**Want to jump straight to the answer? The best VPS host for most people is Hostinger or Kamatera
Shared hosting is cost-effective for beginner or low-traffic websites. But when your traffic grows, itâÃÂÃÂs time to start looking for virtual private server (VPS) hosting.
With VPS hosting you wonâÃÂÃÂt be sharing hosting resources with anyone and you can set up the server the way you want. After researching dozens of providers, IâÃÂÃÂve narrowed down the top VPS hosting plans.
== The Top 10 Best VPS Hosting Providers ==
Hostinger âÃÂÃÂBest value VPS hosting KamateraâÃÂàBest VPS hosting for instant scaling InMotionâÃÂàMost reliable uptime BluehostâÃÂàEasiest upgrade from shared hosting Liquid WebâÃÂàBest VPS hosting with high memory and storage Scala Hosting HostGatorâÃÂàBest VPS for hands-on customer support A2 HostingâÃÂàBest unmanaged plans for developers iPageâÃÂàBest VPS hosting for when youâÃÂÃÂre starting from scratch iDrive ComputeâÃÂàBest for edge computing
In this review I highlight each providerâÃÂÃÂs plans and pricing and explain what makes each a good VPS hosting option. I also share some potential downsides or weaknesses of each provider, and provide a methodology you can use to select the best VPS host for your needs.
IâÃÂÃÂve also included a quick review of VPS hosting in case youâÃÂÃÂd like a refresher on what this service is and how it works.
== Virtual Private Server Reviews ==
Read on for detailed reviews of the VPS hosts listed above.
Hostinger âÃÂàBest Value VPS Hosting
- Starts at $2.99/month
- Month-to-month pricing
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Hostinger offers fast and reliable servers with the best pricing of any VPS hosts on our list.
Its best value plan starts from $2.99 per month âÃÂàan excellent deal for VPS hosting. You still get 1 TB of bandwidth and 20 GB of SSD storage.
On top of that, Hostinger ensures excellent loading times with a 100 MB/second guarantee on your network. In addition, you have complete control over your hosting as it offers full root access.
Hostinger has a dedicated IPv6 block infrastructure to keep connections secure and efficient. Its servers provide enough processing power for medium to large-scale online projects.
Hostinger offers eight VPS plans:
As you can see, HostingerâÃÂÃÂs VPS hosting provides a wide variety of options. Coupled with its great pricing and rich features, the VPS host offers the best value for money.
Personally, IâÃÂÃÂd go with the VPS 4 plan, which gives you all the bandwidth and RAM youâÃÂÃÂd need to make sure your online project runs smoothly.
I highly recommend Hostinger to anyone that wants fast, secure, and reliable VPS hosting. Sign up today at Hostinger.
Kamatera âÃÂàBest VPS Hosting for Instant Scaling
- Instant scalability
- More than a dozen servers worldwide
- Starts at $4/month
- 30-day FREE trial
Kamatera offers a wide variety of flexible cloud-based VPS solutions for web hosting. You can set up their servers for anything you needâÃÂÃÂemail, CRM, ERP, VoIPâÃÂÃÂand the service grows with you.
Along with unlimited storage, you can add new servers as required, start and stop servers at any time, and add new databases as you.
In fact, Kamatera is one of the most scalable VPS services out there.
You can increase your server numbers in a matter of minutes. This is ideal for any growing startup that needs to increase the power of their website over time. The same is true if youâÃÂÃÂre strapped for resources and need to temporarily pull in the reins.
With Kamatera, you donâÃÂÃÂt have to choose among plans. Instead you can dial in the exact amount of resources you need.
Kamatera lets you customize the type of servers, OS, and control panel for your VPS hosting. Their global technical support network also operates 24/7 worldwide with more than a dozen data centers in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
If you ever have any issues, you can always get someone on the line to help you.
Since their services are customized to your exact specifications, we canâÃÂÃÂt share exact pricing details here. But we can say that prices begin
*at just $4* for an unmanaged server.
Kamatera is a great deal for people who want total control over configuration. If you want a more hands-off experience, KamateraâÃÂÃÂs managed plans start at $54.
