10 Best PHP Hosting Providers
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How to choose the best PHP web hosting provider for your site
PHP scripts can only be interpreted on a server with PHP installed, so if you want to enjoy the benefits of PHP hosting, you’ll need to choose a web host that supports it.
PHP web hosting is web hosting that is able to read and execute the PHP programming language.
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language, in which the server processes the source code. This means that front-end users won’t have access to the source code, unlike with strict HTML sites.
The PHP language is also an open source interpreter, which means it interprets in real time. PHP is used to build dynamic websites with pages that are then generated in real time – it’s great for creating sign-in screens and ecommerce shopping carts.
PHP is also a universal scripting language, which means that websites created with PHP are going to be compatible with almost every new device, including iPhones and Android devices.
The Top 10 PHP Hosting Providers
- Bluehost – best overall PHP hosting provider.
- HostGator – best for uptime.
- InMotion – best for secure PHP hosting.
- A2 Hosting – best for PHP hosting support.
- SiteGround – best for PHP features.
- Hostinger – best for affordability.
- iPage – best for PHP updates.
- DreamHost – best for storage space.
- WP Engine – best for scalability.
- HostPapa – best for online guidance.
We’ve conducted extensive research on the top hosting providers that support PHP, and have ranked each provider’s performance in a number of areas, from uptime to customer service. Ready to take a closer look at what makes each provider stand out? Let’s get started! First, a quick comparison with expert ratings (out of five) from our research:
| Provider | Starting Price | Uptime | Expert Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | $2.95/month | 99.98% | 4.8 |
| HostGator | $2.75/month | 99.99% | 4.7 |
| InMotion | $2.49/month | 99.97% | 4.6 |
| A2 Hosting | $3.92/month | 99.95% | 4.3 |
| SiteGround | $6.99/month | 99.98% | 4.0 |
| Hostinger | $0.99/month | 99.90% | 3.7 |
| iPage | $1.99/month | 99.98% | 3.7 |
| DreamHost | $2.59/month | 99.95% | 3.5 |
| WP Engine | $25.00/month | 99.98% | 3.5 |
| HostPapa | $3.95/month | 99.98% | 3.2 |
Now, for the in-depth reviews.
1 Bluehost
Best overall PHP hosting provider
Key Features
PHP starting price: $2.95/month
Savings alert! Get discounted PHP hosting from $2.65/month from November 22nd!
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.98%
Free backups? Yes
Bluehost supports PHP versions 7.0 through 7.3. You can customize your version with PHP handlers, and configure the environment using php.ini. Bluehost also offers a variety of non-PHP-specific features. Check out our general overview of Bluehost below:
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Plans and Pricing
PHP hosting on Bluehost’s shared plans starts at $2.95/month, and there are four different plans to choose from. The cheapest is the Basic plan, which includes unmetered bandwidth and 50GB of SSD storage. The Pro plan is the priciest, and includes unmetered bandwidth, unlimited SSD storage, and a dedicated IP address.
Save Up to 75% On Bluehost’s Shared Plans
From November 22nd you can get PHP hosting on Bluehost’s shared plans from as little as $2.65 per month! These Black Friday savings only last until November 29th, though, so don’t miss out!
Bluehost Support
Bluehost’s knowledge base has a host of helpful articles on PHP hosting. Its general help and support services are also robust – you can contact the team 24/7 via phone and live chat.
Bluehost Security
Bluehost also includes extensive security measures with its plans, such as free SSL, Secure Shell access, and Spam Assassin protection. Of course, there are also advanced security features that you can pay extra for – but in this guide, we’ll just cover the security features that come included with each provider’s plans.
Find out more
- Read our Bluehost Review for more information
- Learn more about costs in our Bluehost Pricing Review
2 HostGator
Best for uptime
Key Features
PHP starting price: $2.75/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 45 days
Uptime: 99.99%
Free backups? Yes, weekly
HostGator offers PHP hosting on its shared plans, and its servers are already configured with standard PHP settings that HostGator administrators have determined to be the most optimal. However, you can always override these default settings by creating your own PHP.ini file.
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Plans and Pricing
HostGator’s shared plans are optimized for PHP hosting, with prices starting at $2.75/month.
The Hatchling plan includes a single domain, unmetered bandwidth, and a free domain. The Business plan includes unlimited domains, unmetered bandwidth, a free dedicated IP address, free SEO tools, and a free domain.
