What HOST SpA does

HOST SpA is an Italian web hosting and cloud infrastructure provider headquartered in Turin, operating under the Host.it brand since 2017 (originally founded as Dnshosting.it in 2002). The company serves Italian small and medium businesses, web agencies, developers, and individual entrepreneurs, with 54,510 domains under management and disclosed revenue of €3 million across 19 employees. Its product portfolio spans container-based shared hosting (Linux, WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop-optimized tiers), VPS Basic and Premium (OpenStack/KVM virtualization with ACN qualification), dedicated servers, Host Cloud for high-traffic workloads, S3-compatible HS3 Object Storage, Host Conference video conferencing, and Host Bucket white-label reseller hosting — supported by domain registration (ICANN-accredited, 392+ TLDs), email and PEC certified mail, and a proprietary security stack (Cerbero WAF, MailWash, MailOUT, BotGuard, BIS Backup, FastCache/LiteSpeed).

Name

HOST SpA

Legal name

Host S.p.A.

Website

https://host.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HOST SpA is an Italian hosting and cloud infrastructure provider operating the Host.it brand, delivering shared hosting, VPS, cloud, and S3-compatible storage to Italian SMBs, web agencies, and developers through three owned Italian data centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Hosting Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Facilities Management Services (541513)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud Networking Core Services (VPC/VNet, Load Balancing, DNS, NAT) (HDABAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI), Enterprise/Creator Video Hosting & OTT SaaS Platforms (MPACAAAL)

Keywords

• Web hosting services
• Virtual private servers
• Domain registration
• Cloud object storage
• Managed hosting infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Turin

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shared Hosting Subscriptions: Tiered shared hosting plans (Agile, Smart, Genius) with annual subscription billing. Includes domain registration, SSL certificates, email boxes, and CMS installation tools. Upsell opportunities through additional email boxes, storage, and premium features.
2. Domain Registration and Management: Domain registration across 392+ TLDs (.it, .com, .eu, .edu.it, etc.) with annual renewal fees. Additional services include privacy protection, DNS management, and redirects.
3. VPS and Cloud Services: Virtual private servers in Basic and Premium tiers, cloud hosting for high-traffic sites, and object storage (S3-compatible). Monthly subscription with optional reserved capacity contracts for volume discounts.
4. Dedicated Servers: Physical dedicated servers with optional cPanel/WHM or DirectAdmin control panels. Base, Managed, and Managed Plus support levels. Monthly subscription with hardware configuration upsells.
5. Email and PEC Services: Email hosting with POP/SMTP/IMAP access, antivirus/antispam. Certified email (PEC) services with legal value. Per-user annual subscriptions.
6. Professional Services: Migration services (free for hosting customers, bulk migration for multi-domain transfers), staging/development environments, and managed support services.
7. Academy and Training: Host Academy digital education platform with 1300+ video lessons. Free 1-month coupon with hosting purchase, annual subscription for continued access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HOST SpA provides web hosting, domain registration, cloud infrastructure, and managed security services to Italian businesses, web agencies, and developers. Core offerings include container-based shared hosting (Linux, WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop tiers), Host Cloud for high-traffic sites, VPS Basic/Premium/Windows, dedicated servers, white-label reseller hosting (Host Bucket), Host Conference video conferencing, S3-compatible object storage (HS3), and integrated security services (Cerbero WAF, BIS Backup, MailWash, MailOUT, BotGuard, FastCache). All services run on three proprietary Italian data centers (Turin, Pisa, Lucca) with ACN certification.

Product overview

HOST SpA is an Italian hosting service provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of web hosting and cloud services. The core offering centers on shared hosting (Linux, WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop with Agile/Smart/Genius tiers), cloud hosting (Host Cloud), VPS (Basic/Premium with OpenStack/KVM), and dedicated servers. The product line extends to specialized services including Object Storage HS3 (S3-compatible), Host Conference (video conferencing), and Host Bucket (reseller/multidomain hosting). Supporting services include domain registration (ICANN accredited with 392+ TLDs), email services with PEC (certified email), and security tools (Cerbero WAF, MailWash, MailOUT, BotGuard, BIS Backup, FastCache, Cloudflare CDN). The company operates Italian data centers in Turin, Pisa, and Lucca, with ACN qualification for VPS services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Host Academy: Digital academy with over 1300 video lessons for web development training
• BIS Backup
• MailWash
• MailOUT
• Cerbero
• BotGuard
• FastCache
• Host Cloud
• Host Conference
• HS3
• Host Bucket
• HOST DEV

