VPS, or virtual private server, hosting is incredibly common to find and usually is among the cheapest type of plans available – coming in just behind shared hosting. VPS plans represent an upgrade over shared hosting while still keeping costs down since a portion of server resources are allocated just for your account and websites to use. Check out the VPS plans below from some of the most popular or cheapest companies in the industry.
Table of Contents
Note: WHdb.com is funded with the help of our visitors. We receive a small commission fee when a user signs up for hosting at no additional cost to our visitors. All information on this website, including prices, is intended to be informational only.
The Difference Between VPS Hosting And Other Types
With VPS, a partition created on the server sets aside some of its resources just for you. While VPS plans often no longer provide access to features like unlimited storage and bandwidth, you generally gain a performance boost in the form of load speeds, reliability, and security.
Unlike dedicated or colocation hosting, you still share universal resources with other accounts on the same server instead of having all resources to yourself. Unlike shared hosting, other accounts of the server do not eat into your allocated resources.
VPS hosting can also exist as a part of a cloud hosting configuration. In this case, your virtual server exists on a network of servers rather than a single machine. While this generally costs more, it also results in a significant boost to uptime and reliability with hosts frequently being able to offer 100% uptime. It’s common to find host refer to VPS plans on cloud server as simply cloud hosting.
The Benefits Of VPS Hosting
VPS hosting is a versatile hosting setup that can appeal to
most customers in need of hosting due to its low cost and improved performance over
shared hosting. This type is ideal for small businesses that want to keep
expenses down while still providing a great experience to customers shopping on
their website.
VPS hosting is usually managed by the web host, although unmanaged VPS is also common to find. With managed hosting, the provider is responsible for updates, security, configuration, and changes to the server powering your sites. Managed VPS also runs on a Linux-based operating system, the most popular server OS platform in the world, most of the time. This makes upgrading to or from VPS hosting an easy process.
The Best Services For VPS Hosting
When shopping for a VPS hosting, there are two important
factors to look out for beyond the basic things like storage, domain and email
caps, and allocated bandwidth:
- Managed vs unmanaged hosting: As previously mentioned, it is common to find both managed and unmanaged VPS plans offered by a single hosting provider. Unmanaged hosting gives you more freedom in how you use your server but places most of the server responsibilities on your shoulders. Generally, what you want to accomplish is the deciding factor between these rather than cost.
- If you decide to go with unmanaged VPS, you will need to also pay for a server OS license if you intend to run that on your account. However, some web hosts do provide this license for free.
VPS hosting provides less opportunities for hosts to cut corners than shared hosting. However, it is still recommended you read reviews from trusted sources before making your purchase.
Things To Remember When Shopping For VPS Hosting
Since hosting metrics like disc space and bandwidth matter
to VPS hosting, it’s important to look at all factors involved. Here are things
you should consider when looking at VPS plans for your site:
- Pay attention to what you’re getting for your
price. Cheaper options cheaper offer less space and bandwidth for you to work
with, but some hosts provide more value for the cost of hosting than others.
Additionally, cheaper options may be for unmanaged
hosting which will require you to set up, update and maintain, and fix your
account in the event that something goes wrong. - Figure out what you need for your website before
you start shopping. Your hosting requirements are going to depend on the amount
of traffic to your website and how your visitors use it. By knowing what you
need for your site, you can pick a plan without paying for space you do not
need. - Consider both the promotional and regular
prices. The promotional price generally lasts the first pay cycle which could
range from a month all the way to a year. The regular price will give you a
better idea of what the long-term cost of your will be. - While your account has allocated resources
dedicated to it, you still share some of the universal resources with other
accounts on your server. Because of this, look at reviews from trusted sources
before making your decision. - Managed
VPS plans are usually running on Linux OS, making the move to and from the
account easy in most cases. - VPS plans may require you to pay a monthly fee
for a license in order to add a control panel to your server. On some hosts,
this license is provided for free.
