VPS vs Dedicated Hosting - 4 Main Differences?
When the resources in your shared hosting plan are used up, it's the time for an upgrade to another hosting plan that can bring about faster loading speeds, less downtime, and increased security. But, as there are numerous hosting plans, you might not know how to select the best one for your website.
This article is about the main differences between VPS hosting vs dedicated hosting. And next, we’ll show you how you can pick the best hosting plan for your website.
What Is VPS Hosting?
Web hosting refers to the process of renting or buying space to house a website on the World Wide Web. Since there are many kinds of hosting plans out there in the market, you might have difficulty in finding the best option that meets your requirements.
Usually beginners start with shared hosting, where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet. Since you share the server resources with other users in a shared hosting environment, it is the cheapest hosting solution.
One step up from shared hosting is a Virtual Private Server. In VPS hosting, you share the physical server, but a provider will install a virtual hosting environment on top of the server’s Operating System (OS) to let you have your own dedicated resources.
In other words, a VPS works by making use of a hypervisor to create virtual machines for each website on the server. Thus, your website is on shared server space, but has allocated its own resources.
VPS hosting includes many of the same advantages a dedicated server offers, but at a lower cost. VPS is ideal for growing websites and can offer limitless bandwidth, dedicated disk space, a personal OS, and scalable Random-Access Memory (RAM) for an economical price.
What Is Dedicated Hosting?
As the name indicates, a dedicated hosting service, dedicated server, or managed hosting service is a type of Internet hosting in which the client leases the whole server not shared with any other users. This is one of the main benefits of dedicated hosting. Another benefit of a dedicated hosting solution is significant page loading speed.
Though it is an expensive option, with dedicated hosting you'll have total control over your server and customize the software and physical hardware to best fit your website’s requirements.
The chief disadvantage of dedicated hosting is its high cost. It is expensive to buy dedicated server, particularly in comparison to shared and VPS hosting solutions. Additionally, you are the one who is responsible for the configuration and maintenance of the server.
VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting (4 Main Differences)
Now, let's find out the main differences between the two options:
1. Security & Performance
Though in VPS hosting you share the physical server, it provides a higher level of security and performance in comparison to shared hosting. This is because a VPS gives your website a separate space on a server and a dedicated set of resources. This leads to lower performance and security problems seen in shared hosting.
With VPS, pages would load faster and you'll experience less downtime because it doesn’t have shared resources. In general, VPS hosting is very secure, particularly if you select a managed hosting plan.
But, sharing server hardware increases the danger of security breaches from other websites. Despite the fact that this threat is very little in comparison to shared hosting, it’s yet more notable than if you used a dedicated server.
In the matter of performance, dedicated hosting offers many benefits. If your website has high web traffic and customer transactions, then a dedicated server is the best option for you since you’ll have personal use of CPU output, RAM, and bandwidth.
In addition to that, if another website encounters a security threat, your website won’t be affected. Since you have a separate server hardware and software, you can apply your own security measures, like firewalls, anti-malware systems, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection.
2. Customization
In a dedicated hosting environment, it is possible to customize your server in a way that best meets your particular needs. For instance, you can select your perfect server software and adjust your hardware configurations.
Additionally, with a dedicated server you can install a different OS. Thus, it’s ideal for web developers who are looking for a fully-controlled server for their clients’ websites.
The VPS-hosted websites aren’t very customizable in comparison to dedicated servers, but they offer more flexibility than shared hosting. When you buy VPS hosting server, you can access your server files and install any software you require to run your site. You can't do this in a shared hosting environment.
3. Scalability
Those who want to grow their website as time passes, should know whether their server can proceed to prepare enough resources. With VPS hosting, you can do just that.
On a VPS, it is possible to increase CPU, storage space, and memory. It is an ideal solution for medium-sized websites that desire to expand their audience gradually. If you buy VPS hosting server, you can scale your server resources without upgrading your subscription.
If you reach a point where more scaling is not possible, it’s time to shift to a dedicated server. When you buy a dedicated server, you'll have notable resource allocation, therefore you won’t need to upgrade your plan. In a dedicated hosting environment, you can concentrate on keeping your web traffic instead of increasing your server capabilities.
But, you can also move to a larger server or extend a dedicated server’s resources. When configuring your server, you can select the amount of RAM you’ll require to handle your web traffic. You can choose one RAM size above your present requirements, giving you an opportunity to grow.
4. Cost
Generally, the most significant difference between VPS and dedicated hosting is its cost. The web hosting costs vary broadly depending on the plan you select.
Just like shared hosting, VPS plans are economical. In both shared and VPS hosting plans, hosting providers can put many websites on one single server. That's why the server space can be given to customers at a lower price. Though economical, VPS plans will cost more than shared plans.
On the other hand, when you choose a dedicated hosting, in fact you buy a dedicated server that is just for you. No one else is allowed to use the whole physical server. Thus, the costs are much higher.
A middle ground between VPS and dedicated hosting is cloud hosting. This plan offers customers a network of virtual servers with scalable resources and you only pay for what you use.
VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting; Which One to Choose?
In a shared hosting solution, larger websites may experience more downtime and limited resources. This is when they should upgrade their plan. When you want to select a hosting plan, you should consider your website’s size and traffic and then select the one that can best meet your needs.
Why Dedicated Hosting?
Choose a dedicated hosting solution if:
You have a high-traffic website like an e-commerce or business website.
Your website has grown and VPS resources can't fulfill your needs anymore.
You have the knowledge and skill of configuring and maintaining your own server.
Although dedicated hosting has its own benefits, it is the most expensive hosting plan. You may want to first buy VPS hosting server and then if you see that the allocated resources are not enough, buy a dedicated server. Additionally in a dedicated hosting solution, you need to acquire the knowledge and skill of configuring and maintaining the server.
Why VPS Hosting?
VPS hosting solution is ideal for those who:
have a small to medium business website.
Their online traffic overpasses shared server visitor limits.
Require an economical middle ground choice between shared and dedicated hosting.
In VPS hosting, you share the server hardware with other websites. Moreover, dissimilar to a dedicated server, a VPS is more vulnerable to security breaches.
If you have a WordPress website, a WordPress VPS hosting service would be the best web hosting services. Let’s read more about WordPress VPS hosting:
Read More: What Is WordPress VPS Hosting? Best VPS for WordPress Websites
Upgrade Your Hosting Plan
In the long run, you will notice that shared hosting does not provide the required performance, security, and storage you need to run a high-traffic website. But if you select a VPS or dedicated hosting plan, you will be able to customize your server in a way that best meets your needs.
Conclusion
When choosing between VPS and dedicated hosting, consider the following four differences:
Security & performance: Dedicated hosting plans are the winner in this field because they offer faster loading speeds and advanced security.
Customization: Both VPS and dedicated hosting are flexible, but it is possible to customize a dedicated server’s hardware to best meet your particular needs.
Scalability: For a growing website, VPS hosting is a better choice with an economical server.
Price: Since in VPS hosting the server hardware is shared with other websites, the costs are lower.
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