Head-to-head · Portainer Hosting

TryDirect Portainer CE vs Cloudzy Portainer VPS

Updated Oct 2026
Both researched from official sources
6 checks side by side

Higher score TryDirect Portainer CE #3 in Portainer Hosting 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit TryDirect

Cloudzy Portainer VPS #5 in Portainer Hosting 7.7/10 Paid ✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Cloudzy

TryDirect Portainer CE leads on 1 check, Cloudzy Portainer VPS on 1, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

Highest scoreTryDirect Portainer CE · 8.5/10
Lowest starting priceCloudzy Portainer VPS · $2.48/mo
Free planonly TryDirect Portainer CE
Most featuresCloudzy Portainer VPS · 3 of 4

TryDirect Portainer CE scores higher on our rubric for portainer hosting: 8.5 against 7.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #5.

TryDirect Portainer CE offers free plan; Cloudzy Portainer VPS doesn't. Cloudzy Portainer VPS is cheaper to start at $2.48/mo against $9/mo.

TryDirect Portainer CE is the better fit for free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds. Cloudzy Portainer VPS is the better fit for developers seeking low-cost Portainer VPS hosting.

TryDirect Portainer CE fits best
Free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds
Cloudzy Portainer VPS fits best
Developers seeking low-cost Portainer VPS hosting

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Side by side

Show only differences

Feature	TryDirect Portainer CE 8.5/10 Visit ↗	Cloudzy Portainer VPS 7.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	7.7
Ranking	#3 in Portainer Hosting	#5 in Portainer Hosting
Best for	Free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds	Developers seeking low-cost Portainer VPS hosting
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$9/mo	$2.48/mo (best)
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	Not checked yet	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web, Linux	Web, Linux
Support	Email, Community	Live chat, Tickets, Docs · 24/7
Integrations	100+ integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features TryDirect Portainer CE 1/4 · Cloudzy Portainer VPS 3/4
One-click deploy	✓	✓
Managed updates	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Backups	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Custom domain + SSL	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Server locations	Not checked yet	13
Our review
Pros	Automatic VPS creation and Portainer CE installation Docker, Kubernetes and Docker Compose support Deployments across AWS, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr and Linode	One-click Portainer Community Edition on Docker templates Dashboard manages Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, and remote Edge nodes Plans start at $2.48/month, with free snapshots available
Cons	Portainer CE deployment costs $50 one-time Cloud-provider server charges are billed separately Free plan includes community support rather than email support	The 512 MB plan does not list one-click Portainer No free plan or free trial Additional snapshots beyond the free quota may cost extra
Our verdict	TryDirect Portainer CE is a deployment template that creates a preconfigured VPS and installs Portainer Community Edition. It is aimed at DevOps engineers, system administrators and software developers who want a web interface for managing… Read the review →	Cloudzy Portainer VPS combines a cloud server with Portainer Community Edition, offered as a one-click install on Docker templates. It is aimed at developers and teams deploying and managing container workloads, from solo operators to… Read the review →

T TryDirect Portainer CEPortainer Hosting 8.5Free plan
Cloudzy Portainer VPSPortainer Hosting 7.7Paid

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Strengths and trade-offs

TryDirect Portainer CE — where it wins
- Automatic VPS creation and Portainer CE installation
- Docker, Kubernetes and Docker Compose support
- Deployments across AWS, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr and Linode
Where it doesn't
- Portainer CE deployment costs $50 one-time
- Cloud-provider server charges are billed separately
- Free plan includes community support rather than email support
Cloudzy Portainer VPS — where it wins
- One-click Portainer Community Edition on Docker templates
- Dashboard manages Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes, and remote Edge nodes
- Plans start at $2.48/month, with free snapshots available
Where it doesn't
- The 512 MB plan does not list one-click Portainer
- No free plan or free trial
- Additional snapshots beyond the free quota may cost extra

TryDirect Portainer CE8.5/10 · Free plan
A free-start route to Portainer across major clouds, with paid deployment and support tiers.
Visit TryDirect Full verdict →
Cloudzy Portainer VPS7.7/10 · Paid
Low-cost VPS hosting pairs one-click Portainer with Docker, Swarm, and Kubernetes management.
Visit Cloudzy Full verdict →

More comparisons

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated 13 Oct 2026 · How we research and update