Many people become confused when confronted to make a decision between the two most confusing web-hosting platforms: VPS vs dedicated hosting. VPS stands for Virtual Private Server and as the name sounds, you have your own copy of operating system and so you can install any software that is supported by the operating system (OS) operational on your server.
The dedicated hosting on the other hand means that you lease an entire server alone meaning that you will not share the server with any other person. Whatever you choose to install on the server as well as which operating system is completely your choice. Therefore, these two hosting platforms share some features that allow you to have full control of your server.
VPS Hosting vs Dedicated Server Hosting
Nevertheless, VPS vs dedicated hosting differ from each other in several other aspects. By understanding these differences, you will be able to tell the better of the two. This is why we have carried out some research on VPS hosting Vs dedicated Hosting and come up with a summary that will help you to have a better understanding of the two platforms and in extension help you to make the decision on which service to use for your website or blog.
Flexibility and Optimization of VPS vs Dedicated Server Hosting
Both VPS hosting and dedicated hosting share some level of flexibility of control and optimization. However, some differences make dedicated hosting a little bit better than the VPS hosting. With dedicated hosting, you get full control of the physical server as well as complete control of its resources.
With the VPS hosting, you will have control of the virtual machine allocated to you but it may also host several other websites thereby denying you complete control. In a nutshell, you are not sharing any resources with other customers when you are on a dedicated server and therefore you will have more computing power than you would with a VPS hosting which could also have other customers' websites hosted on the same physical server.
Customization and Control of VPS vs Dedicated Hosting
There is nothing as good as installing only the features that you need on your server. Luckily, both the dedicated server and the VPS make this possible and there are only negligible differences between the two hosting platforms in this regard. The slight differences, which can be appreciated, are in the operating system of which one operates on a virtual machine while the other operates on a physical machine.
Some VPS hosts may put some restrictions on the VPS account as to the number of domains you can host. You have to remember that these are service limitations and not technical incapability of the VPS to handle multiple domains. The restrictions may also depend on the kind of software you install on your server.
Scalability and Availability of Dedicated vs VPS Hosting
The strongest point for VPS hosting is scalability. In other words, it allows for easy movement from one server to another at any given time. This is very important since successful websites are expected to grow in terms of the number of visitors from just a few when it is started to thousands when it is up and running. Such level of scalability cannot be achieved by the dedicated servers.
When it comes to availability, the dedicated servers outdo the VPS. Because there may be other virtual environments hosted in the same server, there may be performance degradation during peak hours but most VPS providers will guarantee their customers some minimum uptime (of at least 99%) to cushion them from such down times.
Cost of Dedicated vs VPS Hosting Services
Perhaps this is where the largest difference is found between VPS hosting vs dedicated Hosting. The monthly cost of hosting with VPS servers is way cheaper than dedicated servers although the cost is dependent on the individual providers offering such services. For instance, some webhosts will charge as low as $15.95 monthly while the high end dedicated hosting services may attract as much as $999.99 monthly payment. Obviously, such ridiculous amounts can only be paid by large websites that can utilize the full power of the dedicated servers. The best advise is: don't start with a dedicated server. It is always better to move your hosting through stages as you scale up. This would help you ensure that you are utilizing the full potentials of the server you are using before upgrading unless you have loads of cash to burn up but that would just be absolutely unnecessary.
Conclusion
I believe the discussion has given you some idea on the differences between VPS hosting vs dedicated Hosting. You can now make your decision based on the above-discussed facts and choose the hosting platform that fits your needs. All in all, the two hosting services are great and they will serve you well.