HostGator Support
HostGator offers an extensive searchable knowledge base which, like that of Bluehost, includes a ton of information on PHP hosting. In addition, HostGator offers 24/7 live chat and phone support.
HostGator Security
So, what about HostGator’s security measures? Each plan offers a free SSL certificate, and better yet, HostGator’s data centers enable flood protection to prevent DDoS attacks.
Find out more
- Learn more about this provider from our HostGator Review
- Get an in-depth breakdown of costs from our HostGator Pricing Review
3 InMotion
Best for secure PHP hosting
Key Features
PHP starting price: $2.49/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 90 days
Uptime: 99.97%
Free backups? Yes
InMotion’s PHP plans are strengthened by the suPHP tool, which executes PHP scripts with the permissions of their owners. In other words, the suPHP features make your web hosting more secure.
InMotion also provides a wealth of other, non-PHP specific features, which we’ll explain under “Plans and Pricing.” But first, take a look at our snapshot summary of InMotion:
Plans and Pricing
InMotion’s shared plans start at $2.29/month. In addition to supporting PHP hosting, each plan includes free site transfers, scheduled data backups, and free solid-state (SSD) drives. This $2.29/month ‘Core’ plan is a promotional offer for Website Builder Expert readers – just click the button below to go to InMotion and see the discount automatically applied.
Save on Shared Hosting With InMotion’s Black Friday Deal!
From November 11th you can get InMotion’s Power plan for the price of the Launch plan – that’s over $200 in savings! This great value deal lasts until the end of December, so don’t miss out!
InMotion Support
InMotion offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, as well as a searchable Support Center knowledge base with over 5,000 articles.
InMotion Security
As far as security goes, InMotion includes free SSL, Secure Shell access, and DDoS attack protection. This provider also includes HotLink protection to prevent stolen bandwidth.
Find out more
- Learn more with our InMotion Review
- See how the #1 and #3 PHP hosts fare overall in our InMotion vs Bluehost general comparison
4 A2 Hosting
Best for PHP hosting support
Key Features
PHP starting price: $3.92/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: anytime
Uptime: 99.95%
Free backups? Yes
A2 Hosting lets you choose between the many different versions of PHP on offer, the latest being PHP 7.4. Other versions provided by A2 Hosting include 7.0 through 7.3. Check out what else this provider can do:
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Plans and Pricing
A2 Hosting offers PHP web hosting on all three of its shared plans: Lite, Swift, and Turbo. Shared plans start at $3.92/month. At the cheapest end of this spectrum, the Lite plan is great for those just starting off, while the Turbo plan runs very quickly and is great for sites with a lot of files and content.
All of A2’s shared plans offer unlimited SSD storage and transfer, free site migration, and the popular cPanel control panel.
A2 Hosting Support
A2 Hosting’s customer support team – otherwise known as the Guru Crew – is available 24/7 via phone and live chat. You can also submit email tickets with help requests. A2 Hosting’s searchable knowledge center is just as robust as those of its competitors, and you can find a lot of articles on PHP-related topics there.
A2 Hosting Security
A2 Hosting has also implemented an in-house Perpetual Security initiative to keep its websites safe, which includes:
- HackScan protection
- Dual hosting firewall
- Server hardening
- Reinforced DDoS attack protection
Find out more
- Read our A2 Hosting Review to learn more
- How much does it cost to host a website? We’ve broken down the general budget
5 SiteGround
Best for PHP features
Key Features
PHP starting price: $6.99/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.98%
Free backups? Yes
SiteGround’s PHP hosting starts at $6.99 per month, and for that price you’ll have access to versions 7.0 through 7.4. SiteGround prides itself on its highly secure PHP executions and automatic PHP updates, and you can also feel good about this provider if you’re trying to go green: SiteGround offers a 100% renewable energy match on its PHP shared plans.
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Plans and Pricing
SiteGround offers PHP hosting on all of its shared plans. The StartUp plan is cheapest at $6.99/month, followed by the GrowBig plan at $9.99/month, and finally the GoGeek plan at $14.99/month.
All of SiteGround’s shared plans include unmetered data transfer and unlimited sub and parked domains. In addition, the SSD storage breakdown across plans is 10GB on StartUp, 20GB on Grow Big, and 30GB on GoGeek.
SiteGround Support
In addition to 24/7 phone and live chat support and its own knowledge base, SiteGround also offers dedicated tutorials for different tasks and tools, to help you take your site to the next level.
