Top 10 Ruby on Rails Hosting Providers

Ruby on Rails is famous among developers and businesses because of its outspread use in creating high-geared web applications. Although it is seamless to build Ruby on Rails projects for development teams but the selection of the right hosting provider is still complicated. 

So, this article is sharing one of the top Ruby on Rails hosting providers with all the necessary details. Significantly, this guide will help you know the factors you must consider while choosing a hosting service for RoR projects.

What is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails is commonly known as a full-stack framework that is used to create web applications, and it is scripted in the programming language Ruby. In other words, Ruby is the programming language and Rails is the framework if you try to understand the term ‘Ruby on Rails’. 

Therefore, Ruby is a dynamic and high-level programming language that is utilized to script both client-end and server-side of applications. With the JIT compilation feature, this language was initially released in 1995. Correspondingly, Rails is an MVC framework designed in 2004. This framework could be a perfect fit for projects that are written in Ruby.

The renowned tech giants using RoR for different stacks are GitHub, Heroku, Hulu, Airbnb, and Shopify. 

Pros & Cons of Ruby on Rails

Here are the considerable advantages and disadvantages of Ruby on Rails:

Rapid Development

It is undoubtedly quick to build applications with RoR. Indeed, you can easily find skilled Ruby on Rails developers in the market because it is a popular language. Or even it is seamless to grab the services of another coder if one RoR programmer leaves off your project. 

The availability of third-party libraries, tools, and community support also makes Ruby on Rails a time-efficient choice. Several statistics also claim the use of RoR overcomes the development duration of up to 25% to 40% compared to other frameworks.

Availability of Supporting Libraries & Tools

The presence of open-source libraries called ‘gem’ and outstanding tooling is another appealing benefit of using Ruby on Rails. In this regard, development teams can simply visit the official website of Ruby Gems and download the desired open-source library. 

Moreover, you can quickly get any API or security service here. Test automation, convenient debugging, and excellent code quality make RoR a compelling choice for dev teams and businesses.

Great Compatibility with Client-Side Frameworks

Rails has great compatibility with leading client-side frameworks. RoR works excellently when you use React.js, Angular.js, and Vue.js for frontend development. Similarly, linking different tools and libraries with Ruby on Rails is seamless. 

Easy to Learn

With uncomplicated syntax and open-source libraries, RoR is considered a straightforward programming language. Especially if you are familiar with Python, it will be easy for you to learn Ruby on Rails. Indeed, RoR is analogous to the Python language. 

Industry Standards

Ruby on Rails endorses one of the best industry practices and standards. Likewise, it is an opinionated framework that follows the Don’t Repeat Yourself or DRY rule to prevent script duplications. By the same token, this framework acts upon Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern to promote quick development, easy modifications, rapid maintenance, and builds large-scale web applications. 

Community Support

Vibrant and active community support is another inspiring benefit of using Ruby on Rails. Developers not only quickly find applicable codes or gem libraries to support their projects, but it is also seamless to consult with seasoned RoR experts. In this regard, you just need to join large RoR community forums like GoRails, Stack Overflow, GitHub, Ruby Forum, Ruby on Rails Discussions, and much more.

On the contrary, RoR also has some drawbacks that we are discussing below:

Slow Runtime

It becomes problematic to extend application resources because of the slow runtime of Ruby on Rails. Especially, if you compare RoR with the popular runtime environment Node.js or framework Django, you will find the speed of RoR runtime passive. 

Inflexible

Similarly, there is less scope for creativity when development teams use Ruby on Rails. Although pre-built scripts and industry standards offer many benefits to RoR developers, but they are also drawbacks when it comes to modifying the script. 

Poor Documentation

The absence of appropriate documentation for Gem packages and resources is another drawback of using RoR. Undoubtedly, the Rails community is very friendly to answer your questions but the shortfall of documentation is still infuriating.

High Cost of Inappropriate Decisions

RoR components are firmly connected with each other. So, selecting an inexperienced team and making a wrong decision regarding infrastructure or development could cost you very high compared to other frameworks.  

