LINUX HOSTING VS WINDOWS HOSTING (2025): TOP 5 DIFFERENCES & TOP 5 WEB HOSTS

There are two different types of hosting options available: Linux Hosting and Windows hosting. In simple words Linux hosting refers to shared web hosting, one of the most popular and widely used hosting option available. In reality numerous of websites are these days hosted Linux based server due to its affordable pricing and security features. One of the biggest advantage of Linux website hosting is its compatibility with PHP and MySQL and it supports popular scripts like WordPress, Zen Cart, PHPBB. Whereas Windows web hosting make use of Microsoft Windows related technologies such as ASP, ASP.NET, MS Access, MSSQL Databases.

Here in this article we are going to take a look at the differences between, Linux Hosting VS Windows hosting and the factors such as security, pricing ad stability. Here we have highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of these two hosting operating systems as well as which one you should opt for? Once you go through this detailed comparison of Linux and Windows Hosting, you will be having clear idea of which one you should choose for your website and which is the best hosting company to host your website.

TOP 5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LINUX AND WINDOWS HOSTING

If you ask any server expert to tell the biggest difference between Linux hosting and Windows hosting, the first and foremost thing they will tell is stability. Linux server based hosting is more secure and stable then Windows based hosting.

Linux servers are hardly ever require to restarted because most of the server configuration or updation changes completed without reboot, Whereas Windows servers can get more unstable and unreliable when loaded with multiple databases, file servers etc. Albeit you begin including separate applications and bunches of planned tasks, the issues have a tendency to deteriorate. While a lot of work has gone into easing these kind of issues, it is as yet an issue with which server executives wrestle. On the off chance that you expected your solution will be called upon to have close to 100% uptime, running with a Linux server will probably be your most ideal option.

It ought to be said that the learning curve of administering a Linux based server is undoubtedly elevated.

If one have little time and skills, this will not be a big issue. For those not having it skills might find administering this kind of server difficult task. Most of the task related to Windows can be found user friendly by beginners because most of the common problems can be solved online. If you are looking for simple to use solution, Windows is the ideal option for you to choose.

Conclusively, one of the biggest question you should ask yourself is What kind of software and applications I am going to run? If you are planning to use Microsoft Exchange server or Microsoft Sharepoint site then Windows server is the ideal option for you. Are you planning to planning to use a CMS platform like Joomla, WordPress or Magento via cPanel then you need to go with Linux based hosting platform. Below we are going to share some factors about the basic differences between Windows hosting and Linux hosting.

SUPPORT FOR OPERATING SYSTEM

---

One of the major difference between Windows Hosting and Linux hosting is the support for operating system that runs of the web server. The users of Windows based hosting moving to Linux can find it more complicated using command line. The commands and syntax available in Linux servers are not as easy as Windows based server. At the same time Linux user can select from numerous GUI’s (graphical user interfaces), I would highly recommend going for a Windows Servers rather than if you wish to get across with the OS virtually rather than utilizing a tool as an illustration cPanel (Control panel) to perform most of the tasks such as Install software, Update applications, create databases, administer email accounts on server.

As described before the stability and security of Linux server is much better than Windows server If you are planning to run complex and mission critical application then Linux server is highly recommended to you.

Another OS based factor need to consider is compatibility with hardware and software. Windows Server, being a licensed based and regularly updated OS (operating system) makes it ideal for way to go for users running a complex IT infrastructure with variety of applications and databases running on Windows servers specially. Hiring system admin knowledgeable about OS configuration means less training for you and at the same time excellent in-house support, an element should not be taken lightly

EASE OF USE

---

Undoubtedly the most common reason someone need a server is to have a personal website, Business website, eCommerce website, online store or just a portfolio. Shared server hosting mainly on Linux server is usually an ideal solution for this type of users. These days all shared Linux web hosting services come furnished with amazing tools such as easy to use cPanel tool, that enable users an easy and effortless interface to install CMS platform, blogging platforms and create databases as well as create and configure email accounts and if permitted by hosting companies it will automatically administrator required packages such MySQL, PHP, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and Apache. All the mentioned features are particularly helpful for novices.

Whereas Windows Server are mostly used by large enterprises and corporates websites. You will definitely need Windows server if you are planning to use Microsoft based applications. Linux server is best option for professional web developers and coders who have knowledge to configure Apache or NGINX web servers as well as the web developers who utilize Perl/PHP/Python to expand with a MYSQL based database. All these tools are well-popular among developers and used with Linux from a long time comes with amazing support system.