InMotion VPS âÃÂàMost Reliable Uptime
- High-performance cloud VPS
- Starts at $19.99/month
- Free and unlimited email
- 90-day money-back guarantee
Unlike other web hosting providers that are best-known for shared hosting or dedicated servers, InMotion
**specializes in VPS hosting
Their plans come in two flavors: managed and cloud. While their managed hosting is great and offers tremendous performance, I highly recommend their cloud hosting plan. It offers even more control over your VPS server for developers and website managers. It also comes with enterprise-level hardware to ensure a 99.9%+ uptime rate.
LetâÃÂÃÂs take a look at each one to see whatâÃÂÃÂs best for your website.
**InMotion Managed VPS Hosting**
InMotionâÃÂÃÂs managed plans are ideal for business owners, agencies, and resellers, which is why InMotion landed at the top of our list of top reseller hosting providers. Each plan offers free server management, updates, and free site migrations.
YouâÃÂÃÂll also benefit from a resource monitoring dashboard, unlimited domains, unlimited email accounts, and unlimited MySQL databases.
HereâÃÂÃÂs what their plans look like for three-year contracts:
- 2 GB RAM âÃÂàStarting at $19.99 per month
- 4 GB RAM âÃÂàStarting at $39.99 per month
- 6 GB RAM âÃÂàStarting at $49.99 per month
- 8 GB RAM âÃÂàStarting at $59.99 per month
All plans are ecommerce-optimized and come with optional root access for those of you who want more advanced control over your settings. These prices reflect the longest contract commitment and best pricing option.
**InMotion Cloud VPS**
The cloud hosting account plans offered by InMotion are best for developers and system administrators. ThatâÃÂÃÂs because each plan comes with full root access, including SSH keys, which gives you total control over customization.
As a developer, youâÃÂÃÂll essentially get a blank slate to customize a VPS to meet the exact needs of your website. You can also code in the language of your preference, like Java, Ruby, and other popular choices.
InMotion Cloud VPS provides enterprise-level hardware, with SSD servers that are 20x faster than the competition.
- cVPS-1 âÃÂàStarting at $5 per month
- cVPS-2 âÃÂàStarting at $10 per month
- cVPS-3 âÃÂàStarting at $15 per month
- cVPS-4 âÃÂàStarting at $20 per month
- cVPS-6 âÃÂàStarting at $30 per month
- cVPS-8 âÃÂàStarting at $50 per month
- cVPS-16 âÃÂàStarting at $80 per month
- cVPS-32 âÃÂàStarting at $160 per month
In my review of InMotion hosting I found that in order to get the best introductory rates for cloud VPS, you need tofor one year, as opposed to two years with the managed plans.
Prices for managed plans and cloud hosting plans are a lot alike. The biggest difference between the two is basically how much control you want over the server.
Unless youâÃÂÃÂre a developer, I think that the majority of you should lean toward the managed plans, just based on simplicity. Learn more at InMotion.
Bluehost VPS âÃÂàEasiest Upgrade from Shared Hosting
- Normally $29.99/month
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- Free SSD for extreme speed
- 30-day money back guarantee
Bluehost is an industry leader in the web hosting space.
Its VPS plans offer a wide range of hosting options to accommodate the needs of nearly every website. Bluehost is an excellent choice for anyone new to VPS hostingâÃÂÃÂor new to hosting in general.
VPS hosting gives you more control over the server than standard shared hosting does. However, with that control comes increased responsibilities, which many inexperienced users find overwhelming.
Not with Bluehost, though. It has designed everything with beginners in mind.
Bluehost offers a massive knowledge base that allows you to learn anything you want about VPS hosting. It also has a great customer support team that can be reached by telephone, email, or live chat 24/7 to help out with any questions or issues.
Bluehost allows multi-server management, meaning you can add more space to your plan at any given time. This is ideal for websites that need to scale at a momentâÃÂÃÂs notice, without any delays or downtime.
YouâÃÂÃÂll be able to accomplish this directly from your advanced cPanel, without any assistance from a Bluehost administrator.
