Scala Hosting Reviews
Ratings from real users + my pros & cons

I have analyzed countless web hosting providers offering extremely attractive deals and seemingly unbeatable service.

However, very few of them actually provide the level of service they claim to, which can get extremely frustrating. Especially if you’ve paid more for something that you’re expecting to be a high-end solution.

The first time I came across Scala Hosting, I thought the same deception would apply. But in many ways, I was wrong.

Because Scala Hosting gives you managed cloud VPS hosting at the price of shared hosting!

And in this Scala Hosting review, I’m going to show you why. Keep reading to find out more about this provider’s main pros and cons, along with information about its plans and pricing, and why it’s one of my top picks for cheap managed VPS hosting.

What you’ll learn in this Scala Hosting review

In this Scala Hosting review I’ll explore the most important features, what the pros and cons are and what the plans and prices are like.

When you have finished reading this you will know if Scala Hosting is the right (or wrong) web host for you.

Scala Hosting Pros

1. Cheap Managed Cloud VPS Hosting

Scala Hosting offers some of the most competitively-priced cloud VPS hosting I’ve ever seen.

Prices start from a very low $9.95 per month for fully managed VPS or $10.00 per month for self-managed VPS plans, and a very generous amount of resources are included.

On top of this, even the cheapest plans come with a suite of add-ons to streamline the hosting experience. These include everything from free domains and SSL certificates to impressive security tools and automatic backups.

Backups of all data are stored on at least three different servers to prevent downtime in the case of hardware failure, and you can scale your resource allocations up or down as required.

With so much choice when it comes to cloud VPS hosting, what sets Scala Hosting apart from the competition?

The big difference between ScalaHosting and the rest of the companies comes from the SPanel cloud management platform and the opportunities it brings to the website owners.

Basically, every website owner can now choose between a good shared hosting plan and a fully managed VPS with a control panel, cybersecurity system, and backups at the same price ($9.95/mo). The advantages of the VPS compared to the shared hosting are well-known.

We’ve completed the integration of the SPanel cloud management platform in the cloud environments of the top infrastructure providers such as AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr which we will announce to customers in the next 2 months. Every website owner will be able to choose between 50+ datacenter locations for their fully managed SPanel VPS.

The traditional hosting companies cannot offer that and for us, it doesn’t matter which is the provider of the infrastructure (servers) as long as people use the most secure, reliable, and scalable cloud VPS environment instead of shared.

Vlad G. – Scala Hosting CEO & Co-founder

2. Native SPanel Control Panel

Rather than forcing users to pay for a cPanel or similar license when they purchase a managed cloud VPS hosting plan, Scala includes its own native SPanel. This is extremely powerful, with tools and features that are comparable to the widely-used cPanel control panel.

And the best thing? It’s 100% free, forever! Unlike cPanel there are no additional addon costs.

In short, the SPanel interface was designed specifically for cloud VPS hosting. It includes a selection of management tools, as well as built-in security, unlimited free website migrations, and full 24/7/365 management support from the Scala team.

On top of this, the SPanel interface is very intuitive and user-friendly. Useful management modules are organized under logical headings, while general information about your server and long-term resource usage is presented in a sidebar on the right of the screen.

What is SPanel, and what makes it different and better than cPanel?

SPanel is an all-in-one cloud management platform featuring a control panel, a cybersecurity system, a backup system, and tons of tools and features website owners need to efficiently manage their websites.

SPanel is light-weight and doesn’t eat much CPU/RAM resources which can be almost 100% used to serve website visitors hence the website owner will pay less for hosting. The new features in SPanel are being developed based on the demand of users. cPanel prefers to add features when they bring more money.

A good example of this is the integration of the Nginx web server which cPanel users asked for 7 years ago and it is still not implemented. Instead, they integrated LiteSpeed Enterprise which costs extra.

SPanel supports all major web servers such as Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed Enterprise, and OpenLiteSpeed which is as fast as the enterprise version but free. SPanel allows the user to create and host unlimited accounts/websites while cPanel will charge extra if you want to create more than 5 accounts. 20% of our cPanel clients already migrated to SPanel.

Vlad G. – Scala Hosting CEO & Co-founder

3. Numerous Freebies Included

I’m a sucker for getting the best value possible when I purchase a web hosting plan, and I love the number of free features Scala Hosting includes with its managed cloud VPS. These include:

• An unlimited number of free website migrations completed manually by the Scala team.
• A dedicated IP address to help ensure your site isn’t blacklisted by the search engines.
• Snapshots and daily automatic backups so you can restore your site if required.
• Free domain name for one year, free SSL and free Cloudflare CDN integration.

