Introduction

Imagine this: You have an e-commerce store on VPS hosting. You ran a discount campaign and suddenly the store got a lot of visitors and since you have chosen VPS hosting, you cannot upgrade system configurations in real-time. So, the number of potential visitors who could have turned into regular customers no longer reach your store due to heavy traffic.

On the other hand, you have an established blog or portfolio, but you have opted for cloud hosting in the hope that someday you will get a lot of traffic, and you keep paying for hosting unnecessarily with the burden of managing them.

Both cases are common if we don’t have a proper understanding of the hosting options and our requirements. We understand this issue with our customers’ queries and hence, here in this blog, we are sharing with you a proper comparison between VPS hosting and cloud hosting, key features, pros and cons, and a guide on choosing the right hosting for your business. So, keep reading the blog if you also want to find out which hosting best suits your requirements: VPS or Cloud.

What is VPS Hosting?

The virtual private server is a kind of hosting that provides you with dedicated server resources. In VPS hosting your resources are not shared with others and you can use them however you want. A physical server is divided into different virtual servers. Each servers have its specific dedicated resources, features, and plans like RAM, CPU, and Disk space.

So, while the physical hardware is shared in virtual private server hustings, you still manage to get a completely isolated environment to operate and function just like the dedicated server virtually.

Key Features of VPS Hosting

 

• Dedicated Resources: As mentioned, VPS hosting provides dedicated resources for your website and different uses. So, You can choose and select the specific amount of fixed resources such as RAM, CPU power, Memory, and operating systems. You can use these fixed resources in any way without sharing them with others, unlike shared hosting.

 

• Root Access: typically, almost all the VPS hosting comes with root or administrative access which means you can manage, access, or even customize your server configurations effortlessly. The root access is especially beneficial for those who want to install and run customer software etc.

 

• Enhanced Control: You get more control and access features compared to shared hosting so, you have better functions and enhanced control options to customize and optimize configurations.

Pros of VPS Hosting

• Cost-Effective: VPS hosting is cheaper than dedicated hosting with almost the same features and configurations. The only difference is it is separated by virtual technologies while in a dedicated server, you own the physical server configurations.

 

• Better Performance: Since you get your dedicated server configurations and do not share your hosting’s with others like shared hosting, you get better performance. You get full control over your server and optimize the performance as per your needs.

 

• Customizability: The VPS hosting also offers you great customizability features as well. You can install and run custom software, make adjustments in advanced technical settings, and configure the root access to customize the hosting.

 

Cons of VPS Hosting

• Limited Scalability: You generally have to upgrade the entire hosting plan to scale or scale down your hosting configurations which are not very flexible compared to cloud hosting.

 

• Dependency on Physical Hardware: Although you get complete access to your hosting, Physical hardware is still subject to issues or problems. If the physical server that is hosting your configurations faces any issues, it can impact your server performance or availability.

 

What is Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting is a type of hosting that helps you host your websites and applications in a cloud with virtualization technologies for the distribution of resources on different servers. It uses a network of interconnected servers to host your websites and apps. So, Instead of being limited to one server resource and configuration, you get the benefit of the cluster of server resources. It means even if one server goes down, you can immediately take another server configuration to keep your hosting smooth.

Key Features of Cloud Hosting

• Scalability: One of the best features of cloud hosting is the flexibility of its resources, it allows you to upgrade or degrade resources automatically based on your needs. Do you remember the very first imagination of the e-commerce store with the sudden spike in traffic due to a campaign, in such cases cloud hosting allows you to opt for additional resources quickly to handle the traffic.

 

• High Availability: With different server availability, you are ensured to get the maximum uptime and smooth process without any failure. If one server goes down, another serves the website without any interruption.

 

• Pay-as-You-Go Pricing: Almost all the cloud hosting providers charge based on the services used every month or billing cycle. It means you only need to pay for the configurations and resources that you have used.

Pros of Cloud Hosting

• Excellent Scalability: The feature of scaling server configurations effortlessly according to hosting needs counts into the pros of cloud hosting. It enables businesses to scale resources up or down as per the website traffic fluctuation and rapid growth.

 

• High Reliability: Cloud hosting is quite reliable compared to any other hosting solution because it comes with an internet-connected server network. it means there is no way to fail the server configurations.

 

• Flexible Pricing: The pay-as-you-go pricing module makes cloud hosting better as you only need to pay for the configurations that you have used within the billing cycle period and thus save costs as well.

Cons of Cloud Hosting

Complex Pricing Structure: Pricing of the hosting is one of the cons as well. Since there is no set pricing, Cloud hosting providers use different metrics to decide the unit price. Hence, the pricing always remains uncertain.

Less Control: Everything is controlled and managed in the cloud which means users may not get as much control as in other Hosting like VPS or dedicated servers.

Comparing with features:

Before choosing any hosting between VPS or Cloud, it is crucial to understand the differences between them across various features. It will allow us to get more idea on which hosting is better for which kind of businesses and which can fit your needs more accurately. Here we have compared both of the hostings on different features like performance, security, cost efficiency, etc.

