You’ve got a growing website and aspirations bigger than a shared hosting plan can handle. But here’s the dilemma: Your budget doesn’t have room for the premium VPS hosting options that tech moguls rave about. You need something that’s affordable but doesn’t compromise on performance. Welcome to the middle ground—cheap VPS hosting that’s actually good.
So why stick around? Because choosing a VPS host is like buying a used car. Go too cheap, and you’ll end up with a clunker that falls apart at the first red light. But if you do your homework, you can find a reliable vehicle that gets you where you need to go without emptying your bank account. The right cheap VPS host offers a stable environment, decent speed, and maybe even some bells and whistles like easy scalability and solid customer support.
In this article, we’re cutting through the noise to reveal the top VPS hosts that offer the best of both worlds: affordability and reliability. We’ve scrutinized server performance, dug into uptime statistics, and assessed customer service quality. Whether you’re a small business owner, a developer, or a blogger ready for an upgrade, we’ve got the info you need to make an educated decision.
The Best Cheap VPS Hosting
- Hostinger – starting at $5.99
- DigitalOcean – starting at $6
- Kamatera – starting at $4
- Hostwinds – starting at $4.99
- DreamHost – starting at $10.00
The above is merely an overview of the platforms we’ll be reviewing in this guide. We’ll be taking a close look at key features, the pros and cons, and numerous benchmarks to give you an idea of what to expect.
How we do reviews. We’ve documented our process that shows how we do hosting reviews, which you can read here. In short, we’ve signed up for every single provider that we review to tell you what the platform actually does, as opposed to what its sales page says it does. If the provider has flaws, we’ll tell you.
Hostinger
| 📅 Year established: | 2004 |
| 📊 Uptime guarantee: | 99.9% |
| 📧 Support: | Email, phone, live chat |
| 💰 Pricing: | Starting as low as $5.99 |
Hostinger’s rise in popularity within the cheap VPS hosting arena can be attributed to a combination of factors – competitive pricing, robust feature set, and reliable performance. The company’s commitment to providing affordable solutions without cutting corners on quality has earned it a loyal following among customers around the globe.
One of the key reasons why Hostinger is considered an excellent option for cheap VPS hosting is because of its wide range of VPS configurations. The provider offers six different VPS plans, allowing users to find a plan that best suits their requirements and budget.
It is also worth mentioning that Hostinger has invested heavily in its infrastructure. They utilize SSD storage, ensuring faster storage speeds and improved website performance as compared to traditional HDD storage.
🚀 Benchmarks
In order to evaluate the performance of Hostingers’ servers across various regions, we conducted tests to measure server response time, load time, and uptime in the USA (New York), Europe (London), and Asia (Singapore). The results are as follows:
| Region | Server Response Time | Load Time | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 120 ms | 1.3s | 99.98% |
| Europe | 95 ms | 1.1s | 99.97% |
| Asia | 225 ms | 2.0s | 99.95% |
Pricing
Hostinger’s cheapest VPS plan includes the following features:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Disk Space | 20 GB SSD |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB |
| Backups | Weekly |
| IP Address | Dedicated |
| Root Access | Full |
| Price (monthly) | $5.99 |
| Discount Percentage | 56% off (Save $5) |
The plan offers a single-core virtual CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 20 GB of SSD storage, and 1000 GB of bandwidth. The pricing is among the most competitive in the market, making it an ideal choice for those on a tight budget.
Hostinger has positioned itself as a reliable and affordable option for VPS hosting in an industry filled with high-priced options. With its competitive pricing, wide range of VPS configurations, fast SSD storage, and excellent customer support, Hostinger stands out as one of the best cheap VPS hosting providers available today.
While there may be some minor drawbacks such as limited data center locations or additional costs for Windows OS, these do not overshadow the value that Hostinger delivers.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective VPS hosting provider that doesn’t compromise on performance or customer service, Hostinger can be a great choice to help you achieve your online goals.
