Best Cheap VPS Hosting Services of 2024
- IONOS: Best overall
- GoDaddy: Best for small business websites
- DreamHost: Best for managed VPS services
- Hostinger: Best for simple websites
- Hostwinds: Best for best for sites with heavy storage demands
- MochaHost: Best VPS hosting guarantee
- InterServer: Best for month-to-month VPS hosting
Best Overall
IONOS
4.5
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$2
per month
Storage
10GB to 240GB (SSD)
RAM
512MB to 24GB
On IONOS' Website
$2
per month
10GB to 240GB (SSD)
512MB to 24GB
Editor's Take
If you’re looking for a reliable provider of cheap VPS hosting services, it doesn’t get better than IONOS. Known for its 99.99% uptime guarantee, all IONOS plans come with full root access, free load balancing and unlimited traffic. You can also host unlimited domains and unlimited email mailboxes via your IONOS VPS hosting account.
IONOS offers standard, memory-optimized and CPU-optimized VPS hosting packages. Standard plans offer one to six vCores CPU, and 512MB to 12GB RAM. CPU-optimized plans give you the same RAM and SSD as the Standard plans, but four to eight vCores CPU. Memory-optimized plans give you two to eight vCores CPU and 6GB to 24GB RAM. Storage maxes out at 240 GB on top-tier plans in all package categories.
Monthly and annual contracts are available through IONOS, and you can upgrade anytime. You can get started for just $2 per month on the VPS XS plan, and it’s risk-free for 30 days. Standard plans range from $2 to $6 per month. It’s important to note that most of these rates are only valid for a six-month introductory period and the renewal fees are higher.
Learn More: Read our full IONOS review.
Who should use it:
If you need dependable, cheap VPS hosting services for your business website, you can’t go wrong with IONOS.
Pros & Cons
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Unlimited traffic
- Supports Linux and Windows
- Minimal contract commitment
- Choose from multiple data center locations
- Extra charge for cloud backup gets pricey
- Custom control panel can be difficult to navigate
- Customer support inconsistent
- No free domain
Best for Small Business Websites
GoDaddy
4.1
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$8.99
per month with a three-year term
Storage
20GB to 400GB NVMe SSD
RAM
1GB to 32GB
Learn More
Read Forbes' Review
$8.99
per month with a three-year term
20GB to 400GB NVMe SSD
1GB to 32GB
Editor's Take
GoDaddy offers VPS hosting services that give you considerable control over your hosting environment. With GoDaddy, you have full root access, optional control panels and unlimited hosting accounts. Monitor uptime and resource use with GoDaddy monitoring and alerts and protect your site with an SSL certificate (the first year is free) and up to three dedicated IPs.
GoDaddy’s flexible server configurations and multiple plan choices allow you to pick the perfect hosting plan for your needs. If you anticipate that your processing or storage needs will grow over time, GoDaddy has you covered. Get started with a lower-level plan and increase RAM, CPU or storage easily with seamless VPS plan upgrades as your needs change.
GoDaddy offers both standard-RAM and high-RAM self-managed VPS hosting plans. Standard-RAM plans include 2GB to 16GB RAM and range from $8.99 to $44.99 per month with a three-year contract. High-RAM plans include 16GB to 128GB RAM and are priced from $64.99 to $199.99 per month with a three-year commitment.
Learn More: Read our full GoDaddy Hosting review.
Who should use it:
Multiple plan levels and the option to go with either a self-managed or fully managed plan make GoDaddy’s VPS hosting services perfect for all types of small business websites.
Pros & Cons
- Root access and optional control panels
- 99% uptime
- Unlimited traffic
- Multiple dedicated IP options
- 24/7 customer support
- Three-year commitment for lowest prices
- Pricey add-ons for self-managed plans
- Linux only on lowest-tier plan
- High renewal rates
Best for Managed VPS Hosting
DreamHost
4.1
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$10
per month with a three-year commitment
Storage
30GB to 240GB SSD
RAM:
1GB to 8GB
On DreamHost's Website
$10
per month with a three-year commitment
30GB to 240GB SSD
1GB to 8GB
Editor's Take
DreamHost is a popular hosting provider that is on Forbes’ list of best web hosting providers for small businesses. While DreamHost offers shared hosting services, its managed VPS hosting plans are an exceptionally good value. Plus, the backend hosting support that DreamHost provides with VPS hosting is something that those with limited technical knowledge will appreciate.
