Writer: Jennifer Young
Editor: Lillian Castro
Reviewer: Christina Lewis
When you’ve finally outgrown that shared hosting plan, a cheap VPS hosting service helps make the jump feel much less intimidating.
For site owners who need more from their web host but can’t stomach crazy high prices, a VPS is an ideal middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting. VPS hosts put fewer sites on each server, meaning faster speeds and more storage space for affordable rates.
A virtual private server runs on a more powerful machine, giving you the resources needed to perform and meet growing traffic demands. In this comparison of VPS providers, we look at the companies that offer the best returns on investment.
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1. Hostinger: Plans starting at $4.49/Month
I admit I have a soft spot in my heart for Hostinger because it was my very first web host. However, it’s fully earned the top spot on this list by merit. The web host gives you four virtual private server plans to choose from, each with more resources and add-ons than the last.
Hostinger.com
Monthly Starting Price $4.49
- NVMe SSD storage and 1GB network speed
- Automatic weekly backups and Kodee AI assistant
- FREE dedicated IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
- Custom control panel for reboots and OS installs
- 1-click operating system template and API access
- HostingAdvice readers enjoy more than 50% off
- Get started on Hostinger now.
Laura Bernheim
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 50 GB NVMe – 400 GB NVMe | 1 – 8 cores | 4 GB – 32 GB |
If you’re just starting out with your first website, you probably don’t need more than the KVM2 plan. It’s the second tier Hostinger offers, and it gives you a good amount of RAM, CPUs, and bandwidth for a small to midsize site. Plus, it comes with NVMe SSD drives, which have significantly faster read/write speeds than traditional SATA SSDs.
Hostinger has three payment plans to choose from: one month, one year, and two years. If you want to lock in the best price, I highly recommend going with the two-year plan. You have to pay upfront, but you save significantly on your overall monthly price. It’s worth it if you plan to have your website for at least two years.
Plus, since the web host has multiple plans, you don’t have to worry about running out of room to grow. You can easily upgrade your server resources if you need to.
2. Kamatera: Plans Starting at $4.00/Month
Listen up, developers! If you’re looking for affordability and customization, Kamatera is the host for you. You can custom configure your server settings, including RAM, vCPUs, storage, and operating system, in just a few clicks.
If you prefer an even simpler approach, the web host has several prebuilt plans to choose from: Basic, Standard, and Advanced. Each comes with NVMe SSD storage and 5 TB of bandwidth.
Kamatera.com
Monthly Starting Price $4.00
- Cloud VPS that’s more flexible and affordable
- Load balancer, firewall, and managed services
- Premium Intel CPUs with 300% more power
- Choose between monthly or hourly billing
- Sign up today for a 30-day FREE trial
- Get started on Kamatera now.
Laura Bernheim
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD | 1 – 32 cores | 1 GB – 128 GB |
Kamatera is free for your first 30 days — as long as your server customizations add up to less than $100 a month. Once your free trial ends, the pay-as-you-go pricing model kicks in, with plans starting for as little as $4.00 per month.
Developers can appreciate having SSH access, root control, and custom networking options. Plus, it comes with full API access.
3. IONOS: Plans Starting at $2.00/Month
Few web hosts beat IONOS when it comes to price. The company is known for offering incredible introductory discounts when you purchase one year of hosting, and its VPS plans are no exception.
You might be thinking, “Yeah, the introductory price is great, but I’m sure renewal rates are sky-high.” Think again! Discounts aside, IONOS has fantastic renewal rates, starting at just $2.00/month.
IONOS.com
Monthly Starting Price $2.00
- Affordable VPS hosting with no hidden fees
- Try it FREE via 30-day money-back guarantee
- Full root access and API
- 10GB to 640GB SSD, Linux or Windows
- No throttling or traffic restrictions, ever
- Get started on IONOS now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 10 GB NVMe – 640 GB NVMe | 1 – 12 cores | 1 GB – 24 GB |
IONOS uses fast NVMe SSDs and the latest AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon processors to power your hosting plan. It’s also easy to install custom scripts, applications, and whatever software stack you prefer.
What’s more, you don’t need to worry about downtime. IONOS has globally distributed data centers and uses load balancing for low latency and high uptime.
4. Liquid Web: Plans Starting at $5.00/Month
Liquid Web recently launched a self-managed cloud VPS plan starting at just $5.00 per month. This micro VPS is perfect for developers working on small projects who still want performance and security.