Bluehost has several powerful plans with straightforward pricing. No hidden fees or surprises. They even give you a free domain name just for signing up.
**Standard VPS**
- Starting at $18.99 per month
- 2 CPU cores
- 30 GB of SSD
- 2 GB of RAM
- 1 TB of bandwidth
**Enhanced VPS**
- Starting at $29.99 per month
- 2 CPU cores
- 60 GB of SSD
- 4 GB of RAM
- 2 TB of bandwidth
**Ultimate VPS**
- Starting at $59.99 per month
- 4 CPU cores
- 120 GB of SSD
- 8 GB of RAM
- 3 TB of bandwidth
Bluehost offers pricing and resources for websites of all shapes and sizes.
I found in my deep-dive review of Bluehost that even if youâÃÂÃÂre looking for an entry-level VPS plan, the Enhanced VPS makes more sense than the Standard option. For just $10 more per month, youâÃÂÃÂll get double the SSD, RAM, and bandwidth.
It is worth noting that prices listed above are promotional rates. YouâÃÂÃÂll pay $29.99, $59.99, $89.99, and $119.99, respectively, when your plan renews.
All VPS plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. For a reasonable price, youâÃÂÃÂll benefit from plenty of resources, support, and uptime compared to other options on the market. Try Bluehost today.
Liquid Web VPS âÃÂàBest VPS Hosting with High Memory and Storage
- Starts at $15/month
- Fully managed services
- Enhanced SSD servers
- 59-second support guarantee
Liquid Web is one of the most under the radar VPS hosting services out there.
What they lack in name recognition, they make up for in a very powerful VPS hosting service.
All Liquid Web VPS plans are fully managed. That means your hardware and network are taken care of for you.
Their administrators also handle all security updates and patches, as well as support for the operating system and all software.
Each of their virtual private servers boasts a staggering 10 TB of bandwidth. ThatâÃÂÃÂs the most weâÃÂÃÂve seen so far. The 16 GB of RAM plan has up to 200 GB of SSD disk space, which is also the highest weâÃÂÃÂve seen.
To put that into perspective for you, 16 GB of RAM is double the amount of the highest plans offered by both Bluehost and InMotion (both of which still offer very good VPS plans).
Unlike some of the other hosting providers weâÃÂÃÂve seen so far, Liquid Web doesnâÃÂÃÂt have any special or fancy names for their plans. YouâÃÂÃÂre essentially paying for your resources, starting with RAM.
- 2 GB RAM âÃÂà$15 per month
- 4 GB RAM âÃÂà$25 per month
- 8 GB RAM âÃÂà$35 per month
- 16 GB RAM âÃÂà$95 per month
These are all annual contract-based prices. YouâÃÂÃÂll pay more if you want to do month-to-month.
Liquid Web has 2-year plans available upon request. But youâÃÂÃÂll need to talk to their customer service team to find out those special rates for your website.
Liquid Web is perfect for cases where you need a lot of bandwidth and disk space. ItâÃÂÃÂs a key differentiator for sites with a lot of videos, cached images, or interactive elements.
The support offered by the Liquid Web team is exceptional. They are available 24/7 via phone, email, and live chat.
Most VPS providers donâÃÂÃÂt offer a 16 GB plan. Though I doubt most of you will need it, for those who do this is where I recommend getting it.
Click here and use coupon code QUICKSPROUT to get 40% off 2 months of any Liquid Web hosting plan.
Scala Hosting âÃÂàBest for Customizing VPS Resources
- Fully customizable VPS resources
- Max out at 24 CPU cores, 128 GB RAM, & 2 TB of disk space
- Choose datacenter & OS
- 24 helpful add-ons
VPS gives you more resourcesâÃÂÃÂRAM, disk space, and CPU coresâÃÂÃÂthan shared or cloud hosting will.
But sometimes, bespoke VPS hosting packages give the exact amount of those resources
*that your specific business needs. *
Scala Hosting lets you tailor your VPS servers to the exact specifications youâÃÂÃÂll want for your sites.
