TL;DR
While Node.js is extremely promising when it comes to app development, the trick to unleashing its full potential is leveraging the best hosting services for Node.js applications.
All the solutions on our list make the cut. But, A2 Hosting happens to outshine the rest, thanks to its ideal balance between optimized performance, reasonable pricing, and dynamic hosting flexibility. Although it offers VPS Node.js hosting, the corresponding shared Node.js hosting packages, for as low as $5.99 a month, should be good enough for most developers.
1. A2 Hosting
Website: https://www.a2hosting.com/
A2 Hosting is a multi-faceted hosting provider. While it’s predominantly renowned for its high-performance WordPress hosting services, it turns out A2 Hosting is also specialized in Node.js hosting.
And when it comes to that, A2 Hosting is a cocktail of high Node.js server performance and favorable package pricing. It offers competitively-priced VPS and shared Node.js hosting services, which are perfect for developers on a budget.
Why Do We Like A2 Hosting's Node.js Hosting?
This web host, for starters, is considerably cheap. Node.js hosting starts at only $5.99 a month for a shared package with several decent features.
They include; Anytime money-back guarantee, free automatic backups, free SSL certificate, a cPanel interface for server management, an unlimited number of email accounts, unlimited SSD storage, plus support for an unlimited number of websites.
But if that doesn't sound like a good fit, A2 Hosting allows you to upgrade from the Drive package to Turbo Boost for up to 20 times faster speeds. This will only cost you $6.99 per month, which is admittedly a negligible bump considering all the performance-optimization features you'll get.
You can learn more about A2 Hosting here.
A2 Hosting Pricing
| Features / Plans | Startup | Drive | Turbo Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Websites | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Storage | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Databases | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Rewind Backups | No | Yes | Yes |
| Turbo Server | No | No | Yes |
| Free Migration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free SSL | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price /mo | $2.99/mo | $5.99/mo | $6.99/mo |
2. Interserver
Website: https://www.interserver.net/
Interserver is an excellent choice for developers seeking a flexible but cheap Node.js hosting service. But most importantly, it's for Node.js developers that want the freedom to pick their VPS resources.
Why Do We Like Interserver's Node.js Hosting?
For a reasonable price, Interserver allows you to choose the precise server resources you need for your Node.js application.
If you settle for one slice, for example, you’ll get one CPU core along with 2048MB of RAM, 30GB SSD storage, and 11TB of data transfer. All that comes at a price of only $6 a month.
You’re free to pick up to 16 CPU cores for your server, which would then come with 32,768MB RAM, 480GB SSD storage, plus 16GB of data transfer. That would subsequently give you a high-powered Node.js server that can comfortably support resource-demanding applications.
Such a comprehensive package would cost you about $96 a month, which is quite a fair rate considering all the features it offers. Hence, developers consider Interserver to be one of the most cost-effective Node.js hosting services for high-level apps.
And that's not all. Interserver further guarantees you the following benefits regardless of the server setup you choose: low latency data centers, managed support when you purchase 4 or more slices, a cPanel interface for server management, a Webuzo control panel, regular data backup, dedicated server resources, as well as fast loading speeds.
You can learn more about Interserver here.
Interserver Pricing
| Features | Linux Plan #1 | Linux Plan #3 | Storage VPS #1 | Storage VPS #3 | Windows Plan #1 | Windows Plan #3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Memory | 2048 MB | 6144 MB | 2048 MB | 6144 MB | 2048 MB | 6144 MB |
| SSD Storage | 30 GB | 90 GB | 30 GB | 90 GB | 30 GB | 90 GB |
| Monthly Data Transfer | 2 TB | 6 TB | 2 TB | 6 TB | 2 TB | 6 TB |
| cPanel | Add $15/mo | Add $15/mo | Add $15/mo | Add $15/mo | Add $15/mo | Add $15/mo |
| Fantastico | Add $4/mo | Add $4/mo | Add $4/mo | Add $4/mo | Add $4/mo | Add $4/mo |
| Softaculous | Add $2/mo | Add $2/mo | Add $2/mo | Add $2/mo | Add $2/mo | Add $2/mo |
| Unique IP | Add $3/mo | Add $3/mo | Add $3/mo | Add $3/mo | Add $3/mo | Add $3/mo |
| Monthly Cost | $6/mo | $18/mo | $6/mo | $18/mo | $10/mo | $30/mo |
3. Digital Ocean
Website: https://www.digitalocean.com/
Digital Ocean is a cloud infrastructure service that offers optimized resources for hosting nearly all types of web applications.
