The Best Affordable VPS Hosting Providers in 2023

Last Updated: September 6, 2023

Image: Shutterstock/VectorMine

The majority of web professionals, developers and serious business owners go with a virtual/cloud server when looking to host their website or app — and that’s for good reasons.

There is no comparison between having your own virtual server with dedicated resources, and using an overcrowded shared hosting server. The former option comes out on top in terms of performance, security, stability, customizability and scalability.

I’ve been frequenting tech-related communities on Reddit and other sites, and in most posts where someone is asking for web hosting recommendations, there will be at least one answer making a case for deploying a VPS instead of using shared hosting.

So, which VPS providers can you trust these days?

7 Best Affordable VPS Hosts in 2023

The following are seven of the best VPS hosting providers that offer the best value for money as of 2023.

Some of these have hands-off managed VPS servers, some have cheap unmanaged VPS, and some have both options to choose from.

1. ScalaHosting

Pros

• Custom VPS plans
• Scale any resource when needed
• NVMe SSD storage
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Free weekly offsite backups
• Free SPanel control panel
• OpenLiteSpeed server with SPanel
• LiteSpeed Enterprise (add-on)
• Very quick technical support

Cons

• NVMe only available in NY data center
• Daily backups (last 7 days) cost extra
• Bandwidth is limited with self-managed VPS

Let’s open this list with one of my favorite providers of managed VPS servers;

ScalaHosting offers both fully managed and self-managed VPS plans, but it’s the managed option they do an excellent job at. Their support team is always accessible via live chat and email and they have some of the most helpful and responsive agents I’ve seen so far.

You can either pick one of the suggested plans or build your own with any amount of SSD storage, CPU cores and RAM you need. And in case your project requires more of any of these resources in the future, you can scale it up without having to upgrade your whole plan.

They have a few data centers in the US and Europe. I recommend going with the New York data center since this one offers NVMe SSD, which is faster than the SATA SSD available in other data centers.

Another major advantage of ScalaHosting is that you can use their free cPanel alternative control panel called SPanel. It is not as advanced or comprehensive as cPanel, but it’s got all the essential features and tools for efficient website/WordPress hosting management, in addition to a built-in security system.

2. Hostinger

Pros

• Cheap unmanaged VPS servers
• KVM virtualization
• Full root access
• NVMe SSD storage
• Automatic weekly backups
• Manual server snapshots
• Automatic OS installation
• Multiple server locations

Cons

• No software-related support
• Cannot create more than one snapshot
• Daily backups cost extra
• Can only download backups via FTP

Hostinger is one of my go-to providers when I need cheap and solid web hosting. It’s not extremely cheap, but you get a good bang for your buck.

Although the company is mostly popular as a shared hosting provider, they also have some good VPS deals in different data center locations around the world.

One important thing to know about Hostinger’s VPS hosting is that it is completely self-managed. You get full root access and then you are free to install and configure your own server software as needed.

You can initially choose one of a few ready-made OS templates to be automatically installed on your server (with or without a control panel), but any further configurations and updates will have to be done by you.

Let me repeat that again, Hostinger doesn’t provide technical support for any software issues. You must have the knowledge and experience to tackle all technical problems on your own, otherwise, this may not be the right provider for you.

I think the VPS service from Hostinger is a cost-effective choice for developers and tech-savvy users, but I’d be hesitant to use or recommend it for production due to the lack of full technical support.

3. KnownHost

Pros

• High RAM
• Fast NVMe SSD storage
• 99.99% uptime
• 2 free IP addresses
• Free DDoS protection
• Free DirectAdmin control panel
• Prompt technical support
• Managed and unmanaged VPS

Cons

• Only one data center location (USA)

KnownHost has a long history in the web hosting industry, especially in the VPS and dedicated server field. They may not be popular among (affiliate) review sites, but they are one of the most respected web hosts on Reddit, Web Hosting Talk, and other online communities.

You can find three types of VPS services at KnownHost: Standard SSD VPS, high-frequency NVMe VPS, and cloud KVM VPS.