But these are just a start. You will also have access to a wide range of security and other tools that would ordinarily cost over $84 per month with cPanel.

4. Automatic Daily Backups

One of my favorite things about Scala is the fact that it offers automatic daily backups with all managed cloud VPS plans.

In short, this means that your site will be backed up to a remote server, so you will always have access to a recent copy of your data, files, emails, databases, and all other important information in case something goes wrong.

On top of this, it’s extremely easy to restore a backup when required. Simply log in to your SPanel and navigate to the Restore Backups module at the bottom of the page.

Here, you will find a list of backups, and you can restore all or part of your website and it’s information with the click of a button.

5. Impressive Uptime

Another impressive feature of Scala Hosting’s service is that it uses a highly redundant cloud network that allows it to offer near-100% uptime. Your VPS resources are drawn from a resource pool, so if there is a hardware failure anywhere in the network, your site won’t be affected.

This means that you can comfortably host your site without worrying about any amount of downtime. Of course, there is always a small risk that you may be offline for a short period, but Scala does everything possible to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Over the last couple of months, I have monitored and analyzed the uptime, speed, and overall performance of my test site hosted on ScalaHosting.com.

The above screenshot only shows the past 30 days, you can view historical uptime data and server response time at this uptime monitor page.

6. Fast Load Times

We all know, as far as websites go, speed is everything. Fast page load times not only correlates with higher conversions rates, but it also impacts SEO.

A study from Google found that a one-second delay in mobile page load times can impact conversion rates by up to 20%.

Having a fast loading site is essential these days, what speed technology stack does Scala Hosting use?

Speed is a huge factor not only for SEO but also for the sales your ecommerce store will get. If your website doesn’t load in less than 3 seconds, you are losing a lot of visitors and sales. There are multiple important factors to have in mind when we talk about speed – from the optimization of the website to the hardware specifications of the server, the software installed, and how it is configured.

SPanel takes care of the software, its configuration, and its management. SPanel supports all the major web servers – Apache, Nginx, OpenLiteSpeed, and LiteSpeed Enterprise. OpenLiteSpeed is the most interesting one because it is the fastest web server in the world for processing both static and dynamic content (PHP).

It allows everyone using WordPress, Joomla, Prestashop, OpenCart to also use the most efficient and the fastest caching plugins developed by the LiteSpeed developers which can only be used on LiteSpeed Enterprise (paid) and the OpenLiteSpeed (free) servers.

OpenLiteSpeed allows the website owner to have a faster website and serve 12-15x more visitors with the same hardware specifications of the server. OpenLiteSpeed is not supported by most of the hosting providers mainly because they are using cPanel which 6-7 years ago started to add support mainly for software which brings more money to the table and makes the customer pay more.

I can tell you about a funny story we had 2-3 weeks ago with the founder of Joomla. He decided to test SPanel and compared the speed with the Siteground’s most expensive shared hosting plan. The result was that the website on SPanel VPS was 2x times faster although the VPS cost less. He also said he has never seen a Joomla website to load so fast.

Vlad G. – Scala Hosting CEO & Co-founder

How fast is cloud VPS hosting from Scala Hosting?

I created a test website hosted on Scala’s managed cloud VPS (the $9.95/mo Start plan). Then I installed WordPress using the Twenty Twenty theme, and I created dummy lorem ipsum posts and pages.

The results?

FYI my test page does not utilize CDN, caching technologies, or any other speed optimizations to improve webpage load times.

However, even without any optimizations whatsoever, all the important speed metrics are ticked. The final fully loading speed of 1.1 seconds is also pretty fantastic.

Next, I wanted to see how the test site would handle receiving 1000 visits over just 1 minute, using the Loader.io free stress testing tool.

Scala’s cloud VPS handled things perfectly. Flooding the test site with 1000 requests in just 1 minute resulted in a 0% error rate and an average response time of just 86ms.

Very good! This is one of the reasons why Scala Hosting one of my top picks for cheap managed VPS hosting.

7. Free Website Migrations

Those with existing websites they want to move to a new host will love Scala’s unlimited free site migrations.

Basically, this means that the Scala team will manually transfer all existing sites from your previous host to your new server. To start the process, simply provide login details for your old host.

Many web hosts only offer either free migrations (but do-it-yourself i.e. done via a plugin) or paid site migrations, and these can range from a few dollars per website to hundreds of dollars.

Not Scala Hosting! Their specialists will migrate as many websites as you ask, free of charge. There will be no downtime, and they’ll also ensure they work property on the new server.

Well done Scala!

8. Native SShield Cybersecurity Tool

Security is an essential consideration when it comes to web hosting. Without the appropriate protection, your website could be left vulnerable to attacks from hackers, data thieves, and parties who simply want you offline for some reason or another.