But, make no mistake. Digital Ocean doesn’t exactly operate like a regular cloud hosting solution. Rather, it’s enterprise-level infrastructure is built for experienced app developers that know how to manage their server environments.
Why Do We Like Digital Ocean's Node.js Hosting?
When it comes to Node.js hosting, Digital Ocean gives you a Node.js one-click app to save you the trouble of setting up everything from scratch. A few clicks on the control panel should be enough to create a new Node.js Ubuntu droplet.
Otherwise, it’s also possible to configure Node.js from Digital Ocean’s API. This long route gives you the privilege of customizing your droplet options. The only problem is, it’s far more complicated than the one-click app.
The pricing itself starts at $5 a month for your own virtual SSD server, complete with private networking capabilities and enterprise-level performance. You can choose to run your Node.js app from any of the eight global data centers managed by Digital Ocean.
Then if you’d want your app running in the background as a service, you could take advantage of Digital Ocean’s PM2 tool. It’s Node.js process manager that’s capable of daemonizing apps.
And as the app begins picking up and growing, Digital Ocean allows you to scale progressively by leveraging additional droplets. This should increase redundancy as well as the app’s overall performance.
In the end, Digital Ocean's enterprise-level cloud infrastructure gives you the privilege of leveraging its PM2 process manager for Node.js apps, a one-click Node.js app, Nginx reverse proxy, memory-optimized, CPU-optimized, general-purpose, and standard droplet options, global data centers, a developer-friendly control panel, plus extensive but seamless Node.js scaling.
Digital Ocean Pricing
| Features | Low-End | Mid-Tier | High-End |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 | 6 | 32 |
| Memory | 1 GB | 16 GB | 192 GB |
| Storage | 25 GB | 320 GB | 3.75 TB |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB | 6 TB | 12 TB |
| Price | $6/mo | $80/mo | $960/mo |
4. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Website: https://aws.amazon.com/
For experienced developers that need unlimited Node.js scaling, AWS is a considerably reliable host. You get to deploy your apps on one of the most extensive hosting infrastructures in the world, whose network of servers stretches across 22 geographical regions on the globe.
So, in a way, Amazon Web Services suits established organizations, large businesses, and enterprises.
Why Do We Like AWS Node.js Hosting?
Its expansive infrastructure makes AWS a very inclusive host. You'll find a wide range of packages offering varying hosting resources and tools for Node.js applications.
You could, for instance, capitalize on its Elastic Beanstalk services for simplified deployment management and scaling. You just need to submit your app’s code and AWS will handle the rest of the process while charging you a flexible pay-as-you-go rate.
Other feature highlights of AWS Node.js hosting include; a Node.js hosting free tier for beginners, a pay-as-you-go pricing system, extensive auto-scaling, seamless integration with a wide range of supplementary AWS services, plus consistent load balancing.
5. Heroku
Website: https://www.heroku.com/
While there’s a wide range of hosts that offer free Node.js hosting, Heroku’s free package is remarkably exceptional. It comes with an impressive array of features that would, otherwise, cost you dollars on another provider.
Hence, Heroku's cloud Node.js hosting is a perfect option for app developers who need decent scaling capabilities. Small businesses, beginners, and startups should feel right at home here.
Why Do We Like Heroku's Node.js Hosting?
The type of service here is cloud Node.js hosting and it supports app deployment across multiple regions. And if your app needs additional hosting functionalities, Heroku allows you to customize your server with its array of plugins or third-party solutions.
Some of the features you get from Heroku’s Node.js hosting free package include; 512 MB RAM, SSH to the dyno connection, dyno management capabilities, buildpacks, unified logs, automated OS patching, multiple deployment methods, rollbacks for disaster recovery, a custom domain, as well as add-ons for monitoring, caching, and logging.
