Grav Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Grav hosting and run a self-hosted flat-file CMS on your own domain with no database to look after. xCloud runs the pinned Grav 2.2.8 setup as one container, keeps your pages, accounts and plugins on a persistent volume and publishes the site and its admin panel over HTTPS in minutes — you create the super-admin account yourself on first visit.

Deploy your Grav

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Grav?

Grav is a fast, simple and flexible file-based web platform: there is no database, and pages, configuration, accounts and plugins are plain files. You write content in Markdown, style the site with Twig templates and configure it in YAML. Run on your own domain it is a self-hosted Grav site and a flat-file CMS, the alternative to a hosted site builder such as Squarespace or Wix, and it is licensed under MIT.

On xCloud the grav-admin bundle runs on the getgrav/grav php8.3 image, which is pinned by digest, in one container. The first start downloads Grav 2.2.8 from the upstream release and verifies its SHA-256. The bundle adds the admin panel, a REST API and the login, form and email plugins, and everything lives on the grav_data volume.

From Sign-Up to a Live Grav Site In Just 3 Easy Steps

A Grav install normally means a PHP and Apache stack, a downloaded release, writable folders, a domain and a certificate before the first page. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Grav from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in and no credentials to generate.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official Grav image, pinned by immutable digest, as a single container with no database, mount the grav_data volume that holds the whole Grav tree, and publish it over HTTPS on your domain. The first start downloads and installs Grav, so allow a minute or two.
Step 03
Create The Super-Admin
Open your HTTPS URL at /admin right away and create the super-admin account — until you do, anyone reaching the address can claim it. Then write your first page in the admin panel and install a theme or plugin.

Everything Grav Does, On Your Own Server

Grav runs in full here: Markdown pages, Twig themes and the admin panel on your own domain, with everything stored as plain files.

Flat-File, No Database
Pages, configuration, accounts and plugins are plain files on the data volume, so there is no database to run or back up.
Markdown Pages, Twig Themes
Write content in Markdown and style it with Twig themes, then add plugins as the site grows.
A Modern Admin Panel
The grav-admin bundle includes the admin panel at /admin for creating pages and installing themes and plugins.
REST API And Flex Objects
The bundle also includes a REST API and Flex Objects; the API rejects anonymous requests and needs a login or API key.
Login, Form And Email Plugins
The grav-admin bundle ships with login, form and email plugins already included.
Pages Survive A Restart
Pages, uploads, accounts and settings live on the persistent grav_data volume, so an xCloud Restart does not lose them.

Everything You Need To Run Your Flat-File CMS 24/7

Managed hosting for Grav, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Grav 2.2.8 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
No database to run or back up
Admin account created by you
Kept behind xCloud nginx
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Grav

Run a self-hosted flat-file CMS for a small site
Publish a brochure site, portfolio or documentation as Markdown pages with no database to back up, update or secure beside the site.
Edit content in the admin panel
Create the super-admin account on first visit, then manage pages, users and plugins from the admin panel instead of editing files over SSH.
Keep the whole site as files
Pages, uploads, accounts and settings sit in one tree on grav_data, so one volume copy captures the entire site, ready to restore or move.
Add features with plugins and themes
Extend the site with Grav plugins and Twig themes, upgraded from the admin panel, with the added files kept on the persistent volume.

Grav vs Alternatives

Squarespace: A hosted site builder run by its vendor; Grav is open-source software whose pages and settings are plain files in a volume on your own xCloud server.
Wix: A hosted website builder with its own editor; with Grav you write Markdown and Twig templates and keep every file yourself, with no database to manage.
WordPress: A database-backed CMS; Grav keeps pages, accounts and settings as plain files, so there is no database to run beside the site.
Kirby: Another file-based CMS that appears among Grav's peers; compare its licence and editing model with Grav's Markdown pages and MIT licence before choosing.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Grav hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Grav sits alongside other sites and tools.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Grav itself is licensed by its maintainers under MIT.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Grav on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Flat-File CMS?

Grav on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

xCloud works really well, I am surprised by its performance being this the release version, I have tried many paid platforms such as runcloud, cloudpages or serveravatar, as well as free platforms such as CyberPanel, CloudPanel or Hestia Control Panel and direct competitors such as SpinupWP and FlyWP. Of all those that I have tried, the platform that works best for WordPress is SpinupWP and I believe that xCloud can reach and surpass that development, its roadmap is promising. Congratulations to the xCloud team, I hope they become the leading platform in the segment, it has all the potential to achieve it!

Brian Geovanny

I've been with runcloud for the last 3 years. However, after trying xcloud for the last month, I'm switching over. They are on a roll with their setup.

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So far my experience has been smooth like silk. I didn't imagine that configuring and managing a VPS would be so easy. As of today, I have deployed 8 sites. The support is good, and they treat users with respect, even if they ask stupid questions (myself included). For the future, I hope for greater flexibility in scheduled backups and more comprehensive and consistent documentation. I'm sure that within a few months, xCloud will become the leader in its segment. This community is amazing, and the Staff here is super helpful.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Can I run Grav in Docker?

Yes, and this template is Grav Docker hosting without the setup: the getgrav/grav php8.3 image pinned by digest, one container, the grav_data volume and an HTTPS route. On first start it downloads Grav 2.2.8 and checks its SHA-256, so the server needs outbound HTTPS.

Does Grav need a database?

No. Upstream describes Grav as file-based, and in this template pages, configuration, accounts and plugins are all files on the grav_data volume. There is no database container, nothing to dump separately, and no database credentials to generate or rotate.

How do I create the Grav admin account?

Open https://your-domain/admin straight after install and create the super-admin account. Until an account exists, every request redirects to /admin and the first visitor can claim it, so do this before you share the address. There is no preset password.

Is Grav free?

Yes. Grav is free, open-source software under the MIT licence, so there is no licence fee. Your plan pays for the dedicated Cloud VPS underneath. Individual plugins and themes you add may carry their own terms.

What PHP version does Grav need?

Upstream's README requires PHP 8.3 or higher. This template uses the getgrav/grav php8.3 image, which bundles PHP 8.3 and Apache, so nothing is installed on the host. The PHP upload limit is 128 MB, matching the proxy's request body limit.

How much RAM does Grav need?

The template manifest asks for 512 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 4 GB of disk. This page sells the 6 GB tier as the entry rung, which leaves plenty of room for media-heavy pages and other apps on the same server.

How do I back up Grav?

Back up the grav_data volume, which holds the core, pages, uploads, accounts, plugins, cache and logs as plain files. That single volume is the backup target. Nothing schedules it for you, so copy it on your own schedule and test a restore.

Backups in xCloud

How do I update Grav?

Nothing updates itself. The GRAV_SEED_VERSION setting only applies on an empty volume, so changing it does not upgrade a live site. Upgrade Grav and its plugins from the admin panel, after taking a copy of grav_data and reading the release notes.

How do I migrate from WordPress to Grav?

Grav stores pages as Markdown files, so content moves by converting posts to Markdown pages under user/pages on the grav_data volume. This page makes no import-tool claim: check Grav's learn documentation for a migration method that fits your site.

Can I change the domain later?

Yes. Grav builds its links from the address a visitor used and stores no domain, so you can change the domain freely. Point the new domain at the server in xCloud; there is no URL setting inside Grav to migrate.

Is this a Grav cloud service?

It is Grav on a dedicated Cloud VPS under your xCloud login, a Grav cloud of your own at your domain. The public site is visible to everyone, the admin panel needs your account, and the REST API at /api needs a login or key.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.