Every VPS needs someone to look after it: install updates, keep the firewall right, watch disk space, and fix things when a service stops. The question is whether that someone is you or us.
Unmanaged VPS: you are the administrator
With our standard VPS plans you get full root or administrator access and a clean operating system. Everything above that is yours to run: the web server, the database, updates, backups and security.
This suits you if:
- you or someone on your team is comfortable on the command line,
- you want to choose every piece of software yourself,
- you want the lowest price for the resources.
Standard VPS plans start from $8.00 a month.
Managed VPS: our administrators run it
With a managed SSD VPS, our administrators look after the server and monitor it around the clock. You focus on your site or application; we take care of the operating system underneath.
This suits you if:
- your business needs its own server for performance or isolation,
- nobody on your team is a system administrator,
- downtime costs you more than the difference in price.
Managed SSD VPS plans run on SSD storage, in Germany on Hetzner and in France on OVHcloud, from $27.01 a month.
Side by side
| Unmanaged VPS | Managed VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Root or administrator access | Yes | Yes |
| Operating system updates | You | Our administrators |
| 24/7 monitoring | You set it up | Included |
| Storage | SATA or SSD | SSD |
| Best for | Developers and sysadmins | Businesses without a sysadmin |
What managed does not mean
A managed VPS does not mean we build your application. We look after the server: the operating system, its services and its health. Your code, your site content and your business logic stay yours.
How to decide
Ask one question: when something breaks at 3 a.m., who fixes it? If the answer is "us, and we know how", an unmanaged VPS gives you the most for your money. If the answer is "we would have to find someone", a managed VPS is the safer choice.
You can also start unmanaged and add a control panel licence (DirectAdmin, cPanel or Plesk), which makes day-to-day hosting tasks easier without a full managed service. Not sure? Ask us before you buy.