Hosting is the foundation everything else rests on. Fast server, good site. Slow server, frustrated visitors. We've run client projects on most providers and have opinions based on actual experience.
Managed WordPress hosting
Kinsta, Cloudways, and WP Engine handle updates, security, and backups for you. Prices start around 30 USD per month. That sounds expensive compared to shared hosting at 5 EUR, but you save it back in time not spent on server administration.
Kinsta runs on Google Cloud Platform. Fast, reliable, great dashboard. Cloudways gives you more control and lets you choose infrastructure (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS). WP Engine is the oldest option with the most third-party integrations.
Budget with control
Hetzner VPS (4 EUR per month) with RunCloud or SpinupWP as server management panel. You get a managed-like experience at a fraction of the price. Requires comfort with decisions about PHP version and cache strategy, but the panels handle most of it.
This is what we run for most of our own projects. Cost-effective and fast.
Swedish hosting
Loopia and Oderland are the most common. Work well for simpler sites. Support in Swedish, servers in Sweden, GDPR-friendly. But performance and flexibility fall a bit short of the international alternatives, especially if you need specific PHP extensions or server configuration.
What we recommend
Clients without their own tech department: Kinsta or Cloudways. Need for control and technical competence: Hetzner plus RunCloud. Simple site with Swedish support required: Oderland.