Factors to Consider When Hosting Ruby on Rails

Businesses and dev teams must consider the following factors when choosing RoR hosting:

Support for Advanced Versions

The first thing businesses or programming teams should check when choosing RoR hosting is the provider’s support for advanced versions and structure. Furthermore, getting approval for the most recent Ruby on Rails variants is better. Secondly, this support should be available at a reasonable cost.

Regular Updates

Ruby on Rails frequently releases new variants in the market. Therefore, selecting a Ruby on Rails hosting provider that confers upgrades more often is crucial. Also, avoiding hosting platforms that don’t participate in system or infrastructure updates is better.

Data Security

In the current world of technology, data or information security is everything. Businesses should always prefer RoR hosting providers that include regular backups, disaster recovery, and 128-bit encryption in their hosting plans. 

Scalability

While choosing a hosting service for Ruby on Rails projects, it is also crucial to know the scalability of a platform. Indeed, it should be easy for companies and developers to quickly extend storage, networking, and further resources when their application grows. 

User-Friendly Control Panel

Another factor you should consider while choosing a hosting service for RoR is the interface of the control panel. Surely, the dashboard of the hosting provider should be compatible with RubyGems and further libraries. In short, the interface of cPanel should be fully functional and user-friendly.

Ability to Deal with Databases

RoR hosting platforms should provide engines and servers to back all types of databases. Yes, hosting providers must support a large number of databases, including PostgreSQL, SQLite, and MySQL. 

Availability of Technical Assistance

Technical customer services are essential in the hosting world. You should always elect a hosting solution for Rails that gives quick technical assistance. Nowadays, leading RoR hosting platforms to provide live chat services to answer users’ queries. 

Right Hosting Type

The selection of hosting type totally depends on the requirements of your project. Hereof, the use of shared hosting could be applicable to startup projects. It is cost-friendly but offers only limited RAM and CPU resources. However, if you need dedicated resources, then you can utilize VPS hosting options. 

Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are also considerable hosting solutions for businesses that want cloud-based options. 

Pricing

Whether you are a startup or an enterprise, you should also compare the pricing models of different RoR hosting providers. Instead of making instant hosting payments, it is better to test a platform using free tier plans initially. Later, you can go with a pay-as-you-go or fixed pricing program. 

Top 10 Ruby on Rails Hosting Providers

Find the best Ruby on Rails hosting providers with their core features and pricing models here:

1. Back4App Container Platform

Advanced cloud hosting solutions should be top of the list, which is why the Back4App Container Platform is considered perfect for hosting RoR applications. Users just need to bring the code and this CaaS platform will take the responsibility of customized deployment, building, and further operations. 

More than 200k developers from 200 countries of the world are using this CSP to build & deploy 500k applications. 

Want to host a Ruby on Rails app for free? Please see how on the tutorial Deploying a Ruby on Rails application.

Core Features

Lightweight & Fast – Back4App uses containers that are not only light in weight compared to virtual machines but also very fast. Container hosting needs fewer infrastructural resources to administer and host applications. 

Simple Deployment – The deployment of applications is straightforward with Back4App. You just need to link your GitHub repository, and after giving the name to the app and choosing the root directory and branch, you are ready to host your application.  

Highly Scalable – Businesses can scale their RoR applications anytime with no downtime deployments. Yes, it is straightforward to extend resources while using the Back4App CaaS solution.

Open-Source – Back4App Container Platform is an open-source hosting solution that allows the programming teams to get help from available resources.

Customer & Community Support – This CaaS vendor is also known because of its exceptional customer and community support. Their customer service is always available to help the users. Similarly, Back4App provides community support through channels like Twitter, YouTube, Slack, and Stack Overflow. 

Pricing

Back4App Container Platform grants three types of pricing models to host applications:

Free: Back4App surely comes with a free-tier solution. This program is not only beneficial for learners, but businesses can also test their services by using this category. Under the Free plan, you can get 0.25 CPU, 256 MB RAM, and 100 GB for transfer. Luckily, custom docker containers, community support, and GitHub integration are also part of the free tier. 

Shared: This plan is suitable for startups that are willing to launch MVPs. This serverless infrastructure only costs $5/month per container. 512 MB RAM, 0.5 CPU, and 100 GB for transfer are also appealing features of this Shared hosting plan.

Dedicated: Back4App facilitates large-scale applications with a Dedicated plan. Daily backups, premium support, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB transfer, and global CDN are core highlights of this program. Users need to pay $50 per month per container under this pricing model. 

