Top Three HostiFi Alternatives

UniFi consoles work perfectly fine for home users (or smaller networks), but if you are working with larger or multiple networks envirionments you need scalability.

This is where cloud hosting steps in. UniFi cloud hosting services take care of: deployments, updates, and backups. Think of cloud hosting as your virtual networking garage that keeps everything running smoothly.

A notable "do-it-for-you" cloud provider is HostiFi. In this article, we'll look into what HostiFi has to offer and provide a few cheaper and reliable options. Lets dive in!

Table of Contents

• What's up with HostiFi
• Why Look for a HostiFi Alternative?
• HostiFi free plan?
  • UniHosted
  • Hubox
  • Cloud UniFi
• Cloud Hosting vs. Self-hosting
• Final Thoughts

What's up with HostiFi

HostiFi has been the go-to solution in this market. They're pretty good at automating UniFi controller setups and ensuring everything runs smoothly. They cover backups, updates, monitoring and customer support.

The catch? They are expensive.

HostiFi's pricing starts at a whopping $99 monthly, with no free plan available. Their focus is cleary on the enterprise market.

Does cloud hosting need to be this expensive? The answer is no. It's a reason to look for other solutions offering the same reliable solution without burning a hole in your pockets.

Why Look for a HostiFi Alternative?

HostiFi's price hurts your wallet.

Scaling your network is a must if you work with larger networks. There are reliable options out there that only cost a fraction of HostiFi and still offer the same grade of service quality.

The alternative market is quite thin, to be honest. There are only a few companies offering hosted UniFi Controller solutions. Most are keen to battle it out over price tags, but it's not just about the cost.

When you are an IT service provider managing multiple clients, reliability and customer support are equally important.

HostiFi free plan?

HostiFi used to have a free plan hosted on a shared server. They iniated this for home users to use their services for free. However they abadoned this a few years ago. There is no free plan and their pricing starts at $99 per month.

UniHosted

UniHosted is a new UniFi cloud controller service that is built to provide a more affordable option with the same service quality. It’s a solid solution that handles all your UniFi controller needs, including instant deployment, backups, 24/7 monitoring, battle-tested updates and round-the-clock support.

It's also the only cloud provider with a free-plan feature. This way you can test the waters and see how it works before spending a dime. The free plan is limited to 5 devices and is hosted on a shared server (business plan has dedicated VPS). It allows you to test and seeing whether UniHosted meets your standards.

Ups:

• Cheaper than HostiFi
• Includes updates, backups, and security
• Offers a free plan
• Customer support

Downs:

• UniHosted is relatively new

Pricing:

UniHosted starts at $30 a month for the business plan. That's just one-third of HostiFi’s price and you get all the features, a dedicated VPS and comprehensive customer support.

The pricing also works on a “pay-as-you” basis; you’ll only pay for the number of devices you actually use. You are not boxed into a specific plan.

As mentioned, UniHosted is also the only cloud solution provider with a free tier.

Hubox

Hubox is another player in the market. They claim to manage over 3000 clients. If this is true, they're a big fish in the UniFi controller hosting sea. Their offer starts at $30 monthly. There is a cheaper option, but this is a shared server. This option is free at UniHosted.

There is not much info about them. You can’t find any customer reviews or third-party information that suggests they are reliable.  This is not because they are a new business. They have been in the space for quite long.

Also, they don’t seem to have a social presence, which I don’t find very convincing. In addition, we did some due diligence and found that some of their servers are not correctly configured, and some are still running on legacy software.

Ups:

• Cheap option
• Established business (if it's true what they claim)

Downs:

• No free plan
• Vulnerabilities
• No social presence
• No reviews

Pricing:

Hubox is one of the cheapest cloud hosting options available. Hubox pricing starts at $10 monthly for ten devices and one website on a shared server. This is especially interesting for independent users, but at UniHosted, this is free. For IT service providers, its a must to have a dedicated server, which means moving the $30 per month plan.

Although, you need to ask yourself if exposing your network to vulnerabilities is worth it. It’s just not a convincing solution from what we can find.

Cloud UniFi

Cloud UniFi has been around for quite some time as well. They have dedicated hosting for the controllers with servers in both the US and Europe.

It's also quite difficult to find a lot of information about them. They don’t have a social presence. However they state that they at least test before updating, which is a good thing.

I would say their offering is similar to Hubox (but without the vulnerabilities). Also, they are a cheaper option. However, it's unclear who is behind Cloud UniFi. There aren't numerous reviews, which seems to be a bit off for a company that has been in business for more than nine years.

Ups:

• Reliable
• Cheap
• Established organization

Downs:

• No free plan
• No social presence
• No reviews

Pricing:

Like Hubox and HostiFi, Cloud UniFi doesn’t offer a free plan. However, it's a cheaper solution. Cloud UniFi's pricing starts at $15 per month.

Cloud Hosting vs. Self-hosting

Choosing a cloud-hosting service over the self-hosting method can be a major game-changer. Yes, the self-hosting way is free, but if you are looking to scale your networks, this is not a great option.

Instead, cloud-hosting services offer:

• Instant deployment: Less hassle setting up new networks.

• Battle-teste updates: No need to worry about updates anymore

• Scalable Network Management: Grow as you like without a hassle.

• 24/7 monitoring: Get issues fixed before they become problems.

• Security and Compliance: Sleep easy with top-grade security measures and compliance coverage.

If you are still debating whether to do it yourself or use a cloud-hosting solution, trying UniHosted’s free plan is the easiest option.

It is as expensive as setting it up yourself—namely zero, but it gives you all the benefits over "do-it-yourself". If you want to learn more about the benefits of UniFi Controller as a Service, check out this article.

Final Thoughts

We built UniHosted to provide a reliable UniFi cloud controller solution that is affordable. UniFi cloud hosting does not have to be this expensive.

We try to prove this point. If you're looking for an alternative to HostiFi, UniHosted should be right up your alley. Try it for free