LiquidWeb.com
Monthly Starting Price $5.00
- High-speed hosting that’s faster than AWS, Rackspace, and Digital Ocean
- FREE backups, CDN, and DDoS protection
- Up to 7TB of bandwidth with all-SSD storage
- Choice between cPanel, Plesk, or InterWorx
- Real-time monitoring and 100% uptime guarantee
- Get started on Liquid Web now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 30 GB SSD – 440 GB SSD | 1 – 6 cores | 1 GB – 16 GB |
Liquid Web’s plans come with DDoS protection and solid-state drives for faster performance.
If you need more resources than the base-level Cloud VPS plan, you can upgrade to one of three other options: Essential VPS, Advanced VPS, or Professional VPS. Each one is fully managed and comes with free migrations and 24/7 support.
I appreciate that Liquid Web takes backups seriously. The Essential VPS plan and up includes Acronis backups, so you never lose important data. And if you prefer Windows to Linux, you have that option as well — just be prepared to pay a little more for it.
5. A2 Hosting: Plans Starting at $3.99/Month
A2 Hosting is known for being developer-friendly, and I have to agree with that sentiment. A2 gives you full root access to modify your server. You can also install custom software and choose from various Linux and Windows distributions.
A2Hosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $3.99
- Turbo server & cache options for faster page loads
- Well-built plans starting with 25GB SSD
- FREE CDN plus auto-installs with Softaculous
- Multilingual support and up to unlimited databases
- Enhanced security with and daily kernel updates
- Get started on A2 Hosting now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 minutes | 20 GB SSD – 450 GB SSD | 1 – 10 cores | 1 GB – 32 GB |
If speed is a priority for you, there are few hosts that are faster than A2 Hosting. It uses NVMe SSDs and LiteSpeed servers with built-in caching. Select plans also have Turbo Servers — a setup unique to A2 Hosting that gives you 20x faster hosting speeds.
The web host also supports all your favorite programming languages, including PHP, Python, Ruby, and Node.js. When you sign up, you’ll choose from one of six plans, each with more power than the last.
The most basic plan, Launch, starts for just $3.99 per month for the introductory period. However, be mindful that the renewal rate is $8.99.
6. InterServer: Plans Starting at $3.00/Month
Like your favorite pizza place, InterServer sells hosting by the slice, starting at just $3.00 per month. You can choose from Linux, storage, or Windows VPS options, which fill a range of needs from ASP.NET applications to open-source projects.
InterServer.net
Monthly Starting Price $3.00
- $0.01 for the first month using code HOSTINGADV
- Then $6 monthly with no contracts, no changes
- Latest of PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, and Ruby
- 7 operating system options for Linux or Windows
- Full root access and choice of datacenter
- Get started on InterServer now.
Laura Bernheim
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 30 GB SSD – 480 GB SSD | 1 – 16 CPUs | 2 – 32 GB |
I particularly like that InterServer supports all the popular eCommerce scripts, like Drupal, Joomla, Moodle, WordPress, and PrestaShop. It also gives you root access and a control panel to set up and customize your server settings.
If you buy four slices or more, InterServer includes full server management. This is the perfect add-on for people who prefer a more hands-off approach to server management. The experts will take care of maintenance and diagnose server issues for you.
Finally, its Cloud Remote Backup Service ensures you don’t lose any critical data if something goes wrong.
7. Cloudways: Plans Starting at $6.60/Month
Do you love the performance and reliability of major cloud providers but hate the usability? Then Cloudways might be for you.
Cloudways’ hosting packages are backed by the industry’s biggest cloud providers. It takes the power and performance of companies, including AWS, Vultr, DigitalOcean, Google Cloud, and Linode, and repackages them into more user-friendly, managed services.
Cloudways.com
Monthly Starting Price $6.60
- Customizable alternative to traditional VPS hosting
- Choice of 5 popular cloud providers
- Scale server resources up and down as needed
- 24/7 monitoring and auto-healing servers
- Get 25% OFF first 3 months with promo code HOSTINGADVICE
- Get started on Cloudways now.
Alexandra Anderson
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 minutes | 20 GB SSD – 4 TB SSD | 1 – 96 cores | 1 GB – 384 GB |
When you sign up for a hosting plan with Cloudways, you choose from one of five major cloud providers. You can customize everything, from your operating system to the amount of storage and vCPUs.