And by exact, I mean
*exact. *Scala offers a build-your-own VPS hosting tool. Check it out below:
You can use sliders to set the number of CPU cores (choose from one to 24), how much RAM (2 GB to 128 GB), and the storage space of your SSD (50 GB to 2,000 GB).
Enter the combination you need for your site and ScalaâÃÂÃÂs tool willout prices for monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual billing. Managed VPS plans also come in two-year and three-year terms.
For example, letâÃÂÃÂs say you have a social networking site where people can share photos, post videos, and contribute as much content to the community as theyâÃÂÃÂd like. ItâÃÂÃÂs a small but active community, so you never have to worry much about traffic spikes, but you need the site to run smoothly when dozens or more are posting and browsing at once. And you need ample storage for all the content theyâÃÂÃÂre posting.
In that case, you could set up a VPS plan through Scala that has four CPU cores, 10 GB of memory, and 400 GB of storage. Paying annually, that would run you $69/month for self-managed VPS through Scala. ThatâÃÂÃÂs just nine bucks more than BluehostâÃÂÃÂs Ultimate VPS package, where you get the same number of cores, but 2 GB less RAM, and 280 GB less SSD space.
That same package for ScalaâÃÂÃÂs fully managed VPS is a very competitive $119.95/month.
Plus, you can select your preferred datacenterâÃÂÃÂchoose from New York, Dallas, or EuropeâÃÂÃÂat no extra charge. On self-managed plans, you can select one of eight operating systems. For fully managed, you can select whether youâÃÂÃÂd like SPanel for your control panel or cPanel for anywhere from five to 1,000 accounts.
Customization doesnâÃÂÃÂt stop there. Choose from 24 different add-ons to tweak your package even further. You can add unbranded WHMCS, Softaculous, or ClientExec for client management, additional cPanel licenses, a CloudLinux license, and more.
DonâÃÂÃÂt want to build your own? Prebuilt self-managed VPS packages start at $10/month and the same for fully managed plans start at $9.95/month.
If you know exactly what you need and donâÃÂÃÂt want to jump through any hoops to get it for your sites, go with Scala Hosting.
HostGator VPS âÃÂàBest VPS for Hands-On Customer Support
- Great customer service team
- Flexible software options
- Advanced server features
- 45-day money back guarantee
HostGator is another popular name in the world of web hosting. Their VPS plans are top-notch for their excellent pricing plans.
Where they really shine, though, are their excellent customer support offerings. For example, they offer free content transfers if youâÃÂÃÂre migrating from a different web host. ThatâÃÂÃÂs a service that youâÃÂÃÂd normally spend hundreds of dollars at another hosting site.
But HostGator transfers âÃÂÃÂwebsite files, databases, scripts, and one free domain registrationâÃÂàfor absolutely no cost to you. You just have to do it within 30 days of signing up. ThatâÃÂÃÂs world-class support.
With VPS hosting, getting timely customer support from the right person is crucial. The increased control you have over the server environment means that a huge number of issues can arise. Questions get technically complex very quickly, and you may not even know how to articulate what is going wrong.
Their customer support team is also on hand 24/7/365 via phone, email, or live chat to help you with any of your needs.
Here are the VPS pricing plans for HostGator:
**Snappy 2000**
- Starting at $23.95 per month
- 2 GB of RAM
- 2 CPU cores
- 120 GB of disk space
- 1.5 TB of bandwidth
**Snappy 4000**
- Starting at $34.95 per month
- 4 GB of RAM
- 2 CPU cores
- 165 GB of disk space
- 2 TB of bandwidth
**Snappy 8000**
- Starting at $59.95 per month
- 8 GB of RAM
- 4 CPU cores
- 240 GB of disk space
- 3 TB of bandwidth
Although their plans arenâÃÂÃÂt the lowest that weâÃÂÃÂve seen, theyâÃÂÃÂre still pretty good. Their VPS plans are geared towards more professional, experienced web managers though.
TheyâÃÂÃÂre very good at giving developers great control over their exact hosting specifications. HostGator stands out with its reliable and multi-layer security network. This enhanced protection paired with the ability to easily scale your resources is what makes HostGator a top VPS choice on our list
Along with that, you get unlimited MySQL Databases, full root access, and unlimited SFTP users. So if you want more control over technical aspects of your website, this is the host for you.
