The Best Windows Hosting Services of 2024

Edited by Michael Levanduski

Updated


Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported, which means we earn commissions from links on Digital. Commissions do not affect our editorial evaluations or opinions.

Finding Windows hosting with all the features you need can be challenging – see our top picks for the best Windows hosting services available.

Best Windows Hosting: Our Shortlist

We’ve found HostGator is the best Windows hosting for basic websites. It offers 24/7 support, a free domain, and a website builder, all starting at $4.76 per month.

If you’d like to compare other top Windows hosting services, we recommend you research LiquidWeb, IONOS, or Hostwinds.

Our Top Picks

HostGator

Best Windows Hosting For Basic Websites

Jump to Review

Liquid Web

Best Dedicated Hosting For Windows

Jump to Review

IONOS

Best Windows Hosting in Europe

Jump to Review

Hostwinds

Best Customization For Windows Hosting

Jump to Review

Digital.com dives deep into every topic it covers to offer trusted and reliable recommendations for the best business tools. See how we review Windows hosting.

Richelle Mayor Avatar


Meet the Team

Tired of worn-out business advice? Us too. We want to make the internet a better place for entrepreneurs, business owners, and anyone else who’s as do or die as we are.

The Top Windows Hosting Providers

HostGator logo

HostGator

Best Windows Hosting For Basic Websites

Read Review

Features

  • 24/7 support
  • Free domain
  • Website builder

#1 Top Pick

Why it’s best: Built-in features like site transfers and open-source scripts like WordPress can be installed with just one click.

Price
$4.76 per month

Money-Back Guarantee
45 Days

24-7 Support
Yes

Free Domain
Yes

Read More

Reasons to choose HostGator

  • Free domain and SSL
  • Premium support
  • 45-day money-back guarantee

Reasons to avoid

  • Poor uptime
  • Higher renewal rates

Hostgator’s credibility spans almost 20 years and over 2 million websites. Its various hosting options can accommodate even the most demanding website. The Windows hosting solutions have two levels based on whether you’re running a small to medium-sized (SMB) business or a larger enterprise company. Its Plesk control panel is feature-rich, making it easy to create sites and deploy applications.

HostGator pricing page for ASP.NET sites with two plan options

Hostgator provides unlimited sub-domains, FTP and email accounts, MySQL, Microsoft SQL, and access databases, including proper compatibility with your Windows-based programs to match the needs of your e-commerce website. It has a 99.9% uptime guarantee and programming features that allow you to customize your website according to your business needs.

It uses firewalls to protect its servers and offers SSL certificates as part of all hosting offerings. Also, it comprises admin tools such as secure directories, file managers, scheduled tasks, and SmarterStats. HostGator offers built-in free features like site transfers and open-source scripts such as WordPress, which can be installed with just a click. You will likely love having 24/7/year-round customer support available should you experience any issues.

Hostgator is a good fit for beginners seeking a web host with various features. The customer service and prices are favorable, but there are limitations to the SEO capabilities.

Liquid Web logo

Liquid Web

Best Dedicated Hosting For Windows

Read Review

Features

  • 24/7 (live rep), online
  • Signature management
  • Archiving/retention

Price
$169 per month

Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days

24-7 Support
Yes

Free Domain
Yes

Read More

Reasons to choose Liquid Web

  • High-performance plans
  • 100% network/power uptime guarantee
  • Excellent support team

Reasons to avoid

  • High entry-level price
  • No free ad credits are offered

Liquid Web offers managed dedicated server solutions to support your business needs. It is available with Linux or Windows operating systems; the bare-metal dedicated servers have Proactive Sonar Monitoring and ServerSecure hardening.

Liquid Web customer support page showing a man wearing glasses and a headset

The Windows hosting comes with optimized security settings with exclusive ServerSecure protection. It offers Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) access that allows you to monitor and manage your dedicated Windows server remotely without compromising access or security.

