Top Free Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers
Check out our list of free Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers. Products featured on this list are the ones that offer a free trial version. As with most free versions, there are limitations, typically time or features.
If you'd like to see more products and to evaluate additional feature options, compare all Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers to ensure you get the right product.
AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (AWS - EC2) is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. It is designed to make web-scale computing easier for developers. AWS EC2۪s simple web service interface allows you to obtain and configure capacity with minimal friction. It provides you with complete control of your computing resources and lets you run on Amazon۪s proven computing environment. AWS EC2 reduces the time required to obtain and boot new server instances to minutes, allowi
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with our Linux virtual machines and robust set of tools to develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and easier. Linode believes that in order to accelerate innovation in the cloud, virtual computing must be more accessible, affordable, and simple. Our infrastructure-as-a-service platform is deployed across 11 global markets from our data centers around the world and is supported by our Next Generation Network, advanced APIs, comprehensive ser
OVHcloud is a global provider of hyperscale cloud, which offers businesses a benchmark for value and performance in the sector. Founded in 1999, the group manages and maintains 30 datacentres in 12 sites across four continents, deploys its own global fibre optic network, and manages the entire supply chain for web hosting. Running on its own infrastructures, OVHcloud provides simple, powerful tools for businesses, revolutionising the way that more than 1.5 million customers work across the glo
CloudSigma, a pure-cloud IaaS provider with advanced hybrid hosting solutions enabling the digital industrial economy, offers highly-available, flexible, enterprise-class cloud servers and cloud hosting solutions in Europe, U.S. and APAC.
With the Enterprise Cloud, you receive a modern IaaS platform for cloud computing—highly available, secure, reliable, and with fast software defined networking. This means you receive precisely the virtual IT infrastructure that your company actually needs. The drag and drop feature in our Data Center Designer allows you to put together the resources for your customised virtual data centre, without any rigid, prefab packages. Our live vertical scaling gives you the option of flexibly adding new
Brightbox provides high-performance virtualised servers, optimised for hosting Ruby on Rails. Each Brightbox server comes with hardware RAID storage, access to our managed MySQL cluster and the Brightbox Rails stack preinstalled.
CenturyLink® Public Cloud services allow you to economically start, grow and support applications using on-demand server resources in a virtualized environment that is easily accessible over a public network. CenturyLink® Public Cloud services allow you to economically start, grow and support applications using on-demand server resources in a virtualized environment that is easily accessible over a public network. CenturyLink allows you to create, run and scale apps with a portfolio of flexible
Scale Computing HC3 combines servers, storage, and virtualization into a single solution to make IT infrastructure easier for organizations of every size. Whether you have one IT administrator or hundreds, our award winning HC3 hyperconverged infrastructure eliminates complexity, lowers costs, and frees up management time. This creates a great alternative to VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V offerings.
Packet is the go-to cloud partner for today’s leading developers, empowering SaaS companies and Fortune 100’s alike to make infrastructure their competitive advantage with automated bare metal that can be deployed anywhere. With 20+ global public cloud locations, a seamless API experience, and the ability to manage custom hardware on-premises or at thousands of edge sites, Packet is ideal for both traditional and cloud native workloads. Notable logos include Sprint (Curiosity IoT), Hatch (real
DPLYR is a SaaS tool that helps developers to deploy web apps and databases on machines provided by the user or by us. We use a revolutionary algorithm that analyzes the users' projects to deploy it in less than 5 minutes. We support 75% of the world's code being deployed with DPLYR.