They also offer good cloud hosting plans as I found in my review of HostGator cloud hosting. Just keep in mind that their customer service and support falls a bit short compared to other providers.
A2 Hosting VPS âÃÂàBest Unmanaged Plans for Developers
- Managed starts at $49.99/month
- Unmanaged starting at $5/month
- Free SSD with root access
- 30-day money back guarantee
A2 Hosting offers some of the fastest hosting out there. They especially stand out because they offer both managed and unmanaged VPS plans.
Typically, unmanaged VPS plans with root access and custom features come at a higher price point. But not with A2 Hosting.
Experienced developers can get an unmanaged virtual private server for as low as $5 per month. Although with just 20 GB of storage and 512 MB of RAM, this entry-level plan likely wonâÃÂÃÂt meet your needs.
YouâÃÂÃÂll also get root access for both the unmanaged and managed plans. This gives you greater control to make custom changes to your virtual server. Coupled with their low price point, it makes it a top choice for anyone whoâÃÂÃÂs looking to really take the reins of their website.
HereâÃÂÃÂs a closer look at A2âÃÂÃÂs VPS plans:
**Unmanaged VPS Plans**
- Runway 1 âÃÂàStarting at $4.99 per month
- Runway 2 âÃÂàStarting at $7.99 per month
- Runway 4 âÃÂàStarting at $9.99 per month
- Supersonic 8 âÃÂàStarting at $34.99 per month
These are all based on 3-year contracts. If you want a one year or monthly contract, it will cost more per month.
With the unmanaged plans, you can configure your server preferences for disk space, CPU, memory, and bandwidth. Obviously, any adjustments will impact the price.
**Managed VPS Plans**
- Lift 4 âÃÂàStarting at $39.99 per month
- Lift 8 âÃÂàStarting at $54.99 per month
- Lift 16 âÃÂàStarting at $67.99 per month
- Mach 8 âÃÂàStarting at $59.99 per month
These are all based on 3-year contracts. If you want a one year or monthly contract, it will cost more per month.
The only difference between the Managed plans and Core plans is that the core plans come with root access. However, you wonâÃÂÃÂt be able to configure your server the same way you would if you select an unmanaged plan.
Overall, A2 is a great choice for developers who want complete control and customization over their VPS at an affordable rate. For traditional managed hosting, IâÃÂÃÂd probably look elsewhere.
With that said, A2 Hosting has one of the best customer support teams on the market. So if thatâÃÂÃÂs something that you prioritize, itâÃÂÃÂs worth taking a closer look at their plans. Check out my full review of A2 hosting for more about the company.
iPage VPS âÃÂàBest VPS Hosting If YouâÃÂÃÂre Starting from Scratch
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Free domain and SSL certificate
- Starts at $19.99/month
- 30-day money back guarantee
iPage an affordable VPS plan with a few useful tools for people just starting out. YouâÃÂÃÂll also get a high degree of customer support, which isnâÃÂÃÂt always the case with VPS hosting.
They actually specialize in web design and other services, as I discovered in my in-depth review of iPage hosting. For those of you who are building a new website from scratch and want to start with a solid, affordable VPS hosting plan, iPage is a top choice.
Their drag-and-drop website builder allows you to create a great looking website easily. No coding or web development knowledge is required. TheyâÃÂÃÂll also throw in a free domain for you. That makes it a great package for someone creating a new website with VPS hosting.
LetâÃÂÃÂs take a closer look at their plans.
**Basic VPS**
- Starting at $19.99 per month (renews at $24.99)
- 1 CPU core
- 1 GB of RAM
- 40 GB of disk space
- 1 TB of bandwidth
**Business VPS**
- Starting at $47.99 per month (renews at $59.49)
- 2 CPU cores
- 4 GB of RAM
- 90 GB of disk space
- 3 TB of bandwidth
**Optimum VPS**
- Starting at $79.99 per month (renews at $99.99)
- 4 CPU cores
- 8 GB of RAM
- 120 GB of disk space
- 4 TB of bandwidth
As you can see, these are the lowest prices that weâÃÂÃÂve seen so far, even after the full-price renewal rates kick in.