Most of the heritage applications and scripts make use of VBScript and if you are going to work in a corporate or enterprise environment, this option is made for you. Web pages developed using Microsoft ASP.NET, Access or MSSQL based technologies must need Windows servers. Having consultation with your web developer is highly recommended before selecting a web hosting service.

DOMAIN NAME, DATABASES AND DISK SPACE

---

Being a user of cPanel based hosting we highly recommend using cPanel when administering multiple website domain names on single hosting account cPanel control panel. By using cPanel based hosting one can easily allocate required resources based on the need of website. MySQL database has gained huge popularity as standard tool for web developers globally, but if you belong to corporate background the most suitable option for you to use is MSSQL.

The real factor is that the numerous of best web hosting companies worldwide are making use of Linux server because it enable then to help you in managing multiple domains via cPanel control panel. Most of the great web based applications such as content management tools are effortlessly deployed via a pre-engineered MySQL server making use of cPanel tool. Most of the web developers prefer going with cPanel because it comes with many easy to use tools.

SECURITY, PROTECTION, RELIABILITY AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT

---

A best web hosting company you select for your website must be able to secure your website from all the threats, malware and viruses. Recent study shows that Windows servers are more unprotected that Linux servers.

Reliability as discussed in above paragraph, is one of the biggest strength of Linux server hosting. There are linux based web server available there that have not been restarted in years, whereas it is hard to find Windows based server with same situation.

One more security related component bear in mind is on the database, application and software package measure. Being a owner of website you are somewhat accountable for your website security and protection because the convenient point to criticize for any kind of system can be get noticed in the person who manage and utilize it. Having a tough passwords for administering access and deploying all the required patches is essential to protect a website, although as said before, being an owner of this website and running it for few years I am a huge fan of cpanel’s expertise to keep any kind of web applications as well software packages updated with latest version without having any communication from the user.

Another important factor is technical support and it will totally depend on the web hosting company you choose to host your website. If you are going to host your corporate website on a server, it is recommended to discuss about SLAs with your IT staff. Once you know your needs related to SLA, you should discuss those needs with technical support representative of hosting company you are going to choose and make sure they are going to provide you with the level of support you wish.

PRICING

---

Pricing is another factor need to determine while comparing these two options available for hosting a website. Linux is a clear winner from the cost prospective. Numerous Linux servers running on precisely the same on which they were arranged more that 10 years prior. The very slight speed of reform in the framework and cost-effective nature of the OS (operating system) indicate that you don’t really need to regularly upgrade any unwanted features.

Did I say Linux is free to use? Although there are numerous of paid distros, for example Red Hat an open source solutions, a large number free and fully working distros are too available. You can easily hire someone to manage your Linux based server by paying little bit of money anyhow Windows servers are not that much cheap to manage and cost for having licenses and performing hardware upgradation cab cost more as compare to Linux servers. Many top web hosting companies in India offers low-cost hosting options for the beginner with all the necessary features you need to create your website.

LINUX HOSTING VS WINDOWS HOSTING

Below are the some other major differences between Linux and Windows hosting Servers:

Features	Linux Servers	Windows Servers
Control Panel	Since Linux Server is an open source platform, it has many access to many control panels for managing hosting account but most commonly used are cPanel/WHM panel.	Plesk and website panel are most commonly used control panels for Windows Server hosting.
Security	Linux Servers comes with excellent levels of security such as iptables, tcp_wrapper, pam and many more.	Only Firewall security available in Windows Servers
Console	Linux Web Servers comes with CLI console which consumes lesss memory.	Windows web servers offers GUI console so it consumes more memory or else it stops working.
Languages/Scripts	Supports scripts and languages like PHP, Perl, Python and other Unix related languages/scripts.	It Supports ASP, .NET and other Microsoft based scripts & languages
Supported Databases	It supports MySQL and Postgre databases.	Mostly it supports Microsoft SQL Databases and MS Access database
Hardware Compatibility	Less hardware compatibility compare to Windows Server	Windows Servers has more hardware Compatibility compare to Linux
Cost	Less expensive because it is an open source platform.	More expensive because of licensing fee and charges of the OS
Stability	Linux web hosting is highly Stable	Windows Hosting is less stable
Examples	Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora etc.	Windows server 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016 etc.
Administering	You need to be extra careful while administrating Linux hosting server.	Less Administration Needed
Security Issues	Comparatively less security related issues	Comparatively more security issues

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHOOSE LINUX HOSTING?

