Are you about to start a WordPress blog but don’t know which hosting type is right for you? Do you need VPS or Shared Hosting?
This guide breaks down the key differences between Shared hosting vs VPS. It helps you understand which is best for your needs and provides expert insights to help you make an informed decision.
After reading this comparison, you’ll be equipped to choose the hosting solution that perfectly aligns with your website’s requirements.
So, let’s begin with obvious questions.
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting is a hosting type in which several (hundreds or thousands) website hosting accounts share a single web server and its resources, such as CPU, bandwidth, and RAM.
Web hosts use this type of hosting to save costs, manage more websites on a single server computer, and allocate server resources evenly.
Traditionally, Shared hosting is the cheapest and most affordable hosting for beginners. It is common to find shared hosting starting at $1.29 per month, with 1-year domain name registration included.
Pros and Cons
Shared hosting benefits people starting an online business with a personal or small blog. Likewise, it has its disadvantages too.
In this section, I share the pros and cons of Shared hosting you should know about.
Pros of Shared Hosting.
Cons of Shared Hosting
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS, short for Virtual Private Server, is a type of hosting in which a single physical server is partitioned into multiple virtual servers, so each website on the server has its own virtual hosting environment.
Web hosts use virtualization technology to split a single web server into several units, allowing each hosted website more control over account settings and server resources – CPU, bandwidth, RAM, etc.
VPS is the middle ground between Shared hosting and Dedicated hosting services. It is for businesses that have grown beyond shared hosting but do not need a dedicated server.
Pros and Cons of VPS Hosting.
VPS hosting is a good option, but not for everyone. So, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of VPS hosting.
Pros of VPS Hosting
Cons of VPS Hosting
Key Differences Between Shared and VPS Hosting
Choosing between Shared and VPS Hosting involves several factors.
Hosting performance, security, features, and server-level control are the major differences.
A VPS server gives you greater control over your hosting server, enabling you to adjust essential server resources and settings to your website’s requirements.
Your server is pre-configured in a Shared hosting environment, and you cannot adjust its settings.
Here are some key factors that differentiate VPS from Shared hosting. These factors will help you determine what best suits your specific requirements.
Resource Allocation
As I mentioned earlier, server resources are one of the main differences between shared hosting and a VPS.
Shared hosting often comes with resource limitations that might negatively impact website performance and business growth. If you exceed the resources allocated to your server, your web host might temporarily suspend your website.
For example, Namecheap’s entry-level Shared hosting plan gives you 20 GB of SSD storage and supports up to 3 websites. HostGator provides 10GB for its Hatchling shared hosting plan and 1 website.
If you’re hosting a small website with low traffic, this hosting specification is perfect for you.
Web hosts put these limitations in place since all the websites on the same Shared hosting server need to share equal resources. This ensures each website receives adequate hosting resources and that no website deprives the others of bandwidth, CPU, or RAM.
On the other hand, a VPS server allocates more resources to each website on its physical server, which is split into several isolated servers.
Namecheap’s entry-level VPS plan offers 2 Cores, 40 GB SSD RAID 10, 2 GB RAM, and 1000 GB of transferable bandwidth.
Namecheap offers a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription on its VPS hosting plan.
Hostinger KVM1 VPS hosting plan offers 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe storage, and 1 TB bandwidth.
These are entry-level VPS plans for both web hosts. Higher-tier hosting plans offer more resources and features, such as a dedicated IP address, full root access and OS of choice, malware scanner, and automated weekly backups.
Hosting Price
Price is another factor that differentiates VPS from Shared hosting plans.
For most web hosts, shared hosting is cheaper than VPS plans. It is not because it is shared but because of how it is set up, managed, and allocated resources to each website.
Web hosts can afford to price shared hosting plans lower because hundreds of websites can be put together on the same server, reducing the host’s management, support, and setup costs.
Let’s assume the monthly cost of running a single shared hosting server infrastructure is $200, plus an initial setup cost of $500. (Don’t bother about this figure; this is just for learning’s sake)
If we had three hundred websites on a single server at $5 per month. That gives us $1,500 in total sales. After deducting the initial setup cost of $500 and the $200 maintenance fee, we have $800 left as total revenue for the month.
I’m not an expert in web hosting providers, but I assume this is how shared hosting works.
Also, because Shared hosting service providers buy server hardware and bandwidth in bulk from providers, they can spread the cost across hundreds or even thousands of hosting accounts.
In the case of VPS hosting, caution is put on the number of customers on a single physical server. This is because the machines or server infrastructure required to run a VPS are more resource-intensive.
Another thing is that VPS requires more technical knowledge for setup, which requires more technical expertise and adds to overhead costs.
VPS servers are more optimized for performance, making them a more reliable option for websites with significant traffic. And because VPS also comes with more features, the price is expected to be higher than that of shared hosting.
