As a website manager and digital marketer, I’ve had to evaluate diverse hosting providers to find the perfect fit for my client’s websites. And in my experience, I have discovered that it’s rare to find a reliable web host that offers fully managed, robust cloud hosting solutions at affordable prices. I’d say that attracted me to ScalaHosting.
In this ScalaHosting review, we’ll take a deep dive into its features, plans, performance stats, customer support, and other vitals. At the end of this piece, you’ll know if it’s worth your investment.
ScalaHosting Review
ScalaHosting is a Dallas-based hosting provider with a mission to make ‘VPS hosting a resource that anyone can use to build amazing things on the web.’ The company was founded in 2007, but they have continually improved their services to meet on-demand hosting needs. Their process focuses on three hosting essentials: security, performance, and scalability.
Just like other providers, ScalaHosting offers shared VPS hosting, WordPress hosting, and reseller hosting services. They also provide an email hosting service that allows you to create emails matching your domain name. Whichever service you opt for, you get a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, OpenLiteSpeed-powered caching system, their in-house SPanel, automatic daily backups, and 24/7/365 customer support.
Fun fact: ScalaHosting is one of the few hosting providers with a five-star Trustpilot rating. Over 1600 people rated Scalahosting for their services:
Scalahosting Pros and Cons
- They offer web and VPS affordable hosting plans
- 24/7/365 customer support
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Automatic daily backups
- Proprietary admin panel – SPanel
- They have a beginner-friendly interface
- Dedicated hosting isn’t a standalone service but is available on the shared hosting plan
- The SPanel is free, but advanced features come at an extra cost
- Discounts only apply when you’re paying for a longer duration
ScalaHosting Rating – my personal take
There are thousands of web hosting providers on the internet with varying prices, features, and specs. Without a structured approach, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the volume of options available. This is why I created a simple rating system that rates each provider based on actionable metrics such as performance stats, pricing, user intuitiveness, and customer support.
I use a 1-5 grading scale in my evaluation. I also gave reasons for my grading to help you make an informed decision. Keep in mind that this is subjective and can be different from other hosting reviews.
| Quality | My rating | Why I gave this score |
| Features and specs | 4.5 | Free SSL, CDN, email migration, renewable energy match, free WordPress migration, and out-of-the-box caching are some features that make SiteGround unique. I gave them this score because the SPanel still needs improvement. |
| Pricing | 4.9 | Starting at $2.95 per month, ScalaHosting is one of the market’s most affordable cloud hosting providers. However, I gave them this score because there are cheaper providers in the market offering similar services. |
| Performance stats | 5.0 | ScalaHosting boasts exceptional performance with a server loading time of 59 ms and 100% uptime. I gave them this score because their performance stats are highly satisfactory. |
| Ease of use | 4.8 | I love that ScalaHosting focuses on providing a seamless hosting experience for all its users, from creating an account to managing your site via the SPanel. However, I gave them this score because you can’t test some of their services without making monetary commitments. |
| Customer support guarantee | 4.8 | ScalaHosting offers paid clients live chat, a vast knowledge base, and personalized support. Despite having a quick response time, I gave them this score because they don’t have phone support, and the ‘Client Area’ support is exclusively for paid users. |
ScalaHosting Prices & Plans – 2024
As I shared earlier, ScalaHosting offers shared, reseller, WordPress, VPS, and email hosting solutions. All their plans come with an anytime money-back guarantee, which means you have enough time to decide whether their services are a perfect fit. If you’re unsatisfied, they promise to refund any prepaid and unused hosting services. Cool right?
Check out their pricing plans below:
ScalaHosting’s shared hosting plans
Mini
Space offered – 10 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered bandwidth
Number of websites – 1 website allowed
Price – $2.95/month
Start
Space offered – 10 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered bandwidth
Number of websites – Unlimited number of websites allowed
Price – $5.95/month
Advanced
Space offered – 100 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered bandwidth
Number of websites – Unlimited number of websites allowed
Price – $9.95/month
Entry Cloud
Space offered – 50 GB upgradable NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered bandwidth
Number of websites – Unlimited number of websites allowed
Price – $14.95/month
I recommend ScalaHosting’s Entry Cloud plan because it gives you the most value for your money. It’s packaged with premium features excluded from the other plans, including 50 GB of upgradable space, OpenLiteSpeed caching, branding and white labeling, blacklist monitoring, and many more. To save more, opt for their annual plans, which cost $14.95/month.