Even with these low rates, youâÃÂÃÂll still benefit from quality 24/7 support. You just wonâÃÂÃÂt get the capacity and resources offered by some higher-tier providers. Learn more at iPage.
iDrive Compute âÃÂàBest for Edge Computing
- Great for managing IoT devices
- Boost organizational processing power
- 20 U.S. data centers & 4,000 servers worldwide
- Get 90% off your first year
Your organization can unlock a different power of VPS servers through iDrive Compute. Beyond website hosting is VPS for edge computing, leveraging powerful servers spread out across strategic physical locations to boost overall computational power.
This can have a wide array of useful applications, depending on the nature and work of your company.
Perhaps you are involved with intense, data-driven research at a massive scale. Using virtual machines on several different servers allows you to process data in a fraction of the time, while still keeping it secure.
Or maybe youâÃÂÃÂre the key technology behind monitoring patients, beds, and devices in a hospital system with many locations. Edge computing through VPS servers means youâÃÂÃÂll always have a data center near enough to each hospital that you wonâÃÂÃÂt lose lives because your tech couldnâÃÂÃÂt sync, respond, or alert fast enough.
Even companies whose business itself isnâÃÂÃÂt in IoT or intense computing can stand to wield the better speed, reliability, and security of VPS edge computing. If you have factories with any autonomous devices, if you deploy smart monitors at dozens of work sites, or if youâÃÂÃÂre involved with smart personal devices, home devices, or self-driving vehiclesâÃÂÃÂthe gains you receive from edge computing cannot be understated, especially as demand grows both in terms of users and the sheer quantity of data being transferred.
ThatâÃÂÃÂs exactly why iDrive developed this service offering, featuring 4,000 servers across the world and 300
*petabytes* of storage capability. iDrive Compute is scalable, secure VPS hosting for edge computing and running virtual machinesâÃÂÃÂand it comes at a price tag that makes it as accessible to young, ambitious companies as it is to mature, enterprise-grade operations.
You can get 90% off your first year of either shared or dedicated VPS infrastructure, bringing its entry-level shared CPU package (one CPU, 1 GB RAM, 1 TB transfer, 40 GB NVMe storage) down to $6 for the first year.
Dedicated VPS is split into CPU-optimized and memory-optimized packages, which start at $48 and $72 for the first year, respectively.
All plans scale pretty high in terms of resources. If you know you really need the beans from the get-go, iDrive Compute has a plan ready for you. And their dedicated support can not only help you choose the right plan for your needs, theyâÃÂÃÂll handle all hardware upgrades and maintenance for you.
Learn more about edge computing with VPS by visiting iDrive Compute today.
== How to Find the Best VPS Host for You ==
Now that youâÃÂÃÂve had a chance to look at some specific VPS plans, itâÃÂÃÂs time to determine the best possible choice for you and your website.
The two main questions to consider are straightforward:
- What resources do you need?
- How much are you willing to spend?
In most cases, price and features will go hand-in-hand. If you need the highest possible RAM, disk space, and storage, then you should expect to pay higher prices.
Aside from that, you could lean toward one provider or plan over another based on other features like customer support, security, and the ability to scale.
Some of you might be wondering what qualifications and standards we used to determine which VPS services are the best. All of the plans on our list scored high based on the following considerations.
You can see them below and use them when making your final decision:
24/7/365Support
Good customer support isnâÃÂÃÂt just a âÃÂÃÂnice to haveâÃÂàwhen it comes to VPS hostingâÃÂÃÂitâÃÂÃÂs an absolute necessity. In fact, good customer support should be a deal breaker for anyone looking for a VPS web host.
This is especially true if youâÃÂÃÂre managing a website for your business. If your website goes down, or you become a victim of a DDoS attack, you need to be able to pick up a phone and have someone on the other end help you address the issue ASAP. Each minute they donâÃÂÃÂt help you could mean tons of lost revenue.
