VPS vs dedicated server

A VPS and a dedicated server both hand you root access and the freedom to run whatever you like. The difference is how the hardware is shared, and that affects performance, price, setup time and how easily you can grow. Here is how to decide.

What is a VPS?

A virtual private server is a guaranteed slice of a powerful host machine. Virtualisation splits the machine into separate servers, each with its own operating system, CPU cores, RAM and NVMe storage ringfenced for it. Your resources are yours, so you are not competing with the people next door for memory or processor time.

Our VPS plans run on Ryzen CPUs with DDR5 RAM, from 1 core and 2 GB up to 10 cores and 32 GB, with 25 GB to 300 GB of NVMe storage and 10 TB of transfer. They deploy within seconds and you can scale up as you grow.

What is a dedicated server?

An entire physical machine, yours alone. Every core, every gigabyte of RAM and all of the disk I/O belongs to you. Our dedicated servers come in two families. The Intel Xeon range runs from a 6-core Xeon E5-1650 v4 up to a 32-core dual Xeon Gold 6142 with 256 GB of RAM, mostly on SATA SSD storage. The AMD Ryzen range runs from an 8-core Ryzen 7 5700G with 64 GB of RAM up to a 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X with 128 GB of DDR5, on NVMe. Every machine has 330 TB of monthly transfer on a 1 Gbps port, with DDoS protection included.

VPS vs dedicated at a glance

• Hardware: a VPS is a guaranteed share of a machine; a dedicated server is the whole machine.
• Setup time: a VPS deploys within seconds; most dedicated builds are ready within 1 to 12 working hours.
• Size: our VPS plans top out at 10 cores and 32 GB of RAM; dedicated servers run from 6 cores up to 32 cores and 256 GB.
• Transfer: 10 TB on a VPS, 330 TB on a dedicated server.
• Access: both give full root or Administrator access. Dedicated adds IPMI/KVM, so you can manage the machine as if you were standing in front of it.
• Extras: dedicated servers offer hardware RAID options and a private VLAN.
• Management: both are unmanaged, so you run the operating system and software yourself.
• Cost: a VPS is far cheaper to start with; dedicated costs more but gives you much more.

Is a VPS slower than a dedicated server?

Not necessarily. For the work it is sized for, a well-provisioned VPS on NVMe storage is fast, and plenty of busy websites and apps run happily on one. The difference shows up at the top end. A dedicated server gives you more cores and far more RAM than any VPS, and because nothing else runs on the machine, performance is completely consistent. That matters for large databases, heavy compiling or rendering, and workloads that keep every core busy for hours.

When a VPS is the right choice

• Websites and web apps that have outgrown shared hosting.
• APIs, dashboards and small SaaS projects.
• Discord bots at scale, or several bots in one place.
• Development, staging and test environments.
• Self-hosted tools such as monitoring, Git or a password manager.
• Game servers you want to run and configure entirely yourself.
• Any project where you want to start small and grow.

When to choose a dedicated server

• Heavy databases that need lots of RAM and fast, uncontended disks.
• Large communities or networks running many services together.
• High-traffic sites and apps with sustained load.
• Running your own virtual machines or containers at scale.
• Anything with strict isolation needs, where you want no other customers on the hardware at all.

Which is better for game servers?

Many games, FiveM and Minecraft among them, care most about single-thread CPU speed, which is why our VPS plans use Ryzen CPUs. On dedicated, the Ryzen machines are the better pick for game servers, while the Xeons suit work that keeps lots of cores busy at once. Our post on Ryzen vs Xeon for servers explains the difference. A VPS is plenty for one or two game servers you want to run yourself. A dedicated server suits a network running many servers, databases and websites together. And if you would rather not manage Linux at all, our game servers give you a ready-made panel with the game installed for you.

Signs you have outgrown your VPS

• CPU usage sits near 100% for long stretches, even after tuning.
• You are on one of our largest VPS plans and still running short of RAM.
• Your database or app needs more memory than a VPS can offer.
• You are running several large VPSs that would be simpler and better value on one machine.

Scaling up

A VPS is the easiest to grow: move to a bigger plan when you need more RAM, CPU or storage, usually with just a quick reboot. A dedicated server is a fixed machine, although RAM and storage can be upgraded on many of our configurations, and we will help you move to a larger machine when you need one.

Do I have to manage it myself?

Yes. Both our VPS and dedicated servers are unmanaged, which means you look after the operating system, updates, security, software and backups. You choose any major Linux distribution or Windows Server, and can reinstall at any time. If you get stuck, our team is on live chat and Discord 24/7. If you would rather not run a server at all, web hosting or one of our game servers is usually a better fit.

Locations

Our hardware is in Dallas in the US and Newcastle in the UK, with dedicated servers in Dallas open for pre-order. VPS plans are available in Dallas and Newcastle. Dedicated server stock varies by location, so check the dedicated servers page for what is available right now.

Moving from a VPS to dedicated

1. 1Order your dedicated server and wait for the welcome email.
2. 2Install the same operating system and software stack you run on your VPS.
3. 3Copy your files and databases across, and test everything on the new server's IP address.
4. 4Lower the TTL on your DNS records a day ahead, then point your domain at the new server.
5. 5Keep the VPS running for a few days as a fallback, then cancel it.

Not sure which you need? Tell us what you are running on live chat or Discord and we will give you an honest recommendation.