Shared Hosting vs. VPS
When you decide to launch and design a website for a specific purpose, choosing and buying the most suitable type of hosting service to store the site’s contents and also to make your site available to the public on the Internet is one of the most difficult decisions. Especially if you don’t have the experience of setting up a website and using hosting services, it will be challenging to pass this stage.
Surely by now, you have heard of, or read about, the numerous hosting services available, including shared hosting, virtual server, and dedicated server. But users are usually confused and do not reach a result when they are faced with some questions such as what is the difference between a virtual private server and a dedicated server? Or what are the differences between Shared Hosting and VPS? And Which one is suitable for my activity and purpose?
The main difference between shared hosting and VPS is that shared hosting is cheaper than VPS, and in shared hosting, several sites are hosted on one physical server. Also, you face limitations in using resources and features such as customization. Still, VPS provides you ROOT access to the server and management and customization according to your needs, thus bringing better performance to your site, and with Paying a little more, you can have more speed and quality.
If we want to explain the difference between shared hosting and VPS with an example, shared hosting is like renting a room in a house that has a hundred rooms for rent. But VPS is renting a whole unit in an apartment.
As we have already introduced you to the difference between a VPS and a dedicated server, this article aims to clear up any ambiguity in the decision between VPS and Host shared and explain the main differences between VPS and shared hosting in simple words. So, if you want to reach a result in choosing a virtual server and shared hosting, stay with us until the end of the article.
What is shared hosting?
We have already talked in detail about shared hosting, but we want to explain it briefly; we must say that it is a hosting service that manages and maintains several users and websites on a physical server. The resources available on this server, including bandwidth, storage space, processing, etc., are shared among all users and websites; Even the prioritization or restriction of resource access to users is also applied; in other words, in shared hosting, you have almost no control over the resources you are using on the server, and the server management will be the responsibility of the hosting company.
For many people just entering the web hosting space, Shared hosting services are chosen because of saving investment and ease of server management. However, shared hosting is not recommended for high-traffic and large sites that require a lot of bandwidth due to limitations and possible problems.
Shared hosting is recommended for which cases?
- For small sites with few visitors
- weblogs
- For those looking for the cheapest hosting solution.
- Beginners who are not familiar with web development and server management.
What is a virtual private server (VPS)?
If you are reading this article now, you probably know the VPS server very well. If not, we will provide a definition of the virtual server so that there is no ambiguity. A virtual private server, or VPS for short, is a part of a server configured by virtualization technology to divide the hardware resources on a physical server. In such a way, several different operating systems with varying hardware resources can be created from a physical server.
VPS hosting is also created from the division and sharing of physical server resources. Still, each user has a certain amount of resources, divided in such a way that the performance of one website does not hurt another. In VPS, a separate and dedicated space is provided for each user, where constant access to resources is guaranteed.
By purchasing VPS, users can benefit from the same capabilities as a dedicated server at a fairer cost, and by using ROOT access to the server, they can directly manage their server and apply desired settings; Therefore, users must be somewhat familiar with technical knowledge.
In general, it can be said that all VPS resources are provided to users in a private or shared manner. When you request a VPS from a server, you can order the size of RAM, hard disk capacity, and everything else you need.
What uses is a virtual private server suitable for?
- If you predict that your site will have high traffic in the future.
- You decide to start a business site that will grow.
- You have enough budget to host your site, and the quality of speed, performance, and security of your site is essential to you.
Advantages and disadvantages of VPS and shared hosting
To better understand the differences between VPS and shared hosting, it can be helpful to examine the advantages and disadvantages of each. In the first encounter, the most important issue that is seen is the difference in their prices. Shared hosting is cheaper than virtual server, but VPS offers valuable features for their higher cost. In the following, we provide a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each so that you can compare these two hosting options.
| Advantages of VPS | Disadvantages of VPS |
|---|---|
| It can be customized. | It is more expensive than shared hosting. |
| It has practical facilities at an economical cost. | Requires skill and technical knowledge for management. |
| It is more stable and faster than shared hosting. | You need to guess how much storage space and bandwidth you need. |
| It has ROOT access to the server and the possibility of direct server management. | The system does not have an automatic backup, and you are responsible for backing up the site information. |
| It has scalability and the ability to upgrade resources along with the site's growth. | |
| The performance of other sites does not negatively affect your site. | |
| The security risk in these services is much less, while you can change the security settings per your requirements. | |
| You can install and run the software and operating system you need and configure the VPS in a customized way. |
| Advantages of shared hosting | disadvantages of shared hosting |
|---|---|
| It is the cheapest hosting option. | It is limited in using resources, server management, and its other facilities. |
| Suitable for beginners and novices. | It has security risks. |
| It does not require expertise to maintain and manage the server. | Your site is affected by shared sites on the server. |
| It has the best efficiency for sites with low traffic. | It is disturbed by the increase in traffic. |
| The management, updating, configuration, and technical repairs of the server are the responsibility of the hosting company. | You cannot change the server settings according to the website's needs. |
| By violating the limits defined by the hosting, it is possible to disable your hosting. |
8 Key Differences Between Shared Hosting and VPS
If we want to compare VPS vs. shared hosting, it is necessary to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each, more precisely and from different aspects, and understand their differences. In the following, we will mention the important things that shared hosting and virtual server are different from each other:
1. Performance
Fast loading times are just as important to your website’s performance as the design of the site. According to research, most users do not tolerate more than two seconds to load the site, and if a site’s loading is delayed for more than this time, they will immediately leave that site. Also, based on the findings of a specific survey, if the performance of a store website with its disturbances and problems causes disappointment to customers, 79 percent of them will never buy from there and will not return to that site. Having access to your site and the speed of your site’s performance is more important than anything else for visitors. Bandwidth and hardware resources affect the smooth running of the site.
