Hosting for the Moodle™ software
For schools, colleges and training teams running courses on Moodle. It runs on any of our five hosting lines, which differ in what they cost, who administers the server, and who restores a file when something breaks. Here is how we would choose, including when the cheap answer is the right one.
Choosing a line
Given a free choice, our engineers will not deploy a production Moodle below SD-1: 12 dedicated cores and 12 GB of RAM, three times the 4 GB Moodle recommends, with LAMP customisation available. Everything else here is what would make us recommend something different.
Student → Business
Trying the software, one class, a pilot site
Below the 4 GB Moodle recommends. Fine to learn on; not where we would put a term’s worth of coursework.
Our default for production
SD-1 and up
A school or college running real courses, with real enrolments
Launch → Enterprise
A private machine in a region you name, still run by engineers
Specced with an engineer before it is built, so the sizing matches the institution rather than a dropdown.
L-1 → L-5
Your own sysadmin or IT team wants the box
Cheaper than the managed lines at the same RAM, because the work comes with it.
Stock builds or specced to fit
Multi-campus, heavy media libraries, or residency you must evidence
Also specced with an engineer, because nobody should buy a machine this size from a form.
Open any line for its plans, billing terms and current prices, and to order.
Before you buy the cheapest one
Moodle’s own documentation supports shared hosting, and we are not going to pretend otherwise in order to sell you a bigger plan. These are the four specific places a shared stack tends to fall short. Check them against any host you are considering, this one included.
RAM
Moodle recommends 4 GB or more
Shared plans here give 1–3 GB. Enough to install and demo; not enough once a cohort logs in at once.
Cron
Moodle wants cron every minute
Notifications, queued email, scheduled backups and course reports all ride on it. Many shared hosts cap cron at every 5, 15 or 30 minutes.
PHP memory
memory_limit above the common 128 M default
Course backup and restore is where this bites first, and it bites at the worst time, while you are moving a course.
Stack version
PHP 8.3+ with MySQL 8.4 or MariaDB 10.11
Current Moodle expects a current stack. Our Web Hosting runs PHP 8.3 and MariaDB 10.11, with the PHP version chosen per site; whichever host you consider, ask what versions they are running, not what they support.
None of these makes Moodle impossible on shared hosting. They make it fragile at the moment it matters: enrolment week, an assignment deadline, the night before an exam.
What you actually get
Whichever line you land on, we install the software, wire TLS, set cron to the cadence Moodle wants, and size PHP so course backups complete instead of dying halfway. On the managed lines we keep the stack under it current (PHP, the database, the web server, certificates) and watch it.
Moodle core and plugin updates stay on your schedule. An update mid-term can change how a course behaves, so we plan those with you and run them when your teaching calendar allows.
Questions
SD-1 or better, if the Moodle is going to carry real courses. That is our engineers’ own default, and we would rather say it plainly than let you discover it after a term has started. Below that we are still happy to host you; we would just be setting you up to outgrow it.
Yes, and we will not block you. Moodle’s own documentation supports shared hosting. Read the four requirements above and decide with your eyes open: for a course you are still building, a pilot, or a class of thirty, Web Hosting is a reasonable place to start.
It depends on the line, which is why the table above answers it per row. Web Hosting and Semi-Dedicated have no root, because we administer them. Standard KVM VPS and Dedicated Servers give you full root. Managed Cloud VPS is administered by our engineers, who hold root themselves.
It depends on the line. Web Hosting and Semi-Dedicated let you pick India, the US or Europe at checkout; Standard KVM VPS offers India, US West, US Central or Germany, at the same price in each. Managed Cloud VPS and Dedicated Servers are specced with an engineer first, and the region is agreed in that conversation rather than chosen from a dropdown, which is also when we can confirm the exact facility in writing if residency is a compliance requirement rather than a preference.
Per line, and worth reading carefully, because "backups included" means different things. The managed lines back the server up on our side, on a best-effort basis. On a self-managed VPS, backups are yours to run, including restoring one file or one course database. Whatever you take, keep your own copy of anything you cannot afford to lose, which is true of every host, ours included.
Yes, and we rehearse it on a copy first: everything is stood up alongside the original and tested on a preview URL, and you sign off before a single DNS record changes. Course files, the database, users and grades all come across. On an annual term it is free on Web Hosting, Semi-Dedicated, Managed Cloud VPS and Dedicated Servers; on a Standard KVM VPS, or on any monthly term, it is a paid add-on, quoted before we start.
We stand the platform up on whichever line you choose. On the lines we administer we also keep the stack under it current: PHP, the database, the web server, certificates; on a self-managed VPS or dedicated server, that upkeep is yours. Moodle core and plugin updates stay a conversation rather than something we do silently to a live teaching system mid-term: a plugin update can change how a course behaves, and that is your call. Tell us the cadence you want and we will fit it.
Move up at any time, within a line (SD-1 to SD-2 or SD-3, for example) or to a different line. If enrolments are climbing, send us the numbers and an engineer will tell you whether the plan you are on still fits.
On the plans of the line you choose, monthly or on a longer term, and most lines cost less per month on an annual term or longer. Promotional discounts apply to your first term; renewal invoices are issued 21 days before the renewal date. For billing addresses in India, 18% GST is added at checkout.
Roughly how many learners, whether you are moving an existing Moodle, and any data-residency requirement. We will tell you which line fits, and if a cheaper one would do, we will say that too.
Moodle™ is a registered trademark of Moodle Pty Ltd. IndicHosts.net is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a partner of Moodle Pty Ltd. We provide hosting for the Moodle™ software, which is published under the GPLv3.