UnitedPrivateCloud is an enterprise-grade Software-Defined Private Cloud company. We are one of the world’s experts at building and operating highly available, secure, and scalable private clouds. G3 IaaS Private Cloud Platform is its 3rd generation private cloud solution, developed, hardened, and perfected over a period of 12 years, while serving many hundreds of enterprises and governments across the globe. G3 IaaS delivers high performance, 99.999% availability, locked-down security, and soft
Tap into Maxihost's platform and get credentials in just under 10 minutes for rock-solid dedicated hardware that delivers huge amounts of processing power, low latency, and an unmatched level of automation. Move your workload from the Public Cloud to Maxihost Bare Metal Cloud Platform and get more power for less cost. Maxihost Bare Metal Cloud is the best option for Streaming, VPNs, CDNs, Online Gaming and many other types of applications hungry for performance and bandwidth. > Unlimited in
What is Nerdio you ask? Nerdio, provides ridiculously easy IT automation for Managed Service Providers and their customers. Nerdio Private Cloud is a fully-integrated platform that delivers comprehensive IT infrastructure at your fingertips — including virtual hardware, software, security, BDR, and 24/7 tech-nerd support. Nerdio for Azure is the first IT automation technology that delivers easy pricing, provisioning, management, and cost-optimization of hybrid and full IT environments on th
Simply and efficiently host and move workloads between AWS and dedicated colocation in compliant, state-of-the-art QTS data centers.
Spin up dedicated servers in minutes. Spin Servers is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider that specializes in instant, monthly dedicated servers. Build your private cloud on bare metal, with enterprise private networking features and seamless IP address management with your hosted dedicated servers - no long-term commitments required.
VEXXHOST is an infrastructure-as-a-service provider based out of Canada. The company uses OpenStack as a base for infrastructure offerings, public and private cloud services. Other than our cloud computing services we also specialise in several cloud solutions, such as Kubernetes Enablement, Managed Zuul, OpenStack Upgrades and Consulting. Currently, we are running the largest OpenStack Public Cloud in Canada and we run multiple Private Clouds of varying scales worldwide. With our solutions of
Top 10 Free Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers in 2021
- Amazon EC2
- Linode
- OVHcloud
- CloudSigma
- IONOS Enterprise Cloud
- Brightbox
- CenturyLink Public Cloud
- HC3 Virtualization Platform
- Packet
- DPLYR
Learn More About Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Providers
What is Infrastructure as a Service?
IaaS, or infrastructure as a service, is a cloud computing model that outsources IT infrastructure. IaaS providers purchase and manage expensive, physical computing resources while providing a wide range of cloud services in return. Companies essentially rent out the provider’s processing power to virtualize servers, store data, and facilitate network traffic.
IaaS is typically considered the most bare bones offering model for cloud-based solutions. IaaS provides a wider range of functionality and customization compared to cloud platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) offerings. IaaS delivers computing power and management capabilities, while PaaS and SaaS provide a range of prebuilt tools and applications.
IaaS offerings allow businesses to create and utilize virtual hardware tools without buying, building, or hosting them. These tools are provided externally as virtualized servers, databases, or bandwidth, as well as other tools.
Key Benefits of Infrastructure as a Service
- Create a cost-effective cloud solution by outsourcing costly hardware and maintenance
- Scale IT operations on demand and quickly respond to changing IT needs
- Push web-based applications and products to market faster
- Pay only for the services and features your business needs
- Focus time and other resources on business growth rather than on underlying infrastructure
Why Use Infrastructure as a Service?
IaaS solutions can be a great fit for all businesses. For example, small businesses can avoid the costly process of building or buying in-house software solutions by using IaaS solutions. These tools can require heavy maintenance, but are managed by the service provider rather than the small business. Instead of hosting the tools onsite, they are distributed through multiple data centers and maintained by the IaaS provider.
IaaS solutions are ideal for growing businesses. They are highly scalable and are offered on a pay-per-use basis. This means that companies don’t have to worry about surprises in cost. As the company grows and utilizes an existing plan, they are already presented with the price for additional usage.
Small businesses with limited physical resources can subscribe to an IaaS solution and multiply their potential infrastructure. New, larger databases allow companies to use scalable storage solutions. Virtual desktops enable customers to utilize products across any platform. Companies are also provided with as much bandwidth as they need.
