While shopping around for a web hosting solution, you consider many factors. One of them is your hosting's operating system platform. There are two flavors, Windows and Linux hosting, with the latter being the more popular choice. Many gravitate towards Linux hosting unless they require support for Microsoft applications and services (ASP.NET, .NET, Exchange, Access, SQL, or other Microsoft technologies).
Most hosting providers deploy Linux servers in their offerings, and those that do on Windows are rare. Nonetheless, some do shine in their Windows hosting services.
* Want more choices? We have tested and reviewed over 70 web hosting services in the past 20 years. See our Best Web Hosting Picks of the Year or the full list of our hosting reviews.
1. HostGator
Being in the hosting business for a couple of decades, HostGator is no newbie. They come equipped with a variety of hosting offerings. While shared hosting is what Hostgator is widely known for, its Windows hosting does not shy in comparison. Their ASP.NET hosting plans are affordable and do not compromise on features.
What Does HostGator Windows Hosting Offer?
Admin tools are available to manage your server, including the Plesk control panel to create websites, deploy applications, and more. Open-source scripts, such as WordPress, can be installed instantly. Also, it supports programming languages such as ASP, ASP.NET 2.0 (3.5, 4.0, & 4.7), PHP, GD Library, SSICurl, MVC 5.0, and AJAX.
Hostgator gives you the complete package, including IIS (Internet Information Services), SQL Server 2016, website builders, templates, and others. They promise 99.9% uptime, essential for businesses. Although their data centers are in the US, they claim you can route your content through 23 data centers worldwide via Cloudflare.
Hostgator scored good reviews (to date). Their 24/7/365 support with a complete knowledge base assures that you're in good hands.
Read our HostGator review for more.
HostGator Windows Hosting Pricing
HostGator offers two straightforward plans (Personal and Enterprise). They don't skimp on the features as most of what is available for the pricier Enterprise plan is also on the Personal plan, which is enticing. Both offer unmetered bandwidth and storage, unlimited POP3 account emails, unlimited MSSQL & MySQL, unlimited subdomains, Let's Encrypt free SSL, and others. The difference is in the number of domains.
The Personal plan (one domain) has an introductory offer at $4.76/month, whereas the Enterprise plan (five domains) is at a promotional price of $14.36/month. Renewal reverts to $5.95/month for the Personal plan and $17.95/month for the Enterprise plan. Both afford you a 30-day money-back guarantee. Hostgator's Personal plan is excellent for starters.
2. LiquidWeb
If you're looking for a more premium Windows hosting offering, consider LiquidWeb. Its Managed Windows Hosting solutions are many to suit different clients' needs. They support Windows Server 2016 and 2019 (Standard and Datacenter) and SQL Server 2016, 2017, and 2019 (Standard, Web, Express, and Enterprise).
What's Inside LiquidWeb Windows Hosting?
LiquidWeb's plans cater to higher-traffic websites with resource-intensive requirements. If you need something highly customized, their hosting architects can help you. Use Plesk to manage your Windows servers. Their servers come with network-level DDoS protection and proactive Sonar monitoring (proactively monitor services for swift action whenever needed).
LiquidWeb gives 100% network and power uptime guarantees. Any downtime will compensate you with 1,000 times credits. Also, their 30-minute hardware SLA replaces any hardware within 30 minutes. Liquid Web claims its managed VPS hosting is faster than AWS, Rackspace, and DigitalOcean.
LiquidWeb's 24/7/365 on-site support is praiseworthy. They guarantee a 59-second initial response time via the Most Helpful Humans in Hosting, covering the hardware, network, server stack, and control panel.
Read our LiquidWeb review for more.
LiquidWeb Windows Hosting Pricing
LiquidWeb's Windows Managed VPS plans start from $65/month, a total of $1,560 billed upfront for two years; this plan gives you 100 GB SSD storage and 10 TB Bandwidth on Windows Server 2019. You pay more if you need more resources.
The price is rather significant, but you get quality managed Windows hosting service with all the goodies in a package; it is justifiable.
3. GoDaddy
Although GoDaddy is widely known as a domain name registrar, they have also included Windows hosting in its product lineup. Their Windows hosting plans support ASP.NET, ASP, .NET Core, Windows Server 2019, IIS 10, and SQL Server. They offer the Plesk Obsidian, the latest web hosting control panel that helps manage your server.
What Does GoDaddy Windows Hosting Offer?
The one-click installer allows you to extend functions to include other popular apps like Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, and more. Also, if you own GoDaddy's registered domains, use the one-click setup feature that makes it easy to set up your complete hosting solution. All their Windows hosting plans come with 200MB SQL database storage.
