Ubicloud vs Illumifi

Ubicloud lets teams run VMs, managed PostgreSQL, and GitHub Actions runners on bare metal from Hetzner, Leaseweb, or AWS Bare Metal at roughly 3 to 10 times lower cost than AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. The stack covers elastic compute, virtual networking, block storage, and role-based access control with encryption in transit and at rest. Self-host the open source platform or use Ubicloud's managed service with per-minute billing.

Closed hyperscaler clouds trade convenience for lock-in and markup on rented hardware. Ubicloud returns control with portable PostgreSQL you can move off the platform and ABAC roles for fine-grained access. GitHub Actions runners swap in with a one-line workflow change and bill about $0.0016 per minute for a 2 vCPU premium Linux runner versus $0.008 on GitHub.

Production databases start around $62.52 per month for a standard setup, compute VMs from $33.52 per month for 2 vCPU, and burstable instances from $8.38 per month. Customer stories cite six-figure annual savings and IOPS gains over RDS. The project raised a $16 million seed round and targets teams that want hosting convenience without proprietary infrastructure.

Illumifi offers a cloud hosting service designed specifically for Ubiquiti Unifi Network controllers, allowing users to manage their networks remotely with ease and security. The platform runs on Amazon Web Services, providing high availability with an uptime of approximately 99.999%. Servers are strategically located across Europe and North America to ensure fast and reliable performance.

The setup process is straightforward, enabling users to get started within minutes through an intuitive signup. Illumifi fully supports the official Unifi mobile app on both iOS and Android, making network management accessible on the go. Security is enhanced with multi-factor authentication for user accounts and an optional integrated firewall that restricts controller UI access to specific IP addresses.

Illumifi manages Unifi Controller updates automatically, reducing maintenance tasks for users. The service stores encrypted backups in the cloud, which users can download anytime. Continuous 24/7 server monitoring helps maintain reliability and uptime.

Flexible pricing plans are offered without contracts, allowing users to cancel anytime directly from their dashboard. Custom sub-domains are provided for controller access, with enterprise customers able to use full custom domains. Support is available around the clock via email, with live chat support coming soon within the dashboard.

New features include an intrusion prevention service that limits multiple login attempts and blocks offending IPs temporarily, plus firewall rules managed through AWS and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall services. Illumifi is ideal for businesses seeking a secure, resilient, and easy-to-use cloud platform that scales with their network management needs.

A 7-day free trial grants full access to Standard and Pro plans, allowing users to evaluate the platform risk-free. The roadmap includes enabling full custom domain support for Pro plan members by mid-2025 and the ability to change server cloud regions across supported AWS locations.