This is a question we get a lot. In the web hosting industry, most customers know they need some variation of web hosting technology to power their company website, professional blog or ecommerce site. However, although most consumers and small to medium sized businesses understand they need web hosting services, they are rarely sure of the particular details involved with picking their web hosting needs, i.e., if they should utilize shared hosting, virtual private servers (VPS), managed hosting or dedicated servers. Due to this confusion, we are going to take the time to explain the differences between dedicated servers and virtual private servers.

Dedicated Server Hosting provides powerful resource allocation and privacy.

The Benefits of Virtual Private Servers (VPS)
A virtual private server, be it a Linux Virtual Private Server or a Windows VPS, is a server which allows for privacy, cost effectiveness and partitioned space.

One of the main benefits of virtual private server hosting is the privacy involved in the hosting experience. Although the term “private” is in VPS, the truth is the term is somewhat misleading. VPS hosting works as a shared partitioning of space on a single server. This means, when utilizing Windows virtual private server hosting or Linux virtual private server hosting, you share a server with an entire host of other clients however in that server, you are allotted a dedicated space for your needs. If you were to think about this visually, think about a pie cut into 50 different, separate slices. If the entire pie represents a single server, your VPS, unlike dedicated server hosting, is one of those 50 slices. You share an entire server to have your own partitioned space. The benefit of this is simple: unlike cheap dedicated servers, with VPS your resource allocation is highly scalable. (Without getting too deep into it, VPS represent Cloud Hosting, the Cloud or Cloud Computing. It means your web hosting needs are scalable as far as the eye can see and you only pay for the resources you use).

Having your own partitioned VPS hosting space leads us into the next benefit of understanding virtual private servers, VPS pricing.

Are Virtual Private Servers Free? Almost.

Cloud Computing Virtual Private Servers
The truth of the matter is nothing worthwhile is free. While you can find free web hosting online by scrolling through virtual server hosting reviews, free hosting isn’t a good as it follows the old axiom, “you get what you pay for”. But, with this being said, one of the main VPS keys is the price structure associated with them.

As previously mentioned, VPS are what the Cloud, what Cloud Hosting, is based on. The solution is highly scalable and extremely cost effective (you only pay for the services you use). This combination is great for growing websites, professional bloggers or small to medium sized businesses that simply don’t have the money to spend on a few dedicated servers however know they need specific Cloud Hosting resource allocations. It has to be noted, price will vary dependent on provider, chosen Cloud solution operating systems and resource allocation, but a great VPS provider, like our friends over at Solar VPS start their Linux VPS at $17.50 per month. $17.50 per month is a small price to pay for a professional WordPress website or ecommerce site which could potentially bring in hefty numbers due to ad revenues and sales.With all this being true, why would a small to medium sized business want to invest their money in dedicated servers over a Windows VPS or an Amazon VPS?

Dedicated Servers Provide Power, Resources and Privacy
With VPS reviews singing the praises of Linux and Windows Virtual Private Servers, why in the world would a professional blogger, an ecommerce website or a small to medium sized business invest their money in dedicated servers? The answer: Resources, Power and Privacy.

First things first, a VPS is shared hosting. Cloud hosting, unless you are utilizing a private Cloud infrastructure, is shared hosting. Think of the previously mentioned pie. Whereas VPS hosting is shared web hosting, dedicated servers are stand-alone hosting. Think of the pie again however this time, don’t cut the pie into slices. With a dedicated server, the entire pie is yours to utilize. This means you can have greater hosting resources (unmetered dedicated servers come to mind) and at the same time, know your web hosting space is your own space, not to be shared with anyone else. In a world full of frights and perils, Windows Dedicated Servers and Linux Dedicated Servers provide the end user with security and lots of resources.

What of Dedicated Server Pricing?

Web Hosting for Dedicated Servers and Virtual Private Servers

The truth of the matter is, dedicated servers are more expensive to purchase and maintain then their virtual private server counterparts. It goes without saying but since dedicated servers utilize an entire server and provide greater resource allocations for the end user, dedicated servers are more costly than Linux or Windows VPS Cloud Hosting. Although dedicated servers tend to be more pricey than their cloud computing brethren, dedicated servers are great for larger companies, enterprise level businesses and small to medium sized businesses growing at an exponential rate.

So, Cloud Hosting VPS or Dedicated Server Hosting?
Now, although we highly recommend our DedicatedNOW solutions and the Solar VPS Cloud Hosting solutions, we would be remiss not to tell you to look at some dedicated server reviews and VPS reviews before making your choice in which hosting platform you want to utilize. The choice is yours. Just, you know, be smart about it.