Plans start for as little as $6.60 per month for small instances and go up to thousands for massive servers.
My favorite part about this deal is that you can start for free with no credit card required. This is a rarity in the hosting industry. Your free trial lasts three days, after which the pay-as-you-go pricing model kicks in.
8. InMotion Hosting: Plans Starting at $4.49/Month
InMotion isn’t the absolute cheapest host on this list, but it does offer a ton of value. Its base VPS starts at $4.49 per month and comes with twice the CPU cores as Hostinger and IONOS. It also packs its plans with a ton of NVMe SSD storage — you can scale up to 460 GB if needed.
InMotionHosting.com
Monthly Starting Price $4.49
- HostingAdvice readers get 68% off the first term
- FREE site migrations and 2 hours of Launch Assist
- 2 – 3 dedicated IP address options
- SSH and DDoS protection included
- Highly available servers with real-time redundancy
- Get started on InMotion now.
PJ Fancher
| Setup Time | Disk Space | CPU | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 minutes | 50 GB SSD – 460 GB SSD | 2 – 16 cores | 4 GB – 32 GB |
Here’s where InMotion really shines: it offers up to 10 dedicated IP addresses per plan — a huge benefit for developers, businesses, or anyone managing multiple sites under one roof.
Like A2 Hosting, InMotion is one of the fastest web hosts on the market. It upgraded all its servers to NVMe SSDs several years ago, which reduces latency and improves website load time. This is critical if you’re building apps for streaming, eCommerce, or gaming.
VPS Host Comparison
RAM, disk space, CPUs, root access, uptime…comparing web hosts requires you to look at a lot of features and specs. It’s dizzying! To make things easier on you, I’ve broken down each host’s most important details for you to compare:
| Host | Price | Specs | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | $4.49/month | 50-400 GB disk space,1-8 cores, 4-32 GB RAM | Full root access, affordability, and AI-assisted VPS management |
| Kamatera | $4.00/month | 20 GB – 4 TB disk space, 1-32 cores, 1-128 GB RAM | Superior scalability and flexibility, high-performance servers, and customization |
| IONOS | $2.00/month | 10-640 GB disk space, 1-12 cores, 1-24 GB RAM | Cheap, flat-rate pricing, strong security, and expert support |
| Liquid Web | $5.00/month | 30-440 GB disk space, 1-6 cores, 1-16 GB RAM | 100% uptime guarantee, excellent customer support, and developer-friendly tools |
| A2 Hosting | $3.99/month | 20-450 GB disk space, 1-10 cores, 1-32 GB RAM | Fast Turbo Servers, developer-friendly features, and reliability |
| InterServer | $3.00/month | 30-480 GB disk space, 1-16 CPUs, 2-32 GB RAM | Full root access, scalability, and unmanaged hardware |
| Cloudways | $6.60/month | 20-4 TB disk space, 1-96 cores, 1-384 GB RAM | Access to top-tier cloud providers, user-friendly interface, full server management |
| InMotion Hosting | $4.49/month | 90-360 GB disk space, 4-16 cores, 4-16 GB RAM | 90-day money-back guarantee, zero-downtime upgrades, and advanced firewall protection |
InMotion Hosting stands out from the crowd with its industry-leading 90-day money-back guarantee, but it’s impossible to beat Kamatera’s range of RAM, bandwidth, and CPUs. Weigh your options based on what’s most important to you.
What Is VPS Hosting?
With VPS hosting, you take a physical server and create several virtual private servers using a virtualization technology called a hypervisor.
The hypervisor creates an isolated environment for your VPS, which allows you to host your website separately from others on the same physical machine.
This setup lets you have control and scalability while keeping things affordable.
What Are the Pros and Cons of VPS Hosting?
VPSes are great for businesses and developers, but they aren’t for everyone. Take a more in-depth look at the pros and cons below.
Pros
- Enhanced control and security: Since your VPS is isolated from others on the physical server, you can select your own operating system and manage it how you see fit. You’re also better protected from malicious activity on neighboring VPSes.
- Better performance: A VPS comes with more storage and faster speed than traditional shared hosting.
- Affordability: A large VPS can offer performance similar to that of a dedicated server without the high costs of having dedicated hardware.
Cons
- Not for beginners: The most affordable VPS plans are unmanaged, which requires you to have some technical skills.