Each VPS plan allocates resources available exclusively to the website or websites you intend to include on your hosting account. Every DreamHost VPS plan comes with unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, unlimited MySQL databases and an unlimited number of domains and websites on your VPS server.
DreamHost’s custom control panel makes hosting setup easy, even for beginners. DreamHost monitors your servers for you and handles security patches and OS updates—things you’d have to do if you went with a self-managed plan from a different provider.
Choose from four managed VPS hosting plans: Basic, Business, Professional and Enterprise. DreamHost VPS plan pricing ranges from $10 to $80 per month with a three-year commitment. Monthly plans are available for $15 to $120 per month, and annual contracts are available for $13.75 to $110 per month.
Learn more:Read our fullDreamHost review.
Who should use it:
If you’re looking for affordable VPS hosting services where the technical heavy lifting is done for you, DreamHost might be the best hosting provider for you.
Pros & Cons
- 100% uptime guarantee
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Host unlimited websites
- User-friendly VPS control panel
- Unlimited email at your domain
- Managed VPS does not offer root access
- Windows VPS not available
- High renewal fees
- Inconsistent customer support
Best for Simple Websites
Hostinger
4.0
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$4.99
per month (billed annually; renews at $8.49 per month annually)
Storage
20GB to 250GB
RAM
1GB to 16GB
On Hostinger's Website
$4.99
per month (billed annually; renews at $8.49 per month annually)
20GB to 250GB
1GB to 16GB
Editor's Take
Hostinger offers a wide variety of VPS hosting options that deliver fast website loading, making for a great user experience. All Hostinger VPS plans come with full root access, a dedicated IP, and IPv4 and IPv6 internet protocol support. Multiple server data centers are available, so you can further enhance your website’s performance by choosing the center closest to your target audience.
Hostinger offers four VPS hosting plans. The key differences among the plans are the amount of RAM, storage, bandwidth and CPU power offered. If you need more resources than your current plan offers, you can upgrade to a different Hostinger VPS plan to access additional storage, RAM or bandwidth.
Hostinger offers discounts of 61% or higher for new plans when you sign up for a four-year commitment. Monthly, annual and two-year contracts are also available. The cheapest Hostinger plan is the basic KVM 1 plan, which costs just $4.49 per month with a two-year commitment, $4.99 with a one-year commitment, and $9.99 per month with a month-to-month plan. Note that renewal prices are higher.
Learn More: Read our full Hostinger review.
Who should use it:
Hostinger offers the flexibility and power you need to run a simple website that doesn’t require complex, resource-intensive hosting capabilities.
Pros & Cons
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Full root access
- 99.9% server uptime guarantee
- Automated backups
- Host multiple websites on one VPS plan
- Four-year commitment required for lowest plan pricing
- No telephone support
- Windows VPS not offered
- No managed plans available
Best for Sites With Heavy Storage Demands
Hostwinds
3.8
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$4.99
per month
Storage
30GB to 750GB
RAM
1GB to 96GB
Learn More
Read Forbes' Review
$4.99
per month
30GB to 750GB
1GB to 96GB
Editor's Take
Hostwinds VPS hosting services include one distinct advantage rarely offered by other providers: storage and lots of it. You get a minimum of 30GB of storage with every Hostwinds package, and you can purchase solutions that give you up to 750GB of storage—more than double what most VPS providers allow.
Hostwinds offers both Linux and Windows managed and unmanaged VPS hosting packages. With all Hostwinds packages, you get full root access to your account and control over server configurations. Unmanaged VPS solutions do not include technical, administrative or server management support, which makes unmanaged plans best for those who already possess server setup and management skills.
Managed VPS packages come with operating system updates, mitigation of site load problems, network-related troubleshooting, help with hardware failures and automatic virus scans. Hostwinds’ managed VPS solutions also include support with DNS configuration and setup, firewall setup and troubleshooting, backup configuration and password resets.
Pricing for managed plans ranges from $8.24 to $431.24 per month, while unmanaged plans range from $4.99 to $376.99 per month. Key differences among the Hostwinds solutions include the amount of CPU, RAM, storage and bandwidth provided in the package.
Learn More: Read our full Hostwinds review.
Who should use it:
Hostwinds is an excellent VPS hosting solution for those who require lots of storage for website resources.