But, if you ever need more power, upgrading to Heroku’s premium Node.js hosting plans will cost you between $7 per dyno per month and $500 per dyno per month.
Why Use Node.js?
Node.js is widely renowned for its reliability, flexibility, and overall efficiency. Apps developed using this technology are extensively scalable, even when you host them with run-of-the-mill solutions.
In other words, it's possible to build and run a relatively high-performing Node.js app without overstretching your server resources. And since resources translate to costs, it's safe to conclude that hosting Node.js apps should be fairly cost-effective.
A word of caution of though – picking a random Node.js hosting service could turn out to be disastrous for your app and the business. That’s why, instead of taking chances with an unproven option, strategic developers always settle for nothing but the best Node.js hosting providers.
Identifying such solutions, however, can be overwhelmingly cumbersome. The options on the market are quite extensive, as web hosts come in all types of sizes, price ranges, and packages.
That said, you can expect to find both free Node.js hosting and premium Node.js hosting in these two primary types of services:
- Shared Node.js hosting
- Cloud VM/VPS Node.js hosting
Shared vs. Cloud VM/VPS Node.js Hosting
Shared Node.js Hosting
Shared Node.js hosting is a structured approach where a server plus its accompanying system resources are shared between several users. As a result, such packages cost usually cost much less compared to other Node.js hosting options.
But, there’s also a downside to it. Sharing means you only get a fraction of the resources on the server. So, you might end up compromising the performance capabilities of your application.
Cloud VM/VPS Node.js Hosting
Cloud Virtual Machine Node.js hosting, which is otherwise known as Virtual Private Server Node.js hosting, mitigates the weaknesses of shared Node.js hosting.
In essence, each user is offered their own server along with its accompanying resources.
The servers themselves are virtual but they perform like physical machines. They even come with CPU, RAM, and storage space allocations.
Therefore, cloud VM/VPS Node.js hosting is ideal for resource-demanding apps that require extensive scalability. They get to capitalize on the allocated resources for increased performance and dynamic scaling.
The only problem is, this option is typically costlier than shared Node.js hosting. Hence, you should expect to pay more to host your application.
Top Websites Powered By Node.js
Netflix
Netflix is currently one of the largest and most established brands in the media streaming space.
By taking advantage of Node.js, it was able to set up an expansive but lightweight data-driven platform for providing videos on demand.
Consequently, its users continue to praise the service for maintaining an exceptionally smooth and fast performance without any noticeable glitches.
PayPal
PayPal is, by far, the biggest online payment system in the world. Its success is partly attributed to its fast and highly-dependable platform, which is currently running on a Node.js framework.
This, however, hasn’t always been the case. It turns out that at some point, PayPal was experiencing integration difficulties between its web-based platform and the corresponding apps.
The problem was that the company had been relying on two separate teams of developers. One was handling browser-specific code while the other team wrote app-layer-specific code. Although this approach admittedly had its benefits, it occasionally triggered inconsistencies between the two system architectures.
PayPal subsequently responded by hiring a team of full-stack developers to shift its entire system from Java to Node.js. And the result was a holistically unified platform that has proven to be much faster and more reliable than the previous system.
Uber
Although Uber was not the premier taxi app, it has grown to become the most widely-used ride-hailing app in the world. Its Node.js foundation, in particular, has been instrumental in the app's journey to the top, as the accompanying properties allowed Uber to expand easily and cheaply.
In short, Node.js has helped Uber adapt to increased service demand by progressively scaling up system resources without compromising the corresponding user experience.
The Bottom Line – Which Is The Best For You?
All things considered, there’s no provider that offers the ultimate best hosting services for all Node.js applications. What you choose depends on your needs and budget.
Ideally, you should identify the best Node.js hosting solution based on critical parameters like:
- The type of applications you intend to deploy.
- The type of server resources you think you’d need over the long haul.
- Your budget and projected expenditure.
- Your technical expertise when it comes to system administration.
- The number of applications you plan to host.
The deeper you evaluate your system needs, the more you’ll be able to pick the best hosting services for Node.js applications.