For example, if you compare the Namecheap and Hostinger VPS plans, you’ll notice the prices are slightly higher than their shared hosting plans.
Performance
Shared hosting is targeted at customers starting their online journey. These business owners are believed to have low-traffic websites, requiring minimal computing server hardware to power their website needs.
The resources allocated to a shared hosting server are sufficient for most beginner WordPress blogs.
VPS hosting plans target advanced web users, growing businesses, developers, and freelancers with high needs for website performance, security, and excellent features. These businesses often require customized hosting environments with features tailored to their specific hosting requirements.
With these in mind, web hosts use high-performance hardware and server infrastructure to power VPS servers. This leads to better performance and website speed for businesses using a VPS server.
They use powerful CPUs for efficient computational tasks, SSD storage for faster read and writing, and more bandwidth to handle high network traffic.
Security
Security is another key feature of shared hosting and VPS servers.
Shared hosting servers have basic or preconfigured security features, such as free SSL certificates, malware scanners, and backups.
Depending on the host, some shared hosting plans don’t offer automatic regular backups, leaving you out of luck if unexpected changes to your website require a restore.
However, if you use WordPress, you can get extra security features from the JetPack security plugin.
VPS, by default, offers enhanced security features and allows you to customise your website security for your specific hosting environment. But you can extend its performance with JetPack Security.
During VPS setup, you can choose your preferred operating system, install custom security applications, and configure the server to suit your needs.
Technical Expertise
Shared hosting doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge to manage.
Even if you have never used cPanel and this is your first time, I bet you can install WordPress in one click and find your way, provided you can read and write.
VPS server requires the user to have background knowledge in website management and server setup.
The level of customization it offers does come with a sacrifice; if you don’t know what you’re doing in a VPS control panel, you can unknowingly break your site or make irreversible server configuration errors.
Shared Hosting vs VPS Hosting – Which Hosting is Right for You?
I have discussed the differences between Shared and VPS Hosting with you. At this point, you must consider which option is right for you.
Here are some factors to help you make the right decision.
Website Traffic Volume
How much traffic do you receive monthly? Do you notice server downtime during high-traffic periods?
If you’re experiencing intermittent server downtime during high-traffic periods or during viral campaigns, it may be time to move to a higher-tier hosting plan, such as VPS.
It’s easier to monitor your website server uptime if you’re blogging with WordPress. Jetpack automatically monitors your server performance and will notify you via email if your website goes offline.
Hosting Budget
If you don’t want to commit to a higher hosting plan or don’t have the budget for it now, Shared hosting is the right choice.
You should consider the long-term hosting fees and other costs of running your business.
Consider your monthly revenue and how much you must set aside to cover recurring bills.
If you think your current income from the blog won’t cover VPS hosting, take your time to analyze the situation better and see how you can optimize the shared hosting server to provide better performance.
You’re Starting a New Blog
Shared Hosting is the best option for a new blog unless you’re a seasoned entrepreneur with a large following.
In the earliest stages of most new blogs, traffic is usually low and builds up gradually over time.
Also, new blogs don’t use more space or bandwidth. So, use this time to save on hosting costs by choosing Shared hosting.
Website Performance is Your Priority
You’re at this stage in your business where the performance and speed of your website pages matter the most.
If this is you, then choosing a VPS server makes a lot of sense.
VPS servers outperform shared hosting for several reasons. I have mentored many factors in this guide.
You can read them up again if you need to refresh your memory.
Because Shared hosting and VPS servers are configured differently, your website will perform better on a VPS server.
You Need More Control over Server Security and Customization.
VPS hosting puts you in the driver’s seat; you control server configurations, security, operating system, bandwidth, storage, CPU usage, etc.
If you constantly require control over server-side tasks, it is time to move to a VPS plan.
You can’t have that control or server customization access with a shared hosting plan. Your web host pre-configured everything, and there is so little you can do when sharing server space with hundreds or thousands of other users.
Conclusion
If you’ve read this far, you know the differences between Shared and VPS hosting. And should be able to decide which option suits your needs.
Most of the time, the right option is shared hosting, especially if you’re starting a personal blog with minimum resources and a marketing budget.
However, VPS allows medium to large businesses to prioritize performance over affordability and simplicity.
It offers more flexibility, customization, and control, and lets you get deep insights into your website’s underlying hosting infrastructures.
If you’re considering which web host to trust, I advise you to give Namecheap shared hosting a spin.
It’s affordable, fast, easy to use, and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee policy. You can use the hosting service for 30 days, and if you don’t like the performance, simply request a refund within 30 days of purchase.
Hostinger offers several VPS hosting options, giving you the flexibility to choose the right package.
Another excellent web host for a VPS server is Nexcess. Nexcess offers managed VPS hosting, so you don’t need more time on server-side management.
Nexcess handles most of the management and maintenance of your server so you can focus on growing your business.
Which web host are you trusting?