SiteGround Security
SiteGround’s security measures include free SSL and 24/7 server monitoring. SiteGround also runs an Intrusion Prevention System, which can identify any users trying to bruteforce your passwords, and then swiftly disable access to the attacker’s IP address.
Find out more
- Our SiteGround Review will give you all the details about this provider
- Start planning your budget with our full SiteGround Pricing Review
6 Hostinger
Best for affordability
Key Features
PHP starting price: $0.99/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.90%
Free backups? Yes: weekly
Hostinger’s PHP plans offer Git integration for deploying applications, version control to let you switch between PHP versions 5.2 through 7.4, and server-side caching to increase page speed. Check out how Hostinger fared in our research categories:
Plans and Pricing
Hostinger offers PHP hosting on all of its shared plans, which start at $0.99/month. The cheapest plan is the Single PHP plan, which includes 100GB bandwidth and 1X processing power and memory. On the other end of the spectrum, the Business PHP plan includes unlimited bandwidth, 4X processing power and memory, and daily backups.
Hostinger Support
Let’s clear up one thing first: Hostinger doesn’t currently offer phone support. This can be frustrating for some, but Hostinger’s email support, tickets, and 24/7 live chat are enough to make up for it and then some. Hostinger also provides a knowledge base and a library of tutorials on all kinds of topics, so you can learn at your own convenience.
Hostinger Security
Hostinger offers a free SSL certificate on its Business PHP plan, but those on the Single and Premium shared plans will have to purchase an SSL certificate separately. That being said, Hostinger’s servers also use advanced security modules like Suhosin PHP hardening and PHP open_basedir protection to guarantee a high level of security.
Find out more
- Read our Hostinger Review for more information
- Check out our overall list of the Best Cheap Web Hosts
7 iPage
Best for PHP updates
Key Features
PHP starting price: $1.99/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.98%
Free backups? Yes
iPage allows you to easily switch between PHP versions, which helps when navigating the world of constant new releases. iPage also performs PHP updates automatically for convenience. You can also modify the php.ini file, for more control over how PHP code runs on your iPage account.
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Plans and Pricing
iPage is unique in that it offers a “one-size-fits-all” shared hosting plan for $1.99/month. While you don’t have much choice in the matter, all of the bases of a shared hosting plan are covered, including unlimited disk space, scalable bandwidth, and a free domain for the first year.
iPage Support
The iPage team is always around to help via 24/7 phone and live chat support, plus a ticketing system and an extensive searchable knowledge base. There are only 39 results for PHP hosting queries in the iPage knowledge base, but if your question isn’t answered there, you can rest assured knowing the team is on hand to assist you.
iPage Security
iPage plans come with 24/7 network monitoring, plus an enhanced security suite worth $100, for no cost.
Find out more
- Read our iPage Review for more information
- See how iPage fares in our ranking of the 8 Best Shared Hosting Services
8 DreamHost
Best for storage space
Key Features
PHP starting price: $2.59/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 97 days
Uptime: 99.95%
Free backups? Yes
DreamHost supports PHP versions 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4. Currently, when you add a new domain in your DreamHost panel, PHP 7.3 is selected by default. DreamHost offers PHP hosting on its shared plans.
Plans and Pricing
DreamHost offers two shared plans: Shared Starter for $2.59/month, and Shared Unlimited for $3.95/month. Both plans include a free domain, unlimited traffic, and SSD storage. The slightly more expensive Shared Unlimited plan also offers unlimited email addresses ending @yourdomain.
DreamHost Support
DreamHost lets you submit digital support inquiries, and offers callbacks in response. That being said, you can’t call DreamHost directly over the phone, which can be agitating to some. However, you can still get an over-the-phone response to your questions if you’d like one. In addition, DreamHost offers live chat from 5:30am to 9:30pm PST, 24/7 email tickets, and a searchable knowledge base.
DreamHost Security
DreamHost’s security measures include:
- Free SSL
- Malware remover
- Domain privacy
- Web application firewalls
In short, every DreamHost plan works hard to safeguard your website from attacks.
Find out more
- Read our DreamHost Review for more information
- Get a full cost breakdown in our DreamHost Pricing Review
9 WP Engine
Best for scalability
Key Features
PHP starting price: $25.00/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.98%
Free backups? Yes
WP Engine is unique because it specifically caters to WordPress users, and offers the scalability that more commercial sites need. There is no real WP Engine plan suitable for personal sites or very small business sites, but for most business and commercial websites, WP Engine is a great tool for driving growth.
