirements, and easily upgrade or downgrade as your business grows.
Key features:
- Can be quite cheap;
- Backups and snapshots;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 99.9% uptime guarantee;
- Easy to scale your VPS up;
- NFS (Network File System) support. Great for working directly on your web server;
- Root access over SSH on virtual private servers and dedicated servers.
Here's what I love about Hostinger…
- Substantial discounts in the long run.
And what's not so good…
- 100 Mb/s networks;
- Two few global locations;
- Not really the latest and greatest hardware (which is enough for small to medium projects, though).
What makes a good cloud hosting provider?
Reliability is critical. A good host should be able to deliver the best service with minimal downtime. When your website is reachable, you avoid losing customers to your competitors. Aim for hosts that have at least a 99.9% uptime rate. Such a rate means your website can potentially be down for an hour per year, which is acceptable.
Speed is also important. A good host must provide fast loading times, which is essential for a better user experience and SEO (Google requires your website to load in under 2 seconds). But what makes a fast server?
- Location. The closer your server is to your visitors, the faster your website will load. If your server is in the US and your visitors are in Europe, the loading time will be longer. Of course, when you have an international audience, you should set up load balancers to dispatch your traffic all over the world, and tapping into multiple hosts depending on the locations they provide is perfectly fine;
- Network bandwidth. The more bandwidth your server has, the faster your website will load. You can manage on servers with 100Mbps bandwidth, given moderate traffic. But if cost is not an issue, go for at least 1Gbps; 👍
- Hardware. The more powerful your server is (CPU, RAM and SSD storage), the faster your website will load.
Is Symfony good for shared hosting?
While Symfony can totally be used on shared hosting with a few tricks, this isn’t the best kind of environment to get the most out of this framework.
My recommendation is that if you don’t want the hassle of managing a server, use Cloudways, which combines the pros of shared hosting and the flexibility of Virtual Private Servers.
And if budget is an issue and you are okay with DevOps stuff, Hostinger gives you incredible price cuts if you pay for the long run.
Which database is best for Symfony?
Symfony provides support for many different databases:
- IBM DB2
- MariaDB 10.3+
- MySQL 5.7+
- Oracle
- PostgreSQL 10.0+
- SQLite 3.8.8+
- SQL Server 2017+
Your choice will depend on the specificities of your project. Each database has its pros and cons.
Every hosting provider I recommend in this article supports them.
You can:
- Install the database on the VPS or dedicated server you chose
- Create a managed database that is vertically and horizontally scalable with a few clicks