Who’s this for:
ScalaHosting shared hosting plans are perfect for small or medium-sized businesses with ample traffic. If you’re just starting your digital journey, you can go with this plan. The NVMe SSD storage, OpenLiteSpeed web server, and LiteSpeed caching provide better and optimized website performance. These features help you kickstart your digital journey on the right foot.
ScalaHosting’s Managed VPS hosting plans
Build #1
Space offered – 10 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered
CPU – 2 CPU Cores
Price – $29.95/month
Build #2
Space offered – 50 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered
CPU – 4 CPU Cores
Price – $44.95/month
Build #3
Space offered – 100 GB NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered
CPU – 8 CPU Cores
Price – $69.95/month
Build #4
Space offered – 50 GB upgradable NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered
CPU – 12 CPU Cores
Price – $94.95/month
Who’s this for:
If you manage an enterprise site with high traffic volume or a website relying on large applications that require a lot of power, for example, SaaS apps … then ScalaHosting’s VPS hosting plans are the right fit for you. Each plan comes with automatic offsite backups, unmetered bandwidth, flexible storage, SPanel, and more.
Also, instead of paying for resources you don’t need, the ScalaHosting managed VPS plan features flexible resources, which means you can upgrade/or downgrade your server’s CPU/RAM based on your site’s needs. For example, if you need an extra 10 GB SSD space, you can upgrade your storage for $2 instead of switching to a higher plan.
ScalaHosting’s WordPress VPS hosting plans
WP Mini
Space offered – 10 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered traffic
Number of websites – 1 website allowed
Price – $2.95 per month
WP Start
Space offered – 50 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered traffic
Number of websites – Unlimited websites allowed
Price – $5.95 per month
Extra features – Free domain, and real-time malware protection.
WP Advanced
Space offered – 100 GB fixed NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered traffic
Number of websites – Unlimited websites allowed
Price – $9.95 per month billed annually
Extra features – Free domain, real-time malware protection, and priority support.
WP Entry Cloud
Space offered – 50 GB upgradable NVMe SSD
Bandwidth – Unmetered traffic
Number of websites – Unlimited websites allowed
Price – $14.955 per month billed annually
Extra features – Free domain, real-time malware protection, priority support, blacklist monitoring, scalable storage, dedicated IP address, and OpenLiteSpeed caching.
To get the most value for your money, I recommend ScalaHosting’s Entry Cloud plan. Here, you get up to 50GB VMe SSD storage, which you can upgrade at will, and other exclusive features such as branding & white-label options, malware protection, etc. Instead of the shared hosting plan, you get fixed dedicated server resources for better performance.
Just like other hosting providers, like Siteground, ScalaHosting’s WordPress plans are a combination of shared hosting plans and WP-focused features.
Who is this for?
If you have a WordPress site or want to build your site on WordPress, take advantage of ScalaHosting’s WordPress plans. Aside from the speed optimization features, all plans give you free access to the custom-built WordPress Manager, the SWordPress Manager, where you can manage all your activities in one place.
ScalaHosting’s Reseller hosting plans
Scala1
Space offered – 25 GB SSD storage
Features – Shared hosting, free SSL certificate, cPanel/WHM included, daily offsite backups, and free one-click WordPress installer.
Price – $17.95/month billed annually
Scala2
Space offered – 40 GB SSD storage
Features – Scala1 features plus extra 15 GB SSD storage
Price – $29.95/month billed annually
Scala3
Space offered – 75 GB SSD storage
Features – Scala2’s features plus 25 GB SSD extra storage.
