Shared vs VPS vs Dedicated Hosting
There are three main types of hosting plans available for customers. They are Shared hosting, VPS hosting and Dedicated Servers Hosting. However, many of us may be unsure of the analogy or technical terms about these hosting plans.
It can be complicated, but here, we explain the basics and differences between the plans so that you can select the best suitable plan for yourself or your company. To best explain it, we shall put housing as a comparison.
| Shared Hosting | VPS Hosting | Dedicated Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Renting a room | Renting a unit | Renting a House |
A Shared Hosting plan is similar to owning a room in a house. You have a room to your own, together with your other roommates in the house. Unfortunately, you have to share the main facilities with your roommates, such as the bathroom, kitchen and living room.
A VPS Hosting plan is similar to owning a unit in a flat or building. You have great control and freedom over your apartment without having to share facilities like the kitchen, living room or bathroom with others. However, you will be still sharing certain facilities with the other residents in the building, such as the electricity and water systems. Additionally, within this building, there are also significantly lesser residents per building; each resident will have greater space.
A Dedicated Server Hosting plan is like owning a house. You are empowered with all the resources available within the house. No one will be competing for the resources that you own.
Types of Hosting
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- Shared Hosting
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- VPS Hosting
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- Dedicated Server Hosting
Shared Hosting
For Shared Hosting, otherwise known as basic web hosting, can be found under our Singapore Web Hosting and Singapore Business Hosting pages. It is a hosting service where clients will share a server. The servers management is administered by the web hosting provider, along with all the other technical tasks.
Server resources will be shared with others users on the same server space. Some of these resources are the processor, memory, storage, bandwidth, softwares etc.
On the shared servers, common control panels are such as cPanel, Directadmin , Plesk and Interworx which allow users to manage their own websites. For Quape, we are using the cPanel and Directadmin platform.
Pros & Cons of Shared Hosting
- PROS
- Affordable – our Quape Bronze plan starts as low as S$10/mo
- 24/7 Support Team
- Technical maintenance handled by Quape
- User-friendly cPanel and Directadmin platform
- Saves time and effort for the user
- CONS
- Limited resources
- Limited ability to customize
- Unable to install your own server modules or software on the server
- Limited Mail/Recipients per Hour
- Limited number of email users per account
VPS Hosting
Next, for VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting, it is located under our Singapore VPS Hosting page. Several VPS will be created on a single server, but it permits greater control as compared to Shared Hosting. Hosting providers like Quape have numerous VPS in each server and provides access to users that purchase them.
VPS can be acknowledged as a dedicated server with limited resources. Root access is provided, so that clients can install their preferred operating system, software and execute other root level tasks. It can be more expensive than the basic web hosting accounts, but it allows for more freedom and functionality.
Pros & Cons of VPS Hosting
- PROS
- Privacy
- High control levels
- Dedicated resources
- Ability to customize
- No limit to outgoing emails
- Less expensive than having a full dedicated server hosting plan
- Root access enabled
- 24/7 Support Team
- CONS
- More expensive than Shared Hosting
- Resources allocated is still controlled by hosting provider
Dedicated Hosting
For Dedicated Server Hosting, it is located under our Singapore Dedicated Servers page. It is a service where the client rents the entire physical server and has complete control over it. The client can select the type of operating system and software to be installed on the server, and choose required hardware add-ons suited to your requirements. As a sole user of the server, you will enjoy high performance, stability, security and control.
Pros & Cons of Dedicated Hosting
- PROS
- Exclusivity
- Control over every aspect of your server
- Ability to add-on hardware or install other software as per your requirements
- High performance and stability
- Root access enabled
- No limit to outgoing emails
- 24/7 Support Team
- CONS
- High Expenses
Who should go for Shared Hosting
- Those who need a business/personal website
- Startup company looking to build an online presence
- Those with mild technical knowledge
Who should go for VPS Hosting
- Those with a little IT knowledge
- Those that require greater resources than shared hosting
- Those who have high traffic to their websites, but with limited technical abilities to manage their website on a server level
Who should go for Dedicated Hosting
- Those with great technical knowledge, and able to handle all technical aspects of hosting your website
- Large companies or institutions that have huge amounts of data
- Those that require full control over the server
- Those that require the ability to handle high volumes of requests for your site
On the whole, the hosting plan for you will greatly reply upon your budget, followed by your server and website requirements. The level of control required for your servers will decide your decision between a shared or VPS/Dedicated hosting plan.
Need our help to guide and recommend the most suitable type of hosting and plan for you? Feel free to contact us today!