Each of these types may be more or less suitable for a specific use case. If you are looking to use a VPS server for website hosting, in particular WordPress hosting, I think one of the cloud VPS plans would be the best choice (look for these under “Cloud Hosting”).

And the biggest reason why I recommend KnownHost? Because they simply offer excellent support service that puts many of the popular hosts out there to shame.

4. Cloudways

Pros

• Managed cloud servers
• Choose from 3 top cloud providers
• Fast servers with NVMe
• Scalable, pay-as-you-go plans
• WordPress-optimized software stack
• Free custom control panel
• Automatic backups
• Built-in caching systems
• Several worldwide locations
• Staging and cloning feature

Cons

• No root access
• Only PHP-based software allowed
• Costly advanced/premium support

Cloudways is more of a managed cloud platform than a hosting provider. They don’t own or run their own infrastructure, but rather they give you the tools to deploy a virtual cloud server at one of three major providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud.

This isn’t a traditional VPS service. You don’t get root access and you can’t choose the operating system or other server systems to install. They install their own customized software stack on the server, which only allows PHP-based apps or CMSs to be hosted.

This service is mostly targeted at WordPress users, and it’s one of the best feature-rich managed WordPress platforms I’ve seen in the VPS scene.

Cloudways gets a lot of upvotes on Reddit for performance and value. Some agencies that manage multiple WP sites for their clients find the pay-as-you-go pricing to be cost effective, although it can be a little confusing and unpredictable.

I wouldn’t recommend this host for beginners who can’t tackle WordPress issues on their own. The free support service only covers platform-related issues and may not be very helpful when you have an issue with your own website.

5. Krystal

Pros

• Customizable cloud VPS plans
• Scale each resource individually
• NVMe SSD drives
• Unlimited bandwidth
• DDoS protected servers
• Professional UK-based staff

Cons

• Server management is a bit expensive
• Only serves a limited number of countries

Krystal is one of the most reputable web hosting providers in the UK that serves customers from the UK, Europe, USA and a few countries elsewhere. This company gets a lot of approvals from Redditors and independent review sites like TrustPilot.

The UK-based support team at Krystal stands out for being very professional and knowledgeable. I think this is a great VPS provider for small businesses and agencies because the quality and promptness of their support service is hard to beat.

Krystal’s cloud VPS servers are readily customizable and scalable. You start by building your own custom plan with any amount of CPU cores, RAM and SSD storage you require. You can scale any of these resources later on when needed.

As for server locations, you can choose between the UK, Netherlands, and two data centers in the USA.

The servers are self-managed by default. You can add server management to your plan for an additional fee. It may seem a little costly, but in my opinion it’s a fair deal given the quality of support you get.

6. Hetzner

Pros

• Competitive pricing
• Scalable cloud servers
• Robust and stable infrastructure
• Load balancers
• Backups and snapshots (add-on)
• Cheap additional SSD storage

Cons

• No server management
• Cheap Standard plans are less reliable

There are a few big names that are often suggested by developers whenever someone asks for high-performance hosting recommendations. You must have heard about DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, etc.

Another provider that is particularly popular among tech-savvy users on Reddit is Hetzner. This is a German company that primarily offers self-managed cloud servers in Europe and the USA.

Hetzner is a decent provider of cheap unmanaged VPS servers for those who have the time and skills to administer a server on their own.

If you are looking to host a production website and you haven’t managed a server on your own before, I’d strongly recommend that you consider a managed VPS service from another provider instead.

7. Contabo

Pros

• Cheap unmanaged VPS servers
• Lots of RAM
• Plenty of bandwidth
• System snapshots
• Different OS options (Linux & Windows)
• Multiple global server locations
• Optional object storage add-on

Cons

• Shared CPU my get slow at times
• Fluctuating disk I/O speed
• Resources aren’t scalable
• No uptime guarantee
• Support isn’t available 24/7
• Not suitable for mission-critical applications

I kept this one for last because there are mixed opinions about it. Contabo is one of the largest providers of cheap VPS servers in Europe, but there is a reason why their prices are so low: They oversell their servers.