Linux is many times considered as one of the best operating system as a web hosting server. Due to it’s amazing features such as reliability, stability, efficiency and quality Linux established itself as a best operating system. If you are planning to use PHP, Perl, PYTHON and MySQL, Linux is the ideal option for you because it supports all the CMS platforms, blogs, community forums and online stores.

WHEN SHOULD YOU CHOOSE WINDOWS HOSTING?

By opting for Windows server you will have be having access to execute interpretation frameworks such as .NET or Sharepoint framework. If you are planning to use Windows or Microsoft based application to your website Windows hosting is the best choice for you to use. Few of the popular applications of Microsoft corp are ASP (Active Server Pages), NET framework, VB and MS SQL databases, MS Access.

SELECTING THE BEST WEB HOST FOR LINUX WEB HOSTING OR WINDOWS HOSTING

In the end, each and every user is unique with unique needs. Most of the website owner never wish to require more than one single website functioning on a basic upto $5/month website hosting plan with a basic website is just a few pages. These kind of website owners are usually best served by hosting provider that provides little amount of web space and data transfer.

Apart from this these users might need an experts support that can assist them grow up quickly as the needs of their website increases and they need more resources. These kind of website owners will require to thoroughly analyze the web host they are going to select and make sure they have excellent in-house support team to assist you.

The most important thing you need to do is understand your needs and identify what you are looking for such a your budget, tools you are going to use, space and bandwidth you need, and many other tough questions. Discovery your exact requirements in the initial stage will spare you from the inconvenience of expecting to more later.

TOP 3 BEST & RELIABLE LINUX WEB HOSTS

While seeking for a Linux web host, choose the one which makes it effortless to make use of popular tools as an illustration PHP and MYSQL as well as your favoured mail server. If you are looking for the ability to make use of cron jobs or any other progressive features, ensure that all of the required features are available in the hosting package.

One of the biggest advantages of utilizing Linux based servers is the cost-effective nature of this operating system. Many best shared hosting packages are available for as low as $5/month so you can discover a cost factor that matches your financial plan.

Discover the reviews of top 3 best and reliable Linux Shared hosting providers:

TOP 3 BEST & RELIABLE WINDOWS HOSTS

Windows based web hosting plan is little bit costlier than Linux hosting, so ensure that you choose a best web host and get all the essential features you need for your website. Check the required database for your website, if you need MSSQL server or MS Access make sure it is available with the web host. Last but not least you might need remote desktop access, confirm the availability of this feature with your selected web host.

Given below are our top recommendations for Windows Web hosting services:

WINDOWS SERVER OR LINUX SERVER — WHAT TO CHOOSE?

The selection of web server completely depends on your needs.Both operating systems have benefits and drawbacks, and it for the most part relies upon if your website admin or your web developer can make greatest use out of server highlights. Keep in mind: your web server does not make sites or web pages; your website admin and web developer does. So it is highly recommended to listen the advice of your web developer or web admin before making any choice between these two, Windows either Linux.

Top 10 Best Personal Website Hosting Services of 2025

These days there are numerous of reasons to create a website for personal use. For the job seekers, it's moved toward becoming just about a need, because as per a survey around 60% employers and organizations are highly influenced with job applicants who store resumes and curriculum vitaes on their personal websites. Furthermore personal websites are the best way to get in touch with your loved ones as well as share your work, thoughts with the world.

For most of the people with no coding and technical skills web development and website creation relation task may look like a challenging tasks. Although these days most of the web hosting companies make this whole process of website creation much effortless with easy to use website builder tools and skillfully designed templates. Here on this page we will take a look at the top 10 best web hosting services for personal websites in 2025.

Best Overall - Personal Website Hosting Services: 1-3.

Many individuals planning to have website personal use want to have the capability and with ease get their thoughts on the web, and the professionals give some prescribed methods on the best way to do it. This can be easily performed via text,graphics, videos, images and other method. But you need to go with a web host that enables you the flexibility to store huge files, data of your website and provides your valuable visitors fast web page load times without spending huge amount of money.

Listed below are our most favoured web hosts that offer free website builder, unlimited storage space, data transfer, free marketing credits, easy tools to manage site, fast load times and many more. There are some other important factors such as security and backups are the major things need to consider while choosing a hosting provider. To make your selection easier, we have put together the top three best overall web hosting providers that offer most of the features mentioned above. Make sure to check the detailed reviews below to get complete details about their offerings.