Price – $44.95/month billed annually
Scala4
Space offered – 50 GB Upgradable NVMe SSD
Features – Scala3’s features plus access to SPanel, dedicated IP address, priority support, branding & white label, and OpenLiteSpeed caching.
Price – $44.95/month billed annually
The ScalaHosting’s Entry Cloud plan allows you to manage unlimited accounts with dedicated servers (compared to other plans with shared servers). It’s perfect for businesses managing multiple websites or web developers offering web hosting services as part of their services. Plus, instead of the SSD storage offered in Scala 1-3, you get 50 GB of upgradable NVMe SSD storage for a faster and more optimized performance.
Who’s this for?
Practically, I recommend this package for anyone managing multiple websites simultaneously and don’t want to experience the hassle of switching providers. It’s also great for tech geeks looking to start a web hosting business without owning a physical server.
ScalaHosting’s Email hosting plans
StartUp
Space offered – 50 GB email storage
Features – Up to 10 email boxes, 1 email domain, advanced SPAM protection, daily offsite backups.
Price – $4.95/month billed annually
SmallBiz
Space offered – 100 GB SSD storage
Features – Up to 50 email boxes, 5 email domains, advanced SPAM protection, daily offsite backups.
Price – $6.95/month billed annually
Medium
Space offered – 150 GB SSD storage
Features – Up to 100 email boxes, 10 email domains, advanced SPAM protection, daily offsite backups.
Price – $9.95/month billed annually.
Cloud
Space offered – 50 GB Upgradable NVMe SSD
Features – Unlimited email accounts and domains, advanced SPAM protection, daily offsite backups, dedicated IP address, priority support, branding & white-label, free domain.
Price – $14.95/month billed annually.
If you manage over 100 email boxes, opt for the ScalaHost Cloud hosting plan, as it comes with improved email deliverability, a free domain, expandable storage, and priority support. You can add multiple custom domain names and create unlimited email accounts in this plan, all at $14.95/month.
Who is it for?
ScalaHosting email hosting plans are designed for small, medium, and large business owners. As I shared in the previous section, the Cloud plan gives you access to all the premium features, including robust security tools. You can access the service for 30 days and request a full refund if you’re unsatisfied.
ScalaHosting’s AWS VPS hosting plans
AWS4GB
Space offered – 160 GB SSD Storage
Bandwidth – 4TB Bandwidth
Features – 2 CPU Cores, OpenLiteSpeed Caching, Apache and Nginx support, CloudFlare CDN, 2FA authentication, WordPress manager.
Price – $61.95/month billed annually
AWS8GB
Space offered – 160 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 5 TB Bandwidth
Features – 2 CPU Cores, SPAM protection, SWordPress Manager, CloudFlare CDN, automated backups, Branding.
Price – $89.95/month billed annually
AWS16GB
Space offered – 320 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 6 TB Bandwidth
Features – 4 CPU Cores, real-time malware protection, SPAM protection, unlimited accounts, Branding, LiteSpeed Enterprise support.
Price – $149.95/month billed annually
AWS32GB
Space offered – 640 GB SSD storage
Bandwidth – 7 TB Bandwidth
Features – 8 CPU Cores, Cron jobs management, full account backup, add/remove FTP accounts, HTTP/2 & 3 support, LiteSpeed Enterprise support.
Price – $249.95/month billed annually.
Who is it for?
Whether you’re a small business owner, run an enterprise organization, or a developer. ScalaHosting’s AWS plans are feature-rich to meet your needs.
ScalaHosting’s Features
Here are the major features offered by ScalaHosting:
- Free SSL certificates
- Remote daily backups
- OpenLiteSpeed Caching
- NVMe SSD storage
- Advanced security features (SShield, anti-SPAM protection, SSL certificate, etc).
- Proprietary admin management platform – SPanel
There are several things I like about ScalaHosting, but their commitment to delivering state-of-the-art hosting solutions makes them a top choice for me. Instead of using conventional tools, they developed in-house solutions to help web owners reach their full potential on the web.