DigitalOcean
| 📅 Year established: | 2011 |
| 📊 Uptime guarantee: | 99.9% |
| 📧 Support: | Email, tickets |
| 💰 Pricing: | Starting as low as $6 |
Note: We have been hosting all of our sites (including Stack Diary) and projects on DigitalOcean since 2013!
DigitalOcean was founded in 2011 by Ben Uretsky, Moisey Uretsky, Jeff Carr, Alec Hartman, and Mitch Wainer. The company aimed to offer developers a simple yet powerful platform for deploying and managing their applications in the cloud. Over the years, DigitalOcean has expanded its offerings to cater to businesses and users with varying levels of expertise.
What makes DigitalOcean particularly popular among cheap VPS hosting providers is its balance between affordability, performance, and ease of use. The intuitive control panel allows even beginners to deploy virtual machines (droplets) in less than a minute without any prior knowledge of cloud infrastructure management. At the same time, the platform offers advanced options for experienced users who want more control over their virtual machines.
DigitalOcean’s data centers are spread across various regions worldwide, ensuring that your applications can be hosted close to your target audience for optimal performance. Its SSD-based storage contributes to faster load times and improved performance compared to traditional HDD-based storage.
🚀 Benchmarks
In order to evaluate the performance of DigitalOceans’ servers across various regions, we conducted tests to measure server response time, load time, and uptime in the USA (New York), Europe (London), and Asia (Singapore). The results are as follows:
| Region | Server Response Time | Load Time | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 140 ms | 1.3s | 99.99% |
| Europe | 154 ms | 1.5s | 99.98% |
| Asia | 167 ms | 1.8s | 99.97% |
Pricing
DigitalOcean offers a variety of plans catering to different needs, but even its cheapest plan boasts impressive features:
| Features | Specification |
|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $6 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| vCPU | 1 |
| SSD Storage | 25 GB |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB |
| Free backups for one month | Yes (limited time) |
| Load balancers available? | Yes (for additional fees) |
| Block storage volumes available? | Yes (for additional fees) |
DigitalOcean stands out as one of the best cheap VPS hosting providers thanks to its balance of affordability, performance, and ease of use. With its user-friendly control panel and rich documentation, it caters to both beginners and advanced users alike.
While it may not offer some features like cPanel or Plesk that other hosting providers have, these are compensated for with its powerful suite of features and tools. It’s also important to note that there’s no phone or live chat support; however, email/ticket-based support has been responsive and reliable according to many users’ experiences.
As a developer or business owner looking for affordable VPS hosting without sacrificing performance and quality, DigitalOcean makes an exceptional choice.
Interested in a more comprehensive review? We’ve done that – click here to read our in-depth review of DigitalOcean!
Kamatera
| 📅 Year established: | 2005 |
| 📊 Uptime guarantee: | 99.9% |
| 📧 Support: | Email, phone, live chat |
| 💰 Pricing: | Starting as low as $4 |
Kamatera started its journey in 1995 as an ISP company in Israel but switched its focus to cloud computing services in 2005. With over two decades of experience under their belt, they have honed their expertise in providing top-notch cloud infrastructure solutions. Their offerings include cloud servers, private cloud setups, managed services as well as various Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions.
What sets Kamatera apart from other providers is its emphasis on offering enterprise-level hosting solutions at a fraction of the cost. This enables small to medium-sized businesses to gain access to the same level of service that large corporations enjoy. Furthermore, they understand the need for flexible and scalable hosting solutions, allowing you to easily upgrade your plan as your business grows.
Leveraging its global network of data centers, Kamatera ensures that you can select a server location that is closest to your target audience. This helps minimize latency and ensures faster load times for your website or application.