Products and services

• Shared Hosting (Hosting Linux) Container-based Linux shared hosting with tiered plans (Agile, Smart, Genius) offering unlimited SSD storage, MySQL databases, email accounts, and LiteSpeed web server with HTTP/2 and QUIC support; qualified by Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale (ACN). Targeted at Italian businesses and individuals needing websites, blogs, and small e-commerce hosting.
• Hosting per WordPress WordPress-optimized shared hosting with one-click installation, automatic updates, FastCache plugin, and specialized 365-day WordPress support. For WordPress site owners and developers.
• Hosting Joomla Joomla-optimized shared hosting, officially recommended by joomla.it. Features one-click installation via Application Manager, automatic updates, and FastCache plugin. For Joomla site owners and the Italian Joomla community.
• Hosting PrestaShop PrestaShop-optimized e-commerce hosting with one-click installation. Certified PrestaShop Italia Partner with specialized support for online store management. For PrestaShop merchants.
• Host Cloud Dedicated cloud hosting for high-traffic websites and applications requiring 50,000-500,000+ monthly sessions. Isolated virtual machines with 100% dedicated CPU/RAM resources, geographic replication, and hourly backup options. For high-traffic sites and applications.
• VPS (Virtual Private Server) Low-cost VPS with OpenStack/KVM virtualization. Basic tier offers shared CPU with 200 Mbps bandwidth; Premium tier guarantees 100% resources with 99.9% uptime SLA, NVMe storage, 1 Gbps flat bandwidth, unlimited traffic. ACN-qualified for Basic and Premium. For developers, SMBs, and businesses needing virtual server infrastructure.
• Server Dedicati (Dedicated Servers) Physical dedicated servers located in Italian data centers (Turin/Pisa) with optional cPanel/WHM or DirectAdmin control panels, 1 Gbps flat dedicated bandwidth, unlimited traffic, and optional managed support levels (Base, Managed, Managed Plus). For projects requiring full hardware control.
• Host Bucket (Multidominio Reseller Hosting) White-label multidomain reseller hosting with whitelabel control panel, container-based CPU/RAM isolation between hosted sites, scalable resources (CPU, RAM, disk), daily offsite backup, and Web Application Firewall protection. For web agencies and developers reselling hosting under their own brand.
• HOST DEV (Free Trial Hosting) Free 180-day trial hosting with 6 GB SSD, one MySQL database, SSL certificate, and Softaculous Auto Installer for CMS testing. No obligation to convert. For developers and learners testing projects.
• WebSite X5 for Agency Site builder package for web agencies bundling WebSite X5 Pro license, multidomain hosting (5/50/unlimited sites), and reseller discounts (30-50%) on software licenses. Produces static HTML/PHP sites for zero CMS maintenance. For web design agencies building static client websites.
• Host Conference Video conferencing platform for online meetings, webinars, and distance learning with recording, virtual whiteboard, screen sharing, chat, and Moodle/WordPress integration. Located in Italian data centers. For schools, educational institutions, and businesses.
• Object Storage HS3 S3-compatible object storage with geo-replication between two Italian data centers, pay-as-you-go pricing from €7/TB/month with no egress or API request charges, GDPR and NIS II compliance, and up to 10-year data immutability. For businesses needing compliant, cost-effective cloud storage.
• Domini (Domain Registration) ICANN-accredited domain registration service with over 392 TLDs including .it (€6/year), .eu, .com (€10/year). Includes DNS management, redirect, privacy (€5/year), and alias services. For businesses and individuals needing domain names.
• Email Services Business email with POP3/SMTP/IMAP protocols, webmail, antivirus/antispam protection, and daily sending limits (500-4,000 emails/day depending on plan). Compatible with Lotus Notes, Exchange, and Zimbra. For Italian businesses needing professional email.
• PEC (Posta Elettronica Certificata) Certified electronic mail with legal value equivalent to registered mail with return receipt. Mandatory for Italian businesses. Options include PEC Base (€5/year with host domain) or PEC Personal (€15/year with custom domain). 1 GB storage, 100 MB attachments, unlimited traffic. For Italian businesses and professionals.
• Host Academy Digital education platform with 1,300+ video lessons on CMS usage, SEO, and web marketing. Free 1-month access with hosting purchase; annual subscription available. For customers learning web development and digital marketing.
• BIS Backup Automatic daily backup service with geographic redundancy stored 320 km from production. Backs up web space, databases, and email with retention of 10 daily, 4 weekly, and 3 monthly snapshots; on-demand and hourly backups available on Host Cloud. For businesses needing reliable disaster recovery.
• Cerbero Web Application Firewall Proprietary Web Application Firewall and DDoS protection service. Provides Layer 7 DoS/DDoS protection, bot detection with 3.5M+ IP database, OWASP Top 10 attack prevention, malware detection, and ML-based real-time threat analysis with new protection rules released within 24 hours of vulnerability discovery. For websites needing advanced security.
• MailWash Email Security Real-time email security service blocking 99.99% of spam and viruses using Cyren and Sophos with AI-powered predictive algorithms, ransomware protection, and Time-of-Click URL verification. For email systems needing inbound security.
• MailOUT Outbound Email Security Outbound email deliverability service detecting and blocking spam from compromised accounts or hacked plugins using machine learning algorithms. Automatically resets passwords and sends SMS notifications. No setup required. For businesses needing outbound spam protection.
• BotGuard Bot Protection Traffic analysis and bot protection service. Exclusive Italian partner for BotGuard. Real-time HTTP traffic analysis distinguishing humans from malicious bots, includes Web Application Firewall against OWASP Top 10 threats (XSS, SQLi, CSRF, RFI). For websites needing bot and attack protection.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% storage cost savings compared to traditional S3 providers
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration27 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BhoostcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2025E-commerce hosting specialist acquired by Host.it in April 2025. Bhoost.com provides optimization services for e-commerce platforms, strengthening Host's position in the PrestaShop and e-commerce hosting segment.
• MagentiamocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 April 2025Magento e-commerce hosting specialist acquired by Host.it in April 2025. Magentiamo.it focuses on Magento platform hosting, complementing Host's existing PrestaShop and e-commerce offerings.
• BotGuardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive Italian partnership for BotGuard service. BotGuard provides bot protection and web application firewall services integrated into Host's hosting infrastructure. Located in same data center for minimal latency.
• PrestaShopcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing sector partner status for PrestaShop hosting. Listed on PrestaShop partner directory. Specialized PrestaShop-optimized hosting with one-click installation and expert support.
• IncomediacoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerWebSite X5 Pro software licensing partnership. Host bundles Incomedia's site builder software with agency hosting packages. Agencies receive 30-50% reseller discounts on software licenses.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationHosting Partner status for Cloudflare CDN integration. Cloudflare services (CDN, Railgun, DDoS protection) available with one-click activation on all shared and cloud hosting plans at no additional cost.
• ICANNcoreTechnology or IntegrationICANN-accredited registrar allowing direct domain registration without intermediaries. Enables Host to manage .com, .net, and other international TLDs directly.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Cloudflare: HOST's CDN/DDoS technology partner rather than direct competitor. Increasingly an adjacent threat as Cloudflare expands into Workers and R2 storage, both of which overlap with HOST's hosting/storage offerings.

