Short answer
As of October 23, 2026, Hostwinds sells 9 VPS plans from $4.99/month (Unmanaged Linux 1: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic) in 3 locations. It ranks #104 of 160 providers overall. Trustpilot rates it 2.1 from 730 reviews.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest plan: Unmanaged Linux 1 at $4.99/month (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic).
- 3 data-center locations in 2 countries: Amsterdam, Dallas and Seattle.
- Ranks #104 of 160 overall; best placing #37 of 95 for 1 GB RAM VPS.
Key facts
| Website | hostwinds.com |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Seattle, United States |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Cheapest plan | Unmanaged Linux 1, $4.99/month |
| Price per GB RAM (median) | $4.99 |
| Data centers | 3 locations in 2 countries (Europe, North America) |
| Virtualization | KVM |
| Billing | Monthly |
| Windows Server | No Separate Unmanaged Windows ($16.99+/mo) and Managed Windows VPS lines with Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022 images; license bundled into the higher plan price. |
| Operating systems | Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora, Windows Server |
| Storage | No NVMe (SSD) |
| DDoS protection | — |
| Backups / snapshots | Free backups; snapshots: Yes |
| IPv4 / IPv6 | IPv4 included: Yes; IPv6: — |
| API | Yes |
| Dedicated CPU plans | No |
| Payment methods | Card, paypal, alipay, crypto |
| Money-back | 3 days |
| Support | 24/7/365 live chat and tickets; phone line listed (mainly sales); managed plans include server management |
| Email / port 25 | Opt-in email only (spam banned) |
| Uptime SLA | 99.9999% network and power uptime guarantee |
| Trustpilot | 2.1 / 5 from 730 reviews (profile) |
Hostwinds was acquired by HostPapa in April 2026; the Hostwinds brand and plans remain for now.
Plans and prices
9 plans recorded across 3 lines. Monthly list prices in US dollars; the highlighted row is the cheapest. Native USD pricing.
| Plan | Line | CPU | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Traffic | $/month | $/GB RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unmanaged Linux 1 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 1 | 1 GB | 30 GB SSD | 1 TB | $4.99 | $4.99 | Single listed monthly price, no intro/renewal split shown. 1 Gbps port. |
| Unmanaged Linux 2 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB SSD | 2 TB | $9.99 | $5.00 | |
| Unmanaged Linux 3 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 2 | 4 GB | 75 GB SSD | 2 TB | $18.99 | $4.75 | |
| Unmanaged Linux 5 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 4 | 8 GB | 150 GB SSD | 3 TB | $38.99 | $4.87 | |
| Unmanaged Linux 8 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 8 | 32 GB | 400 GB SSD | 6 TB | $124.99 | $3.91 | |
| Unmanaged Linux 10 | Unmanaged Linux VPS | Shared | 16 | 96 GB | 750 GB SSD | 9 TB | $328.99 | $3.43 | Largest tier. |
| Managed Linux 1 | Managed Linux VPS | Shared | 1 | 1 GB | 30 GB SSD | 1 TB | $10.99 | $10.99 | Regular price $10.99/mo; shown discounted to $7.14/mo (discount terms not stated on page). Includes fully managed support. |
| Managed Linux 5 | Managed Linux VPS | Shared | 4 | 8 GB | 150 GB SSD | 3 TB | $79.99 | $10.00 | Regular price $79.99/mo; shown discounted to $51.99/mo. |
| Unmanaged Windows 1 | Unmanaged Windows VPS | Shared | 1 | 1 GB | 30 GB SSD | 1 TB | $16.99 | $16.99 | Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022 images; price is $12/mo above the equivalent Linux plan (license cost built in). |
Native USD pricing.
Data-center locations
Hostwinds lets you deploy in 3 locations: 2 in North America and 1 in Europe. Countries: Netherlands and United States.
Map of Hostwinds locations
Click a marker to see which providers sell servers there. Marker size reflects the number of providers in that city.
Pros and cons
Strengths
- Flat monthly pricing on unmanaged Linux plans with no intro-vs-renewal gap (1 GB plan $4.99/mo)
- Nightly backups to object storage and snapshots included; load balancers, volumes and custom ISOs available
- Both unmanaged and fully managed Linux/Windows lines with 24/7 live chat and ticket support
Limitations
- Only 3 locations (Seattle, Dallas, Amsterdam) and SATA/SSD storage rather than NVMe
- Refunds only within 72 hours of payment (prorated); no hourly billing on VPS plans
- Trustpilot score of 2.1/5 (730 reviews) and company was acquired by HostPapa in April 2026
Acceptable use
ToS bans unsolicited email (zero tolerance, $250/hr remediation fee), pirated software/warez and copyright infringement; proxy scripts/anonymizers are listed as unacceptable on shared/reseller servers but not addressed for VPS. VPN (Hostwinds sells its own), scraping, mining, IPTV and Tor are not expressly covered.