With Scala Hosting’s native SShield Cybersecurity tool, your site will be highly secure.

It uses artificial intelligence to detect potentially harmful behavior, has been proven to block over 99.998% of all attacks, and includes automatic notifications if something does go wrong.

9. High-Quality Customer Support

Anyone who has tried to host a website in the past will know that it’s not always smooth sailing. Sometimes, you will need to contact support to clear things up or for technical assistance, and, fortunately, Scala Hosting excels here.

For starters, the support team is extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive. I tested out the live chat and received a reply within minutes. When the agent I spoke with wasn’t sure about something, they told me so and went away and checked.

In addition, there is also email customer support options, as well as a comprehensive knowledge-base containing an impressive selection of self-help resources.

Scala Hosting Cons

1. Limited Server Locations

One of the major cons of Scala Hosting is its limited datacenter locations. There are only two choices available, with servers located in Dallas, Texas and Sofia, Bulgaria.

This could be a concern for those with the majority of their audience in Asia, Africa, or South America.

In short, the closer your data center is to your audience, the better your site’s performance will be. Otherwise, you may suffer from slow load speeds, slow server response times, and poor overall performance. And, this could even affect your SEO score and search engine rankings.

2. SSD Storage Is Only Available With VPS Plans

Another concern is Scala Hosting’s use of outdated hard disk drive (HDD) storage with its lower-end shared and WordPress hosting plans.

In general, HDD storage is much slower than modern solid-state drive (SSD) storage, which could affect the performance of your website.

Now, the company is a little sneaky here. It actually advertised “SSD powered servers” with its shared hosting plans, which is a little deceiving.

In reality, only your operating system and databases are stored on SSD drives, while the rest of your site’s files and information are stored on HDD drives.

This isn’t a huge issue, but make sure that you’re aware of it. Fortunately, all managed and self-managed cloud VPS plans use 100% SSD storage.

3. Fees Increase on Renewal for Some Plans

One thing I don’t like about Scala Hosting’s price structure is the fact that its fees increase on renewal. However, in their defense, almost every other web host also does this (with exceptions).

Although advertising lower introductory prices that increase after your first subscription term is a common practice in the web hosting industry, it’s still frustrating.

Fortunately, though, Scala Hosting’s renewal prices aren’t ridiculously higher than the introductory ones.

For example, the cheapest Start managed cloud VPS plan costs $9.95 for your initial term and $13.95 on renewal. This is an increase of 29%, compared to the 100-200% increase many other hosts will hit you with.

Scala Hosting Pricing & Plans

Scala Hosting offers a selection of web hosting solutions, including Shared, WordPress, and Reseller options.

However, the thing I really love is this provider’s cloud VPS hosting. It stands out from the competition due to its extremely competitive prices and the abundance of features on offer.

There are both managed and self-managed cloud VPS options available, with prices starting from just $9.95 per month for an initial plan.

Managed Cloud VPS Hosting

Scala Hosting has four managed cloud VPS plans, with prices ranging from $9.95 to $63.95 per month for an initial first-term subscription. All four plans come with a range of advanced features, including:

• Full management, including 24/7/365 support and regular server maintenance.
• Automatic daily backups to a remote server.
• SShield security protection proven to block more than 99.998% of all web attacks.
• Free website migrations.
• A dedicated IP address.
• A free domain name for one year.
• and lots more!

On top of this, you will be able to control your site through Scala Hosting’s free native SPanel control panel. This is very similar to the popular cPanel control panel software and includes all the tools you need to configure and manage your server and website.

The cheapest Start plan costs $9.95 per month for an initial 36-month subscription ($13.95 on renewal) and includes one CPU core, 2GB of RAM, and 20GB of SSD storage. An Advanced subscription starts from $21.95 per month and includes two CPU cores, 4GB of RAM, and 30GB of SSD storage.

Upgrading further to a Business plan costs $41.95 per month and will give you four CPU cores, 6GB of RAM, and 50GB of SSD storage. And finally, the Enterprise plan ($63.95 per month) comes with six CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, and 80GB of SSD storage.

One thing I particularly liked here is that these plans are all fully configurable. Extra resources can be added (or removed) at the following rates:

• SSD storage for $2 per 10GB (max 500GB).
• CPU cores at $6 per additional core (max 24 cores).
• RAM for $2 per GB (max 128GB).

You can also select from data centers in the USA and Europe as required.

Overall, Scala Hosting’s managed cloud VPS plans are among the most competitively-priced I’ve seen. I’d really recommend giving them a go if you’re looking for a high-quality, reliable hosting solution that won’t break the bank.