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Plans and Pricing
WP Engine offers three WordPress hosting plans: StartUp ($25.00/month), Growth ($95.83/month), and Scale ($241.67/month). The Growth and Scale plans are considerably more expensive, and if you’re hosting a massive website, they’re worth considering.
However, most of us will be focusing on the cheaper StartUp plan. This can accommodate up to 25,000 visits per month, and includes:
- 10GB of local storage
- 50GB of monthly bandwidth
WP Engine Support
WP Engine’s Solution Center offers educational advice on improving your site. WP Engine offers 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat, although you must be signed into your account in order to access it.
WP Engine Security
WP Engine’s security measures include a proprietary firewall to automatically direct good vs bad or malicious traffic, plus disk write protection to keep malicious code from embedding itself into a site – both in-depth measures to keep your website safe.
Find out more
- Check out our WP Engine Review to learn more
- Start budgeting with our WP Engine Pricing Review
10 HostPapa
Best for online guidance
Key Features
PHP starting price: $3.95/month
Money-back guarantee? Yes: 30 days
Uptime: 99.98%
Free backups? Yes
HostPapa offers PHP optimized servers with broad database support. Better yet, its digital knowledge base is home to a whole host of helpful tutorials on PHP hosting. Take a look at our general overview of HostPapa below:
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Plans and Pricing
HostPapa’s shared PHP hosting plans start at $3.95/month, and include free domain registration and unmetered bandwidth. The cheapest plan is the Starter plan, which offers 100GB of SSD storage, while the Business and Business Pro plans both offer unlimited SSD storage.
HostPapa Support
HostPapa’s searchable knowledge base includes a number of articles on PHP topics – and virtually any other topic, as well. The knowledge base also includes a community forum, where customers can help answer each other’s questions. HostPapa also offers 24/7 live chat and phone support, so you can get your questions answered directly by the team.
HostPapa Security
In terms of security, all of HostPapa’s plans are well equipped with free SSL, DDoS attack prevention, and the ModSecurity web application firewall.
Find out more
- Read our HostPapa Review for more information
- Check out our ranking of the Best Linux Hosting Providers
Best PHP Hosting Providers: Final Thoughts
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to strong PHP web hosts, but the decision ultimately comes down to what you value most in a provider. To recap, these are the top 10, along with their top attributes:
Best PHP hosting providers
- Bluehost – best overall PHP hosting provider ($2.95/month).
- HostGator – best for uptime ($2.75/month).
- InMotion – best for secure PHP hosting ($2.49/month).
- A2 Hosting – best for PHP hosting support ($3.92/month).
- SiteGround – best for PHP features ($6.99/month).
- Hostinger – best for affordability ($0.99/month).
- iPage – best for PHP updates ($1.99/month).
- DreamHost – best for storage space ($2.59/month).
- WP Engine – best for scalability ($25.00/month).
- HostPapa – best for online guidance ($3.95/month).
We’ve reached this conclusion after weeks of researching the best hosting providers, and we know that any of these web hosts can do a great job. But what exactly are you looking for?
If uptime is your top priority, then we recommend HostGator. If you value affordability, then Hostinger’s prices are top notch. And if you’re still undecided, then you can’t go wrong with Bluehost’s well-rounded features.
FAQs
PHP hosting applies to most dedicated and VPS servers as well. But we’ve decided to put the spotlight on PHP shared plans since they’re the cheapest, and are where most people prefer to start out – you can always upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server later!
PHP is open-source, so none of the providers we’ve recommended charge more for PHP hosting than the price of their usual hosting plans. This price includes all of the support, security, and features that we’ve discussed above.
You can host a PHP site on a Windows server, although it’s not as easy to configure as it is on a Linux server. For the sake of convenience, all of the plans we’ve covered in this guide are hosted on Linux servers.
Nope! PHP is a server-side scripting language, while HTML is usually a client-side markup language. HTML code is static, meaning it remains the same every time it’s opened. PHP code, on the other hand, provides dynamic content through scripts.
There are some providers that will host a PHP site for free. That said, they often place such tight restrictions on important functions like storage and bandwidth that it’s just not worth the low quality. For example, 000WebHost.com offers free PHP hosting with the catch of 2 hours offline every month.
Technically, you don’t always need a web server to run PHP, since you can call the PHP binary from the command line and run it that way. But since it’s the web server, and not the web browser, that can interact with a PHP interpreter, you’ll generally need a web server to run PHP successfully.
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