"As a managed eCommerce hosting provider, Scalesta works closely with Magento projects of different sizes and complexity. Our experience with real-world performance challenges and infrastructure scaling is what motivated this comparison - to provide a clear, practical overview of hosting options that genuinely work for Magento."
| Factor | Managed Hosting | Unmanaged Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Technical expertise required | Minimal | High |
| Monthly cost | Higher ($20-300+) | Lower ($10-100) |
| Time investment | Low | High |
| Security responsibility | Provider | You |
| Magento optimization | Often included | Your responsibility |
| Support quality | Specialized | Generic |
Choosing between managed and unmanaged hosting depends on traffic levels, internal expertise, and growth plans. For Magento stores, even small infrastructure misconfigurations can lead to performance issues, downtime, or lost revenue.
If you want expert input tailored to your specific setup, Scalesta’s team can help you evaluate whether fully managed hosting makes sense for your business.
Talk to a Magento Hosting Expert:
| Store Size | Typical Needs | Recommended Hosting Type |
|---|---|---|
| Small stores (under 1,000 products) |
• 4–8 GB RAM • 2–4 CPU cores • 50–100 GB SSD storage |
VPS or managed entry-level hosting (shared hosting only for very low traffic) |
| Medium stores (1,000–10,000 products) |
• 8–16 GB RAM • 4–8 CPU cores • 200–500 GB SSD storage | Managed VPS or cloud hosting |
| Large stores (10,000+ products) |
• 16–32 GB RAM • 8+ high-performance CPU cores • 500 GB+ SSD with backups | Dedicated servers or high-tier managed cloud |
| Your Experience Level | What to Look For | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner / non-technical |
• Fully managed hosting • User-friendly control panel • Automated updates & backups • 24/7 guided support | Fully managed Magento hosting |
| Intermediate |
• Managed VPS with configurable settings • Staging environments • Optional hands-on support | Managed VPS or flexible managed cloud |
| Advanced / developers |
• Root access • Custom server configurations • Automation & API access | Unmanaged VPS or dedicated servers |
| Hosting Tier | Typical Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | $3–15 | Rarely suitable for Magento |
| Basic VPS | $20–50 | Entry-level Magento projects |
| Entry cloud hosting | $30–80 | Scalable, better reliability |
| Managed Magento hosting | $50–300 | Performance tuning & support included |
| Dedicated servers | $100–500 | Maximum control & performance |
| Enterprise cloud | $200–1000+ | High availability, advanced SLAs |
Also factor in SSL certificates, backups, disaster recovery, scaling costs, migration fees, and premium support.
| What to Verify | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Magento-specific case studies | Indicates real-world experience |
| Trained Magento support staff | Faster issue resolution |
| Quality documentation | Easier troubleshooting |
| Pre-sales support responsiveness | Predicts future support quality |
| Migration & launch assistance | Reduces downtime risk |
| Requirement | Must-Have Features |
|---|---|
| Core security | SSL, regular patching, malware scanning |
| Threat protection | WAF, DDoS mitigation |
| Compliance | PCI DSS support, GDPR/CCPA readiness |
| Data safety | Automated backups & disaster recovery |
| Data location | Regional data center options if required |
| What to Test | Why |
|---|---|
| Page load times | Direct impact on conversions |
| Checkout speed | Prevent cart abandonment |
| Admin panel responsiveness | Daily operational efficiency |
| Database performance | Large catalog stability |
| Uptime during peak traffic | Sales-critical reliability |
Scalesta specializes in fully managed Magento hosting, helping stores stay fast, stable, and ready for growth - without requiring an in-house DevOps team.
To get personalized recommendations and see how your store’s infrastructure can be optimized for performance, reliability, and scale: