The number of web applications built with Ruby on Rails has already exceeded 1 million. That this figure keeps growing demonstrates the framework’s high level of popularity and workability. In a nutshell, you get a mature open-source solution supported by extensive documentation and an extensive ecosystem to create versatile web products. In addition, it covers wide-reaching geography that is to say you can easily find a Ruby on Rails team London or Tokyo for your startup.

Still, we are not going to mull over whether you should use RoR for your product or not. That’s been decided. Now, we need to find an answer to the question “Where should I host my Rails app?”.

Reasons to use a dedicated Ruby on Rails hosting service instead of shared hosting providers

You should be prepared to face the challenge of choosing between a plethora of top-notch hosting providers. To facilitate this task, we should first identify a focus area. The Internet is swarming with shared hosting providers. With this type of service, you pay for some server space and share it with other apps or websites. It looks like sharing an apartment with roommates. Shared hosting usually comes with performance limitations like CPU, data storage, RAM, bandwidth etc. Also, providers usually do not allow for modifying system files, as well as run other software programs not supported by the web hosting company. The lack of customization can make it challenging to enhance your app with native libraries.

Despite these flaws, you might be attracted by the affordable pricing and ease of use associated with shared hosting. However, don’t get let the lower price point lure you in. Although it may be a perfect fit for personal websites and blogs, your RoR app deserves a better option that won’t have to share resources. With that in mind, dedicated web hosting is the preferable solution. You obtain dedicated resources and total control of all associated computing components. Moreover, your app’s trajectory won’t be limited since dedicated hosting is perfect for future growth. While you gain customization freedom and faster speed, you will have to maintain the infrastructure by yourself. But of course, much better features come with a significantly higher price.

Railsware’s opinion is that shared hosting is not a good option for Rails apps. On that account, we will focus on VPS and PaaS solutions to define best hosting for Ruby on Rails. Since we are ready to search, we need to know what exactly we’re looking for.

What to look for when choosing a good Rails hosting?

In most cases, startups attempt to offer something special or even one of a kind to attract customers. The use of a particular tech stack makes allowances for web app requirements. Therefore, your criteria will differ depending on the tool you chose for the project. If you’re dealing with Ruby on Rails web development or launching a RoR-based product, the provider has to support the latest version of the framework.

Dedicated hosting providers are richer in resource availability compared to their shared competitors. Nevertheless, it does not mean that there are no limits at all. On that account, you should understand your app’s bandwidth requirements to ensure it runs at optimal performance and cost.

Data security is another top priority concern. You might have your own sophisticated demands, but the minimum ones should include 128-bit data encryption, a data backup system, and disaster recovery.

Technical support is also important, and you should not neglect your attention to it. When you opt for a dedicated hosting provider, it means that technical experts’ assistance comes with the service. However, make sure that a 24\7 multilingual option is available.

Now you have a concept of core requirements that will help you pick the best Ruby on Rails web hosting out of the following.

Types of Ruby on Rails hostings

The variety of hosting services is not limited only to dedicated and shared options. These are two extremes on the market, the most expensive and cheapest pricing respectively. We are not going to look for the best place to host a Ruby on Rails app at the poles but focus on the middle ground of web hosting environment. And our journey starts with VPS.

VPS hosting

The truth is that virtual private server (VPS) hosting is also a shared service. Machine resources are shared among customers, but the way it is accomplished differs. VPS costs more, which implies better performance, more flexibility, and fewer limits. Since you do not leverage a physical but virtual server, you are free of concerns about resources like CPU, RAM, and bandwidth because they are cloud-based and run by specialized virtualization tools. Below, the most prominent VPS solutions on the market are introduced.

That’s it for the VPS category so far. Still, the question regarding the best hosting provider for Ruby on Rails apps is unanswered. Perhaps, we will find it in the next section that introduces different platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions.

PaaS hosting

To understand what PaaS hosting can offer, let’s imagine a playground for developers, where all services are out-of-the-box. There is no need to stumble around setup, security, scaling, maintenance and other stuff to deploy your Rails app. As a rule, you are provided with a visual administrative panel to add more resources like CPU, RAM, as well as services (add-ons) including database, log handling, etc. However, that costs money. Unlike VPS, where you manage these routine activities on your own, PaaS does it for you, but for a price. On that account, people often start with PaaS and then switch to VPS because of fast-growing costs. Though it is a worthwhile trade-off, some users may consider it a serious downside. Now, let’s look at some examples.

How to choose the best hosting for you?

A plethora of providers on the market is both a good and a bad situation. On the one hand, you can choose the most appropriate solution based on a weighted analysis of your project requirements. On the other hand, it is difficult to opt for a specific option since your demands may vary in the course time. For example, Google App Engine is cool if you want to leverage other Google services like Cloud Vision, Firebase Notifications, BigQuery, etc. AWS is the option when you use their services for managing databases, load balancers, lambdas, etc. Nevertheless, most services are generally alike, which makes things even more puzzling. Perhaps, good advice would be to start with a PaaS provider and move to VPS when your requirements grow and you have DevOps skills.

In any case, make sure to base your search on defining two major points – traffic amount and server type. When talking about traffic, we have to consider bandwidth and storage requirements. If your traffic expectations are high, there is a need to increase both these metrics. However, be wary of the unlimited offers that are usual for some providers. They may promise borderless storage and bandwidth for a couple of dollars in theory, but experience shows that you will end up paying more if you really want optimal performance. And remember – using a single infrastructure provider simplifies your billing.

Wrapping up

Above, we have introduced some of the best hosting options for Ruby on Rails according to Railsware’s experience. Regardless of what server type and provider you choose, it is important to create the best environment for deploying your app. Be attentive to details and don’t rush into suspiciously cheap offers.