With an uptime guarantee of 99.9%, most of GoDaddy's servers are in the US, some in the Netherlands and Singapore. They are monitored 24/7 and are DDoS protected. Their highly-praised 24/7/365 support is noteworthy. They do not skimp on their Windows hosting plans, as they come with many goodies and features.
Read our GoDaddy Review to learn more.
GoDaddy Windows Hosting Pricing
There are three Windows hosting plans, starting from the Economy plan at $5.99/month (for three years), after which you renew at $8.99/month. They afford unmetered bandwidth, unlimited external domains, subdomains, one free domain, and others. However, the next Deluxe plan is the best value as you get much more (unlimited websites and storage) at $7.99/month, a difference that most consider minimal.
That said, there's no free SSL unless you opt for the highest-tiered plan, which is a bummer, considering others include this. GoDaddy still shines as a solid Windows hosting contender, looking at the overall package.
4. InterServer
InterServer is a reputable web hosting provider with loads of different types of hosting solutions on its plate. InterServer Windows ASP.NET web hosting is straightforward; there's only one plan available. ASP.NET, SQL, MySQL, and five versions of PHP, Perl, Python, and SSI are supported. Also, they support modules such as Silverlight, ODBC, ASP.NET MVC 4, 5, and 6. If you need more, you can request to have them installed.
What's in For InterServer Windows Hosting?
You can create unlimited email accounts (spam-protected). Use the provided Web Deploy and Plesk panel to manage your Windows server. Also, the one-click installer allows you to install over 105 apps, such as WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and others. They offer weekly backups, although daily is much preferred.
Another Windows offering is the Windows VPS plan, powered by the Microsoft native Hyper-v platform. You get dedicated resources, and you scale up as you need. Pay only for what you use. It supports ASP.NET, Net Framework, C#, ASP classic, SQL, Visual Basic Development, Microsoft Access, and more.
With a 99.9% uptime guarantee, their data centers are in the US. InterServer utilizes SSD caching servers with RAID-10 storage and runs on a 10GB Cisco network. InterServer gives you free Cloudflare CDN for speedier access worldwide. They provide a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate and unlimited FTP accounts. InterServer's award-winning 24/7 support has earned raving reviews. If quality support is your priority, consider InterServer.
Read our InterServer review here.
InterServer Windows Hosting Pricing
InterServer's ASP.NET plan is $8.00/month with unlimited storage, unlimited transfer, 25 websites, free website migration, and more. You can register or transfer your domain for $7.99 with a purchased hosting package. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee which helps when you need time to try out the ASP.NET plan.
Their Windows VPS plan costs $10.00/month with 30GB SSD storage. The price increases if you need more. Unfortunately, there's no free trial with the Windows VPS plan.
5. TMDHosting
TMDHosting is another trusted hosting provider with a range of web hosting solutions. Hence, it is no surprise that they offer Windows hosting as well. Deploying Windows Server 2016 and running on the latest ASP.NET framework with a dedicated application pool, TMDHosting's Windows servers are 100% Intel-based and 100% SSD-powered. They claim that the SSD drives run up to 20 times faster.
What's Inside TMD Windows Hosting?
ASP.NET, SQL, and five different versions of PHP, Perl, Python, and SSI are supported. You access your servers via Web Deploy and Plesk control panel. Also, you get unlimited spam-protected email accounts. Each domain comes with a free LetsEncrypt SSL certificate.
With a 99.999% uptime guarantee, TMDHosting's data centers reside in the US, the UK, Netherlands, Singapore, Japan, and Australia, a good coverage. TMDHosting excels in its 24/7/365 premium technical support. Their fully managed Windows hosting comes with the necessary maintenance and monitoring.
Read our TMDHosting review to find out more.
TMD Windows Hosting Pricing
TMDHosting Windows Starter plan is affordable at $3.99/month and renews at $5.99/month. It gives you many goodies, including unlimited SSD storage, unlimited email accounts, unlimited bandwidth, spam protection, and free SSL, with six dedicated app pools.
Although you get only one website, it is still a value-for-money plan, especially with a 60-day money-back guarantee. However, if you require more, the Business plan at $7.99/month entices.
6. Vultr
Vultr Windows Hosting runs on the Cloud and supports Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022. It includes an advanced firewall to protect each application, namely Active Directory, IIS, and more. All Windows versions supported (Windows Core 2016/2019/2022 Standard x64 and more) include a license fee. You can also deploy an OS of your choosing.
Is Vultr Windows Hosting Any Good?
Vultr onboarding is easy. Once you confirm the order and deploy, its cloud orchestration spins up your instance in the selected data center. You can also build isolated regional Virtual Private Clouds based on your applications. Their easy-to-use control panel and APIs make for easy server management and greater flexibility with root administrator access.
Vultr's servers are 100% Intel, run on SSD drives for faster speeds, and ride on the IPv6 network. Vultr guarantees 100% uptime. Their data centers are in 27 locations across five continents. There's also DDoS protection against layer three and four network attacks.
