LAMP Stack Hosting on Your Own VPS
Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, with .htaccess support and root over all of it.
Size a server for LAMP
Every stop is a real configuration you can deploy. Priced per 30 days, billed by the hour, exclusive of 18% GST.
What LAMP is
LAMP is the oldest arrangement on this list and still the most widely deployed: Linux, Apache, MySQL or MariaDB, and PHP. Most PHP software in existence assumes it, and most hosting documentation is written against it.
Apache is the reason to choose LAMP over LEMP specifically. Its per-directory .htaccess files let an application change rewrite rules, headers and access control without touching the server configuration or restarting anything — which is how WordPress, Laravel, Joomla and countless others expect to work. NGINX has no equivalent; rules live in the server config and need a reload.
That flexibility has a cost. Apache checks for .htaccess in every directory on the path of every request, and its process model uses more memory per connection than NGINX's event loop. On a modest VPS that is rarely the binding constraint, and mod_proxy_fcgi with PHP-FPM narrows the gap considerably.
Why run LAMP on a VPS
Root access, so Apache modules, PHP extensions and MySQL configuration are all yours.
Multiple PHP versions side by side when different applications need different ones.
.htaccess works as documented, which matters for software that expects it.
MySQL on the same machine, so queries are not crossing a network.
LAMP features
Apache with mod_rewrite, mod_ssl and mod_proxy_fcgi
PHP-FPM pools, per site if you want isolation
MariaDB or MySQL with direct access
Free Let's Encrypt certificates with renewal
Virtual hosts for multiple sites
Full .htaccess support
Recommended server
A starting point for LAMP, not a hard floor — size it on the sliders.
| Memory | 4 GB for a typical site; 8 GB for several or for heavy PHP |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 vCPU; 4 under sustained traffic |
| Storage | 40 GB |
| Operating system | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or AlmaLinux 9 |
How deployment works
Apache, MariaDB and PHP-FPM are installed and wired together with mod_proxy_fcgi rather than mod_php, which keeps memory use closer to NGINX while leaving .htaccess working. Virtual hosts and TLS are configured for your domains. You keep root, so PHP versions, Apache modules and MySQL settings remain yours.
What people run it for
Legacy PHP applications
Software written against Apache that assumes .htaccess exists.
Multiple sites
Virtual hosts with separate PHP pools on one machine.
Development environments
A stack matching what most PHP documentation describes.
Client hosting
Per-site .htaccess so each site can adjust its own rules.
LAMP hosting questions
Related applications
LEMP Hosting NGINX, MySQL and PHP-FPM — lower memory per connection and fast static file serving. 
Laravel Hosting Laravel with working queues, a real scheduler and Redis — the parts shared hosting cannot provide. 
WordPress Hosting WordPress on a server you control, with no plugin blocklist and your own PHP and caching stack. 
aaPanel Hosting A free web control panel for managing sites, databases and certificates on your own server. 
Django Hosting Django behind Gunicorn with PostgreSQL and Celery, on a server built for long-running processes. Deploy LAMP on your own server
Root access, your choice of size, and no container between you and the application.