Hosting.com’s post-merger limits created a vacuum. Traffic-rich sites that depended on root access and broad PHP customisation are scrambling for answers—yet no single article maps price + performance + location in one place. That were we come in to help you offer alternatives.
The Great VPS Clamp-Down
What happened after the A2 Hosting merger with Hosting.com, and how to escape.
Your Managed VPS Just Got Downgraded
When A2 Hosting became Hosting.com, they promised a better experience. Instead, power users lost the critical features they relied on, with no warning.
Root Access
The single most impactful change. You are now a jailed user, unable to install agents, tweak services, or harden your OS.
Hour Support SLA
Need a simple `sudo` command run? Reports indicate a 2-day turnaround, making urgent fixes impossible.
Backup History Slashed
Your safety net is gone. Softaculous rotations were cut from user-defined to just 3 copies, drastically reducing your rollback history.
Locked SSH Port
You can no longer hide SSH on an alternate port, exposing your server to a much larger automated attack surface.
Observability Blackout
Despite their KB, support now refuses to install monitoring agents. You can't see what's happening on your own server.
"One-Size-Fits-All" PHP
Custom `php.ini` overrides are gone. All your apps share the same conservative defaults, killing performance on busy sites.
The Escape Routes: Regain Your Freedom
Hosting.com's advice is to switch to their "Unmanaged" plan, but true managed providers still offer root access. Here’s how they stack up.
| Provider | Root on Managed? | Key Perks |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting.com (New) | No | Faster infrastructure (as claimed). |
| ScalaHosting | Optional | SPanel, NVMe storage, free daily backups. |
| KnownHost | Yes | cPanel/WHM or DirectAdmin bundles, 2x daily backups. |
| Liquid Web | Yes | InterWorx/cPanel choice, 100% uptime SLA. |
VPS Provider Cheat Sheet: Managed with Root Access
Below is a quick-scan “cheat sheet” that readers on Reddit (and your blog) are likely to hunt for when they realise Hosting.com’s Managed VPS no longer fits their needs. I focused on plans that still give root access (or equivalent) and have public pricing as of July 2025.
| Provider & Entry Plan | Price / Mo | Key Performance Spec† | Root? | Data-centre Options (High-Level) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScalaHosting – Build #1 | $19.95 intro, $24.95 renew | Custom-build RAM/CPU (+ NVMe). Servers run up to 4.1 GHz and 10 Gbps network | Yes | 13 sites on 4 continents incl. Dallas, New York, Sofia, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Mumbai, Sydney … |
| KnownHost – Basic Managed VPS | $43.25 | 4 vCPU ▸ 6 GB RAM ▸ 100 GB NVMe ▸ 3 TB bandwidth | Yes | Atlanta (US-E), Seattle (US-W), Amsterdam (EU) |
| Liquid Web – General Ubuntu VPS | $17 | 2 vCPU ▸ 4 GB RAM ▸ 80 GB SSD ▸ 3 TB bw (100 % uptime SLA) | Yes | Lansing (MI), Phoenix (AZ), Ashburn (VA), San Jose (CA), Amsterdam (EU) |
| BigScoots – Pure SSD VPS 1 | $54.95 | 2 dedicated cores ▸ 2.5 GB RAM ▸ 25 GB SSD (RAID-10) ▸ 1.5 TB bw | Yes | Own gear in Tier III+ Chicago carrier-hotel facility |
| Cloudways – Vultr High-Freq 1 GB | $13 | 1 vCPU @ 3 GHz+ ▸ 1 GB RAM ▸ 32 GB NVMe ▸ 1 TB bw | Limited | 32 + Vultr POPs worldwide (NYC, LA, London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney …) |
| DigitalOcean – Basic Droplet 1 GB | $6 | 1 vCPU ▸ 1 GB RAM ▸ 25 GB NVMe ▸ 1 TB bw (unmanaged) | Yes | 13 DCs in 9 regions (NYC, SFO, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Singapore, Sydney, ATL1, etc.) |
†Numbers are the public “entry” tier of each family; higher tiers scale proportionally.
How to Read (and Use) the Grid
Cost vs. Management Effort
- ScalaHosting and KnownHost price higher than totally unmanaged clouds, but they still bundle security patching, firewalls and daily backups, making them closest to what ex-Hosting.com users had—plus full root.
- Liquid Web is the price-leader among classic managed hosts but only in US/EU regions.
- Cloudways sits in the middle: you get a managed control plane, but underlying servers are single-tenant Vultr nodes you can leave any time.
- DigitalOcean is bargain-level but self-serve; pair it with a panel like CyberPanel or buy their optional “Cloudways” addon if you need hand-holding.
Performance Flags That Matter
- NVMe storage is now table-stakes for everyone except some Liquid Web tiers (still SSD).
- KnownHost publicly advertises AMD EPYC 9000-series hosts, great for heavy PHP/Node workloads.
- Cloudways’ Vultr HF nodes run >3 GHz clocks, giving single-thread wins for WordPress and WooCommerce.
- ScalaHosting lets you graphically add CPU/RAM on the fly—handy if you’re worried about outgrowing another fixed-tier plan.
Location, Location, Location
Latency is the main SEO + UX driver once you leave a host. Use the table to shortlist providers with POPs near your readership (e.g., Mumbai or Sydney), then run a quick ping or Lighthouse test.
Migration Friction
KnownHost KickStart, Liquid Web migration and BigScoots white-glove all copy sites + email for you. If you go Cloudways/DO, you’ll likely use SSH/Rsync or a plugin such as All-in-One WP Migration.
Typical Decision Patterns Community Members Ask About
| Scenario | What People Usually Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want a managed VPS that still allows kernel-level tweaks | KnownHost or ScalaHosting | Hands-off but no “jailed” shell; direct firewall rules, Docker, etc. |
| Need the cheapest exit from Hosting.com just to regain root | DigitalOcean (with optional CyberPanel) | $6–$7 gets you full root + NVMe; you self-admin backups & updates. |
| Global-audience SaaS wants edge POPs in APAC & EU | Cloudways / Vultr HF | 30 + DCs and anycast CDN; click-deploy clones to a new region. |
| Heavy e-commerce, US traffic peaks, wants 100 % SLA | Liquid Web | Dual US DCs + Amsterdam, 100 % uptime guarantee, 59-sec support. |
| Agency with 20+ WordPress installs, values phone-number support | BigScoots | Fixed Chicago DC gives consistent latency to NA/EU, proven WP expertise. |
Bottom Line
Hosting.com’s post-merger “managed” VPS has quietly shifted from a flexible, power-user product to a locked-down, entry-level service—removing root, custom PHP tuning, extra backup rotations, and even basic monitoring installs. If you need control, speed, or audit-grade backups, you now have just two practical options:Switch to an unmanaged VPS or a root-friendly managed provider (ScalaHosting, KnownHost, Liquid Web, etc.) and migrate on your own timetable.Stay put and accept the restrictions—but budget for slower troubleshooting, higher risk, and potential performance ceilings.