Best VPS Hosting Services For 2017 (Expert Reviews & Ratings)
There are many reasons why you might need more web hosting power. It could be the neighboring site that gets huge traffic spikes then throws all of the websites sharing the same server into chaos, which is a common problem regarding shared hosting. Or maybe you intend to set up an online presence for your business on a server space that is well priced but packs more power.
A significant advantage when it comes to choosing the best host company is also unlimited bandwidth, which allows users to transfer or download a lot data from your website. Whatever the case, VPS hosting is exactly what you need to take your business and website to the next level.
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VPS hosting offers you plenty of the same features you would expect from a dedicated server but at costs much less than a dedicated server host. As much as you will share a server amongst 5-15 people, the performance and security are similar to that of a dedicated server, thanks to the advanced virtualization software configuration. You will have root access to your own virtual server which makes it ideal for the person who seeks scalable and reliable hosting resources for a reasonable price.
What is VPS Hosting?
VPS stands for virtual private server. The virtual private server is a device that is sold by a web hosting service or provider and runs with its own copy of an operating system. Virtual private server hosting is best suited for trial or low-cost web hosting packages and utilizes more powerful hardware options compared to other web hosting services.
VPS hosting services a smaller number of accounts on each machine and they each are awarded their own operating system and resources. The resources are not shared between websites which can ultimately cause an increase in price. Hosting your own servers can become costly and hard to manage, but you are a growing business that is still in desperate need of a way to file externally and internally. With VPS hosting you are awarded a middle ground with less hassle and increased performance.
The Advantages of VPS Hosting Services
With VPS Hosting services, you will receive better performance and increased uptime records and higher loading speeds. VPS Hosting does not require you to share RAM, CPU, or any other resources with several websites at a time.
You will also receive full control over your server just like you would if you were to get dedicated server hosting provider. You are also awarded the ability to install frameworks and software without the headache of someone else having access to configure and restart the servers.
VPS Hosting services offer trial runs, and the services are based on the individual needs of your business and website. VPS Hosting services are customizable and often include memory upgrades and unlimited bandwidth. With the flexibility of customization, you also see more affordable costs associated with this type of web hosting. You get all the features that you would see included between a dedicated hosting service and a shared hosting service, but you get additional security and improved performance for the upgrade from shared web host service. However, there is a slight decrease in quality and features when you downgrade from a dedicated hosting service.
Finally, VPS Hosting provides excellent customer support for the businesses that utilize their web hosting services. If there is an issue with the server, you can rest assured that their customer support team will quickly and efficiently remedy the problem, so you stay at your peak performance levels.
The Disadvantages of VPS Hosting Services
As always, when there are advantages with a host provider, they are also coupled with a few disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage to using a virtual private server hosting provider are the limited resources and features you receive when compared to a dedicated hosting provider. You also carry more responsibility when it comes to maintenance and security issues that may arise. Technical knowledge is a useful advantage when dealing with any VPS hosting service.
So, the big question is, who are the best service providers for VPS hosting? Best means decent RAM, storage, CPU power, email capability, monthly data transfers, and so forth. Let’s find out.
To help you make a quick comparison between these five web hosts, I compiled this VPS hosting Comparison Table:
Hosting company | Customer Support | Plan in Review | Rating |
HostGator | 24/7 | Snappy 2000 | |
InMotion | 24/7 | VPS-1000s | |
BlueHost | 24/7 | Standard | |
Liquid Web | 24/7 | 1GB VPS | |
GoDaddy | 24/7 | Economy |
HOSTGATOR
It is for good reason that HostGator’s VPS hosting services are among the most trusted in the web hosting industry. Commitment to quality service puts this host company ahead of the pack. Not too long ago, they made a few adjustments to their VPS hosting services, and most of these adjustments were aimed at refining the user’s overall experience.
Currently, there is a total of three plans you can choose from and compare. Each hosting plan through HostGator comes with its own set of hardware, as well as software features. Snappy 2000 is the introductory plan and goes for $19.97. It comes with the following hardware features:
- 5 core CPU
- 512 MB RAM
- 25GB disk space
- 5TB of bandwidth
If you want more than this, you can go for HostGator’s advanced plans such as Snappy 4000 and Snappy 8000. Large organizations and corporations will find the advanced plans perfect for their operations. Even though they don’t specify any additional type of customer service or technical support with the VPS plans, these servers will perform better for larger websites. You are also guaranteed the standard exemplary 24/7 customer support service they offer which includes free online live chat, phone support, and ticket-based support.
