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Head-to-head · Portainer Hosting

TryDirect Portainer CE vs INTROSERV

  • Updated Sep 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 2 checks side by side
Higher score TryDirect Portainer CE #2 in Portainer Hosting 8.4/10 Free plan · paid from $9/mo Free plan✓ 1 of 4 features Visit TryDirect
INTROSERV #5 in Portainer Hosting 7.3/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit INTROSERV

TryDirect Portainer CE leads on 2 checks, INTROSERV on 0, and 0 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 2 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 · 8.4/10
  • Free planonly TryDirect Portainer CE
  • Most featuresTryDirect Portainer CE · 1 of 4

TryDirect Portainer CE scores higher on our rubric for portainer hosting: 8.4 against 7.3 out of 10; our editors rank them #2 and #5.

TryDirect Portainer CE offers free plan; INTROSERV doesn't. TryDirect Portainer CE offers one-click deploy; INTROSERV doesn't publish it.

TryDirect Portainer CE is the better fit for free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds. INTROSERV is the better fit for teams needing configurable dedicated infrastructure.

  • TryDirect Portainer CE fits best

    Free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds

  • INTROSERV fits best

    Teams needing configurable dedicated infrastructure

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. We may earn a commission when you click some links. It never changes our verdict. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature TryDirect Portainer CE 8.4/10 Visit ↗ INTROSERV 7.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.4 7.3
Ranking #2 in Portainer Hosting #5 in Portainer Hosting
Best for Free-start Portainer deployments across major clouds Teams needing configurable dedicated infrastructure
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $9/mo Not published
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial Not published Not published
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux Web
Integrations 100+ integrations 5 integrations
Features TryDirect Portainer CE 1/4 · INTROSERV 0/4
One-click deploy ✓ (best) Not published
Managed updates Not published Not published
Backups Not published Not published
Custom domain + SSL Not published Not published
Specs
Server locations Not published Not published
Our review
Pros
  • Automatic VPS creation and Portainer CE installation
  • Docker, Kubernetes and Docker Compose support
  • Deployments across AWS, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr and Linode
  • Dedicated AMD EPYC server with 256GB ECC memory and enterprise SSD storage
  • 1Gbps networking with 100TB traffic and 20Gbps DDoS protection
  • IP-KVM or IPMI access, OS choices and 24/7 technical support
Cons
  • Portainer CE deployment costs $50 one-time
  • Cloud-provider server charges are billed separately
  • Free plan includes community support rather than email support
  • Backup service is an optional paid add-on
  • No free plan is offered
  • Hybrid management may not suit teams seeking fully managed hosting
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 →

INTROSERV provides dedicated physical server hosting for businesses, developers, gaming projects, databases and high-traffic applications. Its published DC2 INSTANT 33 configuration uses an AMD EPYC 7402P processor with 24 cores and 48…

Read the review →
  1. TryDirect Portainer CEPortainer Hosting 8.4Free plan · paid from $9/mo
  2. INTROSERVPortainer Hosting 7.3Paid

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

  • INTROSERV — where it wins

    • Dedicated AMD EPYC server with 256GB ECC memory and enterprise SSD storage
    • 1Gbps networking with 100TB traffic and 20Gbps DDoS protection
    • IP-KVM or IPMI access, OS choices and 24/7 technical support

    Where it doesn't

    • Backup service is an optional paid add-on
    • No free plan is offered
    • Hybrid management may not suit teams seeking fully managed hosting
  • TryDirect Portainer CE8.4/10 · Free plan · paid from $9/mo

    A free-start route to Portainer across major clouds, with paid deployment and support tiers.

    Visit TryDirectFull verdict →
  • INTROSERV7.3/10 · Paid

    Configurable dedicated hardware with DDoS protection, remote console access and hybrid management.

    Visit INTROSERVFull verdict →

More comparisons

All portainer hosting comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026

Last updated · How we research and update