TL;DR
Looking beyond Malaysian shores for the best hosting around doesn’t mean stiffer fees. Often, you’ll find more competitive rates, even in USD. Top choices like A2 Hosting, TMD Hosting, or Hostinger also bring the benefit of international standards and SOPs
1. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting has strategic data center locations allowing you to serve specifically targeted traffic, including Asia-Pacific countries such as Malaysia.
A2 Hosting US Headquarters: 2000 Hogback Rd Ste 6, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-9735
A2 Hosting may not have a local presence in Malaysia but they make a strong case with their web hosting plans. This is especially true if you take into account their strategic data center locations in the USA (Michigan and Arizona), Europe (Amsterdam), and Asia (Singapore).
If you’re looking to serve Asia-region web traffic, then hosting your site in the Singapore data center will do just as well as hosting within Malaysia. They also offer a wide range of plans which start at less than $3/mo.
Having hosted a site with them for some time now, they aren’t the fastest in the business (nor the slowest). The speeds offered by their web servers though, are more than sufficient to meet Google speed guidelines – so long as your site itself performs well.
A2 Hosting offers a strong range of plans from entry level to the best there is. While prices may be in USD, they are very competitive. Best of all, there’s little need to worry about time zone differences since support is offered 24/7.
Key Highlights with A2 Hosting
- Servers in the US, Europe, and Asia
- Free site migration
- Encrypted backup solutions
A2 Hosting Ratings & Performance
A2 Hosting Tested Performance
2. TMD Hosting
TMD Hosting
TMD Hosting offers plans at competitive rates plus access to the outstanding Weebly website builder.
TMD Hosting HQ: 618 E South St, Orlando, FL 32801, USA
Another US-based web hosting provider, TMD Hosting nevertheless performs well globally. They are another international-reach host that offers plans at much more competitive rates that what you can often find locally here.
Perhaps the biggest factor that puts them in favour is their wide range of data center locations that cover seven regions including Singapore. If you want to target regional traffic, this is a very valid choice for you.
One more important note is that hosting with TMD gives you access to the Weebly website builder. For those needing a site building tool that’s easy to use and powerful, there’s no need to pay top dollar – just choose with TMD Hosting.
Most of the value-added features found with this host are actually a cut above the norm. Aside from Weebly, you also get free SSL (Wildcard SSL on Enterprise plans), site migration, and lots more.
Key Highlights with TMD Hosting
- Strong choices in web server locations
- Weebly site builder
- Support for Perl, Python, and other scripts
TMDHosting Ratings & Performance
TMD HostingTested Performance
3. Hostinger
Hostinger
Hostinger offers some of the best rates in the web hosting business along with service localization in many countries.
Hostinger HQ: Jonavos g. 60C, 44192, Kaunas, Lithuania
Hostinger is not present locally in Malaysia per-se, but they do have a localized version of their site. This means that if you don’t want to deal with USD, there’s no problem, it’s all available in Malaysian Ringgit as well.
Aside from that, Hostinger also comes with very attractive price tags if that is your primary concern. It is one of the best budget-oriented hosting service providers available. Any cheaper and they’ll be giving it away for free.
The low prices of course do not reflect sub-standard hosting. Hostinger servers offer decent speeds and strong reliability. For Malaysia, you can choose a data center in Singapore – but if you’re looking to target other regions, Hostinger has choices in six other locations as well.
Hosting packages here comes with many of the usual freebies as well, including free SSL, daily backups, anti-DDoS protection, and more.
Key Highlights with Hostinger
- Very budget-friendly plans
- Multiple data center locations
- Free website builder
Hostinger Ratings & Performance
Hostinger Tested Performance
Learn more from our Hostinger review.
4. Exabytes
Exabytes
Exabytes is a popular local hosting brand in Malaysia with a data center located in Cyberjaya. They also extend their server presence in different regions.
Exabytes HQ: H1-6, Block H1, Level 6, SetiaWalk, Persiaran Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor
Exabytes is perhaps the most well-known brand that offers local hosting in Malaysia. They are supremely aggressive to the point of repeatedly reaching out to customers that have long ceased using their services.
If for some reason you must have your web hosting server located in Malaysia itself – this would be the go-to web host for you. Locally, their servers are located in the Kuala Lumpur Data Center in the heart of the city with another in Cyberjaya. They also have server presence in Singapore, the US, and Indonesia.
For a local host, Exabytes isn’t the cheapest option you could go with. In fact, there are many other choices that can beat them hands down where pricing is concerned. However, as a local company, there are some advantages you might not find elsewhere.
Key Highlights with Exabytes
- Malaysia-based servers available
- Local currency and support
- Many other digital services
Exabytes Ratings & Performance
Exabytes Tested Performance
Learn more from our Exabytes review.
