ColdFusion Hosting Providers Comparison
Honest analysis to help you make the right choice
Quick Recommendation by Use Case
Best for Small Business
Why: Affordable shared hosting, excellent ColdFusion expertise, responsive support
Starting: $16/month
Best for Enterprise
Why: 24/7 managed services, compliance certifications, proven at scale
Starting: $500/month
Best for Compliance
Why: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 certified infrastructure and support
Starting: $750/month
Best for Flexibility
Why: Complete control, global infrastructure, pay-as-you-go
Effort: Requires CF expertise
Comprehensive Provider Comparison
| Feature | Hostek | Viviotech | Edge Web Hosting | AWS (DIY) | Azure (DIY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CF 2025 Support | Full Support | Full Support | Available | Self-Managed | Self-Managed |
| Managed Services | Partially Managed | Fully Managed | Partially Managed | Self-Managed | Self-Managed |
| Starting Price/Month | $16 (shared) | $10 (VPS) | $99 (VPS) | ~$61 (t3.large) | ~$70-137 (D2s v3) |
| Enterprise Price Range | $200-800/mo | $1,500-5,000/mo | $300-1,200/mo | $500-3,000/mo | $600-3,500/mo |
| Support Hours | 24/7 (ticket/email) | 24/7 (phone/ticket) | Business Hours | AWS Support Plan | Azure Support Plan |
| CF Expertise | Expert (20+ years) | Expert (25+ years) | Strong | Your Team | Your Team |
| Performance SLA | 99.9% | 99.99% | 99.9% | 99.99% (multi-AZ) | 99.95% |
| Security & Compliance | SSL, Firewall, Backups | HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2 | SSL, Firewall, Backups | DIY (certs available) | DIY (certs available) |
| Automatic Backups | Daily (30 days) | Hourly (90 days) | Daily (14 days) | Manual Setup | Manual Setup |
| CF Updates/Patches | Assisted | Fully Managed | Assisted | Your Responsibility | Your Responsibility |
| JVM Tuning | On Request | Proactive | Limited | Your Responsibility | Your Responsibility |
| Scalability | Vertical (upgrade) | Vertical + Horizontal | Vertical (upgrade) | Auto-Scaling | Auto-Scaling |
| Migration Assistance | Free | Free (Premium) | Available | None | None |
Real-World Performance Benchmarks
Performance metrics from internal benchmarks using standardized ColdFusion 2025 tests with 500 concurrent users and mixed workload. Results will vary based on configuration, workload, and other factors.
Hostek (VPS Standard)
Viviotech (Managed Dedicated)
Edge Web (VPS)
AWS EC2 (t3.xlarge, optimized)
Detailed Provider Profiles
Hostek
Best For: Small to medium businesses, budget-conscious teams, shared/VPS hosting
Strengths:
- 20+ years ColdFusion hosting experience
- Affordable entry-level plans starting at $25/month
- Free migration assistance
- cPanel/WHM for easy management
- Daily backups included
- Responsive support with CF expertise
Considerations:
- Shared hosting has resource limits
- Limited compliance certifications
- Less suitable for high-traffic enterprise apps
Pricing: Shared (from $16/mo) → VPS (from $164/mo) → Cloud (from $327/mo)
Viviotech
Best For: Enterprise applications, compliance requirements (HIPAA/PCI), mission-critical systems
Strengths:
- 25+ years ColdFusion expertise
- Fully managed services (24/7 support, proactive monitoring)
- HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 Type II compliance
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Dedicated account management
- Proactive JVM tuning and optimization
- Automated patch management
Considerations:
- Higher cost (premium pricing)
- May be overkill for simple applications
- Minimum commitment typically required
Pricing: VPS (from $10/mo) → Managed VPS (from $500/mo) → Dedicated (custom pricing)
Edge Web Hosting
Best For: Mid-sized businesses, developers wanting more control, growing applications
Strengths:
- Strong ColdFusion knowledge base
- Good price/performance ratio
- Flexible VPS and cloud options
- Windows and Linux support
- Daily backups (14-day retention)
Considerations:
- Business hours support (not 24/7)
- Less comprehensive managed services than Viviotech
- Limited compliance certifications
Pricing: VPS ($99-299/mo) → Cloud ($199-799/mo) → Dedicated ($600-1,200/mo)
AWS (Do-It-Yourself)
Best For: Teams with DevOps expertise, global scale requirements, need for custom architecture
Strengths:
- Global infrastructure (26 regions)
- Auto-scaling and load balancing
- Pay-as-you-go pricing model
- Integration with AWS services (RDS, S3, CloudFront, etc.)