Pros & Cons
- Real-time monitoring service on all plans
- Full root access
- Free website transfer
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Pricing transparency for renewals
- Only two server locations
- No packages with unlimited bandwidth
- Add-on fee for nightly backups
- Extra charge for cPanel/WHM licenses
Best VPS Hosting Guarantee
MochaHost
3.8
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$17.50
per month
Storage
1GB to 300GB SSD
RAM
0.5GB to 10GB
On MochaHost's Website
$17.50
per month
1GB to 300GB SSD
0.5GB to 10GB
Editor's Take
MochaHost offers several cheap web hosting plans, and the company’s VPS hosting services are worth a closer look for anyone on a budget. VPS hosting is available for both Linux and Windows.
There are four unmanaged VPS plans for Linux and four unmanaged plans for Windows. Linux plans range from $17.50 to $92.50 per month while Windows plans range from $22.50 to $132.50 per month. The key differences among the plans are the amount of RAM, storage and CPU capacity offered, though top-tier plans come with extras such as Tomcat/Java support and malware and spam checking.
MochaHost offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee as well as 180 days of risk-free hosting. With the risk-free hosting option, during the first 180 days of service, you can cancel your account and you’ll be repaid a prorated fee for all unused hosting based on MochaHost’s standard monthly package pricing.
Learn more:Read our fullMochaHost review.
Who should use it:
Thanks to MochaHost’s 180-day risk-free hosting offer, MochaHost is a smart way to get affordable VPS hosting services without being stuck with a multi-year plan should the solution not end up being right for you.
Pros & Cons
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Hosting for Windows and Linux
- 137 data center locations
- Free site migration on most plans
- Limited features on starter plans
- Multi-year commitment required for best pricing
- Free domain not included on lower-tier plans
- Lots of pricey add-ons
Best for Month-to-Month VPS Hosting
InterServer
3.7
Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Starting Price
$6
per month
Storage
30GB to 480GB
RAM
2GB to 32.8GB
Learn More
Read Forbes' Review
$6
per month
30GB to 480GB
2GB to 32.8GB
Editor's Take
If you’re eager to get started in VPS hosting but prefer to pay month-to-month, InterServer might be the best VPS solution for you. Along with most top VPS providers, InterServer gives you complete control over your website, including root access. Unlike other solutions, with InterServer you get to choose the exact level of CPU cores, memory, storage and file transfer capacity you want.
Pricing varies depending on your resource needs and whether you go with Linux or Windows VPS hosting. InterServer calls its plans “slices,” and there are 16 slices available for Linux VPS, Storage VPS and Windows VPS.
You can get started with Linux VPS hosting for as little as $6 per month; that starter slice comes with one CPU core, 2GB of RAM, 30GB of storage and 2TB file transfer capacity. You’ll pay $10 per month for the same resources with Windows VPS. Scale up or down by adding or removing slices at any time. Slices top out at $96 per month for Linux and $160 per month for Windows.
The starting price for Storage VPS with InterServer is $6 per month and scales up to $96 per month. CPU cores range from one to 16 cores, RAM from 2GB to 32.8GB, storage from 1TB to 16TB and file transfer speeds from 2TB to 32TB.
InterServer offers DirectAdmin, cPanel and Plesk control panels for easy VPS management and monitoring. You’ll pay a license fee ranging from $8 to $45 per month for most control panels.
Learn More: Read our full InterServer review.
Who should use it:
If you want to get started with VPS hosting but prefer to pay month-to-month, InterServer offers reliable and affordable options that will likely suit your specific resource needs.
Pros & Cons
- All billing is month-to-month
- Supports Linux and Windows
- Phone, live chat and ticket system support
- Automatic backups available for a fee
- Free incoming and outgoing transfers
- Add-on fee for business control panel licenses
- No free trial available
- Backup services cost extra
- No discounts for advanced payment
Methodology
Forbes Advisor studied dozens of VPS hosting solutions and sorted through hundreds of data points to come up with this list of the best cheap VPS hosting providers. We evaluated services based on factors that matter most for website performance, including available storage, RAM, CPU processing capability, website reliability and security.
Not every VPS hosting plan is right for every business, so we looked at the best options for budget-friendly monthly plans as well as cheap plans that typically require a multi-year commitment. We considered costs associated with initial plan purchases, plan renewal fees, add-on costs and hidden gotchas that can drive prices up.