The company makes it no secret that their VPS instances use shared resources. That means your virtual server won’t have guaranteed access to 100% of the resources allocated to it all the time, because a portion of those resources may be in use by other users on the same host server.

Some customers have complained about underperforming CPU, disk I/O and network speed. It seems to vary from one case to another and it mainly depends on how crowded the host server is and whether there are any noisy neighbors draining it resources.

But despite that, Contabo is still a solid choice if you are looking for cheap self-managed VPS with a lot of RAM. I’d consider their service for development purposes or any other non-critical use that can put up with occasional performance fluctuation. I wouldn’t use it for any production or mission-critical projects though.

Which is The Best VPS Hosting Provider According to Reddit?

Most hard-core technoids on Reddit would recommend deploying and managing your own cloud server instance at one of the big providers like DigitalOcean, Vultr and AWS. For those based in Europe, Hetzner is another popular provider among Redditors.

But if you are looking for a managed VPS hosting service, two of the top recommendations on Reddit are KnownHost and Cloudways. In case you need the server for hosting a PHP-based website or app, Cloudways would be a great and cost-effective option, otherwise, you may want to consider KnownHost’s VPS hosting.

How to Choose The Right VPS Hosting Provider?

VPS servers have various uses, and so depending on what you intend to use it for, different factors should be taken into account when searching for a provider.

In general, the following are some of the most important specifications to pay attention to:

1. Virtualization Technology

There are different virtualization solutions used to create virtual machines (or virtual private servers) on the host machine (the physical server). Two of the most commonly used virtualization technologies are KVM and OpenVZ.

KVM (kernel-based virtual machine) is a full virtualization technology that offers better resource isolation, increased security and improved performance. It allows you to modify the Linux kernel of your server as each VPS runs its own kernel.

OpenVZ is a container-based virtualization solution where all virtual servers share the same kernel version which cannot be changed.

Unlike KVM, OpenVZ allows more flexible limits on resource allocation, which makes it easier for providers to oversell at a cost to performance. This is the main reason why OpenVZ VPS servers are usually cheaper than KVM VPS servers.

Tip: Choose a VPS provider that uses KVM virtualization if you want better performance and stability for your website or app.

2. CPU Usage Policy

Not all VPS services offer fully dedicated CPU cores, so you may actually be sharing your VPS’s CPU cores with other users.

If you ever wondered why one company sells four CPU cores for $20 while another charges the same price for one core, well, it’s probably because the cheaper service is oversold and those CPU cores are shared with others.

Sharing CPU with other users reduces the cost of the plan, but it also means that you are not guaranteed to have access to the full CPU capacity allowed for your plan. In case there is high CPU usage by other users on the server, your VPS will have less CPU power and poorer performance than expected.

Cheap VPS deals usually have a fair usage policy that limits how much CPU you can use and for how long.

Don’t pick the cheapest deal you can find and expect to be able to max out your CPU cores 24/7.

Tip: Make sure you understand whether the plan you’re interested in includes dedicated/guaranteed CPU or shared CPU.

3. Type of Storage Device

The three main types of server storage devices on the market are: HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid-state drive), and NVMe SSD (Non-Volatile Memory Express SSD).

HDDs have the lowest performance metrics (input/output and input/output operations per second); SSDs offer much better speed and performance; and NVMe SSDs are by far the fastest option.

This is particularly important for applications that heavily depend on disk I/O. For example, WordPress consumes a lot of I/O as it transfers data from and to the database, and so the higher the I/O speed, the faster the data will be processed.

Tip: It’s a good idea to ask the provider about any limitations they have on disk I/O and IOPS before you sign up with them.

4. Server Management

VPS servers can be either managed or unmanaged (aka self-managed). You should make a choice between the two based on your experience with server administration.

If you opt for a managed VPS service, you can expect the provider to take care of all software installations (OS, web server, control panel, and/or any other required software), configurations and routine updates. They’ll also help troubleshoot problems when they occur.

On the other hand, an unmanaged VPS service comes with full root access making it your responsibility to install, configure, update and patch the server’s software on your own. This option should only be used by those who are experienced in the Linux command line and basic server systems.

