Grav Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Grav hosting and run a 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.

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

What is Grav?

Grav is a fast, flat-file CMS: there is no database, and pages, configuration, accounts and plugins are plain files. You write content in Markdown, style the site with Twig themes and extend it with plugins, and manage it from a modern admin panel.

This deployment uses the grav-admin bundle, which adds the admin panel, a REST API, Flex Objects and the login, form and email plugins. Grav is licensed under MIT.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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 blog without a database

    Write posts in Markdown and publish them from the admin panel, with nothing to back up except the data volume.

  • Publish documentation

    Keep documentation as Markdown pages styled by a Twig theme, with the REST API available for tooling that needs it.

  • Show a portfolio

    Build a portfolio on a theme and plugins, served from a single low-footprint container (about 54 MiB idle on QA).

  • Host a small business site

    Run a small business site with the form and email plugins from the bundle, editable by account holders in the admin panel.

Grav vs Alternatives

WordPress
WordPress stores its content in a database; Grav keeps pages, configuration and accounts as plain files, so there is no database to run or back up.
Ghost
Ghost is a publishing-focused CMS that runs against a database; Grav is a general flat-file CMS with Markdown pages and Twig themes.
Static site generators
A generator builds files you then upload; Grav serves the Markdown directly and lets you edit pages in an admin panel.

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

Most popular

A fast flat-file site for one blog, portfolio or docs project.

$24.99per month

  • 6 GB RAM
  • 4 vCPU cores
  • 100 GB NVMe SSD
  • 30 TB
  • Unlimited
Get started

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.

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

Most popular

Your rate with 2–5 servers connected.

$5per server / month

  • 2–5 servers
  • Unlimited sites
  • All features included
  • Bring any VPS provider
Get started

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.

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.

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.
Kevin Pineda
I'm moving my servers to xCloud, a cloud control panel by M Asif Rahman and the WPDeveloper team. Their roadmap looks interesting and no, there are no team mates nor API limits with xCloud! #xCloud #wordpress #hosting
Leo Koo
How Cloud Nine Web Elevated Client Experience While Streamlining Hosting Operations using xCloud
Ed Ellingham
xCloud is like having an expert server team on call — without the big agency costs. It's given me back my time and given my clients peace of mind. Highly recommended for freelancers and small teams who want reliable performance and security.
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xCloud isn't just a solution. It's like one of that friend who got your back when you screw things up pretty bad.
Waqar Ahmed
Trust me when I say, once people explore the potential of xCloud they gonna switch from other panels, just keep delivering the best tech, lots of love for the team 😍😍
Rahul Singh
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.
Massimo Villa
Came from cloudways then to runcloud then to xcloud. Looks like I'm staying here.
Gerson El
I've recently taken all of my Vultr-hosted sites and gotten rid of cPanel for them to substitute it with xCloud. I have to say, I'm really impressed with xCloud so far! The interface is definitely the standout feature for me.
Tony Lewis
I came from Cloudways and won't go back. Highly impressed with xCloud. Glad I gave them a chance.
Jared McDowell
I like xCloud better than RunCloud, but one thing I'll point out is that some years ago RunCloud was hungry for business, the support was outstanding, and the community was active and helped each other. Maybe it was sold, there was a change in management, or they stopped being hungry, but the quality of the RunCloud offering declined and it hasn't been moving forward quickly. My point is that currently the xCloud team has the edge and it is theirs to keep or lose
David McCan
How Kevin Heinrichs Cut Hosting Costs by 84% While Running WooCommerce & Node.js Sites Efficiently
Kevin Heinrichs
I had 150 sites on cloudways and am in the process of moving them to xcloud. Much faster and better priced.
Dan Spinoza
Dear xCloud Team, I have been using xCloud for some time now and am genuinely impressed with its capabilities and the flexibility it offers by allowing users to bring their own VPS for management. It's a fantastic service, and my experience so far has been very positive. Successful migrated 5 sites on a single server. Xcloud migration tool worked great. There were few hiccups with security plugin like MalCare but disabling the plugin prior to migration worked just fine.
Rahil Maknojia
Came from runcloud. Tried xcloud and never came back.
Karl Fanega
How Advanced Web Strategies Saved Over $2,000 & Recovered 56 Hours per Month Managing 70+ Client Websites
Gary Moody
xCloud gave me what no other hosting platform could: the flexibility of a VPS with the convenience of managed WordPress. As a solo founder running an entire business on one server, that combination is an important unfair advantage.
Jorge de los Reyes Martínez
I use Server Avatar and xCloud and I'll sooner use xCloud than Server Avatar personally.
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How Newman Web Solutions Ensured Perfect Uptime and Seamless Scaling For 120+ WordPress Sites with xCloud
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I too have moved over to xCloud. It's pretty sweet. One click n8n and uptime Kuma apps
John Aperture
I went from Cloudways to xCloud. No intention on switching in the foreseeable future.
Blaine Moore

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Does Grav need a database?

No. Pages, configuration and accounts are files on the data volume.

How do I sign in the first time?

Open /admin on your domain and create the super-admin account. There is no default password.

Is the site exposed before I create the account?

Yes, briefly: until the first account exists, whoever reaches the address first can claim it. Open /admin straight after install and create your account before you share the link.

What runs alongside Grav?

Nothing. It is a single container with Apache and PHP 8.3.

What should I back up?

The grav_data volume. It holds the core, user pages, configuration, accounts, plugins, cache and logs.

How do I update Grav?

From the admin panel; Grav and its plugins are upgraded there and the result stays in the volume. The pinned version and checksum in the environment are read only when the volume is empty, so they are not an upgrade control.

Does xCloud automatically back up or update Grav?

No. Upgrades are run by you from the admin panel and the template pins its starting release by immutable digest. Server-level backups and snapshots are available on every Cloud VPS.

Does the first start need internet access?

Yes. The first start downloads Grav from github.com, so the server needs outbound HTTPS.

Why do I see 403 responses in the browser console?

The admin dashboard runs its own security self-checks, which show as 403 responses and are expected. Grav Admin may also show a notice about a trusted host; set one if you use the Email plugin.

What are the server requirements, and why does this page sell 6 GB?

The template's baseline asks for 1 CPU core, 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of disk; measured idle use in QA was about 54 MiB. This page sells the 6 GB tier as the entry rung, with real headroom above that baseline.

What survives a restart?

Pages, uploads, accounts and settings, because they live on the persistent grav_data volume that survives an xCloud Restart.

Is xCloud officially partnered with Grav?

No. No official partnership or endorsement between xCloud and the Grav project has been verified. This is a deployment and server-management option for the open-source Grav project.

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.

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