Included with each plan, you will also find an easy-to-use website builder and well over 4500 website templates. Supported programming languages include MySQL, Perl, PHP, Django, FFmpeg, and Ruby on Rails, just to name a few. Other notable features include:
- Unlimited domains, sub-domains and email accounts
- Free website and domain transfer
- Two IP addresses
Switching over to the next plan won’t be a challenge at all, and so overall, HostGator’s VPS hosting services make an excellent choice for any business looking for affordable quality VPS hosting services.
Inmotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting may lack managed WordPress hosting or Windows servers, but when it comes to VPS hosting, InMotion gives the best in this industry a run for their money. Of course, they are well-known and have been around for a reasonably long time, and so we are way past putting their reputation to question. Small to medium sized businesses have good reason to try out InMotion VPS hosting plans.
InMotion Hosting offers three plans to choose from: VPS-1000s, VPS-2000s, and VPS-3000s. As always, each plan comes with its own set of software and hardware features, so it is up to you to figure out which one works best for your business. The introductory plan goes for $14.99 during the first month, and then switches back to $29.99 after that. Here is what you can expect from InMotion Hosting:
- F4GB RAM
- 60GB of storage
- 2TB bandwidth
- Intel Xeon CPU E5-2670 v3
Note that all VPS hosting plans also come complete with a fast SSD drive, free WHM/cPanel license for those who pay yearly, free automated backup (10GB maximum), free server management, and a custom-made firewall.
If you hit the limits set with the introductory plan, you can easily switch over to VPS-2000s or VPS-3000s because they offer more storage, bandwidth, RAM, and a host of other advanced features. Another great thing to note is that if your site gets a sudden traffic spike, the burstable RAM will help it handle the increased traffic without experiencing any downtime or succumbing to a crash. Other important features include:
- UOptional root access
- SSH access
- cPanel & web hosting Manager
The company has also done a great job in solidifying their customer and technical support services; from having a detailed customer and technical support team to 24/7 support via phone or ticketing system.
The Cons of Using InMotion VPS Hosting Services
If you expect to receive a high level of customer and technical support, you will only get it with their Pro level plans. Additionally, the plans are typically for yearly contracts so if you are looking for a discounted price you will have to adjust your budget to work with a plan to extend to at least two years at a time.
BLUEHOST
BlueHost already enjoys raving VPS web hosting reviews for their Linux hosting services and a massive shared web hosting customer base that comprises well over three million webmasters. It was in 2013 that the company ventured into VPS hosting and so far, we have good reason to list them among the best of the VPS hosting services and web host providers available for 2017.
First off, the BlueHost utilizes state of the art technologies such as KVM and OpenStack. All of the BlueHost VPS hosting packages are feature rich and come at an affordable price. Since BlueHost is also integrated with cloud, users can expect nothing short of remarkable power, refined flexibility, and better website control.
The company offers a total of four VPS hosting packages. At just $14.99, you can have BlueHost’s introductory plan (Standard). The features you can expect in this VPS hosting plan include:
- 2GB of disk space
- Two single CPU cores
- 30GB SAN storage
- I free domain, dedicated IP & WHM/cPanel
- 1 TB monthly transfer (bandwidth)
- I free domain
All BlueHost VPS hosting plans and VPS services, including the Enhanced, Premium, and Ultimate plans are fully managed which implies that the company takes care of security, applying server search, and improved uptime while offering 24/7 response to any questions or issues regarding their VPS hosting services. You get all these additional and beneficial features for free. Best of all, their servers have been designed to support elements and programs such as SSI, SSH access, databases, email, log file and so forth. Speed and uptime rates and percentages are strong and consistent.
Other important BlueHost plan features include:
- Root access
- CentOS operating system
- Instant provisioning
- KVM hypervisor
If your website has outgrown the shared hosting plans, BlueHost’s VPS services will serve you right.
The Cons of Using BlueHost VPS Hosting Services
The biggest con to using BlueHost’s VPS hosting services is their price. They are more expensive than shared hosting, which is typical for most VPS hosting plans, but it is a definite drawback if you or your business have a specific budget to adhere to. Technical skills are also required because with their VPS hosting services, you have to manage a lot of the elements yourself.