One of these tools is the SPanel, a VPS control panel that provides easy management, fast loading times, and top-of-the-line web security. I also love that they didn’t sacrifice seamless user experience for premium features. The SPanel has an intuitive interface, making it easier for non-techies just starting their digital journey. Compared to other providers, ScalaHosting’s control panel is free for all their paid users. However, you’ll have to pay extra if you need advanced functionalities.
Another (huge) advantage, especially if you’re keen on getting a security-focused provider, is the ScalaHosting SShield, an in-house security system to protect your website from hacking or phishing scams. According to them, this tool is 100% fully automated and built with advanced technologies – artificial intelligence and machine learning. This makes it easier to discover suspicious traffic before it causes any damage.
Now, let’s move to the next…
ScalaHosting Performance
One of the quickest ways to validate the claims of any web host is through a performance evaluation of websites hosted by the platform. This way, you can gain valuable insights into the web host’s reliability, speed, and overall performance of the hosting service.
Vital metrics to track are:
- Speed (time to first byte) – measures the responsiveness and efficiency of a website server.
- Uptime — measures the reliability of the hosting service.
- Website loading time and performance in search engines – measures the time it takes for a web page to load fully in a user’s browser.
On average, websites hosted on a quality web host should have fast loading speed, 99.9% – 100% uptime (reliability), and a loading time of <3s.
ScalaHosting promises optimized performance, on-demand scalability, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. However, to save you the hassle of using your website for a trial run, I used a website hosted on ScalaHosting to validate their performance.
I tested the server response time (TTFB) using GTMetrix, and here are the results:
Really impressive if you ask me!
Their servers respond faster than other competitors; as you can see, the TTFB was 59ms! This is likely because they use OpenLiteSpeed and LiteSpeed Enterprise web servers – the fastest in the world.
Overall, the website performance is 100%, which validates their reliability and efficient hosting infrastructure.
I also fact-checked their Uptime in the last 30 days using Uptime Robot. Here’s what I got:
This shows their website has been up 100% in the last 30 days, validating their 99.9% uptime claim.
The next is…
ScalaHosting’s Customer Support
Before I decided to review ScalaHosting, I discovered that everyone sang praises of their incredible customer support team.
Check out some of them on TrustPilot:
If you’re well-versed in the hosting industry, you’ll understand that getting a quality web host with top-notch support is rare.
So, let’s carry out real-life tests to verify if the ScalaHosting customer support is truly excellent.
Live Chat
ScalaHosting quick support – the live chat – is available as a green chat button on the bottom right side of the website.
I love that real humans respond to inquiries and not bots:
Once you click on the ‘Chat now’ button, you’re redirected to fill out a form:
I sent out an inquiry by 5:26 pm and got a response immediately. Awesome!
Client Area
ScalaHosting also offers personalized support. But this is exclusive to paid users on their platform:
KnowledgeBase
You’ll love the vast resources in their ‘Knowledge base’ section. It houses hundreds of articles on different touchpoints, including tutorials on how to register for other hosting services, use the SPanel, make payments, etc:
There’s also a segmented drop-down menu and search bar to streamline your search:
ScalaHosting’s security features
ScalaHosting offers robust security features – Anti-SPAM protection, SSL certificates, and daily automatic backups.
They also built an in-house security system – SShield Security Guard – that uses AI to detect and prevent your website from hackers. According to them, this system is designed to block 99.998% of all attacks.
Here’s how it works:
Whenever the system notices a new attack, it sends a detailed report to the site owner, including information on correcting the issue before it causes any damage. It also performs regular checks to discover if the attack has been resolved before closing the case.
Also, since it’s fully dependent on machine learning, it continuously improves itself as it encounters newer vulnerabilities.
ScalaHosting’s website builders
If you’re looking to build a website, lucky you!
ScalaHosting offers a free domain name to all users signed up for the shared or WordPress hosting plans. Also, you can build your website in one-click on any of their affiliated CMS platforms — WordPress, Joomla, Weebly, and Drupal.