Liquid Web’s Windows hosting offers single- and dual-processor bare-metal dedicated servers. Depending on your business needs, you can choose between self-managed, core-managed, and fully-managed dedicated server hosting plans. Both Windows hosting plans come with Threat Stack Oversight Intrusion Detection System and 1000 GB Acronis Cyber Backups.

Liquid Web is known as one of the best managed WordPress hosting companies that allows you to easily host many websites. The tech support is open every day of the year, but there are some billing and customer service issues.

IONOS logo

IONOS

Best Windows Hosting in Europe

Read Review

Features

  • Solid-state drive (SSD) storage for faster speed
  • Distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection
  • Unlimited visitors

Price
$5 per month

Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days

24-7 Support
Yes

Free Domain
Yes

Read More

Reasons to choose IONOS

  • Unmatched introductory offer for the Business subscription
  • The content delivery network (CDN) and malware protection are available with Expert tier
  • All plans come with a professional email

Reasons to avoid

  • More expensive than budget alternatives over the long term

1&1 Ionos is designed for Windows developers with three-tiered Windows hosting plans, namely Business, Pro, and Expert, packed with collaboration tools, security features, marketing solutions, and a Railgun CDN. Its Windows hosting gives you Windows Server 2019, ASP.NET 4.8, and .NET 6.0, Geo-redundancy, and guaranteed availability. Also, it comes with a Wildcard SSL certificate which guarantees the security and protection of all information exchanged between your website and visitors.

IONOS Windows hosting landing page with a smiling man wearing glasses

You will be provided daily data backups with all ASP.NET hosting packages. Windows Hosting runs the latest versions of Windows Server, ASP.NET, and .NET. With geo-redundancy, the performance of your ASP hosting will be stable even if physical problems occur on a server. It ensures top levels of speed and performance. The operating system of the VPS is available on the Windows server.

The Windows hosting plans from 1&1 Ionos come with SiteLock, which checks your website and databases for malware, security leaks, and other hacker attacks. You can use the SiteLock certificate on your website to earn credibility, including the SSL certificates with the HTTPS security protocol. IONOS has a 99.99% uptime guarantee and provides 24/7 customer support with IONOS Windows server hosting.

Part of the IONOS family of products, 1&1 is a low-cost and simple web host ideal for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). It offers a lot of customization options and provides top-notch customer support.

Hostwinds logo

Hostwinds

Best Customization For Windows Hosting

Read Review

Features

  • Nightly backups
  • Server monitoring
  • Unlimited visitors

Price
$2.99 per month

Money-Back Guarantee
30 Days

24-7 Support
Yes

Free Domain
Yes

Read More

Reasons to choose Hostwinds

  • Offers a wide range of payment options and services, including Skrill and bitcoin
  • 24/7 support is available through live chat, email, and phone, plus a great knowledgebase
  • It’s one of the few hosts to offer both Windows and Linux hosting, as well as managed and unmanaged options
  • SSDs and other features are available on many plans to speed up your website

Reasons to avoid

  • Hostwinds only has 2 U.S.-based data centers, so your site will not be as fast for visitors internationally
  • You have to pay extra for SSL certificates, which many hosts provide for free
  • Refunds have strict conditions, and the money-back guarantee only applies to specific plans and services

Hostwinds offers fully managed and unmanaged Windows VPS hosting plans and allows you to launch your server with the version of Windows you need; choose from Windows Server 2019, 2016, and 2012 depending on your expertise and business needs.

Hostwinds pricing table for Unmanaged Windows VPS options

The proprietary Cloud Control Panel gives you the tools to manage your Windows servers and cloud firewalls from Hostwinds enable you to manage what traffic you want your Windows VPS to allow. The Windows hosting plans are equipped with load balancers that allow you to instantly begin dividing your traffic between your various Windows servers at Hostwinds.

Hostwinds has a 99.99% uptime guarantee and 24/7 customer support. Server Monitoring proactively watches your server and automatically opens a support ticket on your behalf in case of a technical issue.