LIQUID WEB
Liquid Web has been around for almost two decades. Over the years, they have solidified their reputation as a reliable web hosting service provider especially concerning high-quality SSD VPS. Routine improvements have been made to the SSD VPS just to ensure it can also meet the needs of more advanced users.
For many years, Liquid Web has remained the leader in Windows hosting. In fact, they are among the first Microsoft Golden Hosting partners; this is because their Windows VPS servers come highly optimized and not just with nightly security updates, but also constant monitoring by Microsoft certified engineers.
Another unique element of Liquid Web is that their VPS hosting derives power from the Storm Platform. If you haven’t heard about it yet, it is what gives users complete control over their specific servers, plus instant access to dozens of great cloud features.
Prices start at $50/month, and for that you get:
- One core processor
- 1GB memory
- 5TB Outgoing Bandwidth
- 50GB SSD Disk Space
Overall, you have a total of eight plans to choose from, and of course, each comes with a different set of features to suit your VPS hosting needs. The constant in all of these plans is that you are guaranteed to experience 100% uptime, 30-minute response, and monitoring.
Recent improvements make it possible for you to enjoy the following features:
- CloudFlare CDN
- DDoS Protection
- Built-in-backups
- ServerSecure
Overall, Liquid Web’s VPS hosting services come filled to the brim with relevant features. On top of that, you will be ensured great network performance, plus excellent customer support service.
The Cons of Using Liquid Web VPS Hosting Services
The biggest disadvantage of using Liquid Web VPS Hosting services are their high prices. However, if you have the room to expand your budget then the hosting services they offer, combined with their excellent customer and technical support and their managed data centers may be worth a little extra in the long run.
GODADDY WEBHOSTING
GoDaddy’s huge success in VPS hosting is well deserved. More than 12 million customers trust in their hosting services, and that is reason enough to qualify the company as a truly reliable and one of the best VPS providers in the industry.
The plans that GoDaddy offers are not just feature-rich, but are also offered on both the Windows and Linux platforms. On top of that, you have three categories to pick from with respect to managed web hosting. The three categories include self-managed hosting, managed hosting, and fully managed web hosting services. They offer plans for CentOS as well as the Fedora operating system.
Linux-based VPS hosting service plans are the most affordable with the entry-level Economy plan that is going for $19.99/month. Overall, there are five plans, in addition to the Economy plan, and include Value, Deluxe, Premium, and Ultimate. As expected, each hosting service plan has its own individual set of features. The same also applies to their Windows based plans which start at $29.99/month.
Here is what you can expect from the Windows server plan:
- 2GB memory
- 40GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPSs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
For the Linux server introductory plan, the features include:
- C1GB memory
- 40GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
GoDaddy has one of the best VPS servers that utilizes a Processor type 2x Intel E5-2630L v2. The memory has the following specs: 128GB ECC DDR3 1600MHz.
Interesting to note is that the managed hosting services through GoDaddy Hosting are a standard feature. The company’s experts and technical support team will take care of security monitoring, backups, patching, 24/7 customer support, and so much more, which enables you to focus on your business. Other standard features of the GoDaddy VPS hosting services package include:
- cPanel
- Provisioning
- Root access
- SiteLock
- MySQL (for Linux server plans)
Evidently, GoDaddy has some of the most feature rich VPS hosting packages available. Considering all the other aspects that come included with their packages such as manageability, the latest technologies, great performance, and scalability, GoDaddy easily qualifies to be among the best VPS hosting service providers.
The Cons of Using GoDaddy VPS Hosting Services
GoDaddy is known for using their own hosting panel so you have to log in to your hosting account through the internet or FTP to gain the menu of options that are needed to manage your website. There are also plugins that require additional knowledge and tutorials if you want to install them yourself.
Conclusion
Much as shared hosting will be perfect while you run that personal website or your small business, the time will come when you will need to scale to accommodate the growth of your website or business. VPS hosting services are the type of web hosting that you will never go wrong with at this time. If you want to learn how its features can further benefit your business, please watch the video below:
As you go scouting around for the most reliable and best VPS hosting service provider, keep in mind that performance features should always come first. Your research should also extend to checking out VPS and dedicated hosting reviews by current users. Remember to also make your VPS comparison by checking out the RAM, disk space, bandwidth, and CPU features, as well as other additional features that are sure to make your web hosting experience what you expect.
For instance, if you are looking for a web host service provider that fits any type of business and still manages to deliver high-performance VPS hosting, HostGator comes on top.