The Best VPS Hosting Providers 2021: Which Host Has The Most?

Picking apart the features that each VPS host offers can be tough. No one wants to spend their weekends or evenings flicking through a load of sites, looking for the best deal. So, we’ve put all the key info in one place for you.

Here you can see the maximum feature amount each provider gives you, whether you get root access or not, each provider’s uptime performance, and our research score from testing.

It’s important to note that the prices shown below are the cheapest you can get VPS hosting for with that provider – not the price you’d pay to receive the maximum capacity of everything.

With everything taken into account, InMotion was the clear winner for us. If you have specific requirements, however, our table is a great way of finding the right provider for your needs.

Still scratching your head at what each column means? Don’t worry, we’ll explain:

• RAM (Random Access Memory) – what fuels your site and allows it to work.
• CPU (Computer Processing Units) – cores within the server that process information.
• Bandwidth – the amount of data that can flow between the server, the internet, and your site.
• Root Access – the ability to customize your server by installing extra software.
• Storage – the amount of space you have for things on your site (content, media, web pages etc.)
• Uptime – how consistently your site is working online.

For a lot of sites, the amounts shown in this table will be excessive and unnecessary. More often than not, the most important things to consider are uptime and cost.

Sure, it’s nice to have huge storage space or bandwidth limits – but none of that matters if your site goes down regularly, or you can’t afford the monthly bill!

There are a number of factors to consider when looking for a VPS hosting provider. A lot of it hinges on the needs of both you and your website.

Everything considered, there are some standard factors that everyone should look into when choosing a host. These are:

• Uptime – This is critical for any site. No provider can guarantee 100% uptime, but the closer you can get to your site never going down, the better.
• Root Access – If you’re more technically able, having greater flexibility and customization over your server is brilliant. You can install additional software that meets your site’s needs, and beef up its security.
• Bandwidth – Similar to uptime, bandwidth is something all sites rely on. Nearly half of internet users expect a web page to load within two seconds, so it’s vital your site has ample bandwidth.
• Price – It’s natural to seek out the host with the lowest price, but in the long run it’s better to choose the host with the best value for money. This could mean a slightly more expensive provider with better features. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for discounts that help you save on a high-quality service, like Bluehost’s discounted VPS plans for new customers.

You should now have a really clear idea of the best VPS hosting options, and know what each one is particularly good at. To recap, here’s that list again:

The 8 best VPS hosting services:

1. InMotion – Best overall VPS hosting provider: starts at $17.99/month.
2. A2 Hosting – Best value for money: starts at $34.99/month.
3. Bluehost – Best features: starts at $18.99/month.
4. iPage – Best for customer service: starts at $19.99/month.
5. HostGator – Best for reliability: starts at $89.95/month.
6. GreenGeeks – Great server uptime: starts at $39.95/month.
7. Hostinger – Best for dedicated IP addresses: starts at $9.95/month.
8. DreamHost – Best bandwidth: starts at $15.99/month.

InMotion was the clear winner for us when taking features, support, uptime and value into account. It offers the best VPS hosting service across the board, and should be the go to provider for most readers.

A2 Hosting is especially good for non-technical folk due to its outstanding help and support, while Bluehost’s plans come packed with useful features.

The only way you’re ever going to know for sure, though, is by testing them out. Every provider (bar DreamHost) has a money-back guarantee, so it’s worth trialling one for a month or so to see what you think.

What’s the difference between a VPS and shared hosting?

Both a VPS and shared web hosting mean sharing dedicated hardware with multiple customers. The big difference is that with a VPS, fewer accounts are making demands on the hardware resources. You also get guarantees of better performance with a VPS compared to shared hosting.

What’s the difference between a VPS and a dedicated server?

A VPS is a virtual environment running on dedicated hardware, and has to share this hardware with a number of other customers. A dedicated server, meanwhile, provides sole access to the hardware. Dedicated hosting is only necessary for huge websites, as the cost is significantly more than shared hosting or virtual private servers.

What is a virtual server?

A virtual server is essentially a pretend computer running inside a physical computer. Since servers are so powerful, and the demands on them are different than a desktop PC, it works out quite well to run multiple virtual servers on a single piece of hardware.

What can you use a VPS for?

The most obvious and popular reason for a VPS is to run a single website, or multiple websites. However, you can use them for pretty much anything that requires access to the internet – such as a web application like Nextcloud to run your own Dropbox alternative – or to create your own virtual private network to better secure the internet connection of your PCs and mobile devices.

Which VPS hosting provider is the best value for money?

The cheapest VPS hosting provider is 1&1 IONOS, with its VPS S plan costing a mere $2 per month. We’d argue, however, that InMotion gives you the best value for money – it has the best features, offers a 90 day, money-back guarantee, and starts from just $17.99/month, which is an exclusive price just for our readers!

Which VPS hosting provider is best for small business?

This really depends on what your business’ website is for. Most will find InMotion the best, because put simply, it has the best features. It also gives you unlimited email accounts – a great bonus for employees – and lets you host multiple websites, should your company have more than one.