Hostwinds is known for its customer service and fast loading speeds. It backs its affordable offerings with a 99.99% uptime guarantee. The user interface is easy to use and Hostwinds includes free secure sockets layers with its web hosting.

Compare Windows Hosting

Windows Host

Best Features

Pricing

HostGator logo

HostGator

Best Windows Hosting For Basic Websites

  • 24/7 support
  • Free domain
  • Website builder

$4.76 per month

Liquid Web logo

Liquid Web

Best Dedicated Hosting For Windows

  • 24/7 (live rep), online
  • Signature management
  • Archiving/retention

$169 per month

IONOS logo

IONOS

Best Windows Hosting in Europe

  • Solid-state drive (SSD) storage for faster speed
  • Distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection
  • Unlimited visitors

$5 per month

Hostwinds logo

Hostwinds

Best Customization For Windows Hosting

  • Nightly backups
  • Server monitoring
  • Unlimited visitors

$10.99 per month

What You Need to Know

What is Windows web hosting?

A Windows-driven hosting solution can provide significant advantages for those using ASP and .NET scripts or Microsoft Exchange (at a premium price). All web hosts will allow you to get a simple website online. However, we recommend choosing Linux hosting unless you have a specific reason to select Windows.

While Windows is easy to use and can create powerful sites and apps, you may be limited in options for support, low pricing, and Windows hosting availability. For those willing to pay a little more or who require certain Windows-specific features, Windows-based hosting provides a stable platform for building robust Internet applications and websites.

Why is Windows hosting more expensive than Linux?

Linux hosting is cheaper than Windows hosting because it is an open-source application that can be installed free on any computer. Still, Windows requires a paid subscription for installation. A Windows license costs around $200, typically built into the hosting plan’s price.

The Windows OS also utilizes more disk space and RAM than the Linux OS. More resources mean a higher price tag. However, depending on your needs and preferences, paying for Windows hosting may be worth it.

Can I use a Windows computer to host a website?

Yes. Windows has its server software, which can be used to publish websites. You can purchase a Windows hosting plan for many providers, but it is less common than Linux hosting.

What kind of hosting can I buy on a Windows server?

Depending on the host, all types of hosting are available, from shared packages to dedicated servers.

Which version of Windows do hosts provide?

They all run Windows Server. You’ll need to check the plan specifics to see which version of Windows Server they’re offering because all hosts are different.

Can I use cPanel on Windows?

CPanel is unavailable for Windows, so you’ll need an alternative control panel. Many hosts offer Plesk, but there are others.

What’s the default web server on Windows?

Microsoft has a web server, IIS, which runs on the Windows Server operating system. Apache Web Server is available for Windows, although it’s less common than IIS.

Can I use Remote Desktop to manage a Windows server?

If you have a VPS or dedicated server running Windows, you can usually connect to it using Remote Desktop, just as you would if you were connecting to a regular Windows computer. But you can’t use Remote Desktop if you have a shared hosting account on Windows.

How We Review Windows Hosting Plans

We gathered all the Windows options from the more than 1,500 hosting plans we’ve reviewed over the last decade. Then we combined them with our thousands of customer reviews to determine the top 10 Windows hosts.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best Windows web hosting provider. You have to look at several different things to make sure it meets your business needs. This includes the pricing, security, customer support, and uptime guarantee:

  • Pricing: Look at the available plans and their prices when comparing these Windows hosting providers. It is important to be informed about your alternatives. This helps you assess if you receive a good value.
  • Security: Ensure that your website and its visitors will be safe and secure by comparing the various security options each hosting provider offers, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates, DDoS attack protection, available backup services, and scanners for viruses and malware.
  • Customer support: Your business will suffer during downtime, so quick email responses are valuable. The best Windows Hosting provider should offer customer service around the clock, and the best-case scenario has 24/7 live support.
  • Uptime: A fast and stable environment for your website is a big plus. To verify the uptime guarantee of each web hosting provider, run several tests and do in-depth research by reading customer reviews.

Learn more about our review methodology.

Scroll to Top