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What Are The Best VPS Hosts? Top 8 Best VPS

Infrastructure
02.11.2021
10 min read
Hostman Team
Technical writer

In this article we will talk about VPS — powerful computers that hosting providers sell access to, so that developers, administrators, and webmasters around the world can create amazing apps and useful websites.

Let’s find out how the VPS works, how it is different from classic servers, and how to choose the best one. And at the end, we will discuss the best VPS hosts to use now.

What is a VPS hosting?

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. In short, it is a special combination of software and hardware that lets developers and webmasters publish their websites and applications on the web.

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This type of server is virtual because it is not a real computer but an isolated space on a powerful PC that is controlled via a program called a hypervisor and imitates a fully-fledged «machine». Even though it is intangible it lets you deploy applications and use whichever technology and utilities you want on your own server (you can even access BIOS and quickly change hardware characteristics).

For example, you might want to host a database on your VPS or launch a dynamically changing website. It is up to you how you set up your server. You just have to rent enough virtual power.

So a VPS is a server without the need to buy a real server.

Is VDS any different?

Yes and no. Overall, they are the same. VDS stands for Virtual Dedicated Server and dedicated in this case is similar to private. Both use hypervisors to control virtual hardware.

The difference sometimes lies in the technology of virtualization that is used on the server. Some users divide Virtual Private Server and Virtual Dedicated Server into two different camps, the OpenVZ virtualization and the KVM, VMWare virtualization.

The first one is much more flexible than the second one. It lets you change the hardware characteristics of the server on the go without shutting down the running site or application. But it only supports Linux and is not as secure as KVM and similar virtualization technologies.

KVM is different because it isolates your workspace more effectively, depriving the host and other users from accessing your data in any way. But you can’t change the virtual hardware set without rebooting the server (KVM seems to be closer to a real computer).

Benefits and disadvantages of VPS

VPS offers a relatively cheap and functional way of sending your site or app to the web. But like any complex software solution, it has its pros and cons.

  • This type of server is cheaper than dedicated servers and most cloud clusters.

  • It is easy to transfer all the data from one VPS to another. You don’t have to consider hardware-related issues. Everything is encapsulated into a virtualized block of data.

  • The hosting provider usually takes care of all the tech stuff.

  • VPS comes with a dedicated IP, Firewall, and other necessary components, distinguishing it from virtual hosting which is a cheaper and less functional solution.

On the other hand, you have less performance with a virtual server because you are sharing it with other users renting VPS at the same hosting. Also, even with root access, you have no impact on the hardware.

How to choose the best VPS hosting?

When choosing the VPS hosting consider these factors:

  • Type of operating system. It might be Linux or Windows Server. In most cases, Linux is an optimal solution but some services work best with Windows.

  • Virtual hardware should be powerful enough to run your app smoothly. Pay special attention to the storage volume so you don’t have to limit yourself.

  • Choose hosting that offers servers around the globe so every user on the planet can access your website or application without visible lags.

  • Good VPS hosting offers different features that simplify the process of creating the server. For example, an opportunity to deploy projects that are stored in git-system.

  • And the hosting itself should have a good reputation. It is important to choose one which is already used by some users and uses well-grounded data centers.

Top 8 best VPS

Here we will quickly observe the most popular hosting providers that are on the TOP right now.

Most of the apps have the same features so we will not discuss all of them. We will consider specific characteristics and note the cons of the servers if they are any.

InMotion

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This is one of the most popular and powerful VPS hosts at the moment. It tops a lot of ratings and is loved by many webmasters. The uptime of the InMotion is remarkably high — about 99.99%. It sports a qualified and proactive support team and flexible billing system.

InMotion hosting has many plans from the cheapest with 2 GB of RAM, 45 GB of space on SSD, and 2 CPUs to powerful machines with 8 CPUs and 8 GB of RAM. Every plan comes with unlimited bandwidth, free transfer from another hosting, and a control panel called cPanel.

There are many users of InMotion servers around the globe so you can be sure about the reputation of the host. InMotion VPS guarantees the security of your files stored on the server.

Of course, InMotion offers its users basic functionality like regular data backup, a free SSL certificate to assure data encryption, and many other necessary features.

Price: starting at $18 per month

Uptime: 99.99%

Hostman

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Hostman is the VPS hosting that offers unique virtual machines that are ready to work with specific tools and applications like databases, Webpack-projects, etc.

While most of the other VPS hosts give you an empty server that you must set up manually, Hostman lets you use your GitHub repository to deploy a fully-fledged and ready-to-run application in a few clicks. Immediately after connecting the repository.

Renting a Hostman server allows you to choose from the cheapest virtual machine with one 3.2 GHz CPU, 25GB SSD, and 1 GB of RAM to the most advanced with 8 processors, 16 GB of RAM, and 320GB of SSD.

It uses DigitalOcean, Amazon, and Azure as a backend, so you have an outstandingly reliable server with amazing uptime up to 100% with global data centers around the world.

