The 5 Best WordPress Hosting Providers in Europe
Do you want to have the answer right away? The best WordPress hosting most people is Cloud86 because it has been completely optimized for WordPress, is super fast, and has a support team filled to the brim with WordPress experts.
Sure, you could use any old hosting provider for your WordPress website.
We have tested 40+ providers in these areas over the years. We have also been scouring online forums and user reviews about WordPress hosting for many, many years to get a 360 view of the hosting industry.
Read on to discover the best WordPress hosting for your needs.
Bear in mind: this overview has been written with people based in Europe in mind.
The Best WordPress hosting
- Cloud86 – Best WordPress hosting for most people
- Hostinger – Best budget hosting with 24/7 support
- Rocket.net – Best managed WordPress hosting
- SiteGround – Easiest to use for beginners
- Cloudways – Best for scaling fast-growing WordPress websites
#1 Cloud86 – Best WordPress hosting for most people
Cloud86 is a Dutch hosting provider which has been making waves in recent years. They now have 25,000 customers, including us at WebsiteGecko (since the beginning of 2023). Their users are almost unanimously positive:
Performance
| TTFB | LCP | TBT | CLS | Loading time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 121ms | 516ms | 0ms | 0ms | 516ms |
Cloud86 is a hosting provider obsessed with speed. Brand new LiteSpeed servers + the most technically savvy team within the Dutch hosting industry leads to WordPress websites that fly. Even if you don't add in any speed optimizations.
Additionally, the 5 sites that we are hosting at Cloud86 have had an uptime of 100% since March 2023.
Did you know that…
Cloud86 is one of the fastest WordPress hosting providers in Europe? Have a look at the results of our WordPress speed research here in which we compared 17 well-known providers.
Customer support
Cloud86's support team is available via email from Monday to Friday between 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM. You can reach them via live chat and by telephone between 10:00 and 16:00. The team is very helpful and has in-depth knowledge of both WordPress and WordPress hosting. Expect a response time to your emails of approximately one hour. You can (usually) contact them by telephone without waiting.
WordPress features
With all Cloud86 plans you get a WordPress toolkit (1-click installation, staging environment, automatic backups every 24 hours, automatic updates) and super tight security features. They also offer a free migration service.
When should you pick Cloud86?
Choose Cloud86 if you are looking for one of Europe's fastests WordPress hosting providers from the Netherlands for the best price. Cloud86 offers different types of WordPress hosting – shared, managed WordPress hosting, VPS – allowing you to host a wide range of sites. A blog, a small business website or a heavy webshop. You name it. The most important point to take into account is that their support team can only be reached on working days, unless it is an emergency (think of a malfunction).
For most websites, “Web Hosting” or “Managed WordPress Hosting” is the best choice. Both hosting types are optimized for WordPress websites. The difference is that their Managed WordPress hosting offers more support, makes backups twice a day instead of once, has better specifications (including 10 PHP Workers instead of 5) and the servers house a lot fewer websites than the standard hosting (which leads to better server stability).
Do you run a webshop or business website on which a lot hinges? Then their Managed WordPress hosting (or Managed WooCommerce hosting – these are the same plan) can offer a solution.
With a smaller, newer site you can opt for Cloud86's standard Web hosting packages. That said, if you have the budget, I would go for one of their Managed WordPress packages because of the benefits mentioned above. WebsiteGecko previously ran fine on the Webhosting Power package, but the Managed WordPress Power package gives me just a little more peace of mind.
#2 Hostinger – Best budget hosting with 24/7 support
Hostinger, founded in 2004, is a behemoth of a hosting provider with more than 2 million customers. They are primarily known for two things: incredible speed thanks to their cutting edge LiteSpeed servers and rock-bottom prices (compared to other international players), especially if you pay a few years in advance.
Performance
| TTFB | LCP | TBT | CLS | Loading time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123ms | 516ms | 0ms | 0ms | 626ms |
Hostinger's mass-oriented approach has no negative impact on their speed. In our WordPress hosting speed test they clocked in at position 2, just behind Cloud86.
However, their uptime might be slightly less stable than is the case with the other providers in this overview.
Customer support
Hostinger's support is solid but not spectacular. Yes, you can reach them 24/7 via live chat (in English only) and they have an excellent knowledge base (in English and Dutch). But the response time can take up to an hour and the quality of their staff is not consistent. Sometimes you get an expert, sometimes someone whose capabilities leave much to be desired.
Goed, je kunt niet alles hebben bij een budget provider.
WordPress features
You can install up to 100 to 300 websites per plan, their Cloud plan offers dedicated IP addresses, a free CDN (except for the cheapest package), staging/test environment (except for the cheapest plan), daily automatic backups with 7 days retention (except for the cheapest plan).
When should you pick Hostinger?