Direct peers

• Seeweb S.r.l. Italian cloud and hosting provider offering dedicated servers, VPS, cloud, and managed services for SMBs and developers. Comparable customer base, datacenters in Italy, and focus on Italian compliance/regulatory positioning.
• SiteGround: Managed hosting provider specializing in WordPress, Joomla, and e-commerce (WooCommerce) hosting. Highly comparable CMS-focused hosting portfolio and SMB target customer profile.
• Register.it: Italian domain registrar and hosting provider owned by Top Global Group. Closely overlaps with HOST on domain registration (.it accredited), shared hosting, and VPS for Italian SMBs.

Broad incumbents

• IONOS (1&1 IONOS): European hosting and cloud provider serving SMBs with shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and domains. Comparable SMB-targeted go-to-market and similar product breadth.
• OVHcloud: European hyperscale hosting and public cloud provider with strong VPS and dedicated server portfolios. Competes head-to-head on VPS pricing and competes with HOST's regional infrastructure investment thesis.
• Aruba S.p.A. Italy's largest hosting, domain, and cloud provider. Directly comparable on product breadth (hosting, domains, PEC, cloud, dedicated servers) and Italian SMB/government customer base, but at substantially greater scale and brand recognition.
• Hetzner Online: German-based hosting and dedicated server provider with similar value-positioning (cost-efficient VPS/dedicated servers, broad self-serve catalog) that competes for price-sensitive Italian and European hosting customers.

Emerging players

• Kinsta: Managed WordPress and application hosting provider on Google Cloud infrastructure. Overlaps on premium managed hosting for WordPress and container-based architecture, though internationally positioned rather than Italy-focused.
• WP Engine: Specialized managed WordPress hosting provider. Comparable in serving digital agencies and SMB e-commerce through managed WordPress, with overlap in agency/reseller tooling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hostdotit
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkX-119vc_RtjRxS9kvdwRg
• Facebookfacebook.com/hostdotit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hostdotit

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HOST SpA