The best Linux hosting is the type of hosting that matches your project, running on an operating system that still receives security updates. For websites on shared hosting, look for account isolation such as CloudLinux so other customers cannot slow down or see your site. For a VPS, choose a supported distribution such as AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu LTS or Debian. Avoid CentOS Linux for new servers: CentOS Linux 7 stopped receiving updates after 30 June 2024.
This is Tremhost’s own blog, and Tremhost is one of the providers listed.
What is Linux hosting?
Linux hosting means your website or application runs on a server with a Linux operating system, usually with the Apache, LiteSpeed or Nginx web server, PHP and MySQL or MariaDB. Most WordPress, Joomla and PHP sites run on Linux, and cPanel runs only on Linux. You need Windows hosting only for software that requires Windows, such as some older ASP.NET applications.
CloudLinux vs CentOS: what is the difference?
They solve different problems. CentOS Linux was a free, community rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux used on many servers. CloudLinux OS is a commercial distribution built for hosting servers shared by many customers. CloudLinux’s documentation describes LVE (Lightweight Virtualized Environment) limits on CPU, I/O, memory, processes and connections per account, CageFS, a per-user file system that stops customers seeing each other’s files, and a PHP Selector that lets each user pick a PHP version, as listed on 5 November 2026 in the CloudLinux OS documentation.
| Factor | CentOS Linux | CloudLinux OS |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | General-purpose server operating system | Multi-tenant hosting servers |
| Status | CentOS Linux 7 updates ended after 30 June 2024 | Supported releases follow the RHEL life cycle, per its documentation |
| Cost | Free | Paid licence |
| Per-account limits and isolation | Not built in | LVE limits and CageFS |
| Who chooses it | Historically, anyone running a RHEL-style server | Hosting companies and resellers running many accounts on one server |
As a website owner on shared hosting, you do not install either; you benefit when your host runs CloudLinux. If you run your own cPanel server for clients, CloudLinux is worth its licence; for a single application server, a free distribution is usually enough.
What happened to CentOS?
The CentOS Project announced that CentOS Stream 8 would be archived after 31 May 2024 and that no updates would be published for CentOS Linux 7 after 30 June 2024, and recommended moving CentOS Linux 7 systems to a RHEL 8 or RHEL 9 based distribution, as listed on 5 November 2026 on the CentOS Project blog. CentOS Stream continues as the development stream ahead of RHEL. For servers that previously ran CentOS Linux, the common replacements are AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux, both RHEL-compatible community rebuilds, or Ubuntu LTS and Debian if you prefer that family. If your host still runs CentOS Linux 7, ask when it will migrate.
What makes Linux hosting good
A supported operating system
What to check: the distribution and version on the server. Why: an end-of-life OS no longer receives security fixes, so every new vulnerability stays open.
Account isolation on shared hosting
What to check: whether the host uses CloudLinux or similar per-account limits and file-system isolation. Why: without it, one busy or compromised account can affect every site on the server.
PHP version choice
What to check: whether you can choose and change PHP versions yourself. Why: you need a current version for security and speed, and an older one occasionally for legacy code. The Help Centre shows how to change PHP version in cPanel.
Web server and storage
What to check: LiteSpeed, Nginx or Apache, and NVMe or older SSD storage. Why: these affect how quickly PHP pages are served under load.
Root access when you need it
What to check: whether you get root on a VPS and which distributions you can install. Why: applications, Docker and custom services need it; ordinary websites do not.
Security layers
What to check: firewall, malware scanning, free SSL and backups. Why: a supported OS is necessary but not sufficient.
A shortlist of Linux hosting providers
Listed alphabetically. Figures are from each provider’s own page on the date shown; check current terms before you buy.
DigitalOcean
Cloud servers from $4.00 a month for a Basic Droplet with 1 vCPU, 512 MiB RAM and 10 GiB SSD, with data centres in North America, Europe, India, Singapore and Australia, as listed on 5 November 2026 on DigitalOcean’s Droplet pricing page.
Hetzner
Cloud servers on shared resources from EUR 6.49 a month excluding VAT, and dedicated-vCPU servers from EUR 43.49, with locations in Germany, Finland, Singapore and the USA, as listed on 5 November 2026 on Hetzner’s cloud page.
Tremhost
Two Linux routes. cPanel web hosting runs on LiteSpeed, NVMe and CloudLinux account isolation, from $30 a year for Himalaya. The unmanaged KVM VPS starts at $15 a month for 2 dedicated cores, 2 GB RAM and 40 GB NVMe, with Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, Debian, Rocky Linux or CentOS available at order, in Johannesburg, New York, Miami, Limburg or Roubaix. The managed cPanel VPS, from $80 a month, includes cPanel and WHM, LiteSpeed, CloudLinux and Imunify360. For your own server, a CloudLinux licence from Tremhost licences is $6 a month or $250 for a lifetime licence.
Vultr
Cloud Compute from $2.50 a month for 1 vCPU, 0.5 GB RAM, 10 GB storage and 0.5 TB bandwidth, with an IPv6-only variant also listed, as listed on 5 November 2026 on Vultr’s pricing page.
Which Linux hosting fits your situation?
- A business website or WordPress site: shared Linux hosting with cPanel and CloudLinux isolation.
- An application, API or containers: a VPS running AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu LTS or Debian.
- You host many client sites on your own server: CloudLinux with cPanel, or a managed cPanel VPS that includes it.
- You are still on CentOS Linux 7: plan a migration to a supported distribution now.
Frequently asked questions
Is CloudLinux better than CentOS?
For shared hosting servers with many accounts, CloudLinux adds isolation and resource limits that CentOS never had, and CentOS Linux 7 no longer receives updates. For a single-purpose server, a free supported distribution is usually the better comparison.
Can I still choose CentOS on a new VPS?
Some providers still list it. If you do, use a release that receives updates, such as CentOS Stream, and understand how it differs from the old CentOS Linux; most users moving from CentOS choose AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux instead.
Do I need to know Linux to use Linux hosting?
Not on shared hosting, where cPanel handles everything. On an unmanaged VPS, you will use the command line.
Next step
If you need root access on a supported distribution, compare the nine plans on the Tremhost KVM VPS page.