Hostinger is the best choice when you want to save as much money as possible on your WordPress hosting, but want access to 24/7 customer service and server locations on different continents. Hostinger is best suited for hobby projects, small to medium-sized blogs and smaller business websites. Their self-developed hPanel (also available in Dutch) is super easy to use.
Hostinger offers standard WordPress hosting (shared), VPS hosting and cloud hosting. Stick to their regular WordPress hosting: when it comes to their heaver plans, it is better to opt for a smaller-scale party than a web host that serves every person and their mother.
I would skip Hostinger’s Premium plan. You get weekly instead of daily backups and you cannot set up a staging environment with it. This package also has lesser specifications (e.g. SSD storage instead of NVMe storage).
Choose the Business or Cloud Startup package instead.
#3 Rocket.net – Best managed WordPress hosting
Unlike the other providers on this list, Rocket.net only allows you to host WordPress sites. This level of focus ensures that your site is virtually hacker-proof, has virtually perfect uptime and you get customer service that has your back 24/7.
Performance
| TTFB | LCP | TBT | CLS | Loading time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60ms | 457ms | 0ms | 0ms | 1,9s |
Rocket.net offers Cloudflare Enterprise and has datacenters worldwide. This ensures that no matter where your visitors are, that loading times are fast.
You can count on an uptime which is close to 100%, too.
Customer support
Rocket.net offers 24/7 live chat support in English. The response time is less than 2 minutes.
Their support team is extremely knowledgeable and professional.
WordPress features
Cloudflare Enterprise (260+ locations worldwide) which is set up and enabled by default for you, edge caching, staging/test environment, automatic backups (14 days retention) and a free migrations service. Rocket.net also has a self-developed hosting dashboard that is super easy to use.
When should you pick Rocket.net?
Rocket.net’s clientele consists mainly of established companies, blogs that earn very well and web development agencies. In other words: companies where spending a euro more or less on their hosting makes little difference. Companies who need a WordPress hosting solution that simply works with as little effort on their side as possible, and want to be able to call on support day and night without any waiting time. It is correct that at Rocket.net you get the royal treatment, but you pay a lot for it. For most sites, Rocket.net is overkill.
Because Rocket.net offers one type of hosting and the features are the same per plan, it is easy to pick a plan. Look at your monthly visitors and the number of websites you need to host, and you’re good to go.
#4 SiteGround – Easiest to use for beginners
We hosted WebsiteGecko with SiteGround until early 2023. We still vouch for them, although we do believe that this Bulgarian hosting provider has gotten a little too expensive. Nevertheless, they do very well all-round in terms of performance, customer service, features and user-friendliness.
Performance
| TTFB | LCP | TBT | CLS | Loading time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115ms | 812ms | 59ms | 0ms | 886 |
SiteGround also uses the Google Cloud network, just like Kinsta. Although they house their customers on previous-generation servers. This makes them slightly slower, but it doesn't make much difference.
We hosted WebsiteGecko (and other sites) at SiteGround for 3 years and never experienced any downtime.
Customer support
SiteGround can be reached 24/7 by telephone and via live chat. Waiting times take no longer than a few minutes. SiteGround’s support was one of the biggest reasons why the provider got so beloved as it did. I’ve contacted them about 15 times over the years and have never been disappointed. You will be dealing with a team that does very well on both empathy and expertise.
What is a bit of a bummer though is that over the years SiteGround has hidden their customer support further and further away within their website.
WordPress features
Daily backups (up to 30 days retention), dynamic caching automatically set, staging/test environment (except for their cheapest package), CDN and SG Optimizer (self-developed speed and image optimization plugin). Furthermore, SiteGround has a self-developed dashboard that is super easy to use for beginners.
When should you pick SiteGround?
SiteGround is ideal for beginners who don't mind paying a little more. It is easy to use and is suitable for a wide range of websites. SiteGround is fast, reliable and has support that rivals most hosting providers in this overview.
SiteGround is al vrij prijzig over de gehele linie, maar bij hun cloud hosting is de prijs-kwaliteit verhouding echt zoek. Ga je met hen in zee, kies dan voor een van hun standaard hosting pakketten.
Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting en WooCommerce hosting: het zijn 3 verschillende pagina’s op SiteGround’s website die uiteindelijk allemaal precies dezelfde hosting aanbieden tegen dezelfde prijs. De verschillen in naam zijn er puur voor marketing doeleinden.
Kies je voor SiteGround, neem dan hun GrowBig of GoGeek pakket. Je krijgt hiermee betere performance (30% snellere PHP) en toegang tot meer WordPress features zoals staging en backups die je op ieder gewenst moment kunt maken. Ook kun je op deze pakketten een onbeperkte hoeveelheid websites installeren.
#5 Cloudways – Best for scaling
Cloudways is a managed hosting provider which resells third party cloud hosting and slaps their own custom hosting panel and support on top of it. You get to pick between Digital Ocean, AWS and Google Cloud.
Cloudways makes using cloud hosting incredibly easy. Although their site might look as if it is aimed towards techies, their service is super easy to use. As easy or even more easy than many shared hosting providers.
