The VPS (Virtual Private Server) space has matured over the past decade. It offers better server virtualization software and also the ability to affordably scale how much hosting you require. So far, Virtual Private Server has been considered the best since it provides power several times better than Shared Hosting in terms of performance, costs and security.

Out of the four general types of hosting plans – Shared, VPS, Managed, and Dedicated — shared ones are at the cheapest, but also low in performance and customizability; that forces those who are in serious hosting needs to choose from VPS, Dedicated Hosting, or Managed Hosting options.

There are various options available in web hosting for customers seeking Dedicated and VPS Hosting solutions. Now, that blurs the line between these two types of solutions.

Dedicated Server — good, but high-priced

Dedicated Servers truly own the upper levels of the web hosting performance spectrum. They cost accordingly, too. They are fast and powerful options, but have remained unaffordable for smaller businesses. Although a Dedicated Server brings you a few exclusive benefits, some high-end VPS options directly compete with and score over them.

One of the main lures of a dedicated server is that it is usually totally under the control of the user. The customer can reboot it whenever required and can also completely customize the software, which is an important feature. You can say, Dedicated servers have the capability to run anything that their hardware can handle.

The hardware of a Dedicated Hosting service equally contributes to its high utility. It is totally at the disposal of every customer. So, a Dedicated Hosting customer gets 100% of memory, processing power, hard drive storage capacity, and network access. The performance thus is always great. This can be a useful option for e-commerce solutions or for those who are looking at monetizing their websites in some way.

VPS – an affordable server with more power

Virtual Private Servers gains popularity due the fact that it is an affordable option with the features close to that of Dedicated Servers. VPS shares a single server, instead of one hosting account on one server, but still remains a quality option that is way better than Shared Hosting.

A simple answer to this is that, although Shared plan offers unlimited bandwidth and storage, it does not promise the pertinent CPU power and/or memory. At the same time, a Shared plan restricts installation and running of CPU/memory intensive modules or any other software, as this may upset other accounts on its servers.

VPS solutions, on the other hand, guarantee 24/7 allocation of resources; some also offer additional available resources whenever the server can take the load.

Another thing that gives power to VPS solutions is the control that the customers get over their hosting plan. They have the reboot switch at their disposal and can install a software package without having to look at the “approved-list”. Of course, it is not possible to get all that in all VPS solutions, so it is advisable not to presume the facilities and check out the plan details before finalising it.

Terminology caution

Minimal hardware may not always mean an excellent package. If a VPS pack is claiming to offer a CPU performance of 1 GHz and a memory of 384 MB, there may be a catch. The provider may have split the CPU allocation or the memory into multiple chunks. Having virtual pieces of different CPUs may not be a serious issue for someone who is setting up a low-intensity site, such as a blog. But it definitely matters if someone is looking at running high-performance software or processes which are poorly threaded.

In short, before picking a VPS package, you must ask questions on downtime and upgrading possibilities, and not just make assumptions based on terminology. Consumers who are planning to grow their online and generate revenues from it can’t afford to take downtime lightly.

Finding the right balance

The Virtual Private Server hosting has huge upsides for a user in terms of higher control over the server or even for running programs other than WordPress or Joomla. A Dedicated Hosting provider, on the other hand, gives you full resources of a single server. A Dedicated server ensures that spikes in bandwidth usage or bad scripts running on another website do not slow your server down.

While the advantages of the Dedicated Server come at a cost which may not be affordable for all, the VPS hosting gives you precisely what you pay for without digging a deeper hole in your pocket.

When trying to strike a balance between price and performance, we have to remember that money is not always a measure of quality and capacity. Compatibility is important too. So, sticking to hosts with established names is just one way of solving this. Another way is to find the best ratio of prices to service; the flexibility you need, and ultimately, what you intend to do with your website.