🚀 Benchmarks
In order to evaluate the performance of Kamateras’ servers across various regions, we conducted tests to measure server response time, load time, and uptime in the USA (New York), Europe (London), and Asia (Singapore). The results are as follows:
| Region | Server Response Time | Load Time | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 123ms | 925ms | 99.98% |
| Europe | 82ms | 789ms | 99.97% |
| Asia | 146ms | 1072ms | 99.95% |
Pricing
The following table showcases Kamatera’s cheapest VPS plan and what it includes:
| Features | Specification |
|---|---|
| Price | $4/month |
| vCPU | 1 Core |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| SSD Storage | 30 GB |
| Bandwidth | 5,000 GB |
| Operating System | Choice of Windows ($15/month) or Linux |
| Server Locations | Multiple locations worldwide |
It’s worth noting that while Kamatera’s prices are affordable, the base prices do not include managed services or cPanel/WHM licenses. If you require these additional features, you will need to calculate them into your overall budget. Overall, Kamatera offers a great value for the level of service and performance you receive.
Their emphasis on providing enterprise-level services at a fraction of the cost means that even small businesses can take advantage of powerful cloud-based infrastructure without breaking their budget. Additionally, Kamatera’s commitment to ensuring high-performance and scalability allows its users to focus on growing their business without worrying about server limitations.
The only drawback worth mentioning is the exclusion of managed services and cPanel licenses in their base pricing – but this might not be a significant issue for those well-versed in server management.
Considering all aspects of Kamatera’s VPS hosting offerings – including customer support, ease of use, scalability options and more – we highly recommend exploring what they have to offer if you’re in search of a budget-friendly yet highly dependable solution for your web hosting needs.
Hostwinds
| 📅 Year established: | 2010 |
| 📊 Uptime guarantee: | 99.9% |
| 📧 Support: | Email, phone, live chat |
| 💰 Pricing: | Starting as low as $4.99 |
Hostwinds was founded with the goal of providing a reliable, user-friendly, and affordable hosting solution. The company has managed to fulfill this goal by offering various flexible plans tailored to different types of users. With a fully managed VPS hosting service, Hostwinds takes care of server maintenance and updates, allowing you to focus on your website or application.
One significant aspect that sets Hostwinds apart from other cheap VPS hosting providers is their commitment to customer satisfaction. The company’s US-based support team is accessible 24/7 through phone, live chat, and ticket system. In addition, Hostwinds offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee with no hidden fees – if you’re not entirely satisfied with their service, they’ll work with you to find a solution or issue a refund.
The inclusion of SSD storage in all plans ensures faster load times and data access for your website. Moreover, Hostwinds provides generous amounts of storage and bandwidth even on their cheapest plans. This makes it an excellent choice if you’re looking for an affordable yet high-performance VPS hosting solution.
🚀 Benchmarks
In order to evaluate the performance of Hostwinds’ servers across various regions, we conducted tests to measure server response time, load time, and uptime in the USA (New York), Europe (London), and Asia (Singapore). The results are as follows:
| Region | Server Response Time | Load Time | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 36 ms | 1.23s | 99.99% |
| Europe | 68 ms | 1.54s | 99.98% |
| Asia | 104 ms | 2.01s | 99.98% |
Pricing
Hostwinds offers a variety of affordable VPS hosting plans based on your requirements; here are the details for the cheapest plan:
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 CPU |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Storage | 30 GB |
| Bandwidth | 1 TB |
| Price | $4.99/mo |
| Features | 1 Gbps Ports |
| Solid State Drives | |
| Custom ISO’s | |
| Multiple Locations | |
| Enterprise Firewall |
The cheapest plan, Tier One, includes:
- Free domain registration or transfer with an annual plan
- Nightly backups and easy restoration process
- Fully managed service with server maintenance and updates
- Access to Hostwinds’ suite of applications
- Full root access for ultimate control over your hosting environment
- SSD storage for faster load times and data access
- RAID protection for your stored data
Overall, Hostwinds is an excellent choice when it comes to finding an affordable VPS hosting provider without compromising on performance or reliability. With its user-friendly approach, fully managed service offerings, extensive features list, and commitment to customer satisfaction, it stands out among its competitors.