Performance
| TTFB | LCP | TBT | CLS | Loading time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 184ms | 449ms | 0ms | 0ms | 449ms |
With Cloudways you get to pick from a great many servers from a bunch of hosting companies, so your hosting speed will depend on that. Having said that, even their cheapest servers are blazing fast.
Customer support
For quite some years Cloudways had a bit of a reputation for offering bare bones customer support. However, over the past couple of years or so, they have cleaned up their act considerably.
Their 24/7 live chat support is really, really solid.
WordPress features
Cloudflare Enterprise CDN, free migration, SSH and SFTP access, 24/7 real-time monitoring.
When should you pick Cloudways?
Honestly, Cloudways fits a great many website owners. Given that they’re super-fast and are easy to use, they are a great fit for many people. They are quite affordable overall as well and offer a wide range of hosting plans, too. However, most of their customers run fast-growing and/or bigger websites.
Mijn.host biedt standaard webhosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting en dedicated servers aan. Die eerste twee zijn voor de meeste websites de beste keuze.
De pakketten binnen deze twee types verschillen slechts marginaal van elkaar. Features zijn hetzelfde en je site komt terecht op dezelfde servers. De verschillen zitten ‘m in hoeveel resources je toegang tot krijgt (CPU cores, RAM en schijfruimte).
Als altijd is het advies hier: begin bescheiden en upgrade pas wanneer nodig.
Compare WordPress hosting
Compare the WordPress hosting providers directly with each other in this overview:
| Cloud86 | Rocket.net | Hostinger | SiteGround | Cloudways | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | Cloud86.io | Rocket.net | Hostinger.nl | SiteGround.com | Cloudways.com |
| Price from | €1,95 p/m | $30 p/m | €2,99 p/m | €3,99 p/m | $11 p/m |
| Free domain | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Gratis SSL | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gratis CDN | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Back-ups | Daily | Daily | Daily | Daily | Daily |
| Support | 9 until 5 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Testomgeving | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Server locaties | Netherlands | 25 countries | 7 countries | 7 countries | 44+ server locations |
And here you can see how the providers score compared to each other in terms of speed:
| Cloud86 | Rocket.net | Hostinger | SiteGround | Cloudways | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTFB | 121ms | 60ms | 123ms | 115ms | 184ms |
| LCP | 516ms | 457ms | 625ms | 812ms | 449ms |
| TBT | 0ms | 0ms | 0ms | 59ms | 0ms |
| CLS | 0ms | 0ms | 0ms | 0ms | 0ms |
| Laadtijd | 516ms | 1,9s | 626ms | 886ms | 449ms |
Cloud86 scores the best overall, but the other providers are also lightning fast. One will not be noticeably slower than the other in practice.
What is WordPress hosting?
WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting that is specifically optimized for WordPress. The servers are set up to make WordPress sites load extra quickly, the hosting dashboard lets you install WordPress within one click, and you get access to WordPress features such as a staging environment and automatic backups.
What is managed WordPress hosting?
The idea behind managed WordPress hosting is that it allows you to focus purely on the design and content creation of your site. The rest gets taken care of by your host.
Think of it as a concierge service for your website. Support goes the extra mile for you, speed optimizations have often already been applied without you having to do anything, and the hosting provider is continuously working on keeping your website as safe as possible.
Things to keep in mind when picking WordPress hosting
What separates the wheat from the chaff in WordPress hosting land is related to the following.
Performance (speed and uptime)
Google loves fast websites because your visitors love them too. Studies show that slow websites can lead to poorer engagement metrics.
But a fast site is of no use if the uptime is not in order. Visitors cannot see the content of a site that is offline.
Customer support
Especially important when you are a brand new website owner. You will inevitably have questions when you have just launched your website. Good customer service can make your life significantly better in those first few months.
But even if your site has been running for a while, you still need to be able to count on your host’s backing – especially if there are business interests involved.
Ease of use
Some hosting dashboards look like they came from the Stone Age. Admittedly, you (probably) spend little time in your hosting dashboard. But when you do have to use it, you want it to feel intuitive and easy to use so you don't waste any time.
(WordPress) features
WordPress hosting must at least offer automatic backups, a staging/test environment (where you can safely modify your site) and a free SSL certificate. Ideally, you will also be offered free moving service (in case you already have a site).
Security
Hosting platforms must proactively ensure that both their own servers and your website are as secure as possible. This includes anti-spam and anti-virus measures and tools to prevent DDoS attacks.
Conclusion
To wrap things up, here are once more the best WordPress hosting providers of this moment:
- Cloud86 – Best WordPress hosting for most people
- Hostinger – Best budget hosting with 24/7 support
- Rocket.net – Best managed WordPress hosting
- SiteGround – Easiest to use for beginners
- Cloudways – Best for scaling fast-growing WordPress websites
