Alexis Kestler
Not every application can be hosted on Linux, or not everyone likes or is comfortable with it. There could be various reasons to use Windows servers instead of UNIX. Some examples:
- Application compatibility
- Legacy application
- A windows-based application like .NET, ASP.NET
- Jump server
- Just need to perform application or site testing
So what‘s your requirement? The following are some of the best platforms to get Windows servers worldwide to host Windows-based applications.
Kamatera
Kamatera offers Windows as a desktop and server operating system. You can choose between different OS versions and options to host in 13 global data centers.
Kamatera servers are powered by Intel Platinum 8270 processors and provide the following key benefits:
- Unlimited 40Gbit per second network speed
- SSD storage for better I/O throughputs
- Scalable – a single server can have up to 64 vCPUs and 256 GB RAM
You can manage your Windows VPS through a beautiful dashboard or API.
Liquid Web
Liquid Web is a veteran in web hosting, providing fast, secure, and powerful fully managed Windows VPS hosting.
Key features include:
- Unlimited incoming bandwidth
- 10 TB outgoing bandwidth
- Root access
- DDoS protection
- Dedicated IP address
- 100GB backups
- Integrated firewall
- Free migration
Every Liquid Web Windows VPS plan includes Server Secure Plus for robust security with real-time antivirus, monthly external vulnerability scans, malware cleanup, and more.
Some plan-specific perks include Cloudflare Pro, premium business email, and threat detection systems. Plesk and cPanel make server management easy with auto-updates, application installs, and more. Liquid Web also provides 24/7 support via live chat or phone with sub-minute response times.
Finally, effortless scalability and 100% uptime SLAs provide peace of mind.
Scala Hosting
The SSD cloud VPS by Scala Hosting offers fast performance, greater control, and dedicated resources.
They keep three copies of your data across three different servers, so if one node fails, your cloud server automatically migrates to a healthy node.
It‘s 100% automated, and you can easily manage your VPS from the client area anytime – stop, start, restart, upgrade, downgrade, reset passwords, access console, monitor resource usage, and more with no hassles. VPS deployment takes just 60 seconds after ordering.
The cloud servers run on dual Intel Xeon E5 CPUs with a minimum 256 GB RAM, redundant uplinks, and dual power supply. Scala Hosting provides 10 Gbps networks with premium upstream providers for high uptime.
You can choose to deploy your Windows SSD cloud server in their Europe or US data centers. All plans include scalable resources, 3 snapshots, high availability, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pricing starts at $10/month for 1 CPU core, 50 GB SSD, and 2 GB RAM.
Serverspace
Get Windows Server 2019 in New Jersey, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Almaty with Serverspace. They utilize an innovative hyperconverged vStack platform built on superior open source technologies – a lightweight BSD hypervisor and FreeBSD OS with simplified code for new generation VMs.
Key features:
- Easy signup – just an email required
- Windows & Linux OS options
- Custom configurations – choose processor cores, RAM, storage, bandwidth
- Latest 2nd Gen Intel CPUs with 3.1 GHz frequency
- Fast SSDs with great IOPS
- Create & deploy in under 1 minute
- 200 Mbps network, unlimited traffic
- 24/7/365 human support, quick replies
- Pay-as-you-go pricing, change configurations anytime
Google Cloud Platform
Deploy .NET apps, SQL Server, or anything on Google Cloud – choose Windows Server 2012, 2016 or 2019. Pricing is based on chosen size and resources like storage and network, pay only for what you use with no lock-in.
Google has data centers in 19 regions globally, so you can always find an option located near your users.
Benefits of Windows VPS servers on Google Cloud include:
- Low latency network
- Secure network, leverage built-in firewall to control access
- Effortless scalability up and down
Google Cloud is an enterprise-ready solution.
Cloudzy
Cloudzy offers some of the most affordable Windows VPS hosting on high-performance infrastructure with NVMe SSDs and 1 Gbps network. Plans start at just $7.95/month and include a free Windows OS – choose Windows Server 2019 or Windows 10 at no extra cost.
Deploy powerful .NET and SQL stacks or host unique web apps on your Windows VPS. Use as a remote desktop with RDP. No matter the use case, Cloudzy’s VPS hosting is built to handle the workload on top-tier hardware accelerated by NVMe SSDs and smart virtualization.