2. Engine Yard

Engine Yard is another fully managed hosting contender on our list. Especially Engine Yard is the best hosting provider for Ruby on Rails because it has experience of 10+ years in the RoR industry. In addition, with 99.99% uptime and 98% customer satisfaction, Engine Yard is hosting more than 12k applications. 

Features

Auto Scaling – This PaaS hosting solution has the ability to scale resources to improve the performance of RoR applications spontaneously. You can horizontally extend the resources like CPU and memory. 

Security – Zero downtime security updates and backups are also engaging properties of the Engine Yard. In this regard, Engine Yard automatically creates database clones, backups, and security updates for new versions.

Fast – This highly optimized Ruby on Rails hosting provider allows businesses and developers to deploy their projects quickly. It claims to reduce the app building duration by up to 50%. 

Support – Engine Yard is one of the first CSPs for RoR, so it owns active community support. The availability of Ruby and AWS experts for customer support is also a significant advantage of using this PaaS hosting.

Pricing

Engine Yard permits a 14-day free trial to new users, and luckily, you don’t need to use a credit card in this regard. Howbeit, you will have to pay $49/month for a single optimized container unit under its Container Usage plan. On the other hand, users need to pay $800/month to approach a private cluster. 

3. Liquid Web

If you need robust and secure hosting for Ruby on Rails, fully managed VPS, cloud, and dedicated plans of Liquid Web should be your preference. With more than 187k customers, 500k running sites, and 10 global data centers, Liquid Web is undoubtedly an excellent hosting provider.

Core Features

Outstanding Customer Support – Liquid Web ensures chat, phone, and helpdesk support in only 59 seconds. 24/7 monitoring 365 days a year also gives this RoR hosting an edge over competitors.

Secure – Liquid Web is very concerned when it comes to security. In this regard, this RoR host uses immediate system patch formation, ServerSecure, and third-party services.

Acronis Cyber Backups – This hosting provider has recently enabled off-server backups for different plans, including VPS, cloud, VMware, and dedicated. So your data remains secure in case of any calamity. 

Easy Migrations – Seamless migration is another attractive feature of Liquid Web. You can approach this property without paying anything under the free migrations service. 

Pricing

The monthly charges of Linux VPS web hosting commence from $25. Users can get 2 vCPU Core, 2 GB RAM, and 10 TB bandwidth here. Correspondingly, if you try VPS hosting for Windows, charges begin from $65 with 4 GB RAM and 100 GB SSD storage. 

4. Hostinger

Hostinger is a boss if you need an affordable hosting solution for Ruby on Rails. Indeed, Hostinger is popular among the programming community because of its budget-friendly hosting solutions.

Core Features

Full Control – Whether you are building a startup Ruby on Rails application or working on a big-scale project, Hostinger confers complete control. You can simply approach the root and set up the server status.

Highly Secure & Scalable – Robotic backups, ready-to-use DDoS protection, and server safety from BitNinja guarantee security while using Hostinger. Similarly, the control panel permits the developers to increase the resources to extend the project instantly.

Excellent Performance – Hostinger provides enough resources in the form of RAM, disk space, and CPU and never compromises the performance of the application.

Pricing

Despite the fact, Hostinger presents various web and cloud hosting plans, but you should choose VPS for Ruby on Rails hosting. VPS 2 is the most prevalent hereof, and its monthly fee starts from $5.99 if you bill yearly. Under this plan, you can get 2 TB bandwidth, 2 GB RAM, and 40 GB SSD space with full root access. 

5. HostGator

HostGator is another affordable Ruby on Rails hosting provider that was launched in 2002. Although it offers several hosting plans like VPS, cloud, dedicated servers, shared, and resellers for RoR projects but VPS is considered the most ideal.

Core Features

Hardware Support – This hosting solution ensures the availability of powerful hardware resources, including RAM, CPU, and storage. 

Easy to Scale & Customize – You can’t only entirely customize the virtual servers but can also swiftly expand the required resources anytime.

Support – Both community and customer support of HostGator is excellent. Around 2 million websites already use this hosting platform, so you can quickly consult with the community regarding queries.

