Whether you’re just starting out on your website journey or looking to upgrade to a higher level of hosting, you’ve probably come across the terms “shared hosting” and “VPS hosting” and wondered what they are and which option is right for your business – Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting.
Shared hosting is typically the cheapest type of hosting available and is often used by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and start-ups. At the other end of the hosting spectrum is “VPS hosting,” which provides a higher level of performance than shared hosting but also comes with a higher cost.
This article aims to help you understand the differences between shared hosting and VPS hosting so you can make an informed decision about which type best fits your business needs.
We’ll discuss the distinctions between shared hosting vs VPS hosting features, as well as their pros and cons. Let’s look at the definitions of these two forms of web hosting before getting into the specifics:
- What is shared hosting?
- What is VPS hosting?
- Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting: The Pros and Cons
- The differences between shared hosting and VPS hosting
- Which Hosting Option Is Best for You Between Shared and VPS?
- What other types of web hosting are available besides Shared Hosting and VPS Hosting?
- Conclusion: Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting
What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is when multiple websites share the same physical server. In this case, you share resources with other websites – such as bandwidth and storage.
Consider shared hosting to be like a large apartment complex with multiple tenants sharing the same apartment.
Shared hosting is frequently the cheapest option. However, your site may have limited bandwidth and storage space, resulting in slower loading times.
What is VPS hosting?
A virtual private server (VPS), which resembles a dedicated server but runs in a shared environment, would only host your website. In this case, rather than sharing resources as in shared hosting, you are the sole tenant of the server. This gives you the most control and flexibility over your site’s performance.
You can modify the code of your website to increase its speed without affecting other websites on the server.
Consider VPS hosting to be a gated community, with your own property.
VPS hosting is frequently more expensive than shared hosting.
Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting: The Pros and Cons
Because it is the most affordable option, shared hosting is ideal for new websites. However, the limitations of shared hosting frequently result in slower-performing websites.
VPS hosting offers significantly higher performance than shared hosting but at a higher cost, making it ideal for larger websites such as e-commerce sites.
Pros of Shared Hosting
- Shared hosting is usually the cheapest option.
- Shared hosting nullifies the need for in-depth technical knowledge to manage your site
- It is an outstanding way for new site owners to get started.
Cons of Shared Hosting
- Because you share resources like bandwidth and storage with other users on the same host, resources like bandwidth and storage are limited in shared hosting.
- You won’t have as much access to and control over the web server because shared web hosting servers frequently host multiple websites on the same server.
- When there is a lot of traffic on the server, it is prone to system crashes.
Pros of VPS Hosting
- VPS hosting gives you root access to the server, allowing you to perform operations similar to those found on a standalone dedicated server, as well as the ability to use scripts that shared hosting may not allow.
- You have more resources at your disposal, so scaling is simple. You can start with the bare minimum and gradually increase your resources to suit your needs.
- The traffic on other websites has no effect on your website.
Cons of VPS Hosting
- VPS hosting costs slightly more than shared hosting.
- It requires more technical knowledge to handle.
- There is a fixed limit for resources like RAM.
The differences between shared hosting and VPS hosting
By this point, you have seen some of the key distinctions between shared hosting and VPS hosting. Let’s take a more comprehensive look at the differences between the features of each type of hosting.
1. Security
Security is an important factor to consider when choosing a web host, and both types of hosting are secure, though there are some subtle differences.
Shared hosting is less secure than VPS hosting because your website is stored on the same server as other websites. If another website on the same server is attacked, your website could be affected.
In our apartment scenario, in the event that a co-tenant’s negligence results in a breach of the apartment, your room could be in danger.
VPS hosting can help avoid this by allowing you to have extra security features on your partitioned server. In addition, sites on the server are more secure with VPS-level security features.
VPS users are typically technical experts who know how to manage their servers in a secure way, which is not the case with shared hosting.
In the gated community scenario, you can take measures to secure your property, such as building a fence or installing alarms.
2. Resource Allocation
All web host users need a certain amount of storage, bandwidth, and CPU, among other resources.
