PHP / MySQL hosting 2026

The PHP version matters most. PHP 8.1–8.3 is several times faster than 7.x and free of known security holes, so pick hosting where the version is visible and switchable in one click right in the panel (cPanel/ISPmanager/DirectAdmin). This saves you during migrations: bring a legacy site up on 7.4, update the code, switch to 8.2 with no support tickets.

Extensions and OPcache. Check that mysqli/PDO, GD or Imagick (images), cURL, mbstring, zip and intl are enabled — half of CMSs and frameworks won't start without them. OPcache caches compiled bytecode and gives the biggest speed gain for PHP almost for free; for repeat queries, add APCu or Redis as an object cache.

Database and limits. A PHP site is only as fast as its database: look for MySQL 8 or MariaDB on NVMe. On shared, watch the hidden limits — max_execution_time, memory_limit (from 256 MB for heavy CMSs), concurrent connections and database size. For a store or portal with a large database these limits matter more than 'unlimited space'.

How to choose for your project. A simple PHP site or blog runs great on shared at $2–4/mo with LiteSpeed and recent PHP. Laravel, heavy stores or custom APIs are better on a VPS where you set up PHP-FPM yourself, tune the pool and don't share CPU with neighbours. Before paying, ask for phpinfo() access or a trial — that shows the real version, limits and extension set rather than landing-page promises.