5. BigDomain
BigDomain
BigDomain is a Malaysia-based host that sells domain names as well as products related to website building.
Big Domain HQ: 1-21-1 Suntech Penang, Lintang Mayang Pasir 3, Bandar Bayan Baru, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Big Domain doesn’t just sell domain names, but local Malaysia hosting as well. They are in fact, one of the cheapest around and you can get a plan from them for as little as $3.67 per year. Yes, that’s an annual fee, not monthly.
Even more shocking is that this is built around a cPanel-based plan. You also get email services packaged in along with free SSL. Of course, if you need more, you can opt for one of their better plans or even VPS instead.
Currently running servers out of Menara AIMS in Kuala Lumpur, Big Domain is looking toe expand that to Technology Park as well as the Johor VADS areas.
Key Highlights with Big Domain
- Malaysia-based servers
- Ultra-budget hosting available
- Full range of digital services
BigDomain Ratings & Performance
Big Domain Tested Performance
Read our Big Domain review to find out more.
6. Shinjiru
Shinjiru
One of the older name in web hosting business, Shinjiru is another alternative to Exabytes if you truly want to host your site locally.
Shinjiru HQ: No.19-2, Wisma Laxton, Jalan Desa, Off, Jalan Klang Lama, Taman Desa, 58100 Kuala Lumpur
Shinjiru is an old name in the web hosting business and they seem to have struggled to get through the years. However, they still remain a prominent name in the Malaysian web hosting scene. This is another choice you can opt for if you truly want to go local.
Their servers are located in both Kuala Lumpur and Cyberjaya, so all your data gets kept here unless sent out of the country by your site. Despite a very business-sy look, Shinjiru is personal-site friendly as well and in some cases, slightly cheaper than Exabytes.
Key Highlights with Shinjiru
- 100% local servers
- Local currency and support
- Wide range of services
7. Serverfreak
Serverfreak
Serverfreak specializes in providing web hosting solutions, you can actually get a wide range of services from this provider.
Serverfreak HQ: 12, Jalan Teluk Pulai, Kawasan 6, 41100 Klang, Selangor
With a name like Serverfreak, one might think this host would be kind of funky. However, the site is 100% proper and businesslike. Despite selling heavily on WordPress-based hosting, you can actually choose from multiple options in their inventory.
On an international scale, prices may seem pretty decent at around $5/mo to start with. However once you convert that into Malaysian Ringgit, that’s when reality bites and you may feel the pinch.
Key Highlights with Serverfreak
- Local servers
- SSD storage included
- Free domain name and SSL
Looking for the Top Web Hosting Service Providers for Malaysia
Web hosting for Malaysia is at the moment something that is quite pivotal. As the country advances in digitization, it is quickly becoming a top regional competitor to neighbours like Singapore and Thailand. This applies to both service and infrastructure.
For those who actually live in the country or somewhere in the surrounding, it can also be difficult to look past the strong marketing of local web hosting companies. Hosting providers like Exabytes are especially aggressive in their quest for market share.
However, unless you have specific reasons to opt for a local web host, you will find that casting your net wider can reveal much better choices. HostingGuruReviews actively keeps track of how well the servers of key web hosting providers perform and oftentimes, local hosting just isn’t worth it here.
Localization at What Cost?
Perhaps the biggest reason that many who decide to host locally have is pricing. There is a mindset that because local web hosting companies are charging in Malaysian Ringgit, they are bound to be cheaper than their US-dollar competitors.
This, however, isn’t really true. There have always been a large number of web hosts around the world that offer varying costs of entry. For example, Hostinger, where you can get shared hosting for as little as $0.99/mo on an entry level plan. In contrast, the cheapest hosting at Exabytes starts at around $3.67/mo.
The problems with hosting locally don’t even end there. There are many other factors which need to be taken into account as well (we’ll discuss these further on). Suffice to say, if price is your biggest consideration, hosting locally isn’t always the ideal solution.
What Else to Look for in a Web Hosting Provider for Malaysia
Unless there is a specific reason why you need your data to stay in Malaysia, there is only one other real reason to do so. The Malaysian government is offering to subsidize local companies that host locally as part of their efforts to support local players.
Perhaps the biggest appeal for digitization is the increased capacity to serve an international client base. This means perhaps working out of your comfort zone and looking at international service providers as well.
Once you do that you’ll find that in many cases, you will be able to get not just better speeds but sometimes even see advantages in features and support. All of this at rates comparable to local service providers or in some cases – cheaper.
Conclusion
While governments may be looking for ways to boost local economies, the Internet doesn’t quite work that way. Placing greater focus on performance and other factors will likely matter more. After all – Google doesn’t care where your data is, as long as your site is fast.
