Web hosting services offer so many tiers that you may have difficulty finding a Goldilocks plan that’s just right. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting is an ideal configuration that has more muscle than simple shared hosting, without the scale and expense of dedicated hosting services. VPS plans are quite common, so finding an optimal plan can be vexing. PCMag can help pare down your search. We’ve been testing web hosting services for more than a decade and frequently update our reviews as services add and remove features. Editors’ Choice winner HostGator, for instance, has terrific VPS plans featuring flexible, highly scalable offerings. DreamHost is another excellent option with unlimited monthly data transfers, making it a great pick for small businesses. Read on for our top selections, followed by the factors to consider to determine the best VPS hosting for you.
Best Early Black Friday Web Hosting Deals This Week*
- Hostinger Premium — $1.75 Per Month + 2 Months Free With 10% Off Code “PCMAG10”
- IONOS Web Hosting — $1 Per Month (Save 91% Off 1 Year IONOS Plus Plan)
- Liquid Web — $8.85 Per Month for Essential Plan (Saving 85% Off 3 Months Subscription)
- HostGator — $2.99 Per Month (Save 73% Off 3 Years HostGator Hatchling Plan)
- Bluehost — Save 75% on the Bluehost Choice Plus Plan at $3.95 Per Month
*Deals are selected by our commerce team
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best for Operating System Freedom
Ionos Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Dependable uptime in testing
- Excellent cloud hosting packages
- Linux- or Windows-based servers
- Easy-to-use website creation tools
- Lacks reseller hosting plans
- Relatively sparse email options
Why We Picked It
Though Ionos has earned our Editors’ Choice award for its stellar cloud hosting plans, its myriad other hosting options are also outstanding. Its VPS hosting, in particular, caters to small businesses and enterprises with power Linux- or Windows-based servers.
Who It’s For
If you need OS flexibility from your web host, keep Ionos in mind. You can choose between Linux or Windows servers with its VPS plans, which is a fantastic option that not all hosts offer. Better still, Ionos’ VPS tiers aren’t expensive, and include unlimited monthly data transfers.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 12 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 240 GB
Learn More
Ionos Web Hosting Review
Best for Scalable Power
HostGator Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Numerous feature-rich hosting plans
- Excellent shared hosting offerings
- Good for novice webmasters
- Useful site-building software and e-commerce tools
- Helpful, 24/7 customer service
- Outstanding uptime
- Not all plans have a Windows Server option
- Some annual plans cost more than paying month by month
Why We Picked It
HostGator’s excellent shared hosting earned the company a PCMag Editors’ Choice award, but don’t sleep on its VPS offerings. HostGator’s VPS plans come in several affordable price tiers, and while they lack Windows server options, they make up for it with top-notch flexibility and scalability.
Who It’s For
As businesses grow and thrive, traffic to their websites typically grows with it. If you are expecting a traffic surge, or just want more control over your server environment, HostGator is an ideal host, since you can easily tick the options that you need to expand your plan.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 8 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 240 GB
Learn More
HostGator Web Hosting Review
Best for Unlimited Domains and Websites
InMotion Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Excellent uptime
- Many hosting types
- All plans offer unlimited email
- Unlimited data transfers with all Shared and WordPress plans
- Lengthy, money-back guarantee
- Easy-to-use website-building software
- Lacks Windows servers
- Not all plans have month-to-month payment options
Why We Picked It
InMotion has a dense feature-set and reasonable pricing for its shared, dedicated, reseller, and VPS plans, which will satisfy a wide range of hosting needs. In addition, the company offers fantastic uptime and customer service. As a result, InMotion stands strong as a well-rounded web host, and a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick.
Who It’s For
InMotion’s VPS plans come packed with several excellent features, including unlimited monthly data transfers for all but the basic tier. Even better, InMotion’s VPS plans let you build an unlimited number of websites. This makes InMotion an excellent choice if you have several projects in the pipeline that require web hosting.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 32 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 640 GB
Learn More
InMotion Web Hosting Review
Best for Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers
DreamHost Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Strong security features
- Extensive domain-management tools
- Excellent cloud hosting offerings
- Unlimited data transfers per month
- Generous shared hosting money-back guarantee
- Useful WordPress staging feature
- Shared Starter plan lacks email
- No telephone support
- Lacks Windows-based servers
Why We Picked It
DreamHost has numerous novice-friendly VPS tools that make the site-building experience easy and accessible. Yet, it also delivers impressive shared, WordPress, dedicated, cloud, and VPS options to help your site grow according to its needs. This makes DreamHost a web host we can easily recommend as an Editors’ Choice-worthy service.