As a result, it is severe and imperative to make the right decision when purchasing a hosting service for your business purposes. According to the topic we explained, you realized that the change of a few milliseconds could be effective in the success of your business. Undoubtedly, VPS hosting offers you faster and smoother performance. For example, if you consider a shared host as a shared internet, you will encounter a speed drop when downloading several files by other users connected to your Wifi network, but if you use a personal internet, you will no longer face such problems. In this example, shared internet is a host, and personal internet is the same as VPS, so in VPS, your site visitors will not have to wait in line to access the site.
Also, faster loading times and higher conversion rates are the results of more computing resources and the processing power offered by virtual private server hosting. For small sites, shared hosting is usually enough, but for large sites with high traffic that are growing, VPS is recommended.
2. Stability and reliability
By availability with higher stability, we mean how often server or network problems might prevent your website from loading properly. This can be related to the update time or the server being online. The uptime provided by the hosting company should be above 99.9%; maintaining a high level of uptime is essential for any website, especially for commercial sites, stores Online, and professional portfolios; you want to ensure visitors can access your site whenever they want.
Regarding server hosting programs, VPS and shared hosting can be equally vulnerable to server problems because the factors affecting this are related to the quality of server hardware and software and support, expertise, and management practices of hosting service providers. But in VPS programs, we will see fewer such problems because you participate with fewer users on each server. Also, each partition in VPS can optimize its settings for a specific website or application, and this customization effectively creates a more secure and stable environment.
Due to the large number of websites hosted on a shared server, there is a possibility of overloading the server. Also, in shared hosting, other managed accounts on the server can disrupt the performance of the hosting service and access to your site, but in VPS, you don’t need to worry about such problems because of having an independent space. For better understanding, if we want to give an example, consider shared hosting as a brick wall; if each brick is set tightly, the whole structure will be strong and impenetrable, but if any brick is collapsing, the entire safety of the structure is in danger.
3. Allocation of resources
In hosting services, having special and separate resources such as storage space affects the host’s performance. In a shared hosting environment, your site is managed and hosted along with several different sites, which share resources, and by excessive use of bandwidth by a website, other sites face low speed and disruption.
In VPS, by having a larger portion of hardware resources and also having an independent and private partition when using resources, you have fewer restrictions compared to a shared host. Also, with root access to the server environment, you will have complete management control over the server, which allows you to make changes to any file and install new programs. Therefore, you have more resources and independence when using VPS hosting, and you can focus on more important things without worrying about the impact of other sites on your performance.
4. Scalability
When a hosting plan can be considered scalable, along with the expansion of the website, you can upgrade capabilities and resources such as storage space, bandwidth, and CPU. Scalability is the deciding factor when deciding between shared hosting and VPS. Shared hosting may be an ideal option for a temporary or low-traffic online presence and can handle limited traffic levels for a site per month but may not be responsive as the site’s popularity increases.
Unlike shared hosting’s limitations in supporting increased traffic, VPS offers unlimited scalability in this regard. Usually, website owners prefer to start their business with an affordable shared hosting service and change the hosting service to VPS as the site progresses. However, if you expect your site to grow rapidly in the future, investing in VPS hosting now can pay off in the long run due to ease of scalability.
5. Pricing
In terms of cost-effectiveness, shared hosting is the best option for those who want to start their business website with a low budget. However, VPS is more expensive than shared hosting by providing more resources (bandwidth, storage space, etc.), better performance, reliability, and higher security.
Shared hosting costs less due to the sharing of server maintenance costs between users, but it has more limitations. VPS hosting plans offer special features such as customization, root access to the server environment, and practical features to control security, improve performance, and allocate RAM and storage space, but they are more expensive than shared hosting.
In shared hosting services, service providers are responsible for updating, backing up, configuring, and monitoring the server. Still, in virtual private servers, you are free to choose between managed and unmanaged services, and choosing, The managed plan gives you more features and support. Apart from these two VPS services, your site’s success is in maintaining reliability and improving performance by using your expertise and technical skills.