- Compliance certifications available (HIPAA, PCI, FedRAMP)
- Complete infrastructure control
Considerations:
- Requires ColdFusion and AWS expertise
- You manage all CF updates, patches, tuning
- No CF-specific support (AWS support doesn't cover CF)
- Cost can escalate quickly without optimization
- Significant DevOps overhead
Estimated Costs: t3.large (~$61) + EBS ($30) + RDS ($50) + backups/data transfer (~$50) = $150-250/mo baseline
Azure (Do-It-Yourself)
Best For: Microsoft-centric organizations, hybrid cloud scenarios, global enterprise deployments
Strengths:
- Strong Windows Server integration
- 60+ regions worldwide
- Hybrid cloud capabilities (Azure Arc)
- Enterprise support options
- Compliance certifications (90+ compliance offerings)
Considerations:
- Similar to AWS: requires CF and Azure expertise
- All CF management is your responsibility
- No CF-specific support from Microsoft
- Slightly higher baseline costs than AWS
- Learning curve if not familiar with Azure
Estimated Costs: D2s v3 (~$70-137) + Managed Disk ($35) + SQL Database ($65) + networking (~$30) = $175-300/mo baseline
3-Year Total Cost of Ownership
Monthly hosting prices only tell part of the story. The real cost includes the time you spend managing things yourself.
Hostek (VPS)
Viviotech (Managed)
AWS (DIY)
Note: AWS/Azure costs include estimated DevOps time (10 hrs/month @ $100/hr) for CF management, updates, tuning. Managed providers include this in their pricing.
How to Choose Your Provider
The right choice depends on your situation. Work through these steps before you commit.
Assess Your Requirements
- Traffic volume and growth projections
- Compliance needs (HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2)
- Budget constraints
- Internal CF/DevOps expertise
- Required SLA (99.9% vs 99.99%)
Evaluate Support Needs
- Fully Managed: Viviotech (24/7 CF expertise, proactive management)
- Partially Managed: Hostek, Edge (CF expertise, on-request assistance)
- Self-Managed: AWS/Azure (infrastructure only, you manage CF)
Calculate True TCO
Include hidden costs:
- DevOps time for self-managed (10-20 hrs/month)
- Compliance audit costs
- Migration and onboarding
- Downtime risk costs
Test Performance
- Request proof of concept or trial period
- Run realistic load tests
- Measure response times under load
- Evaluate support responsiveness
Red Flags to Avoid
We've seen these warning signs lead to trouble. Trust your instincts if something feels off.
🚩 No CF 2025 Experience
Provider hasn't deployed CF 2025 in production. Stick with providers who have 2025-specific expertise.
🚩 Vague SLAs
"Best effort" uptime or support response. Demand specific SLA terms in writing.
🚩 Shared Resources Unknown
Provider won't disclose server density or resource allocation. Ask for guarantees.
🚩 No Backup Strategy
Backups are "optional" or provider relies solely on your backups. Insist on automated, tested backups.
🚩 Outdated CF Knowledge
Support references CF 10/11 best practices. Ensure team knows CF 2025 specifics (Tomcat 10.1, JDK 17, cfpm).
🚩 No Migration Path
Provider can't explain how to scale or migrate when needs grow. Plan for growth from day one.
Related Resources
- Containerization Guide - Docker and Kubernetes deployment for ColdFusion 2025
- Monitoring Tools Comparison - Choose the right monitoring solution for your hosting environment
- TCO Calculator - Calculate total cost including hosting, infrastructure, and operations
- Performance Framework - Optimize CF performance on any hosting platform
- Security Framework - Harden CF security regardless of hosting provider
- When to Use ColdFusion - Platform decision framework
Want a second opinion?
Choosing hosting is a bigger decision than it looks. Convective has deployed ColdFusion across every major platform over 20+ years—we can help you think through the trade-offs and avoid expensive mistakes.
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