Who It’s For
Companies looking to expand their traffic. After all, hosting your website on a VPS server gives you more resources and computing power to work with than inexpensive shared hosting. DreamHost notably offers unlimited monthly data transfers with all of its plans, which is a fantastic perk.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 8 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 240 GB
Learn More
DreamHost Web Hosting Review
Best for Unlimited Email Accounts
AccuWeb Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Great budget-friendly shared hosting options
- Excellent dedicated hosting plans
- Offers a choice of Linux or Windows servers
- Helpful customer service
- Limited email accounts with some plans
Why We Picked It
There are many worthwhile web hosting services vying for your dollar, and AccuWeb ranks highly among them due to its many, feature-rich hosting plans. The company’s VPS plans are particularly stacked, and they come with unlimited email accounts at each tier.
Who It’s For
AccuWeb’s unlimited email accounts are especially valuable for businesses with a large number of employees, or webmasters managing multiple sites at once. If you are an entrepreneur hunting for a host that works well with your communication tools (say, email newsletters), AccuWeb’s unlimited email accounts is an option well worth considering.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 8 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 100 GB
Learn More
AccuWeb Hosting Review
Best for Managed Hosting Solutions
Liquid Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Robust dedicated, VPS, cloud, and reseller packages
- Prorated VPS plans
- Powerful, high-end server specs
- Terrific customer service
- Excellent uptime in testing
- Lacks shared hosting plans
- Expensive, with few refund options
Why We Picked It
If your online business requires juggernaut hosting, Liquid Web has the brawn to keep it operational. Liquid Web has a fantastic selection of cloud, dedicated, WordPress, and VPS packages, though these services come at a premium price point. It lacks lower-cost, shared web hosting, but makes up for it with superb, well-managed, enterprise-level plans.
Who It’s For
Liquid Web offers excellent, fully managed VPS plans, making it a recommended solution for new businesses that need extra support or experience with back-end server issues. With Liquid Web’s managed VPS plans, you receive server setup, administration, OS updates, hardware management, and basic security.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 16 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 200 GB
Learn More
Liquid Web Hosting Review
Best for Big RAM Totals
Hostwinds Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Terrific uptime in testing
- Excellent reseller and VPS hosting plans
- Good customer service
- Minecraft server hosting
- Not every plan has a Windows server option
- Short money-back guarantee window
Why We Picked It
If you’re new to web hosting and website building, shared hosting is generally a great starting point for a fledgling website. As your traffic grows and you become more familiar with your site’s needs, however, your hosting needs expand and grow as well. Hostwinds offers excellent VPS packages, earning it our Editors’ Choice award for the category. The plans let you select managed or unmanaged servers, with options for the Linux or Windows operating systems.
Who It’s For
Hostwinds is an appealing choice for a wide range of clients due to its high VPS RAM totals that top out at 96GB. As a result, your server can support heavy website traffic, and operate much more efficiently than it would with lower RAM amounts.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 96 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 750 GB
Learn More
Hostwinds Web Hosting Review
Best for Site Security
GoDaddy Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- Top-notch uptime
- Linux- and Windows-based servers
- Email tightly integrated into Microsoft apps
- Helpful, 24/7 customer support
- Useful website-builder software
- Lacks cloud hosting
- Doesn’t offer much default email
Why We Picked It
GoDaddy is one of the most recognizable domain sellers around, and provides dependable web hosting. It’s a great one-stop-shop, and deftly integrates Microsoft Office features and security options into many plans.
Who It’s For
If your business manages customer transactions and information, security is a must. GoDaddy lets you set up automated weekly backups, recovery console fixes, and offers advanced DDoS protection. This gives your server around-the-clock monitoring so you can sleep easy at night. A free SSL certificate for your plan’s first year is icing on the cake.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 16 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 400 GB
Learn More
GoDaddy Web Hosting Review
Best for Excellent Customer Service
Hostinger Web Hosting
Pros & Cons
- High-quality, low-cost plans
- Helpful customer service
- Terrific uptime in testing
- Optional gaming servers
- Excellent AI tools
- Includes the Hostinger Website Builder
- Lacks dedicated web hosting
- Not every plan has a Windows option
- No phone support
Why We Picked It
When it comes to support and customer service, Hostinger is a top-notch web host. Its plans may lack a few enterprise-level features, like dedicated servers or telephone support, but it makes up for it with robust VPS plans, and a high degree of customization. Hostinger even offers pre-configured server options for gaming, with support for titles like CS:GO and Minecraft.