**At the bare minimum, **IâÃÂÃÂd recommend a VPS plan that comes with 24/7 phone and live chat support. Some of the choices on our list stand out for their support more than others. I made sure to point that out in the reviews above.
Of course, customer support doesnâÃÂÃÂt start and end when things go wrong. You also want real people working for the hosting provider to be there to help you with other things that come up when managing an online business.
For example, if youâÃÂÃÂre creating a new website from scratch then you probably donâÃÂÃÂt care about free site migrations. But for those of you who are looking to transfer from another provider, a free migration and free domain transfer could save you a couple of hundred dollars.
If that sounds like your situation, look to HostPapa. It offers free VPS migration and free domain transfer on top of 24/7 customer support.
Root Access Availability
Root access gives Linux, Unix, and Linux-adjacent users the ability to implement more command over their websites and digital assets, allowing for greater access and customization.
To be clear, not every VPS plan on our list comes with root access. But, not everyone needs it.
Root access is only necessary for those of you who are developers, are technically advanced, or want to make custom changes to your virtual server. The vast majority of you will be better off choosing a fully managed VPS plan.
But if youâÃÂÃÂre looking for a VPS host, youâÃÂÃÂre likely looking to have more control over your website anyway. Luckily, there are some fully managed plans that come with optional root access as well. For example, InMotion Managed VPS Hosting gives you optional root access for more advanced control.
With InMotion Cloud VPS, youâÃÂÃÂll get full root access along with SSH keys for further secure customization.
A2 Hosting is another standout if root access is important. They offer full root access in plans that start as low as $5 per month.
So, just make sure you know before choosing a plan whether you want to have root access or not.
High Uptime Rates
Uptime is arguably the most important factor to consider in web hosting. In many cases, uptime is the reason why anyone would want to upgrade from a shared host to a VPS host.
ThatâÃÂÃÂs why you need to put a premium on uptime rates. Every VPS plan on this guide performed well in our uptime tests.
Most providers guarantee a 99.9% uptime rate and theyâÃÂÃÂll credit your bill if they fail to meet those standards. However, youâÃÂÃÂd like to avoid this scenario altogether for a few reasons.
First, getting a few extra bucks back isnâÃÂÃÂt worth your site being down when it could be up and making you more money. And, depending on how long itâÃÂÃÂs down for, that could mean
**a lot of money
Second, do you know how much time you actually lose each year if your site is down even a fraction of a percentage point? ItâÃÂÃÂs probably a lot more than you think.
The difference between 99% and 99.9% uptime is over 80 hours a year! ThatâÃÂÃÂs more than three days that your website is down annually, all because you didnâÃÂÃÂt get a good web host.
ThatâÃÂÃÂs why you want to find a good web host company that guarantees at least 99.9% uptime per year. If youâÃÂÃÂre evaluating VPS plans from an uptime perspective, you can rest easy knowing that every provider on our list is a safe option.
Also, if or when your website goes down, youâÃÂÃÂll want the VPS host to be there at any hour of the day to help you outâÃÂÃÂwhich goes back to our point about always-availableglove service. During downtime (both planned and unplanned), this transparency and communication is key.
Powerhouse Performance
The main appeal of VPS hosting is that it can drastically increase your websiteâÃÂÃÂs performance. Your website will experience a major speed boost now that itâÃÂÃÂs not sharing resources with other sites.
Site speed is important for all websites. A one-second delay in load time can mean page views reduced by 11% and 7% fewer conversions. This is especially crucial for those of you who plan to experience high volumes of traffic. You want to make sure that you find a plan that can accommodate your traffic without sacrificing speed.
The VPS hosts on this list have been reviewed and researched to make sure that they offer the best load times of any host.
Though much of your websiteâÃÂÃÂs speed depends on the amount of media and assets you have on it (and how itâÃÂÃÂs optimized), there are two very important elements to take into consideration that impact your websiteâÃÂÃÂs overall performance:
**SSD Disk**
Solid-state drive (SSD) disks are the devices that store your websiteâÃÂÃÂs assets, like images, videos, content, web pages, and so on.
