AWS Amplify vs ScalaHosting (2026): Pricing, Features & Verdict
AWS Amplify is our pick, scoring 7.2/10 against 6.1/10 for ScalaHosting on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria. Its biggest advantage: higher Integration score (9/10 vs 5/10). For 10 users, AWS Amplify is free, against $25/mo for ScalaHosting; only AWS Amplify has a free plan.
Last updated: November 2026
AWS Amplify
7.2/10
AWS Amplify is a pay-as-you-go platform from Amazon Web Services for hosting web apps from Git and building full-stack backends on AWS.
ScalaHosting
6.1/10
Web hosting provider selling shared, managed cloud VPS and self-managed cloud VPS plans, built around its own SPanel control panel and SShield security tool.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | A AWS Amplify | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.2/10 | 6.1/10 |
| Integration | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $24.95/mo Self-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free Tier | $25/mo Self-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| Features | ||
| Content Delivery Network | ||
| Free SSL Certificates | ||
| Multiple Regions | ||
| Uptime SLA | ||
| API and CLI | Not listed | |
| Automatic Backups | Not listed | |
| Git Deployments | Not listed | |
| Managed Databases | Not listed | |
| Object Storage | Not listed | |
| Serverless Functions | Not listed | |
| Shared Hosting | Not listed | |
| VPS Hosting | Not listed | |
AWS Amplify vs ScalaHosting cost by team size
AWS Amplify costs less at every team size we checked.
| Team size | AWS Amplify | ScalaHosting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree Tier | $25/moSelf-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| 5 users | FreeFree Tier | $25/moSelf-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| 10 users | FreeFree Tier | $25/moSelf-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| 25 users | FreeFree Tier | $25/moSelf-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
| 50 users | FreeFree Tier | $25/moSelf-Managed Cloud Config 1 |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Who AWS Amplify and ScalaHosting suit
AWS Amplify fits developers better; ScalaHosting fits small business better.
| Audience | AWS Amplify | ScalaHosting |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | 4/10Setup and IAM complexity make it harder for non-technical small teams than simpler hosts. | 8/10Shared and managed VPS plans come with free migration, backups, SSL and support for the server stack, aimed at owners without in-house admins. |
| Developers | 8/10Built for front-end and full-stack developers, with a TypeScript backend, framework libraries and Git-based CI/CD, though it takes AWS knowledge. | 6/10Self-managed cloud VPS plans give root access and a choice of operating system, and SPanel adds SSH, WP-CLI and Git, but there is no infrastructure API or Terraform support. |
| Agencies | Not rated | 7/10Managed VPS plans add client permission roles, collaborators, white labeling and WHMCS integration for reselling client sites. |
| E-commerce | Not rated | 6/10Plans are marketed as ecommerce-enabled on PCI-compliant infrastructure, though the entry cloud tier has limited RAM. |
| Enterprise | 7/10Compliance programs including SOC, PCI, ISO and HIPAA, WAF integration and IAM controls suit organisations standardised on AWS. | Not rated |
| Freelancers | Not rated | 7/10A user review describes a developer running client sites and a WooCommerce store on one account, managed through SPanel. |
| SaaS Companies | 7/10Wildcard subdomains, Cognito auth and real-time AppSync data support multi-tenant SaaS apps on AWS. | Not rated |
| Startups | 7/10No seat fees and a 12-month free tier help early teams, but reports of surprise charges call for watching billing closely. | Not rated |
Which One Should You Choose?
AWhy choose AWS Amplify
- Has a free plan (ScalaHosting does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $25/mo
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for developers (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose ScalaHosting
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for small business (8/10 vs 4/10)
Pros & Cons
AAWS Amplify
Pros
- No per-seat fees: team access is free and you pay only for builds, storage, transfer and SSR usage.
- Gen 2 lets developers define Cognito auth, AppSync and DynamoDB data and Lambda functions in TypeScript, then extend them with any AWS resource through the CDK.
- Git branches map to environments, pull requests can get preview deployments, and deployments are atomic.
- AWS publishes a 99.95% monthly uptime SLA with tiered service credits.
- Amplify is in scope for SOC, PCI, ISO, HIPAA, HITRUST and other AWS compliance programs, and integrates with AWS WAF.
Cons
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra say the learning curve is steep and debugging complex apps is hard.
- Comparison articles say IAM setup and configuration are much heavier than on Vercel or Netlify.
- Next.js support has documented gaps: no on-demand ISR, no Edge API routes, a 5.72 MB response size cap and a 220 MB build output limit for SSR apps.
- Bills spread across many AWS services are hard to predict, and some users report unexpected charges from resources left running.
- Some reviewers find Gen 2 restrictive when an app strays from its expected path, and the Gen 1 versus Gen 2 split confuses them.
ScalaHosting
Pros
- SPanel is included free on managed VPS plans, so customers avoid cPanel licence fees that other VPS hosts pass on.
- Managed VPS plans include daily offsite backups, a dedicated IP, SShield malware and brute-force protection, and free migrations at no extra cost.
- An anytime money-back guarantee refunds unused time, with a full refund in the first 30 days for web, reseller and VPS hosting.
- Resources can be scaled one component at a time (CPU, RAM, storage) with clear per-unit add-on prices.
- Strong user ratings, with about 4.8 on G2 and 4.9 on Trustpilot from thousands of reviews.
Cons
- Renewal prices are roughly two to four times the intro rates, and the lowest prices need a 36-month prepayment.
- Billing and pre-sales support is not 24/7, and there is no phone support.
- Only three company-owned data centers. Other regions run on partner clouds.
- There is no infrastructure API, Terraform provider, managed Kubernetes or object storage, which limits it for developer platform use.
- WPBeginner's tests found slower page loads than several shared-hosting rivals on the entry cloud plan.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
AWS Amplify scores higher on our Hosting & Infrastructure criteria: 7.2/10 against 6.1/10 for ScalaHosting. The largest gap is in Integration: 9/10 for AWS Amplify and 5/10 for ScalaHosting.
AWS Amplify costs less for 10 users: free on its Free Tier plan, against about $25/mo on its Self-Managed Cloud Config 1 plan for ScalaHosting, billed monthly.
AWS Amplify has a free plan; ScalaHosting does not list one.
ScalaHosting is the better fit for small business: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 4/10 for AWS Amplify.