Self-Managed Cloud VPS Hosting

Alongside its fully managed solutions, Scala Hosting offers a selection of self-managed cloud VPS plans. Prices start from just $10 per month, and you can customize your server to meet your exact needs.

The base plan comes with one CPU core, 2GB of RAM, 50GB of SSD storage, and 3000GB of bandwidth. You can select from European and US data centers, and there are numerous Windows and Linux operating systems available.

Additional resources can be added to your plan at the following cost:

• CPU cores at $6 per core.
• RAM at $2 per GB.
• Storage at $2 per 10GB.
• Bandwidth at $10 per 1000GB.

There are also various other add-ons that can be purchased to streamline the hosting experience, including 24/7 proactive monitoring ($5), a Softaculous license ($3), and more.

One thing I love about Scala’s self-managed servers is that they still keep free data snapshots in case of hardware failure.

If you’re looking for a powerful feature-rich unmanaged cloud VPS server, you shouldn’t need to look any further than this.

Shared/WordPress Hosting

Along with its excellent cloud VPS solutions, Scala has a selection of shared, WordPress, and reseller hosting options targetted at different users. These also represent great value for money, and I’ve covered them briefly below.

For starters, basic shared hosting starts from $3.95 per month the Mini plan, which allows you to connect one website with up to 50GB of storage, unmetered bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate and domain.

Upgrading to the Start plan (from $5.95 per month) allows you to connect unlimited websites with unlimited storage and SShield cybersecurity, while the Advanced plan (from $9.95 per month) adds priority support and Pro Spam Protection.

Although Scala Hosting advertises its WordPress plans separately, they are actually identical to the shared hosting options. There aren’t a lot of WordPress-specific features here, so I’d recommend looking elsewhere if you want a powerful managed WordPress solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Scala Hosting?

Scala Hosting is a web hosting provider that has been working in the industry since 2007. Despite not being one of the most popular hosts in the world, it offers highly affordable hosting solutions, including some of the best managed and self-managed cloud VPS hosting I’ve ever seen.

ScalaHosting is a company with a mission to lead the hosting industry to the next step in its evolution and with that make the Internet a safer place for everyone. The obsolete shared hosting model is broken by nature. Today’s world and online business have different requirements that shared hosting cannot meet. More and more people are selling online, administrating sensitive personal data such as credit cards, and need higher security.

The only solution is for every website to have its own server. With IPv6 and hardware costs decreasing all the time that solution became possible. The only problem was the cost, because while a good shared hosting plan costs ~$10, a managed VPS from the top providers costs $50+.

That’s why ScalaHosting started building the SPanel all-in-one cloud management platform and the SShield cybersecurity protection system. They allow every website owner to have their own fully managed VPS at the same price as shared hosting increasing security, scalability, and speed.

Vlad G. – Scala Hosting CEO & Co-founder

How much does Scala Hosting cost?

Scala Hosting offers managed cloud VPS hosting from $9.95 per month, self-managed cloud VPS solutions from $10 per month, and powerful shared hosting and WordPress hosting from $3.95 per month. Renewal prices are slightly higher than the advertised ones, but the difference is minor.

What is the difference between the self-managed cloud VPS ($10/month) and managed cloud VPS ($9.95/month)?

The main difference between the self-managed and managed cloud VPS plans is the control you have over your server. With the managed option, the technical aspects of your server will be looked after by the Scala team. On the other hand, a self-managed server gives you a clean operating system install that you can configure as needed. Both options use cloud-based hosting and SSD storage.

What is SPanel, SShield and SWordPress?

SPanel is an all-in-one hosting platform and cPanel alternative for managing cloud VPS services. SShield is an innovative security system that protects your websites in real-time and blocks 99.998% of attacks. SWordPress makes managing your WordPress websites much easier and adds multiple layers of security.

Summary

Despite providing excellent service for over a decade, Scala Hosting continues to fall under the radar It’s one of my favorite VPS web hosting providers, and Scala Hosting’s managed and self-managed cloud VPS solutions stand out as some of the best I’ve seen.

They are backed by extremely competitive prices, include generous server resources, and are use Scala’s native SPanel control panel, SShield Cybersecurity tool, and SWordPress manager. And on top of this, all VPS plans are fully configurable, which means that you will only ever pay for the resources you need.

There are a few small concerns to be aware of, such as limited datacenter locations, high renewal prices, and the use of HDD storage with the shared and WordPress plans. But overall, Scala Hosting deserves to be much more popular than it is.

The bottom line: If you’re looking for high-quality, reliable cloud VPS hosting that won’t break your budget, you should definitely consider Scala Hosting.

Review Updates

25/08/2020 – Review published