They also help boost your website much more quickly for the user. As such, they greatly improve performance overall.
**RAM**
RAM refers to the amount of working memory that can be accessed by your serverâÃÂÃÂs CPU. When a program is booted up, it is temporarily stored on the serverâÃÂÃÂs RAM for easy access.
If you have too little RAM, then that information is stored on your SSD or hard driveâÃÂÃÂwhich takes much longer to access.
So the more the better in general. But it all really depends on your websiteâÃÂÃÂs demands.
WeâÃÂÃÂve seen RAM as low as 512 MB (A2 Entry Unmanaged VPS) and as high as 24 GB (HostPapa Extreme VPS).
The number of resources youâÃÂÃÂll get will be determined by the plan you choose. It all depends on what you need and how much youâÃÂÃÂre willing to spend.
This is particularly important for websites that need a high threshold for RAM and disk space. For example, if you need email hosting, in-browser games or apps, or IoT platforms.
== What is VPS Hosting? ==
VPS hosting is a step above shared web hosting. With a virtual private server, youâÃÂÃÂll still be sharing a single server, but youâÃÂÃÂll be sharing it with fewer websites.
HereâÃÂÃÂs how it works.
Basically, a virtual private server is one server thatâÃÂÃÂs divided into separate virtual machines. Each virtual server can be run with custom configurations and separate operating systems.
VPS hosting comes with dedicated server resources as well. So even though youâÃÂÃÂre sharing a single server with other websites, your RAM and CPU are independent of those sites.
A virtual private server is best for those of you who want the benefits of a dedicated server, but donâÃÂÃÂt want to pay the high costs associated with dedicated hosting.
Most of you probably donâÃÂÃÂt need a dedicated server. But youâÃÂÃÂll eventually outgrow your shared hosting plan.
Upgrading from a shared plan to a virtual private server will improve the speed and performance of your website. Since you wonâÃÂÃÂt be sharing resources, your site will be more responsive on the user-end. VPS hosting is more equipped to handle traffic spikes as well.
For more information on how VPS stacks up against other hosting options, check out my guide on the best web hosting providers.
Now, thatâÃÂÃÂs just for hosting
*websites*. VPS servers can also be used to ratchet up your tech infrastructureâÃÂÃÂs capability, primarily through edge computing.
If you find a provider with enough strategically placed data centers, you can leverage their VPS servers for a wider array of applications.
This runs the gamut from monitoring, accommodating, and syncing IoT devices (such as smart personal or home devices, self-driving vehicles, and automated production lines) to dynamic content delivery, gaming, and data processing.
In the end, you get VPS servers at several physical locations at your disposal, with which you can spin up virtual machines to run programs, applications, or functions. Edge computing is the future endpoint of our current journey from distributed through cloud computing.
User demand, the amount of data being transferred, and resource needs have never been greater. So, many companies across diverse fields and sizes can benefit from leveraging VPS for edge computing.
== Virtual Servers Compared to Other Hosting Options ==
Before you finalize your decision on a VPS hosting plan, you need to make sure that a virtual private server is your best option.
If youâÃÂÃÂre creating a new website from scratch and donâÃÂÃÂt plan on having too much traffic for a long time, then shared hosting will be your best bet.
For those of you who want complete customization over your server and expect 100,000+ visitors each month, then you might want to consider a dedicated server. You can refer to my guide on the best dedicated hosting plans for more information on this.
VPS hosting is for everyone else who falls in the middle.
So if youâÃÂÃÂve outgrown your shared plan but donâÃÂÃÂt need the resources offered on a dedicated server, then a virtual private server will be perfect for your website.
== The Best VPS Hosting in Summary ==
Virtual private server (VPS) hosting offers more memory, better performance, and greater flexibility at an affordable price. ItâÃÂÃÂs an excellent option to consider when youâÃÂÃÂve outgrown a shared hosting plan.
Different VPS hosting providers are better for various use cases. Some are built for scalability, while others are made for developers. Certain providers stand out for price and value, while others offer unique services for IoT devices and edge computing.