- Costlier than shared hosting: Although VPSes are much cheaper than dedicated servers, they do cost more than shared hosting.
How Much Should I Pay For A Virtual Private Server?
On average, you’ll pay around $5 to $30 per month for virtual private server hosting. The price, of course, will depend on the company you choose, the resources you require, and the managed services support the hosting provider offers.
For example, a managed VPS plan might run upward of $120 per month, but customers enjoy premium benefits such as uptime monitoring, complimentary software updates and troubleshooting support, and 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, or phone.
Take a look at popular VPS hosting provider prices, and you’ll notice a trend:
- Hostinger VPS plans start at $4.49 per month
- Kamatera VPS plans start at $4.00 per month
- IONOS VPS plans start at $2.00 per month
- Liquid Web VPS plans start at $5.00 per month
- A2 Hosting VPS plans start at $3.99 per month
While cheap VPS hosting may start as low as $0 per month with a free trial offer, serious business owners will need to pony up the cash for a virtual machine that can handle their project goals.
Do I Need a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or a Dedicated Server?
A VPS, or virtual private server, is a type of web hosting that shares the same hardware with other hosting accounts. A dedicated server, on the other hand, is a single server that’s not shared with anyone. Many providers offer a dedicated IP address, and your site will remain unaffected by any neighboring customers using the same service provider.
Both hosting types offer a step up from the performance limitations of a shared hosting environment, and a dedicated server offers maximum security and power. That said, a VPS is typically less expensive than a dedicated server, and it’s your best bet for flexible resource utilization and cost.
Your choice of hardware, specifically the VPS server resources, is of utmost importance when evaluating virtual server providers and plans. The CPU, amount of dedicated RAM and allotted storage space should be robust enough to endure heavy use.
One of the benefits of VPS hosting is the ability to customize and control aspects of the server, such as installations, data transfer, and storage. Flexibility and freedom to add custom installations and other resources to your server, whether you manage it or pay for it to be managed, is ideal. Also, look for reliable technical support to help troubleshoot these features.
What’s the Difference Between Cheap VPS Hosting and Managed VPS Hosting?
Cheap virtual private server hosting plans are great if you need to upgrade from shared hosting but don’t have the budget for a super expensive dedicated server. A cheap, unmanaged VPS hosting plan will fall in the $2-to-$10 ballpark.
Managed VPS hosting offers all the same great benefits as a VPS, but the hosting company will also manage your server for you. This means their tech support team will handle all the upkeep and maintenance for you, and you’ll get a higher level of support than you would from a cheap VPS service.
The biggest downside of managed VPS hosting is that it tends to be more expensive than an unmanaged plan. If you’re comfortable with server administration, an unmanaged VPS plan can save you a lot of money.
Can I Get a VPS Hosting Plan for Free?
A free VPS hosting plan may not meet the needs of your organization. Free hosting beyond a shared package usually doesn’t pack enough punch to power midsize to large websites.
However, a free VPS trial is an excellent way to test your hosting provider before you commit.
Here are our top-recommended virtual hosts with free trials:
- Kamatera: Get $100 in free credits for your first month of service when you sign up for a cloud-based virtual private server.
- Cloudways: As a VPS alternative, Cloudways offers virtualized cloud hosting plans with a three-day free trial for new customers.
- IONOS: Try IONOS’ virtual private servers risk-free for 30 days with its money-back guarantee.
If cost is a concern, you can also opt for a cheap VPS hosting service that will give you a little more SSD storage and bandwidth than a shared plan has to offer. There are plenty of hosts that will give you the best VPS hosting for your website at a low cost.
Web hosts that offer the unmanaged variety of virtual private servers offer even more savings because the web host doesn’t have to front the staffing costs to manage your server. Some of my personal favorite unmanaged VPS plans come from IONOS, A2 Hosting, Hostinger, Kamatera, and Hostwinds.
Check out the cheapest unmanaged VPS plans here >>
We Get the Cheapest Pricing on VPS Services Before Anyone Else!
Choosing a VPS hosting service can feel overwhelming, but is ultimately a good problem to have.
VPS hosting can be very affordable, as my list of top providers demonstrates. Through our relationships with the top web hosts, we’re often able to offer exclusive discounts to our readers before they’re available to the public.
Keep checking HostingAdvice.com to catch up on the latest deals for VPS hosting!
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