This question already has an answer here: How to find web hosting that meets my requirements? 5 answers I just paid ($6 /month) for shared Windows hosting through 1&1 hosting. I was having trouble connecting to my database from home, so I sent an email to support. I received the following response: As we checked your concern here in our end, please be advised that due to limitation of Shared Hosting services, there is no option to connect the database to your SQL Management Studio or through Visual Studio. It is only possible for Dedicated Server package. You may only access the database using MyLittleAdmin at the Control Panel. A dedicated server is like $200 per month! What is the point of having database access only through a web console? I feel I am missing something here, or maybe the support agent is. Is there a way to access my MS SQL database on their servers through Visual Studio or SQL Management Studio from my machine? If not, is there a web host who allows this for less than $200 a month? EDIT: Marked as duplicate... I'm not asking for a list of web hosts, I'm asking how to remotely connect to my MSSQL database through 1&1's services.