Note: All four hosting plans come with a free Softaculous feature where you can install the website builders. This feature is available on cPanel and SPanel. Also, ScalaHosting has a dedicated WordPress and Joomla manager to manage all your site-building activities.
User-Friendliness – Ease of use
ScalaHosting boasts of having a user-centric platform. But how true is that? In this section, we’ll explore the user-friendliness of this provider, their control panel, and the WordPress installation process.
Registering an account with ScalaHosting
To access any of ScalaHosting’s solutions, you have to pay for their hosting plans. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to do that:
Step 1:
Simply navigate to the top menu bar and click on ‘Hosting.’ Once you’ve chosen your preferred choice and plan, click ‘Get Started’ to register your account.
Step 2:
Here, you’ll be redirected to fill in your account information, personal details, and payment choice:
Step 3
Once you’ve filled in all the vitals correctly, agree to ScalaHosting’s terms and conditions and ‘Complete Order’ to validate your payment. Easy peasy!! After creating your account, you’ll be taken to the ScaleHost Client Area to access all the services.
ScalaHosting’s intuitive Control Panel
As I shared earlier, ScalaHosting uses a custom-built control panel called SPanel. Think of it as an upgraded version of cPanel as it’s more effective, intuitive, hassle-free, and fast. Also, it was created with the users in mind, and I love it!
The SPanel is split into the admin panel and the customer panel.
In the admin overview, you can monitor your server usage, add/remove users, change server settings, or switch your account’s software. There’s also an analytics feature that allows you to monitor the real-time performance of your websites. Cool, right? That’s not all.
If you’re a one-person reseller, take advantage of the fully managed services to provide personalized support to users affiliated with your account. The platform also has a white labeling option that allows you to customize the platform as you want.
Installing WordPress on ScalaHosting
Installing WordPress on ScalaHosting is almost effortless. All you need to do is log into your SPanel user account. Next, search for WordPress Manager under the tools section:
Once you’re on the WordPress Manager page, you are required to fill in your domain/subdomain, username, password, and admin email:
Then click ‘Install WordPress,’ and that’s all! You’ll see your new WordPress site under the ‘Existing WordPress Installation’ section.
Conclusion: Do We Recommend ScalaHosting?
To be candid, I was pretty impressed with ScalaHosting while evaluating their services. I love that they offer fully managed support, which means you can focus on building your business without worrying about hosting-related issues. Splendid.
The blazing performance, excellent customer support, robust security features out-of-the-box, intuitive interface, and developer-friendly … all make ScalaHosting an excellent choice for anyone looking for a reliable, hassle-free hosting provider.
FAQs
Which is better: BlueHost or ScalaHosting?
Both providers – Bluehost and ScalaHosting – are excellent web hosting providers with their unique advantages. Let’s consider a few cases.
In terms of performance and SEO, I’ll opt for ScalaHosting because the servers are built on the LiteSpeed servers, which accounts for its excellent performance.
If you’re just starting and looking to save costs, ScalaHosting is the way to go. For example, ScalaHosting’s VPS plan starts at $29.95/month, and BlueHost’s costs $31.99/month. Also, ScalaHosting uses NVMe SSD storage, which is 20 times faster than the standard SSD which BlueHost offers.
But if you want all your digital needs consolidated on one platform, BlueHost will be a better choice. Aside from being a web hosting provider, they offer web design and digital marketing services.
Is ScalaHosting a good option for hosting WordPress sites?
Yes, ScalaHosting is a good option for building, hosting, and managing WordPress sites. Their WordPress hosting service is fully managed, meaning they handle your WordPress website’s security, optimization, and technical aspects.
Although the lower WordPress plans are hosted on a shared server, you’ll still enjoy other performance-rich features like NVMe SSD storage, OpenLiteSpeed caching, and unlimited bandwidth.
Where are ScalaHosting servers located?
ScalaHosting servers are in the US (Dallas and New York) and Europe (Sofia and Bulgaria). They also have virtual servers in over 13 locations across the US, UK, Europe, and Asia.