1.    Performance and Speed

VPS hosting provides you with stable performance and speed as it comes with dedicated resources. If you have consistent traffic on your website, you won’t notice any lag or major slowdown in your hosting operation. The only time you may face slowdown or speed reduction is when physical hardware experiences any issues or your website suddenly gets a huge number of traffic than usual

On the other side, Cloud hosting is designed in a way that it can handle any number of traffic easily with its flexible configuration solution. You can quickly get additional system configuration and server capacity if needed. You can even reduce if there is no longer a need for a configuration

Here Cloud hosting definitely wins for performance and speed with its flexible server configuration solutions

2.    Scalability

When it comes to Scalability, VPS hosting has limitations. Although you can upgrade all the resources like RAM, storage, CPU, etc, it requires downtime, and need to choose the higher plan. The VPS hosting also comes with preset configuration limits. Once you reach to the configuration limits, you might need to upgrade to a larger plan or face longer downtime.

This is not the case with Cloud hosting as it comes with a scalable solution, there is no need to upgrade the configuration every time, it automatically gets adjusted according to the traffic and there are also no limits for the configuration uses. Thus, it is the perfect choice for websites that experience rapid growth and seasonal traffic fluctuation.

Here again, Cloud hosting wins for its scalable configuration solution

3.    Cost Efficiency

VPS hosting offers a more predictable and simple payment structure and is efficient for small or medium-sized businesses with constant traffic. You generally have a fair idea of what you need to pay at the end of every billing cycle and don’t get any surprising costs. However, you may have to pay for additional resources in case of a traffic spike or upgrading the configurations.

On the other hand, cloud hosting uses a pay-as-you-go pricing module. This module suits your scalable solution but can be quite unpredictable and uncertain. It is cost-effective only when your website really fluctuates in terms of traffic.

Hence, VPS hosting Wins here for being cost-effective with simple and predictable costs.

4.    Security

In terms of Security VPS provides you great solution as it gives you isolated resources. unlike shared hosting, you don’t really have to share your data with other websites and servers. Each of the servers in VPS is separated from others on the same physical machine. This VPS server setup reduces the risk of cross-data shared and offers you a higher level of data security.

Now coming to Cloud hosting, no doubt It offers a robust security solution. However, since it is an interconnected server cluster, it raises concerns about data privacy and server attacks. However, these are extreme cases and usually do not face any of the issues and even many cloud hosting providers implement advanced security measures like firewalls, DDoS protection, and backup features.

So, Here Both are winners. But VPS is slightly in an advantageous position

5.    Customization and Control

A virtual private server gives you the root access to control and manage the server completely. You can install and run custom software, configure settings, and choose the choice of operation system.

Cloud hosting might be limited to some customization options. While you get enough control over different aspects of your server, some configurations and access may be restricted to ensure stable performance across the network.

VPS is a winner here for customization and control over the server hosting

6.    Reliability and Uptime

Although you get complete control over your server, VPS hosting depends on the physical server’s health. If the physical system on which your VPS is running faces any issues, you might experience downtime as well.

Cloud hosting offers better reliability and uptime guarantee with its distributed server solution. If one server fails, another server ensures your website runs smoothly without any downtime or interruption.

Here, Cloud hosting is a winner with its uninterrupted uptime and reliable performance.

 

How to Choose the Best Hosting Solution?

 

1.    Assess Your Website’s Needs

The first thing you need to consider is your website and business needs. What kind of website do you have, what Current traffic, growth potential, and any specific resource requirements from server hosting? It allows you to understand your needs. If you want to host a website that gets stable and constant traffic VPS might be the better option and if your website’s traffic fluctuates, Cloud server can be the right option for you.

2.    Long-term vs. Short-term Goals

If you are looking for a short-term hosting solution with predictable costs, VPS hosting is best for you. While Cloud hosting will be a better option for those who have long-term goals with flexible and scalable configuration solutions in real time.

3.    Technical Expertise

VPS hosting comes with root access and complete technical aspect which means you have to manage everything on your own. So, It requires a higher level of technical expertise to manage and control the server efficiently. Cloud hosting often offers managed services which means the providers will take care of the maintenance, updates, and security of your server.

4.    Budget Considerations

If budget is your priority, then VPS may be a better option for you as it comes with predictable costs. In this, you can estimate the cost based on the usage of your server. Even after taking additional configuration, you know what extra you need to pay for. However, in the Cloud hosting payment module, it is uncertain to predict and estimate the costs and just like the traffic on the site, the cost of the hosting can also fluctuate.

Conclusion

VPS and cloud hosting are two major hosting options available in the market. On one side where VPS comes with a cost-effective, performance-driven, amazing customizability solution, Cloud hosting offers a powerful hosting solution with real-time scalable configuration and higher availability features.

While choosing the exact hosting solution for your website, you need to tick on the different features and requirements you need. From assessing your requirements and understanding short-term and long-term goals to technical expertise and budget consideration, you need to focus on all the points.