Top Free VPS Hosting Services & Trials!

A good server is the ‘backbone’ of any website. Without it, a site can lag behind or go down frequently enough to piss one off. Ironically, most hosting companies out there disappoint webmasters again and again. To make matters worse, MANY web hosting companies lie about their products and services by exaggerating quality or specs. So, it becomes difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

In my previous article, I talked about why you would eventually want to migrate to a VPS from a lower tier hosting plan like a shared hosting plan. If you’re uncertain as to what a VPS is, check out my comprehensive VPS buying guide.

A good VPS server won’t usually come on a shoestring budget. So, it’s time to introduce you to the world of top trial VPS services. Better yet, we will start off with top free virtual private servers and then work our way through the top free trials, which usually last more than a month. Before we get started, it should be noted that for medium or large traffic sites should definitely get a paid, quality VPS to ensure speed and uptime. If you’re looking for something like a Minecraft VPS, you’ll likely need a stronger VPS, which the free trials mentioned in this article will have. That being said, if you’re looking to buy a VPS package, check out my VPS coupon page so that you can get the best deal. So, let’s begin with our honorable mentions!

Top 3 Companies That Offer Free VPS Services

1) SkySilk 

SkySilk provides a wide range of cloud-based hosting services. Currently, in beta stage, they are offering free VPS for a limited time. Once they go live, users will be able to continue with the free basic plan. Being a new arrival, they are trying everything possible to offer the best user experience. So, one can take advantage of their free VPS offer while it exists. Let’s take a look at the specs now:

Specs:

• 2GB Storage
• 256 MB RAM
• 1 CPU CORE

As of this writing (Jan 2018), you can get SkySilk’s standard plan completely free. According to their pricing model, that’s $62 in VPS value per month for free. This is easily the best free VPS service given the specs and support they’re offering. That said, this offer is only during their beta phase (but they will continue to offer their free plan forever!). An excellent time to try VPS’s for your website or applications – I highly recommend.

Pros:

Users are provided VPS with root access. Apart from regular webmasters, developers can also use their platform for the sake of testing and building cloud-based applications. They provide weekly data backup as well. They have streamlined a lot of things during the beta phase. As a result, they appear to be an interesting web hosting prospect. Given that its a relatively new company, I would say it is definitely worth a shot. They need users for testing and will be providing the best possible support at this time as they try to build a client base, making it a worthwhile shot.

Cons:

Although it’s a free service, you need to enter your credit card information at the time of registration. According to the company, it helps them test their payment gateway, verification process, and billing system before they go live.

2) GratisVPS

For a regret-free choice, you can try GratisVPS free VPS server. Truthfully speaking, it’s not the best Windows VPS of all times, but it’s more than what you can ask for in a free deal. They are an old time player in the web industry. With a team of 100+staff, they do their job

pretty well. The configuration is not small and shrinking, but rather commendable for a free VPS hosting. Moreover, their interface for free Windows VPS and free Linux VPS is quite impressive. Let’s get to the specs now. Here’s what you get for free:

Specs:

• 2GB RAM
• 100GB bandwidth
• 1Gbps Uplink
• CPU 2vCore 3.2GHz

Pros:

The bandwidth of 100GB is pretty awesome. It’s as good as unlimited. Moreover, 1Gbps Uplink is something unheard about in a free package.

Cons:

It’s free for the first six months only. After six months, you will have to pay to continue with their services. Practically speaking, six months is enough duration to make a reasonable amount of money to take care of the outgoings. This, combined with the other free offers below will keep you hosted for a while. That being said, there are no excellent free solutions. If you’re hosting a medium or high traffic site, check out our page on VPS discounts, coupons, and offers, so that you can get quality VPS services at a discounted price.

3) 5 Jelly

Why pay VPS fee, when you can get VPS free? For those who don’t know, 5 Jelly has been offering free VPS for years. It helped them create brand awareness and flourish in this cut-throat competitive arena. They are pretty upfront about their offers. So, let’s take a look at the specs of their free VPS plan.

