ColdFusion Hosting Providers Comparison

Choosing the right ColdFusion hosting provider impacts performance, security, support quality, and total cost of ownership. This comprehensive comparison evaluates leading CF 2025 hosting providers across critical dimensions including infrastructure, managed services, compliance, and real-world performance benchmarks.

Quick Recommendation by Use Case

Best for Small Business

Hostek

Why: Affordable shared hosting, excellent ColdFusion expertise, responsive support

Starting: $25/month

Best for Enterprise

Viviotech

Why: 24/7 managed services, compliance certifications, proven at scale

Starting: $500/month

Best for Compliance

Viviotech

Why: HIPAA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2 certified infrastructure and support

Starting: $750/month

Best for Flexibility

AWS / DIY

Why: Complete control, global infrastructure, pay-as-you-go

Effort: Requires CF expertise

Comprehensive Provider Comparison

FeatureHostekViviotechEdge Web HostingAWS (DIY)Azure (DIY)
CF 2025 SupportFull SupportFull SupportAvailableSelf-ManagedSelf-Managed
Managed ServicesPartially ManagedFully ManagedPartially ManagedSelf-ManagedSelf-Managed
Starting Price/Month$25 (shared)$500 (dedicated)$99 (VPS)~$150 (t3.large)~$175 (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 Hours24/7 (ticket/email)24/7 (phone/ticket)Business HoursAWS Support PlanAzure Support Plan
CF ExpertiseExpert (20+ years)Expert (25+ years)StrongYour TeamYour Team
Performance SLA99.9%99.99%99.9%99.99% (multi-AZ)99.95%
Security & ComplianceSSL, Firewall, BackupsHIPAA, PCI, SOC 2SSL, Firewall, BackupsDIY (certs available)DIY (certs available)
Automatic BackupsDaily (30 days)Hourly (90 days)Daily (14 days)Manual SetupManual Setup
CF Updates/PatchesAssistedFully ManagedAssistedYour ResponsibilityYour Responsibility
JVM TuningOn RequestProactiveLimitedYour ResponsibilityYour Responsibility
ScalabilityVertical (upgrade)Vertical + HorizontalVertical (upgrade)Auto-ScalingAuto-Scaling
Migration AssistanceFreeFree (Premium)AvailableNoneNone

Real-World Performance Benchmarks

Based on standardized ColdFusion 2025 application testing across providers (500 concurrent users, mixed workload)

Hostek (VPS Standard)

Response Time (P95)178ms
Throughput1,847 req/s
Uptime (90 days)99.94%

Viviotech (Managed Dedicated)

Response Time (P95)142ms
Throughput2,634 req/s
Uptime (90 days)99.98%

Edge Web (VPS)

Response Time (P95)195ms
Throughput1,623 req/s
Uptime (90 days)99.91%

AWS EC2 (t3.xlarge, optimized)

Response Time (P95)156ms
Throughput2,847 req/s
Uptime (90 days)99.99%

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 ($25-75/mo) → VPS ($99-399/mo) → Dedicated ($500-800/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: Managed VPS ($500-1,200/mo) → Dedicated ($1,500-5,000/mo) → Enterprise (custom)

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 ($70) + EBS ($30) + RDS ($50) + backups/data transfer (~$50) = $150-300/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 ($95) + Managed Disk ($35) + SQL Database ($65) + networking (~$30) = $175-350/mo baseline

3-Year Total Cost of Ownership

Hostek (VPS)

Hosting$10,764
Migration$0
Management$0
Total$10,764

Viviotech (Managed)

Hosting$54,000
Migration$0
Management$0 (included)
Total$54,000

AWS (DIY)

Infrastructure$9,000
DevOps Time$36,000
Support Plan$3,600
Total$48,600

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

1

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%)
2

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)
3

Calculate True TCO

Include hidden costs:

  • DevOps time for self-managed (10-20 hrs/month)
  • Compliance audit costs
  • Migration and onboarding
  • Downtime risk costs
4

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

🚩 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

Need Help Choosing?

Convective has 20+ years of experience deploying ColdFusion across every major hosting platform. We can assess your requirements, benchmark providers, and recommend the optimal hosting solution for your needs.

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