# Vultr alternative for PHP hosting

> 

## Vultr alternative for PHP at a glance

**fortrabbit is a managed PaaS built exclusively for PHP.** Vultr is a competitive cloud-infra provider — VPS, bare metal, GPU, object storage, with data centers around the world and aggressive pricing on raw compute. But Vultr gives you a Linux server and root access; everything above the OS is your job: web server, PHP-FPM, MySQL, SSL, patches, monitoring, and the constant pressure of keeping the stack current.

If you want to skip the server-administration layer entirely, fortrabbit gives you a tuned PHP environment on top — git push deploys, integrated MySQL, atomic releases, persistent storage, SSL by default, and direct human support. You trade some flexibility for far less operational overhead. Plans start at €2.50 per month; the trial doesn't require a credit card.

## Vultr vs fortrabbit — feature comparison

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Feature
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Vultr
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Abstraction
    </td>
    
    <td>
      VPS, root access
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Managed PaaS
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      PHP runtime
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DIY
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Pre-tuned, version-pinned
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Web server
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DIY
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Managed
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Managed MySQL
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Paid service
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Native
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Deployment
    </td>
    
    <td>
      SSH, own scripts
    </td>
    
    <td>
      git push
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      SSL certificates
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DIY
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Automatic Let's Encrypt
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Patching / updates
    </td>
    
    <td>
      DIY
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Managed
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Backups
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Paid add-on, DIY
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Built-in
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Region
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Global
    </td>
    
    <td>
      EU (Germany)
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Support
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Tiered, paid for fast
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Human chat, all plans
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Pricing model
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per-VPS, hourly
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per-app, monthly
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Time-to-first-deploy
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Hours
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Minutes
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Pricing comparison

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Use case
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Vultr (DIY)
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Small site / dev
    </td>
    
    <td>
      $6 VPS + your time setting it up
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €5 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Production app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      $24 VPS + managed DB + backups ≈ <strong>
        $50+ / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €30 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Scaled app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      $96+ VPS + add-ons + sysadmin hours
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €60–€120 / mo
      </strong>
      
       depending on tier
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Vultr's monthly fee is competitive — until you count the engineering hours spent on stack setup, patching, monitoring, backups, and incident response. See <content-link href="/pricing" text="fortrabbit pricing">



</content-link>

 for the current matrix.

## Migrating from Vultr to fortrabbit

1. **Provision the app on fortrabbit.** Pick a region (EU) and a plan. The free trial is enough to validate the move.
2. **Add the MySQL component.** From your Vultr server, `mysqldump` and import via fortrabbit's SSH tunnel — see <content-link href="/guides/general/mysql-import" text="MySQL import guide" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

.
3. **Connect your git provider.** Install the fortrabbit GitHub App (or connect GitLab / Bitbucket) and link your existing repo to the new fortrabbit app — see <content-link href="/platform/deployment/intro" text="deployment intro" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

. Pushes to your branch trigger an automatic deploy; Composer install runs as part of it.
4. **Move environment variables and secrets.** Set them in the fortrabbit dashboard.
5. **Move uploads and assets.** rsync from your Vultr server into your fortrabbit app's persistent storage via SFTP / SSH.
6. **Cut over DNS.** Add the domain in the fortrabbit dashboard, update the DNS record, and watch the certificate issue automatically via Let's Encrypt.
7. **Decommission the VPS.** Once cutover is verified, retire the Vultr server.

## Why teams switch

- **No server maintenance.** No patches, no firewall rules, no NGINX configs to debug at 11pm.
- **PHP-first ergonomics.** Composer, OPcache, PHP version pinning, integrated MySQL.
- **Human support.** You talk to engineers, not a ticket queue.
- **Predictable bills.** Per-app monthly pricing, no per-hour math, no add-on stacking.

For background on Vultr itself, see our <content-link href="/hosting-guide/providers/vps/vultr" text="hosting guide entry">



</content-link>

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