Discover more of the best web hosts overall »

Best Cheap Personal Website Hosting Services: 4

A few businesses and organizations spend a huge amount of money to create complicated eCommerce sites with amazing functionalities and features similar to top players like Flipkart and Amazon. Personal websites for individual use are little bit unique. You wish to have consistent abilities to make excellent experiences for your online users and viewers but at the same time you don’t wish to spend huge money.

Don’t worry, all the users who are concerned about budget are in a right place because now you can create fully functioning website by paying few dollars every month. The charges hosting should not make you fool. Despite the fact that the rates are inexpensive, there are few cheap hosts provide full-features hosting plans that contains unlimited resources such as data transfer, web spade, site building tool, domain name and many more. Following are our top selections for cheap hosting providers for hosting personal website.

Discover more Cheap web hosts »

Best Personal Website Hosting for WordPress: 5

Even if you are new to the process of creating a website you must have heard about one of the best blogging platform WordPress. This CMS currently powers more than 30% of website on the web and estimatedly there are more than 77 million wordpress blogs available.

WordPress is an open source free to use platform, once you built your website using WordPress you need a web host to get your site online. Most of the top WordPress hosting providers offer tools such as BoldGrid so that you can use this CMS platform more conveniently. There are some more features you need to take in consideration such as ability to host multiple website, 1 clicker installer, SSD based storage etc. Below are our top picks for running a personal WordPress hosting.

Discover more Wordpress web hosts »

Best Personal Website Hosting for Ecommerce Website: 6

There are numerous of reasons people start personal websites as a venture to turn their enthusiasms into satisfying careers. There are numerous of people quitting their job and becoming professional freelancers in the various fields and getting work online.

In the event that business entrepreneurship is the main motive in setting up a personal website, you will require a web host that adherence's a tangible eCommerce platform with secure online transaction and checkouts. The most efficient eCommerce based hosting providers offer impulsive website builders or creators that enables individual to create site and demonstrate their products and services online. Customer support availability is another most important thing to consider because eCommerce functionalities can complicated for the newbie users. Following are the top picks for eCommerce hosting with complete functionalities.

Discover more eCommerce web hosts »

Best Hosting for Personal Website with Free Domain Name: 7

A domain name is like online address of your website at the same time it is the first thing your viewers will see. There are numerous of things need to consider while choosing a right domain name for your website such as easy to remember, brandable and affirmable. Whatever is the motive of your behind starting a personal website, you need to register your domain name to access your site online. There are few hosts make it much easier than others. It is always recommended to opt a host includes free domain name registration and transfer in the hosting package. Following are our top picks for personal web hosting with free domain name.

Best Web Hosting for Personal Sites with Free Email Accounts: 8

Undoubtedly a branded email domain is essential to proving trustworthiness of your business online. There are only few customers who trusts someone selling online with a free email account like hotmail.com, yahoo.com or rediffmail.com. The same things goes for personal and individual sites.

Domain name registration and email services go together, due to this reason you need to choose a web host that offers free domain name and email accounts as well other features like email forwarding and email autoresponder etc. are needed. Following are our top picks for best personal website hosting with free email accounts.

Discover more Email web hosts »

Best Free Personal Website Hosting: 9

With 000WebHost newbie website owners can easily get their personal site up and functioning without paying anything. 000WebHost offers free website builder tools with hundreds of free beautiful themes to enhanced the look and feel of your website. They offer 10 GB bandwidth and 1 gb disk space with their free hosting package and you can use your domain name of your choice.

Although 000WebHost’s free plan is a best medium to get started with your personal website without spending any money. Starting at only $0/month website owners can easily use their domain name and get their sites online in few minutes. AT any point of time you feel your site is growing very fast you can upgrade to their premium hosting packages. Below is the detailed information about their offerings.

Discover more Free web hosts »

Look Through Our Personal Website Hosting Reviews Before Signing Up!

Even if you are planning to influence potential employer with an online portfolio or resume, sharing your thought with entire World, creating a personal website is an ideal way to connect with the whole world in this digital era.

Relying on the purpose of your site, there are hosting companies that can provide you with everything you need for your website from eCommerce hosting solutions, WordPress services and website builder or creation tools.

It is much crucial to take a well-informed decision while choosing a web host that offer all the essential features you need for your website at the best possible prices. Our unbiased web hosting reviews » present powerful resources to assist you make well-informed choices on the host service provider that best suits your personal website.