Where Hostwinds ranks
Positions in the rankings on this site, based on the data above.
- 1 GB RAM VPS #37 of 95
- VPS with Backups and Snapshots #53 of 127
- cPanel VPS Hosting #22 of 49
- Managed VPS Hosting #27 of 59
- Best VPS for Developers #75 of 157
- Best VPS for Laravel #77 of 157
- Best VPS for Django #78 of 157
- VPS for Email Marketing and Mail Servers #66 of 129
- 2 GB RAM VPS #62 of 120
- Best VPS for WordPress #82 of 157
- 4 GB RAM VPS #77 of 145
- Best VPS for Mastodon #85 of 157
- VPS for PBN Hosting #89 of 157
- Best Node.js VPS #90 of 157
- Cheap USA VPS #38 of 65
- Best VPS for Discord and Telegram Bots #93 of 157
- 32 GB+ RAM VPS #56 of 94
- 8 GB RAM VPS #84 of 141
- Cheap European VPS #42 of 70
- 32 GB RAM VPS #48 of 80
- 4 vCPU VPS #92 of 153
- Best Docker VPS #72 of 118
- Best VPS for OpenClaw #96 of 157
- Best VPS for Dokploy #68 of 111
Alternatives to Hostwinds
Providers closest to Hostwinds by region, price and features. Liquid Web VPS, HostPapa and InMotion Hosting are the nearest matches.
| # | Provider | Plan | $/month | RAM | $/GB RAM | Locations | Windows | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloud VPS Compute 1GB | $5.00 | 1 GB | $5.00 | 3 | No | 3.8 (2,777) | |
| 2 | Lite | $2.95 | 1 GB | $2.95 | 2 | No | 4.7 (3,074) | |
| 3 | cVPS 1 | $6.00 | 1 GB | $6.00 | 3 | No | 4.6 (3,030) | |
| 4 | Unmanaged Entry | $5.00 | 1 GB | $5.00 | 3 | No | 4.3 (96) | |
| 5 | Starter (Unmanaged) | $5.44 | 4 GB | $1.36 | 3 | No | 4.9 (5,411) | |
| 6 | Lite 2.0 | $10.00 | 2 GB | $5.00 | 26 | Yes | — |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Hostwinds VPS cost?
Plans start at $4.99 per month for Unmanaged Linux 1 (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic); Single listed monthly price, no intro/renewal split shown. 1 Gbps port. Across its published plans the median price is $4.99 per GB of RAM.
Where are Hostwinds's data centers?
Hostwinds lets you deploy in 3 locations: 2 in North America and 1 in Europe. Countries: Netherlands and United States.
Does Hostwinds offer Windows VPS?
Separate Unmanaged Windows ($16.99+/mo) and Managed Windows VPS lines with Windows Server 2012/2016/2019/2022 images; license bundled into the higher plan price.
Does Hostwinds have hourly billing?
No; billing is monthly.
Is Hostwinds good?
As of October 23, 2026, Hostwinds sells 9 VPS plans from $4.99/month (Unmanaged Linux 1: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD, 1 TB traffic) in 3 locations. It ranks #104 of 160 providers overall. Trustpilot rates it 2.1 from 730 reviews. Strengths: flat monthly pricing on unmanaged linux plans with no intro-vs-renewal gap (1 gb plan $4.99/mo) and nightly backups to object storage and snapshots included; load balancers, volumes and custom isos available. Limitations: only 3 locations (seattle, dallas, amsterdam) and sata/ssd storage rather than nvme and refunds only within 72 hours of payment (prorated); no hourly billing on vps plans.
Sources
Data was read from these pages (provider data checked October 14, 2026; rankings updated October 23, 2026). Prices change; check the provider's site before buying.
- https://www.hostwinds.com/vps/unmanaged-linux
- https://www.hostwinds.com/vps
- https://www.hostwinds.com/vps/unmanaged-windows
- https://tostracker.app/document/hostwinds
- https://webhosting.today/2026/04/29/hostpapa-acquires-hostwinds-adding-seattle-and-amst...
- https://bestusavps.com/reviews/hostwinds/
- https://www.bitcatcha.com/my/hosting-reviews/hostwinds/
- https://hostscore.net/review/hostwinds/
- https://www.vpsbenchmarks.com/hosters/hostwinds
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/hostwinds.com