Tip: It’s strongly advisable to go with a managed VPS if you are going to use it for production and you don’t have the skills and/or time to manage your own server.

5. Data Center Location

The location of the data center where the physical host server is in can critically affect latency. The longer the distance between the server and the end user, the more time data will take to travel between them, the slower your website or app will be.

You should pick a data center location that is within the same geographic area as your main target audience, or at least as close to it as possible in order to keep latency at a minimum.

6. Scalability

Being able to scale resources (CPU, RAM, disk space and bandwidth) up or down, which is also called vertical scaling, is another important feature you want to look for.

If you are going to use the server to host a website or an application that you expect to grow in size and traffic, it would be wise to use a cloud VPS solution that allows automatic and on-demand scalability.

You definitely don’t want to end up in a situation where the only option to increase your server’s resources is to migrate to a whole new server. That will potentially cause a lot of unnecessary trouble and downtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does VPS Hosting Work?

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. It is called virtual because it’s not a fully independent or dedicated server but rather an isolated portion of server resources that are allocated to one account.

A virtualization software is used to split up and distribute the physical resources of the server (CPU, RAM, network device and disk space) between multiple virtual machines or servers.

Each virtual server gets its own quota of server resources that are often exclusively dedicated to it and not used by or shared with other users.

It’s important to note that some VPS services come with shared resources — most commonly, shared CPU. This is particularly the case with cheap VPS providers that oversell their servers.

In terms of software, whether a VPS uses dedicated or shared resources, it will have its own isolated and independent software stack (OS, web server, control panel, and so on). You will have total freedom to install and configure the server software to meet the requirements of your project.

Why is VPS Hosting Costly?

VPS hosting is more expensive than shared hosting because fewer users share a single physical server, and so each of them will have to pay a higher share of the server’s total cost.

In shared hosting environments, hundreds to thousands of users may share the same physical server, while in VPS environments, only a few dozens to a few hundreds of users will be served by a single physical server.

In other words, think of shared hosting as renting a room in an apartment, while VPS hosting is like renting an apartment in a building.

Is VPS Hosting Faster Than Shared Hosting?

It is often argued that VPS hosting provides better performance and speed than shared hosting, and while that’s generally true, things are a little more complicated in practice.

As far as processing is concerned, a VPS gives you more power and capacity to process data and requests in a faster manner.

But then there is the software part, which can also play a dramatic role in how fast your server environment is.

With shared hosting, you don’t have to worry about server software optimization because the provider takes care of that for you.

On the other hand, it is your responsibility to install the right software stack on your VPS server and fine-tune it to achieve optimal performance and speed.

So despite providing increased physical resources, a VPS with poorly configured software can potentially be slower than a properly optimized shared hosting service.

References

• Tytus Kurek (September 8, 2021) “KVM hypervisor: a beginners’ guide.” Ubuntu (link: https://ubuntu.com/blog/kvm-hyphervisor)
• Robert Sheldon (May 31, 2019) “What are the differences between KVM, Virtuozzo and OpenVZ?” TechTarget (link: https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/What-are-the-differences-between-KVM-Virtuozzo-and-OpenVZ)
• “Choosing Between Shared and Dedicated CPUs.” Linode (link: https://www.linode.com/docs/products/compute/compute-instances/plans/comparing-shared-and-dedicated-cpus/)
• Kunal Khullar (February 9, 2022) “NVMe vs. SSD: What’s the difference?” Digital Trends (link: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/nvme-vs-ssd/)
• “What is latency? | How to fix latency.” Cloudflare (link: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/performance/glossary/what-is-latency/)
• “What is Cloud Scalability? | Cloud Scale.” VMware (link: https://www.vmware.com/topics/glossary/content/cloud-scalability.html)
• “What is VPS? — Virtual Private Server Explained.” AWS (link: https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/vps/)

Disclosure: Some of the links in the above article are affiliate links through which I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As an independent developer and writer, this helps support my research and writing efforts, which I invest long hours in. All opinions expressed in this article are solely mine.