You can also choose a pre-made server with installed MongoDB, Minecraft server, or any operating system you like (including Ubuntu, CentOS, FreeBSD, Debian).

And the best thing about Hostman is that it offers a 7-day free trial without functional limitations so you can try out all the features of the VPS and decide whether or not you should rent.

Price: starting at $5 per month

Uptime: 99.99%

A2

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It is a hosting provider that became popular because of the good balance between the price and the value it offers to server renters. You can choose a flexible plan that fits well with your unique requirements. You can even buy a plan with an administrator who will manage your site.

A2 works with different operating systems including Linux and Windows. But it has some pitfalls like the absence of a free domain on all the plans and less uptime.

Users describe the support team of the A2 hosting as friendly and skilled. So, by renting a server here you won't have to worry about the qualifications of people behind A2.

The second big potential drawback when using A2 is the limited amount of disk storage. The maximum you can get at A2 VPS hosting is 150 GB.

Price: starting at $40 per month

Uptime: 99.95%

Bluehost

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A quite reliable server that is known for its extremely good uptime.

It is a fully functional VPS that delivers everything you would expect from this kind of software product. Developers usually use it for deploying web projects based on WordPress site builder. But in any case, it has the tools and services required to maintain a stable and powerful VPS.

Bluehost will please new users with the free domain it gives to everyone forever. You just need to rent any of the VPS’s offered on the official website of Bluehost hosting.

The reason you may not like this host is its limited storage. If you need to store an impressive number of files or a big database you will be a bit disappointed by the cap of 120 GB of SSD storage.

Additionally, the plan system is not as flexible as you would expect from hosting at this scale. You’d have to choose one of three options. But you might find it easy to decide which is best.

Price: starting at $19.99 per month

Uptime: 99.98%

Hostgator

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This one is one of the cheapest VPS hosts for those who are creeating their first website or application. Hostgator offers massive discounts for starting plans to encourage you to rent their hardware.

Hostgator is well known for its flexible customization system that lets webmasters cherry-pick necessary components, tools, and services to create the server of their dream. Moreover, it boasts impressive reliability due to its state-of-the-art data centers.

The 45-day guarantee period may help you decide. If you’re not satisfied with the quality of the server a refund will be easy enough to get.

But you probably won’t be happy with a static amount of RAM and the same bandwidth for every plan. Also, Hostgator VPS hosting doesn’t deliver free bonuses such as a domain name or SSL certificate.

Price: starting at $20 per month

Uptime: 99.99%

Hostinger

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Hostinger is a good choice for those who want to jump from shared hosting to a VPS mostly because of its reasonable prices and the ease of starting a new server.

The cheapness is the biggest advantage of Hostinger. The first plan is a bargain. You can get a decent server for the monthly price of an app in the App Store.

Unfortunately, there are several disadvantages that could put you off this hosting provider. Hostinger sports the lowest uptime around the VPS in this set (it’s unlikely to reach 99% and it might be the lowest number), it has no phone support and boasts only 800 GB bandwidth while most of its counterparts offer at least 1 TB. Furthermore, the support team here doesn’t work 24/7 so you can’t rely on it. They don’t always help, especially in critical situations.

Price: starting at $4 per month

Uptime: 99.90%

Liquid Web

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Liquid Web reviews usually tell us how this hosting offers balanced plans that are cheap and at the same time give enough hardware power to launch quite demanding applications.

One of the reasons to choose Liquid Web hosting is the large selection of control panels included.

Also, every plan comes with professional backup for more than a hundred gigs of data. There’s a good support team that might help with setting up the server for the first time and neutralizing any issues that appear while already utilizing a rented server over a given period.

Moreover, Liquid Web is good enough at protecting your VPS from DDoS attacks. And a highest data transferring speed is achieved owing to high-quality SSD.

Price: starting at $15 per month

Uptime: 99.99%

DreamHost

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This is a contradictory VPS host. It is accessible and functional enough but has the biggest amount of restrictions. You have to think twice before renting a server here.

You might like it because DreamHost VPS offers you totally unlimited bandwidth, so you’ll never have to think about any limitation connected to data transfer speed.

But there are many disadvantages. First of all, there’s no live chat and phone support. To resolve any issue you’ll have to use email. That’s quite archaic and not especially useful. The second problem lies in the lack of root access. There isn’t the control you would have using other hosts. And the last thing that you probably won’t like is the lack of a money-back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with the server quality.

All things considered, we don’t really believe in their claim of 100% uptime.

Price: starting at $10 per month

Uptime: 100%

Conclusion

That’s it, you can try many VPS hosts and decide which is best. This list includes conservative and reliable solutions like A2 and modern and powerful ones like Hostman. The last gives you a chance to try all the features for free and quickly create your own project to test it out.

But if you want to try a different solution choose the one that gives you the advanced tools to secure your data and while providinng you with as much high uptime as possible.

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