Which Infrastructure Provider Do I Have to Choose?

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When setting up your cloud hosting with Cloudways, one of the most important choices is selecting the right infrastructure provider.

Cloudways gives you access to five leading cloud server providers — Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr.

Each provider comes with different strengths, pricing, availability, and features. This guide will help you understand your options and choose the best infrastructure provider for your needs.

You can also visit our pricing page to learn more about pricing of different providers.

Table of Contents:

Which Infrastructure Provider Do I Have to Choose? All Factors to Consider

Which Infrastructure Provider Do I Have to Choose? All Factors to Consider

Here are key factors to keep in mind when selecting your cloud server:

Cost: Provider pricing varies greatly. Compare server costs, bandwidth pricing, and backup charges.
Performance & Scalability: Look for fast scaling, consistent uptime, and optimized infrastructure.
Backup/Restore Speed: Consider how fast you can create and restore server backups.
Data Center Availability: Choose data center locations that best serve your target audience.
Bandwidth Costs: Pay attention to bandwidth pricing, especially for content-heavy sites or apps.
Reliability & Brand Trust: Established cloud providers typically offer more robust service and security.

Pro tip: Deploy your application across different providers and test performance before deciding.

Cloudways Supported Infrastructure Providers

Cloudways partners with five top Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud providers. You can customize your cloud hosting by choosing any of these:

Here’s a detailed comparison of each provider.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Pros:

Most recognizable cloud brand with the biggest customer base
Extremely reliable infrastructure
Fast scaling up and down (under 5 minutes; downtime involved)
Quick backup/restore processes (backups stored on Amazon infrastructure)
Availability of snapshot backups
15+ global data centers

Cons:

Expensive, especially for smaller servers (compare pricing)
Expensive bandwidth — invoices rise with high bandwidth usage
When a server is stopped, charges continue for disk usage
Scaling involves downtime

Sustainability: Goal to be powered by 50% renewable energy (target originally set for 2017)

Data Center Locations:

Northern Virginia, United States
Northern California, United States
Ohio, United States
Oregon, United States
Montreal, Canada
São Paulo, South America
London, United Kingdom
Paris, France
Milan, Italy
Frankfurt, Germany
Stockholm, Sweden
Ireland, Europe
Cape Town, South Africa
Bahrain, Middle East
Mumbai, India
Singapore, Asia
Hong Kong, Asia
Tokyo, Japan
Seoul, South Korea
Sydney, Australia
Calgary, Canada
Mexico City, Mexico
Taipei, Taiwan
Bangkok, Thailand
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Google Compute Engine (GCE)

Pros:

Cheaper than AWS for larger servers (compare pricing)
Very reliable and powerful infrastructure
Fast scaling up and down (under 5 minutes; downtime involved)
Snapshot backups available
14+ global data centers
100% renewable energy target

Cons:

Backup/restore slower than AWS (backups stored on Amazon infrastructure)
Most expensive bandwidth — invoices increase with high bandwidth usage
When a server is stopped, charges continue for disk usage
Scaling involves downtime

Data Center Locations:

North Virginia, United States
North Carolina, United States
Iowa, United States
Oregon, United States
Las Vegas, United States
Montreal, Canada
São Paulo, South America
London, United Kingdom
Frankfurt, Germany
Netherlands, Europe
Belgium, Europe
Finland, Europe
Mumbai, India
Singapore, Asia
Taiwan, Asia
Hong Kong, Asia
Tokyo, Japan
Sydney, Australia
Columbus, USA
Milan & Turin, Italy
Tel Aviv, Israel
Doha, Qatar
Paris, France
Madrid, Spain
Johannesburg, South Africa
Berlin, Germany

DigitalOcean

Pros:

Most affordable cloud hosting provider (compare pricing)
Fast-growing cloud platform
Reliable infrastructure
Cheap bandwidth — ideal for bandwidth-heavy apps
Many global data centers

Cons:

Slower scaling up (under 10 minutes); no direct scaling down (requires cloning server)
Scaling involves downtime
Backup/restore slower than AWS (backups stored on Amazon infrastructure)
No snapshot backups available
When a server is stopped, full server charges continue

Data Center Locations:

New York City, United States
San Francisco, United States
Toronto, Canada
London, United Kingdom
Frankfurt, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Singapore, Asia
Bangalore, India
Sydney, Australia
Atlanta, USA

Linode

Pros:

More cost-effective than AWS and GCP (compare pricing)
Popular in mid-price hosting category
Reliable infrastructure
Cheap bandwidth — good for bandwidth-heavy applications
Many global data centers

Cons:

Slower scaling up (under 10 minutes); no direct scaling down (requires cloning server)
Scaling involves downtime
Backup/restore slower than AWS (backups stored on Amazon infrastructure)
No snapshot backups available
When a server is stopped, full server charges continue

Data Center Locations

Newark, United States
Dallas, United States
Fremont, United States
Atlanta, United States
Toronto, Canada
London, United Kingdom
Frankfurt, Germany
Singapore, Asia
Mumbai, India
Tokyo, Japan
Sydney, Australia
Australia, Melbourne

Vultr

Pros:

More affordable than AWS/GCP (especially for smaller servers)
Reliable infrastructure
Fast-growing platform
Cheap bandwidth — ideal for bandwidth-heavy apps
17+ global data centers

Cons:

Slower scaling up (under 10 minutes); no direct scaling down (requires cloning server)
Scaling involves downtime
Backup/restore slower than AWS (backups stored on Amazon infrastructure)
No snapshot backups available
When a server is stopped, full server charges continue

Data Center Locations:

Seattle, United States
Los Angeles, United States
Chicago, United States
Miami, United States
Silicon Valley, United States
Dallas, United States
Atlanta, United States
New York, United States
Toronto, Canada
London, United Kingdom
Paris, France
Stockholm, Sweden
Frankfurt, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Seoul, South Korea
Singapore, Asia
Mexico City, Mexico
Tokyo, Japan
Sydney, Australia

Choosing the Right Infrastructure Provider for Your Needs

Here are some quick recommendations:

User Need	Recommended Providers
Budget-conscious	DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr
High performance / enterprise workloads	AWS, GCP
Global user base	AWS, GCP
Bandwidth-heavy apps	DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr
Quick scaling required	AWS, GCP
Simple apps or dev environments	DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr

Tip: You can test your application on multiple providers using Cloudways to determine the best fit.

Summary Table of Providers

Provider	Cost	Performance	Scaling Speed	Backups	Bandwidth	Data Centers	Ideal For
AWS	High	Excellent	Very fast	Fast	Expensive	Extensive	Enterprise, global apps
GCP	High	Excellent	Very fast	Moderate	Most expensive	Extensive	Enterprise, global apps
DigitalOcean	Low	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Cheap	Good	Budget apps, dev/test
Linode	Low	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Cheap	Good	Budget apps, mid-tier apps
Vultr	Low	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Cheap	Extensive	Budget apps, dev/test

Final Thoughts

Cloudways gives you the flexibility to choose from five leading IaaS cloud hosting providers. Each has unique strengths and pricing. Use this guide to evaluate your needs and pick the provider that fits your budget, performance goals, and geographic needs.

Still unsure? Test deployments across different providers on Cloudways and compare real-world performance.

Quick Tip:

Discover the power of Cloudways with 5 IaaS Cloud Providers. Customize your cloud hosting environment today — Check Pricing.

Get the high-performance Siteground alternative. With Cloudways, you can host on the five biggest server providers, including GCP and AWS.

That’s it! We hope this article was useful.

Need Help?

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