VGNCloud
Web hosting and a VPS are sold side by side, but they are not the same product. Web hosting is a shared account with a control panel. A VPS is your own Linux machine with root access. This comparison covers maintenance, performance, control and price, so you pick the right one the first time.
The short answer
Choose web hosting if you want a website or WordPress to run without server maintenance. Choose a VPS if you need your own software, root access or reserved resources, and you can (or want to learn to) run a Linux server. On VGNCloud, web hosting starts at €2/mo and a VPS at €5.90/mo.
What web hosting is
On web hosting you share a server with other customers. You do not maintain the server itself: you do not patch the kernel or install the web server. You manage your sites from a control panel and keep your own WordPress and its plugins updated. On VGNCloud the panel is Enhance, with 1-click installers for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.
Web hosting is a good fit for
- company websites and blogs
- WordPress and a small online shop
- a few PHP sites in one plan
VGNCloud web hosting plans:
| Plan | Space (NVMe) | Databases | Price/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hello World | 5 GB | 1 | €2 |
| The Debugger | 20 GB | 25 | €4 |
| The Gigahertz | 60 GB | 50 | €8.50 |
Every plan includes a free SSL certificate and unlimited bandwidth. You take backups yourself in the Enhance panel.
What a VPS is
A VPS (virtual private server) is your own virtual server with reserved CPU, memory and disk. You get root access and can install anything: Docker, a Node.js or Python app, your own database, a VPN or a game server. The responsibility is yours too: updates, the firewall and backups are in your hands. VGNCloud does not take VPS backups yet. More: What root access means.
VGNCloud VPS plans are in Helsinki and start at €5.90/mo (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 25 GB NVMe). The 4 GB S2 is €7.90/mo. Each one has a dedicated IPv4 address. All plans: VPS page.
Comparison table
| Web hosting | VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (VGNCloud) | from €2/mo | from €5.90/mo |
| Server maintenance | The provider | You |
| Root access | No | Yes |
| Resources | Shared | Reserved vCPU and RAM |
| Software | PHP sites, databases, 1-click installers | Anything that runs on Linux |
| Skills needed | Few | Basic Linux, SSH |
| SSL | Free, ready to use | You set it up |
| Backups | You take them in Enhance | Your responsibility |
| Good for | Websites, WordPress, blogs | Apps, Docker, bots, larger shops |
| Growing | Bigger plan | In-place upgrade to a bigger plan |
Choose web hosting if…
- you have one or a few WordPress or HTML sites
- you do not want to use the command line
- you do not want to maintain a server operating system
- the budget is small: €2–8.50/mo is enough for many small sites
For WordPress users, the closer comparison is WordPress: VPS or web hosting, and ready plans are on the WordPress hosting page.
Choose a VPS if…
- you run something other than PHP: Node.js, Python, Go, Docker
- you need background workers, cron jobs or WebSockets without limits
- your site has grown so much that shared resources slow it down
- you want your own firewall, a VPN or several services on one machine
- you want to learn server administration
Signs that web hosting is getting too small are listed in When you need a VPS.
Price is not the whole story
At its cheapest, a VPS is only €3.90/mo more than web hosting, but the total cost depends on your time. If you spend an hour a month on updates and backups, that is part of the price. If you do not have the time, web hosting or managed WordPress (from €60/mo) is often the cheaper whole.
On the other hand, you cannot install your own services on web hosting. If you need them, the option is a VPS, even though it costs more.
Moving from web hosting to a VPS
The choice is not final. Many people start on web hosting and move to a VPS when the site grows. The move goes like this:
- Back up your files and database.
- Install a web server, PHP and a database on the VPS (for example Nginx, PHP and MariaDB), plus an SSL certificate.
- Restore the files and database.
- Point your domain's DNS at the VPS's IPv4 address.
Step-by-step guide: Migrate a website to VGNCloud.
Web hosting from €2/mo → · VPS from €5.90/mo →
Everything we sell, side by side: the cloud catalogue.