If a company has limited staff or time, they can also benefit from the automation of multiple tasks. This includes IT administrative duties, deployments, application monitoring, and others (depending on the provider). Providers control resources to optimize a company’s services or an application’s productivity.
Tech companies developing new software can benefit from IaaS solutions significantly during the development and testing phases. Application hosting and testing can be much cheaper through remote servers than through self-hosting. Users are able to test and deploy a tool multiple times without requiring in-house servers. They can then either keep an application hosted remotely or deploy it on in-house resources once the application is ready to be made publicly available.
Kinds of Infrastructure as a Service
It is common for IT departments to use a patchwork of IaaS solutions to manage web applications across multiple environments. However, this complex architecture needs to be evaluated constantly to maintain efficiency and meet business goals. Deciding between using public, private, or hybrid clouds usually comes down to performance and cost.
Public – Public clouds are the most cost-effective route when choosing an IaaS provider, as they allow businesses to reduce upfront spending on hardware and maintenance costs. Technical benefits of public cloud options include: scalability, reliability, and broader feature sets. Public cloud options are popular among startups and small businesses; however, they may not be the best fit for businesses operating in industries regulated by data security laws (HIPAA, PCI, etc.).
Private – Private clouds offer better security and compatibility for legacy web applications, as well as an easier migration process than public clouds. Private clouds can be housed in on-site data centers; however, most mid-market to enterprise-level businesses that use private clouds opt to use third-party IaaS service providers. Private clouds are popular among businesses in industries such as finance, health care, and commerce, where data security is held to a higher standard than in other industries.
Hybrid – Hybrid clouds provide a combination of the two options mentioned above. Hybrid clouds are popular among large enterprises and other businesses looking to find common ground between security and cost. This approach to IaaS allows businesses to process certain parts of a web application in a public cloud while storing and processing confidential data in a private cloud.
IaaS Features
Virtual Machines – Provides virtualized networks, applications, and operating systems. IaaS solutions deliver emulated tools using the provider’s physical resources. VMs expand a user’s access to operating systems and host environments without requiring expensive hardware.
Storage Management – Provides management tools for data storage, database configuration, and scaling. IaaS solutions give users access to a variety of databases and cloud storage applications that scale as use increases. Cloud-based storage can become especially important for preventing data loss.
Networking – Lets users provision networks, deliver content, balance loads, and manage traffic. Networking features allow users to choose how data is connected and networks are communicating.
Cloud Migration – Allows transferring data and virtual machines during adoption and maintenance. The digital transformation has caused many businesses to shift from on-premise infrastructure to cloud-based solutions. Cloud migration tools simplify and expedite the process of transferring systems to the cloud.
Analytics – Lets users analyze storage, performance, and connectivity. Analytics features can help optimize performance for users by managing traffic and resource allocation. Some IaaS solutions also have big data analytics features to help users process enormous data sets.
Maintenance – Enables maintenance to existing virtual machines to improve functionality and security. Maintenance features help users centralize control over their users, their endpoints, and the virtual machines they access.
Database Management — Supports managing different types of databases and integration methods. Database support can give users access to your cloud databases and sync them to facilitate live updates.
Potential Issues with Infrastructure as a Service
Security – During your evaluation process, you will need to take into consideration the data you plan on processing in your IaaS solution. Sensitive data such as intellectual property, medical records, and payment information require strict security controls. As regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) dictate how confidential data is stored and transferred, businesses governed by these will have to make sure their IaaS provider can meet these standards.
Existing infrastructure – Businesses with existing cloud infrastructure will have to consider the cost and effort necessary to migrate to or integrate with a new cloud solution. While migrating to a private cloud can be easier for businesses with existing infrastructure, public clouds offer broader feature sets and lower costs. Furthermore, several IaaS providers offer entire ecosystems around their solutions which can also influence buying decisions.