Who It’s For
Hostinger is perfect for hands-on webmasters who want complete control over their VPS environments. Hostinger’s VPS plans are all self-managed, meaning you must configure and manage your server partition. You also have full root access to customize the server as you see fit. This requires some technical know-how, but Hostinger has its support team on-standby at all times to offer a helping hand.
Specs & Configurations
Unlimited Monthly Data Transfers – VPS
Maximum RAM – VPS 32 GB
Maximum Storage – VPS 400 GB
Learn More
Hostinger Web Hosting Review
Buying Guide: The Best VPS Web Hosting Services for 2024
What Is a VPS Used For?
Your VPS-hosted site lives in a partitioned server area with its own operating system, storage, RAM, and monthly data transfer limits, so you can expect smoother, more stable site performance. The sites with which you share your server are far less likely to affect your site—or even take it down altogether—than they would be on a shared server. Knowing how VPS setups operate is just the first step, however. You must still familiarize yourself with the essential features for building a rock-solid, VPS-hosted website.
Is There Any Free VPS?
As a result of VPS hosting’s hybrid nature, its cost isn’t quite as low as shared hosts’ fees, but it’s not nearly as high as dedicated hosts’ fees. Depending on the configuration, you can expect to pay between $20 and $100 per month. On the other hand, shared web hosting is extremely cheap hosting; you can often set up shop for less than $10 per month. Dedicated web hosting typically costs you $100 per month or more.
Most VPS hosts only offer servers running Linux-based operating systems; you’ll need to dig a bit to find Windows-based VPS hosting. This is important to note if you plan on running software requiring a Microsoft-compatible environment. That said, Linux-based VPS hosting will save you a few bucks; Linux servers usually cost $10 to $20 less than Windows servers.
5 Things You Need to Know About Web Hosting
How to Choose a VPS
Once you register your website’s domain name, it’s time to start picking the specs for your server. Web hosts typically offer multiple VPS plans that have varying amounts of email capability, RAM, storage, CPU power, domain hosting, and monthly data transfers. The plans typically include website builders that let you quickly create a face for your site without much—or even any—coding required. A solid web host should offer at least 4GB of RAM, 100GB of storage, and an ample volume of monthly data transfers. If you expect significant website growth, you should look for a web host with as many unlimited offerings as possible. For example, Hostwinds—the PCMag Editors’ Choice for VPS hosting—offers unlimited email, domains, and monthly data transfers. Note, however, that you should read the fine print to understand what the host means by “unlimited,” as it can vary from company to company.
Speaking of email and limits, you’ll want the ability to create unlimited accounts. Should your website grow significantly, you’ll appreciate being able to scale your email accounts without spending additional money. Web hosts typically cap the amount of storage per email account. In other words, you may create an unlimited number of email accounts, but each one may have a 10GB storage cap. Take time to investigate a potential web host’s email offerings to avoid being surprised by its messaging limitations. Again, find out what the unlimited gotchas might be.
Typically, a web hosting service allows you to select either a traditional hard drive or a solid-state drive as your website’s storage medium. Traditional hard drives have large capacities and lower prices but aren’t quite as resilient as their SSD counterparts. Solid-state drives, on the other hand, are often faster and more reliable than HDDs, but they cost more and have smaller storage capacities. A traditional hard drive should get the job done unless you truly need blazing speed.
Do you plan to sell products or services? If so, you’ll want to invest in a web hosting service that offers Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). An SSL connection encrypts the financial information that shuttles between users’ web browsers and your website, thus safeguarding the transmission of the purchasing information. Some hosting companies include a free SSL certificate when you sign up for a web hosting plan, while others charge close to $100. You can save money by shopping around for services that offer cheaper SSL plans.
Recommended by Our Editors
You’ll also want to determine how long you’ll need VPS web hosting. If you need hosting for a short period—say, less than a month or two—you’ll typically receive a refund if you cancel your hosting within 60 days. These money-back guarantees vary from web host to web host. For example, Company X may offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, while Company Y may offer a lengthy 90-day one. As always, it’s best to shop around for the features that best suit your web hosting needs.
Which VPS Is Best?
VPS is a good option for your business if you want reasonably priced server space that won’t load pages at a snail’s pace when a neighboring site gets a huge traffic spike. We’ve reviewed many VPS hosting services and included the best of the bunch in this guide. You should look into a dedicated server if you want to build a website on an even stronger foundation and can afford the bill.
If you’re just getting started in web hosting, check out our primer on how to create a website. If, on the other hand, you think you’re ready to start your own web hosting company, you should check out our guide to reseller hosting. The best courses for learning how to build websites offer terrific video instruction for people who prefer that learning style.