Vultr offers Windows VPS hosting with a $100 free credit. They claim that their Intel Skylake processors perform better than most. You also enjoy an hourly billing option, which gives you more flexibility. Although their support is rather lackluster, they have helpful resources.
Read our Vultr Review to learn more.
Vultr Windows Hosting Pricing
Vultr's Windows hosting plans start from $14/month with a license, and they differ by the number of resources you need. You pay more when you need more (climbing the higher tier plans). Their Windows VPS plans begin at $6.00/month or $0.009/hr on NVMe SSDs.
Some add-ons come with additional fees. The DDoS protection requires $10/month (additional 10Gbps of mitigation capacity per instance), and load balancers cost you an extra $10/month. Although Vultr plans are highly flexible, be careful, as you may pay more than you bargained.
7. Hostwinds
Hostwinds offers managed and unmanaged Windows VPS hosting solutions. If you have the technical know-how to manage your Windows server, by all means, explore their cheaper unmanaged VPS hosting plan. However, Hostwind's managed Windows VPS plan includes ongoing server maintenance and tasks setup upon request, with minimal hassle for you. Choose from Windows Server 2012, 2016, or 2019, pre-installed.
Hostwinds Windows Hosting Features
Hostwinds claim that your server can be up within minutes once you confirm the order. All Windows plans come with a 1 Gbps port, SSDs, enterprise firewall, free website transfer, and more. Hostwinds’ hardware runs on Intel CPUs. With a redundant network infrastructure deployed, they offer 99.9999% uptime.
Nightly backups are via the Windows shadow copy function. You get real-time monitoring service for all VPS hosting plans. Hostwinds' cloud portal is their proprietary control panel, with tools for managing your Windows servers. Add storage space anytime you want or move data between your other Hostwinds' virtual private servers.
Scale up your Windows servers via their load balancer by dividing up the traffic. With Administrator access to your Windows VPS, you install other applications such as Plesk or SolidCP. Hostwinds' data centers reside in the US and Netherlands. Their 24/7/365 support via Live Chat and support tickets suffices.
Hostwinds Windows Hosting Pricing
Unlike others, Hostwinds is well-diversified in its ten different Windows VPS plans. The various available configurations are comprehensive enough to cater to almost everyone's needs. Differing by CPU, RAM, storage amount, and bandwidth, these plans cater to all use cases.
The managed Windows VPS starts at $12.74/month, after which renewal is $16.99/month. You move up the tiers and pay more for more resources. The cheapest unmanaged Windows VPS plan is at $10.99/month. The difference with managed VPS is significant when compared to the renewal price.
8. IONOS
IONOS Windows hosting caters to Windows developers with higher demands from their hosting per se. Supporting Windows Server 2022, ASP.NET 4.8, and .NET 6.0, IONOS ensures you get the latest. As evident from their offered plans, there are many supported tools that IONOS includes in their packages, namely PHP7.4, ASP MVC 3, 4, and 5, SQL 2019, MySQL 5, LINQ, ASP.NET AJAX, and more.
IONOS Windows Hosting Features
With a 99.99% uptime guarantee, IONOS data centers in five countries deploy a geo-redundant infrastructure with 360 Gbit/s connectivity. IONOS' DDoS protection safeguards your websites. Their servers run on the HTTP/2 network protocol for faster connections. And, if you have global customers, the Cloudflare CDN helps to expand its reach to over 60 data centers around the globe for lag-free connections from anywhere.
IONOS' Windows hosting plans include a Wildcard SSL certificate, a basic security need. IONOS SiteLock checks your website and databases for suspicious malware, security leaks, and hacker attacks. If you have loads of images on your website, the Mirage function of Windows server hosting helps by balancing between images' quality and speed.
IONOS includes NetObjects Fusion in all hosting packages to help with your coding. Or use their website builder to create your website quickly. Also, use their WebSpaceExplorer to load data to your server. IONOS' 24/7 support is good by phone and email. There's also a technical community that you can seek out for help.
IONOS Windows Hosting Pricing
Their plans (starting at $5/month) give you a free domain for a year, free SSL, free email (2 GB of email storage and spam filter), and more. They differ in the number of websites, storage space, and SQL databases.
Although affordable and given the many supported Windows tools and features, the renewal price bounces back to $10/month for the cheapest plan. That said, most web host companies do this. Anyway, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee which helps.
Wrapping Up
Windows hosting isn't the most common type of hosting in the market. However, if your business must run on Windows applications, you will need Windows hosting services. Each business to its own and each website to its own.
There's no hard and fast rule to web hosting solutions. However, there are qualities in each Windows hosting provider you look for that will guide you to the one that fits your bill.