Since VPS hosting can be complicated, we understand just how crucial exceptional customer support is to you. That’s why we examined how each provider delivers customer support. Finally, we took a good long look at each provider’s reputation, taking a deep dive into what real-world customers have said online on reputable sites, such as Trustpilot and G2.
How To Choose a Cheap VPS Hosting Service
When looking for a cheap VPS hosting service, you first want to consider your unique needs. Do you know how much RAM and storage you need? Are you proficient in server setup and management, or will you need some help?
If you’re in growth mode, you’ll want to choose a VPS host that will scale as your website resource needs grow. Be sure to look for options that make it easy to add additional capacity for a price that you can still afford.
If you’re confident in your abilities to set up and configure your VPS server on your own, you’ll find unmanaged solutions are cheaper than managed solutions. However, if you’re new to VPS hosting and your technical skills aren’t particularly advanced, you’ll save both time and frustration by paying extra for managed VPS hosting.
The last step in choosing a cheap VPS hosting solution is vetting providers’ reputations. Do the solutions you’re considering offer reliable and secure hosting? Do the providers offer excellent customer support? You want to be certain your website works seamlessly for visitors, and you need a host you can count on to ensure that happens.
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Bluehost
Starting price
$1.99 per month
Storage Limit
Unmetered bandwidth, SSD storage starts at 10GB
Standout Features
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Hostinger
Pricing
$2.69/month + 3 months free
Offer
Extra 10% discount with code: FORBES10
Standout Features
Free domain, Free email, Free Unlimited SSL
3
HostGator
Starting Price
$2.75 per month (for first 36 months)
Money-Back Guarantee
30 days
Standout Features
Free SSL certificate, free website transfer
4
Web.com
Starting price
$2.75 per month
Website Building
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Standout Features
Customizable templates, Easy drag-and-drop technology, SSL certificate
Benefits of VPS Hosting Services
When it comes to hosting services, you have three options: shared, VPS and dedicated. VPS hosting is the affordable middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting where you gain more control over your website’s performance, which in turn means you can consistently deliver an excellent experience for your website’s visitors.
Here are a few main benefits of going with VPS hosting:
- Cheaper. VPS is cheaper than hosting your site on a dedicated server.
- Consistent performance. Unlike with shared hosting, with VPS, your site is never negatively impacted by other websites’ server usage.
- Greater control. With VPS, you have greater control over how you configure your server and customize how your site is set up.
- Fast load times. VPS hosting often delivers faster page-loading times than shared hosting, which can positively impact your SEO.
- Scalability. Most VPS hosts make it easy to scale up as your resource demands grow.
Bottom Line
The right cheap VPS hosting service for you will depend on your exact needs. Most VPS hosting providers offer multiple plans to choose from so that you can get the CPU capacity, storage and fast site-loading times you need to ensure optimal performance for your website. Even better, the best VPS solutions allow you to upgrade your plan as your needs grow.
If you’re technically savvy and experienced with setting up servers, you’ll want to go with an unmanaged solution, which typically costs a fraction of managed solutions. If you’re a relative beginner with limited technical skills, a fully managed VPS solution is a better choice for you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is VPS good for web hosting?
A VPS is a great option for web hosting. VPS hosting is more affordable than dedicated hosting solutions and also often provides faster site loading speeds and overall better stability than you can get through shared hosting services.
What’s the difference between VPN and VPS?
A virtual private network (VPN) provides an encrypted server and hides your internet protocol (IP) address, thus protecting user privacy. A VPS is a type of hosting service that gives users dedicated space on a server that hosts multiple websites or users.
Can a VPS be tracked?
IP addresses are public. Therefore, VPS IP addresses can be traced back to the operating server.
Which company offers the best VPS hosting?
Forbes recommends IONOS as the best overall VPS hosting service provider. However, depending on your exact needs, several other VPS hosting solutions might be a better choice for you. For example, DreamHost offers affordable managed VPS hosting solutions that are great for those who aren’t particularly tech-savvy. GoDaddy has several self-managed VPS hosting plans that are ideal for small business websites.
Do I need VPS hosting?
As your business grows and your site traffic increases, you may need to consider upgrading from a shared server to a VPS. It may also be necessary to opt for a VPS if you have plans to build a more complex website that shared hosting can’t support.