All plans include DDoS protection and firewall at no additional cost. With 15+ locations across North America, Europe, and Asia, your VPS can benefit from minimal latency and ultrafast speeds.
TMDHosting
TMDHosting offers fully managed Windows VPS hosting acclaimed for speed, security, and reliability. Their infrastructure uses SSDs for blazing fast performance that‘s up to 20x faster than traditional hard drives.
For security, TMDHosting updates firewalls daily to protect sites from digital threats. All VPS components like computing, storage, and networking are redundant for 99.999% uptime and availability.
Your Windows VPS resides on a private, isolated network improving connectivity and page load speeds through dedicated data streams. For hosted email, TMDHosting leverages SpamExperts to protect mailboxes from spam and unwanted messages.
The resilient OpenStack private cloud is operated by certified engineers. Daily backups are free so you never lose data.
Windows VPS plans start at $79.95/month for 80 GB SSD, 3 TB bandwidth, 4 GB RAM, 2 CPUs, Plesk control panel, premium support, 30-day money-back guarantee, and more.
AWS
Leverage the AWS ecosystem to deploy Windows workloads. The leading cloud platform, AWS offers Windows Server EC2 instances.
AWS is highly scalable with a variety of server types to host everything from small to resource-intensive workloads. It‘s great for Microsoft applications like SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, etc.
Note: For a Windows desktop, check out Amazon WorkSpaces which provides virtual desktops running on AWS that you can access anywhere.
Vultr
One of the most budget-friendly options for Windows VPS is Vultr. You can get started for less than $30/month with Windows Server 2012 R2 or 2016.
Vultr servers feature Intel CPUs and multiple worldwide locations. There are no long-term contracts.
The intuitive control panel makes it easy to perform administrative tasks like rebooting, reinstalling, and modifying OS settings.
Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba is a leader not just in retail, but also in cloud services.
A key advantage of Alibaba Cloud is their China data centers. They provide SSD-backed cloud servers across 12 regions including:
- Hong Kong
- Hangzhou
- Shanghai
- Qingdao
- Beijing
- Zhangjiakou
- Shenzhen
You can get a small Windows VM for as little as $10/month.
Microsoft Azure
Deploy Windows workloads on Microsoft‘s own Azure cloud platform – the 2nd largest after AWS. Azure makes a lot of sense if you use other Microsoft technologies.
Azure data centers are located globally so you can host near users or third-party services. Windows VMs start at around $15/month. You can also host Windows desktops on Azure.
Use the Azure pricing calculator to estimate costs.
UpCloud
UpCloud is a European IaaS provider offering hourly billed cloud servers. Deploy your Windows VMs in any of their 10 global data centers:
- Amsterdam
- Chicago
- Frankfurt
- Helsinki
- London
- San Jose
- Singapore
- Poland
- New York
- Madrid
UpCloud utilizes an N+1 philosophy throughout its infrastructure to deliver 100% uptime by eliminating single points of failure.
Key features:
- Great performance at low cost
- Easy integration with infrastructure, focus on coding
- Open API clients
- Use existing on-prem licenses at no extra cost
- Fast backup and restore via scheduled snapshots
- Pay only for what you use
Hostwinds
Hostwinds provides fully-managed Windows VPS hosting acclaimed for being fast, secure, and powerful.
Customize your Windows VPS by selecting CPU cores (1-12), RAM (1-96GB), storage (30-750GB), and bandwidth (1-9TB). Servers deploy quickly.
Features include 1Gbps ports, SSDs, snapshots, 99.9999% uptime, free site migration, custom ISOs, global data centers, enterprise firewall, and more. There are no single points of failure for maximum stability.
Hostwinds takes nightly backups to protect your data and uses Windows Volume Shadow Copy for consistent snapshots during backups. They use Intel CPUs to ensure the smoothest Windows VPS performance.
Get your Windows VPS today starting at just $12.74/month with dedicated resources.
Conclusion
I hope this overview helps you choose the right Windows VPS or cloud hosting platform based on your needs. Most providers offer no-contract terms or money-back guarantees, so don‘t hesitate to try out a few options to see which works best for you.
For budget ASP.NET hosting, check out these Windows web hosting providers.
And for more comprehensive cloud solutions beyond just Windows, look at these top cloud hosting platforms.