Specs:

• 1GB Memory
• 2.4 Ghz Processor
• 20GB Storage

Pros:

Activation is pretty instant with no waiting period whatsoever. There are no hidden costs, and you will be able to perform a wide range of management tasks on the Cpanel. You also get to choose between Linux and Windows servers. To get more advanced features, all you have to do is refer some friends, and they will upgrade your specs.

Cons:

It’s good for small projects only. For larger projects, you are better off going for paid services such as GoDaddy VPS, KVM VPS, OpenVZ VPS, VPS gratis (paid version), Centos VPS, or some other reputable hosting providers. These paid options are far more reliable for a larger site because they could offer unconditional support, unlimited bandwidth VPS, offshore VPS, larger storage, or unmanaged and unmetered VPS servers.

Top 3 Trial VPS Services

1) Amazon VPS services

Of course, Amazon is not just another anonymous VPS provider out there. Although a secondary project for the giant company, it offers rock-solid hosting packages. As an incentive to use their hosting services, Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides one year of FREE VPS trial. Yes, trial VPS for the entire year. Now, let’s take a look at the specs of the free VPS package:

Specs:

• 30 GB SSD storage
• 15 GB bandwidth
• 1 GB of RAM

Pros:

30 GB free storage on a free deal is pretty amazing, to say the least. The overall specs are good enough to keep a site running 24/7 for the whole year.  It’s a great deal for startups that often run into budget constraints in the initial stages. Also, since its Amazon, you can trust that they’re servers are reliable with almost no downtime.

Cons:

If you max out on the free quota, expect an upsell for paid services. So, it’s free as long as you stay within the allocated specs. Moreover, users have to enter their credit card information to avail the VPS free trial. Other than the $1 verification charge (which is instantly returned) the cc is not billed for 12 months. This is an excellent medium-term solution if you’re looking into a VPS or just need a temporary host

2) Windows Azure

Microsoft’s Windows Azure has made life easier for a lot of startups with their cheap Windows VPS. Did we say, cheap? Actually, it’s not cheap, but absolutely free for the first month. Woo Hoo! There’s no better way to experiment the cloud interface than to use the free package for the entire 30-days. Let’s take a look at the allowance that you get with the free VPS package.

Specs:

• 750 small compute hours every month
• High Storage availability of 20GB with 50,000 storage transactions
• Unlimited inbound & 20GB outbound
• 1 GB web edition and SQL Azure database to store data

Pros:

They provide a free and risk-free way to evaluate their service by letting you turn off the spending limit features once you max out on the free trial. Moreover, users are offered $200 free credit in addition to the free 30-days trial. How does it work? Once you signup, you get $200 for their Azure services. Once the $200 is used up (or a month has gone by), your trial ends. I’ve personally used this and it’s an excellent VPS trial because you can use the $200 for higher quality servers and performance.

Cons:

If you run out of the credit, your services will be deployed. You will have to allow them to charge you to restore your package. So, it’s not a perfect fit for large sites or rapidly growing ones. Also, their platform can be difficult to use because it’s very technical and comprehensive – Google is your friend here.

3) Google Cloud VPS

Google’s cloud-based hosting is offering full 60 days free VPS worth $300 at no cost. All you need is a Google account to unlock the free offer. With certain uptime guarantee, fast servers, and good customer support, it’s worth a shot. Let’s check what you get with this trial.

Specs

• 3.7GB of Ram
• 1 Core with 100 GB SSD Disk
• 4gbps Fast Port Speed
• $300 free credit to spend

Pros:

The specs offer enough power to run a small app or a site like a breeze. The setup part is also easy. There is no software needed for the same. One simply needs to follow some steps. So, it’s a good option for webmasters who are starting off with low-budget and less knowledge. Users are also offered the option to choose between Windows and Linux server, depending on individual preference.

Cons:

Google’s cloud-based hosting prices are higher than the hosting companies in the same space. Also, to prove that your account is legit, they require you to provide your credit card information at the time of registration. However, no charge is levied on the cc unless a user manually upgrades to a paid feature.