VPS Hosting vs Dedicated Hosting: Which One is Right for Your Business?

IT resources are essential for us all, whether individuals or businesses, but how we access those resources is changing. Today, businesses have the option of Dedicated Hosting or VPS Hosting, but which should you choose and why?

What is VPS Hosting?

 

Before we talk about your choice, it is important to understand exactly what options are available. VPS hosting, short for Virtual Private Server hosting, allows you to access a specific set of resources, such as CPU, RAM, Storage and so on. Each user accesses these resources through a virtual environment, entirely separate from every other user.  But behind the scenes, all users are connected to that same number of resources.

Resources are allocated to individuals based on need, and will dynamically shift around as users require more, or less resources to do whatever it is they are doing. This means that whatever you are doing, you always have the resources you need but avoid the cost of a full server for yourself.

 

Why Choose VPS Hosting?

The main reason VPS hosting is so attractive is cost. You get robust performance, your own isolated environment and dynamically adjusted resources to give the performance you need, but as significant savings compared to your dedicated server.

That controlled, isolated environment gives you both security and scalability, allowing the platform to grow with you, while always maintaining control of who and what can access your data.

 

Best Uses for VPS Hosting

Any business that is growing can benefit from the flexibility of VPS hosting, as it allows your system to scale with need, without the expensive investment in a dedicated server. The VPS solution is ideal for WordPress-hosted sites, or SaaS solutions that require reliable access to resources as required.

For startups, the practicality of low entry costs and the ongoing scalability make it the ideal choice regardless of what is being hosted.

 

What is Dedicated Hosting?

Dedicated hosting is a server that you use just for your own business. Unlike VPS hosting, no other users are sharing the resources, everything is yours, whether you rent or buy the server, it is all just for your business to use.

There are benefits, although it is more costly, you have complete control over everything, so if custom solutions are your thing, it can be an option to think about.

 

Why Choose Dedicated Hosting

With all the resources from a server for your business use alone, you get the best performance possible from your system. With no other users connecting to the hardware, this is also the most secure approach to hosting possible, and for some, the extra costs may be worth it for that alone.

You can also do anything with the platform. Complete custom settings and complex features can be added without a problem, and you never have to worry about having the resources required to do everything.

 

Best Uses for Dedicated Hosting

If your site attracts huge amounts of visitors daily, or you use features that require complex, completely custom server setups, then a dedicated server will provide the performance and flexibility you need better than a VPS hosting option.

If you are hosting a processing-heavy system, such as a very large database, video streaming or complex scripting, then a dedicated hosting option gives you the peace of mind of having the resources required there and ready to be used.

 

Making the Smart Choice – VPS Hosting vs Dedicated Hosting

As we can see, both options have their advantages, but which is right for you? While in general, bigger businesses benefit from dedicated hosting, it is not always that straightforward, let’s look in more detail.

 

Performance Cost

There is no question that by opting for a dedicated server, you can have more performance available, but that is not the only thing to consider for many businesses. You need enough performance and the best value.

A VPS hosting solution gives most businesses the performance they need while offering significant savings compared to a dedicated server. Some larger businesses, but not all, may benefit from having a dedicated server, but with the cost savings available, a VPS solution will be the right choice for the majority.

 

Scalability

A dedicated server means you have access to all the resources of that server, all the time. This seems like a better option, especially compared to a VPS system where you share resources with other users. But what happens if you see incredible growth and double your traffic?

If your dedicated server is overwhelmed, you will need another server, and that is costly and takes time. With a VPS solution, you pay for more resources, and instantly have them, it grows with you.

Maintenance

VPS Hosting is usually provided as a managed service, meaning you don’t have to think about any sort of maintenance at all. With a dedicated server, you will usually have to pay extra for a maintenance solution, adding more to the cost.

Security

Dedicated servers provide the safest environment, as long as you implement and maintain appropriate security tools and systems. However, thanks to the virtual environment, VPS hosting provides an almost similar level of control and security.

When you take into account the lower cost of VPS hosting, it offers the right level of security without the expense.

Flexibility

A dedicated server is just that, a set amount of resources that you own or rent. This is fine when you are fully established and understand exactly what you need, but for a growing business, the flexibility of VPS hosting is a better option. Growth doesn’t always appear as a straight line, and sometimes you may need fewer resources, and others more. With VPS hosting, you have just the amount needed at all times, and that keeps costs low while supporting your business growth as it happens.

 

Conclusion – VPS Hosting is the best choice for most businesses

 

When you look at the overall package, the lower costs, flexibility and support on offer, the majority of businesses are better off with a VPS hosting solution. You maintain high security and performance standards, which is the thing your end users are concerned about while saving on costs, and unless your business has extremely high traffic levels, the VPS solution provides an exceptional user experience that they will enjoy.

If you do operate a high-traffic business, or require complete server control and have processor-intensive features, then you may be better with a dedicated server. Even then, it is worth exploring VPS options to see what may be possible with the technology.