As a result, if you have a smaller budget, shared hosting is the ideal offer to start with, but if you have no investment restrictions, you can use the best features using VPS.
6. Security
Security, which is the most critical and sensitive issue for every user, must be prioritized when deciding between shared hosting and VPS. Although the security of any hosting service cannot be guaranteed 100%, if security is the most important factor when setting up a site, you must accept the fact that due to the hosting of a large number of sites on the server, hackers have more opportunities to access sensitive information in a shared hosting environment. also usually shared hosting users have the least experience and technical knowledge related to web hosting security measures; therefore they are more exposed to possible risks.
Therefore, in shared hosting, the security of your site depends on the performance of other sites hosted on your server. If a site suffers a security breach or a user forgets to update his WordPress, all the sites on the site will be at risk. Just like this example, you may feel safer at home by locking the door to your room, but if your housemate forgets to close the front door, you are still vulnerable. Note that performance, reliability, and security measures in shared hosting depend on the hosting company’s investment in the security of its servers and are different in each hosting company.
In general, a virtual server has higher security levels, and you have more control over security issues, and hosting service providers also provide you with more security features. Virtual private server hosting may be the best option for websites that process large amounts of the user or financial data. Since this choice has strong security features and is usually managed by experienced professionals, you can rest assured that your private data is safe.
7. Customization and configuration
Sometimes you need to take actions to increase the speed and improve your site’s performance, such as launching special software or installing functional plugins, etc. Or make settings and changes based on your needs and have more control over important things, but the limitations in shared hosting prevent you. Usually, the management and configuration of shared hosting are done by hosting service providers, and only by providing a control panel, you can perform a series of tasks to manage your site.
On the other hand, a virtual private server provides you with a higher level of access, and you feel more freedom by using the ability to customize in any field, including security issues and settings, configuration, and installation of any software and operating system.
But remember that along with these superior features, it will make you a big responsibility. Sometimes, if you don’t have enough expertise, you can face serious consequences as a result; despite your freedom in configuring the software, it is better if you have complete expertise and need to perform some tasks, take action, and do not overdo the changes.
8. Server management and control
Using a shared host to host the site brings the advantage that there is no need to worry about technical and basic maintenance. By providing shared hosting, the Hosting company will install and update a control panel like cPanel for you to manage the site, and from the back end, they ensure your problem-free work process. On the other hand, using a shared hosting plan limits you to using predefined server settings, but it is a good choice for beginners who do not have expertise in server management and maintenance.
On the other hand, managing VPS resources is not easy and comes with challenges; for this purpose, it is necessary to master professional technical knowledge and be able to change even the back-end settings of the server with root access and the customization feature to make changes if required to optimize the performance of the website. Also, benefit from advanced features in server management and control; in addition, you can customize the server with the operating system, control panel, and other software of your choice to meet your needs better and ensure the safety of your website.
FAQ
Is shared hosting more at risk than VPS in terms of security?
Yes, it definitely is. VPS is much safer than shared hosting due to having dedicated and independent partitions and the possibility of using advanced security features and customizing server settings. In shared hosting, when a hacker infiltrates a vulnerable site and accesses the server, all the sites hosted on the server are at risk. As a result, shared hosting is more vulnerable.
Can shared hosting plans be upgraded to VPS?
It is impossible to upgrade shared hosting to a virtual private server directly, but purchasing a separate VPS plan can transfer your data from shared hosting to VPS.
Between shared hosting and VPS, which one has faster performance?
VPS always results in smoother and faster performance because your site visitors won't have to wait in line behind other site visitors on a virtual private server, so your site will load faster.
Conclusion
In choosing the most suitable hosting plan between shared hosting and virtual server, the expectations and goals of the sites are the most critical factors. Before buying a hosting service for your website, be fully aware of your needs and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Virtual server hosting offers advanced features that you cannot benefit from in shared hosting, and it is also much safer and more reliable than shared hosting, but its setup and management require a lot of technical expertise.
The pricing of shared hosting options is cheaper than buying a virtual private server, but both have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is better to make the right decision based on your site’s needs at the beginning so that you don’t suffer later.
The scalability of VPS makes it an option that adapts to the changes and progress of your site, and if needed, you can upgrade your resources as your site traffic increases.
Shared hosting with simple management is used for beginners and new and small sites, and it is not as flexible as a virtual server and lacks the ability to customize. If you are just starting out and don’t need the advanced tools that other hosting platforms offer, shared hosting can be helpful, but for large sites with high traffic or sites that are expected to grow and expand soon, the VPS is undoubtedly the ideal option.
Shared hosting and virtual private server hosting are both excellent options for your hosting needs, so choose whichever is suitable for your website and business.