Though there are some drawbacks, like the lack of a free SSL certificate in basic plans and limited advanced developer features compared to other VPS hosts; these can be overlooked given the generous storage and bandwidth allocations even in their most basic plan. Additionally, having a top-notch customer support team available 24/7 ensures that you’ll always have someone to turn to if you encounter any issues.
If you’re looking for an affordable VPS hosting solution without sacrificing performance or reliability, Hostwinds is well worth considering.
DreamHost
| 📅 Year established: | 1996 |
| 📊 Uptime guarantee: | 100% |
| 📧 Support: | Email, phone, live chat |
| 💰 Pricing: | Starting as low as $10 |
DreamHost has been providing top-notch hosting services for over two decades now, which has led them to become one of the best-known players in the industry. Known for its commitment to transparency when it comes to pricing and features offered in their plans makes DreamHost an excellent choice when looking for an affordable VPS solution.
A crucial factor that sets DreamHost apart from other cheap VPS providers is the unlimited bandwidth offered in all their VPS plans – perfect if you expect your website to experience consistent growth. And with highly scalable RAM, you can easily upgrade your plan as your site expands and receives more traffic.
Another noteworthy feature is DreamHost’s SSD storage, which provides faster performance and reliability. Your site will load faster, giving a better experience for visitors – an important factor considering that slow loading times lead to higher bounce rates and lower rankings in search engine results.
DreamHost also understands the importance of customer support when it comes to web hosting. Their 24/7 live chat and email ticketing system provide prompt assistance, so you’re never left in the dark when encountering issues with your VPS hosting.
🚀 Benchmarks
In order to evaluate the performance of DreamHosts’ servers across various regions, we conducted tests to measure server response time, load time, and uptime in the USA (New York), Europe (London), and Asia (Singapore). The results are as follows:
| Region | Server Response Time | Load Time | Uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 195 ms | 1.2s | 100% |
| Europe | 210 ms | 1.4s | 100% |
| Asia | 245 ms | 1.6s | 100% |
Pricing
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Starting at $10.00/mo |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Storage | 30 GB SSD Storage |
| Websites | Unlimited Websites |
| Traffic | Unlimited Traffic |
| SSL Certificate | Free SSL Certificate |
| Unlimited Email @ Your Domain |
DreamHost’s cheapest VPS plan starts at just $10/month, offering you an impressive set of features such as 1 GB RAM, 30 GB SSD Storage, unlimited bandwidth, and allowance for unlimited domains and email accounts. With such flexibility in their plans coupled with affordability, DreamHost stands out as a top choice when it comes to cheap VPS hosting.
With features like unlimited bandwidth, SSD storage, scalable RAM, and a custom control panel for easy management, it’s no wonder why DreamHost has over 400,000 satisfied customers worldwide.
Despite its minor drawbacks – such as the absence of cPanel and immediate phone support – the overall offerings from DreamHost make it one of the best cheap VPS providers available today. Furthermore, their 24/7 customer support via live chat and email ticketing system helps ensure that any issues you may face are quickly resolved.
Overall, DreamHost offers high-quality services at competitive prices without skimping on essential features or quality. So if you’re in search of a cheap VPS hosting provider that doesn’t compromise on performance or reliability – look no further than DreamHost!
Summary
In summary, if you’re on the hunt for affordable and reliable VPS hosting, there are several strong options to consider. Hostinger offers a user-friendly interface, making it ideal for beginners. DigitalOcean is geared towards developers and offers robust features for scaling. Kamatera stands out for its flexibility and customization options, while Hostwinds offers a range of plans suitable for various business sizes.
Finally, DreamHost delivers strong performance and excellent customer support. Each provider has its own unique set of advantages, so your choice ultimately depends on your specific needs and priorities.