Resources are constrained in shared hosting because they are shared by all users on the server. Furthermore, your website might lag if one user uses up more bandwidth or other resources.
There are fewer resource limitations with VPS hosting because you own a sizable portion of the server and have more resources at your disposal. With this, the functionality of other websites has no impact on your website.
3. Reliability
When we talk about reliability, we look at the server’s uptime. How frequently is the server operational? A website’s uptime is critical because it determines whether visitors can access it at any time.
Numerous websites on the same server in a shared hosting environment may put pressure on the server to shut down.
Because there are fewer people on a particular server, expect fewer issues with VPS hosting.
4. Technical skills
Shared hosting is simple to manage, making it ideal for first-time web hosting customers. The hosting provider manages the server and ensures that servers and software are kept up to date.
To manage VPS hosting, you must be an expert in web hosting and development, especially for unmanaged VPS. Technical skills are required for tasks such as customization, server updates, and configuration.
5. Pricing
When deciding between shared hosting and VPS hosting, pricing is an important factor to consider. Both types of hosting are priced differently. VPS hosting is slightly more expensive than shared hosting.
If you’re wondering why VPS hosting is slightly more expensive than shared hosting, think of it this way: when you rent an entire portion of a server to host your website on, it’s naturally going to be more expensive because the provider cannot allocate those same resources to other customers as well.
We have some of the best hosting providers and hosting types lined up for comparison.
| Hosting Provider | Shared Hosting | VPS Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | $1.99 – $4.99/month | $2.49 – $7.49/month |
| Bluehost | $2.95 – $13.95/month | $19.99 – $59.99/month |
| InMotion | $2.99 – $13.99/month | $19.99 – $59.99/month |
For shared hosting, we recommend Hostinger
Hostinger provides the most affordable hosting plans, with VPS hosting ranging from $2.49 to $7.49 per month, and shared hosting ranging from $1.99 to $4.99 per month.
For managed VPS hosting we recommend Bluehost.
You get value for your money with Bluehost VPS hosting; their VPS hosting prices range from $19.99 to $59.99 per month.
As you can see, shared hosting is slightly less expensive than VPS hosting.
6. Performance
Visitors want websites to load quickly, so performance is important. Because shared hosting requires you to share resources with other websites, it performs less well than VPS hosting because VPS hosting typically receives more bandwidth than shared hosting and is able to handle traffic spikes.
A new website that does not anticipate a lot of traffic can begin with shared hosting and upgrade as the number of visitors increases.
7. Scalability
The ability of your website to accommodate traffic growth is critical because a surge in traffic can crush your website.
You can start with shared hosting for a startup website with low traffic and scale up as it grows, but an unexpected spike in traffic can crush your website.
To avoid this, VPS hosting is the best option because it can manage resources to address traffic patterns.
8. Customizations
Shared hosting is less customizable, but it is much easier to use and is ideal for beginners just getting started with website hosting.
VPS hosting is extremely customizable, giving you nearly complete control over everything you want to do. This can be a huge benefit because if you are skilled in the technical aspects of website development, you can make your website function even better than if you were simply using a shared hosting platform.
You can tailor your hosting server to your specific needs, which means that depending on the type of website, traffic, and content management system (CMS), you can tailor the server to work best for you.
This does, however, present a slight issue with VPS hosting; if you are not technically adept or new to hosting, you may encounter difficulties when attempting to use VPS. As a beginner, it is usually not a good idea to use VPS hosting.
9. Server Administration
The server administration, including software setup, updates, and installation, is taken care of by the shared hosting provider for you. It is simple for beginners to use because there are no technical requirements for you to run the server.
On the other hand, VPS hosting needs your help managing the server’s resources and will depend on your technical know-how to do so. VPS hosting is therefore complicated and best suited for experts.
10. Configuration
The shared hosting setup is taken care of by the web hosting company, making it simple for you to launch your website right away.
