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VPS hosting and shared hosting are two hosting options that have their own set of characteristics that differ one from another. When you make a decision about your hosting choice, you need to be aware of this information. For this reason, let’s delve deeper into the 5 key differences between VPS and shared hosting:
1. Cost
Cost plays a pivotal role, with shared hosting plans emerging as a preferred choice for budget-conscious customers. The rationale behind is this:
Firstly, the structural distinction between the two plans contributes to the price difference. Since shared hosting customers share resources on a single physical server, hosting companies require fewer resources to accommodate these clients. Consequently, they can offer shared hosting at more affordable rates.
VPS plans also rely on a single physical server hosting multiple customers; however, the virtual machines used for this purpose demand more substantial resources. Consequently, the requirement for powerful hardware escalates, driving up the overall cost of VPS hosting plans.
Moreover, VPS plans necessitate more extensive technical support and staffing, which naturally increases its cost. Another factor that plays an important role are the features offered by each hosting type. Generally, VPS plans tend to be more feature-rich than shared hosting packages.
2. Performance
Hosting companies predominantly target VPS plans at professional customers such as designers, developers, system administrators, and medium to large-scale businesses. These customers have requirements extending beyond mere online presence as they demand speed and performance for their web applications.
As a result, VPS hosting utilizes high-performance server hardware components to ensure optimal site performance and maximum uptime. VPS packages use a lot of CPUs for handling intensive computational tasks, solid-state storage drives for faster read and write speeds, and increased disk space for accommodating larger web applications. Additionally, VPS plans grant access to greater bandwidth, enabling websites to manage heavier network traffic.
On the other hand, shared hosting packages cater more to customers who prioritize ease of use over performance. They are typically hosted on lower-spec server hardware, which aligns with the needs of websites under these plans.
3. Server Resource Allocation
Shared hosting plans feature resource limitations that can slow down website performance when surpassed. These limitations are enforced to ensure the availability of the hosting service. In essence, since shared hosting customers share the same physical server, there must be a way to prevent any single website from using all available resources.
In contrast, VPS hosting allocates significantly more resources to each customer. With VPS plans, you enjoy comprehensive control over a virtual server and its resources. For instance, the standard VPS plan offers a virtual machine equipped with 2 CPU cores, 120 GB SSD, and 2 GB of RAM.
4. Security
Security levels and scope differ between VPS and shared hosting plans. Shared hosting plans typically include fundamental security features like free SSL certificates, malware scans, and daily automated backups for website protection. Customizing security features beyond these essentials can be limited, as most hosting services restrict extensive modifications.
VPS hosting, on the other hand, encompasses all the security features of shared hosting plans and goes further. Opting for a VPS plan grants you the freedom to install your own security applications directly on the virtual server’s operating system and monitor network ports for suspicious activity in your hosting environment.
5. Flexibility
VPS hosting is renowned for the flexibility it offers users. Most VPS plans incorporate control panel software like cPanel, facilitating resource management for your virtual server. This control panel allows you to create user accounts, partition server storage, set bandwidth limits, and provides root access for system-level modifications.
Furthermore, you can easily scale your virtual server’s resource allocation based on bandwidth, CPU usage, and website size requirements. Whether you need to manage multiple websites with varying resource needs, host secure financial web applications adhering to regulatory compliance, or run a software testing server, VPS plans provide the resources and flexibility to accommodate such demands.
Shared hosting plans generally lack this level of flexibility and scalability. Resource allocations tend to be fixed, and customers have limited access to advanced tools for altering their hosting configuration or accessing the server hosting their website.
It’s worth noting that while VPS hosting offers enhanced customization, it demands a higher level of technical expertise and experience. Without proper knowledge, things can go south.
In contrast, shared hosting, although less customizable, is pre-configured, eliminating the need for fine-tuning settings and installing software packages.
Conclusion
Now that you know the main differences between VPS and shared hosting, you can make a decision on which option is better for you!