Pricing

With 2 cores vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB SSD, and unlimited bandwidth, you can access the basic VPS plan for $23.95/month. 

6. Heroku

Heroku officially supports the Ruby language and provides great hosting services to RoR projects. With 5.4k BuildPacks and 7.2k Buttons, Heroku is surely a credible container-based PaaS hosting provider to deploy Rails applications.  

Core Features

Seamless Deployment – In an entirely managed runtime environment, deploying RoR applications on Heroku is seamless. Furthermore, you can quickly integrate your RoR code with Heroku through GitHub and host your app on this PaaS platform. 

Scalable – Heroku enables developers to extend their required resources horizontally and vertically. 

Compliance & Security – Businesses can host sensitive RoR data on Heroku because it complies with international security standards. Indeed, Heroku complies with SOC, HIPAA, and ISO and conducts regular inspections.

Pricing

Heroku Dynos grants different plans to host RoR applications. Its charges begin from $5 for 512 MB RAM. However, the monthly cost per dyno is $25 under the Standard 1x program. 

7. DigitalOcean

If you need an IaaS hosting provider, consider using DigitalOcean. With 15 data centers, 600k customers, and 99.99% uptime, VPS hosting of DigitalOcean is definitely a reliable RoR hosting platform. 

Core Features

Droplets – Fully optimized droplets for CPU, memory, storage, and general purpose enable the developers to compute the servers with great authority.

Managed Databases – DigitalOcean is popular among developers because of its entirely administered database support. It provides backing for MySQL, Redis, and PostgreSQL. 

Kubernetes – Kubernetes authorizes automated deployments with 99.99% SLA uptime.

Pricing

Basic Droplets plan of DigitalOcean costs $4/month for 512 MB memory and 10 GB SSD storage. The initial price of Kubernetes also starts from $12/month.

8. Amazon Lightsail

Amazon Lightsail is also a reputed contender when it comes to finding reasonable hosting for Ruby on Rails. The robust backing of Amazon Web Services (AWS) makes it a credible web hosting solution with numerous cloud features. 

Core Features

Managed Databases – Entirely managed databases are one of the core advantages of using Amazon Lightsail hosting. It is up to you whether you want to run an independent database or are willing to choose from available PostgreSQL or MySQL options.

Instances & Containers – Users can create, run and deploy applications within a few minutes because of cloud instances. Similarly, a containerized environment enables lightweight operations and confers security to applications.

User-Friendly Interface – The user-friendly interface also helps novices to integrate and host applications.

Pricing

Startups can benefit from the free tier for a limited time. However, its starting cost is $3.50/month. 

9. Linode

Linode is another highly scalable and budget-friendly RoR hosting provider in our list that commenced its journey in 2003. With 1300+ networks and more than 1.9k service experts, Linode is a leading IaaS hosting solution. 

Core Features

Award-Winning Customer Support – The well-trained technical experts do their best to serve the customers. They are also available 24/7/365 to assist the users.

Seamless Control Panel – cPanel of Linode is not only free, but you can also use it without having much technical knowledge. 

Pricing

Linode is famous as a low-cost RoR hosting solution, and in this regard, it only takes $5/month for a Shared CPU Plan. This program facilitates the users with 1 GB RAM, 25 GB SSD, 1 CPU Core, and 1 TB Transfer. 

10. Google Cloud

With astonishing Machine Learning and AI support, Google Cloud is a decent Ruby on Rails hosting provider. Especially if you need a hosting platform with a free tier option, then using Google Cloud could be ideal.

Core Features

Compute Engine – This feature authorizes rapid removal or addition of virtual machines based on required resources.  

Cloud SQL – With Google Cloud, users get fantastic data processing, object storage, and networking functionalities. 

BigQuery – To examine the insights and analytics of your RoR application, using BigQuery is very helpful.

Pricing

Google Cloud provides a free trial to new users and there is no condition to charge automatically when it ends. After the free trial, it acts upon a pay-as-you-go policy, and you will only have to pay for used resources. 

Conclusion

All in all, Ruby on Rails hosting providers are versatile in nature and display different features and pricing models. Withal, it is suitable for companies and development teams to choose a hosting solution that fulfills their requirements. Hopefully, our listed options and their details will help you make the right decision.