On the other hand, the type of VPS hosting you choose—managed or unmanaged VPS hosting—determines how it works. Similar to shared hosting, managed VPS hosting configurations are organized by the provider, whereas unmanaged VPS hosting configurations are created by the user.
Unmanaged VPS hosting is mostly used by experts in the web hosting space.
Which Hosting Option Is Best for You Between Shared and VPS?
It’s time to select the hosting type that best satisfies the requirements of our website after our thorough comparison. Consider your website’s requirements as well as your budget when choosing the type of hosting that is best for your website.
Shared hosting is adequate for new websites or small business sites that do not anticipate high traffic volumes right away.
Additionally, managing shared hosting does not call for technical expertise.
Small sites can launch at a low cost and upgrade as they expand.
On the other hand, medium-sized businesses and websites with high traffic volumes are best suited for VPS hosting. This kind of hosting offers sufficient resources to enable the site to scale up as it grows.
Find the best cheap web hosting services to take into account as you begin your web hosting journey.
What other types of web hosting are available besides Shared Hosting and VPS Hosting?
The types of hosting that hosting companies offer, go beyond shared and VPS hosting. You can take a look at a few additional hosting options.
WordPress hosting is a type of web hosting that is designed specifically to host WordPress sites. It is already set up to run a WordPress site efficiently.
Dedicated hosting is a type of web hosting in which the hosting company rents out an entire server to a single customer.
Reseller hosting is a web hosting model in which a web hosting provider allows a business or individual to resell their hosting service as their own.
Conclusion: Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting
Now that you are aware of the major distinctions between shared hosting and VPS hosting, as well as their benefits and drawbacks, you can choose the hosting solution that will work best for your upcoming website.
Recap the key considerations to keep in mind when deciding between shared hosting and VPS hosting:
Security. Because your website is stored on the same server as other websites, shared hosting is less secure than VPS hosting. Your website might be impacted if the same server is used to attack another website.
Resource allocation. Shared hosting has resource limitations because all users on the server must share the same resources, but VPS hosting has fewer restrictions because you own a significant portion of the server and have access to more resources.
Reliability. Because there are fewer websites on a given server, VPS hosting is reliable, but shared hosting may experience sudden server shutdowns due to pressure from numerous websites.
Technical expertise. Since the hosting company manages the servers, shared hosting does not require a great deal of technical expertise. Because you are responsible for managing the server in VPS hosting, you must possess strong technical skills.
Price. VPS hosting costs a little bit more than shared hosting. As opposed to VPS hosting, which lets you rent a slightly larger portion of a virtual server, shared hosting lets you share the physical server with other websites.
We recommend Hostinger for the best shared hosting experience.
However, Bluehost or inMotion are the top choices if you want the best VPS hosting experience.
Performance. Shared hosting is less effective than VPS hosting because you must share resources with other websites, while VPS hosting typically receives more bandwidth and can withstand traffic spikes.
Scalability. A sudden increase in your website’s traffic can have an impact on its performance. Resources are managed by VPS hosting to address traffic patterns.
Customizations. Shared hosting is better for beginners just getting started with website hosting because it is much simpler to use and offers less customization. Because VPS hosting is so adaptable, you have almost total control over everything you do.
Server administration. Including software setup, updates, and installation is taken care of by the shared hosting provider for you. VPS hosting needs your help managing the server’s resources and will depend on your technical know-how. It is, therefore, more complicated and best suited for experts.
Configuration. The shared hosting setup is taken care of by the web hosting company, making it simple for you to launch your website right away. The type of VPS hosting you choose—managed or unmanaged VPS hosting determines how it works. Similar to shared hosting, managed VPS configurations are organized by the provider, Unmanaged VPS hosting configurations, however, are the user’s responsibility.
VPS hosting is the most popular form of web hosting for businesses, while shared hosting is best for startup websites and personal websites. VPS hosting costs more, but you get better performance, increased security, and more control over your resource limits.
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Best Cheap Web Hosting Services: We have reviewed the leading web hosting services to find the best web hosting for the cheapest price.
