Cheapest Linux VPS Home for Cheap Virtual Private Server Finding an affordable web hosting plan is relatively easy nowadays, as the intense competition in the industry has led to the appearance of many new companies that are vying for consumer attention by offering discounts and unlimited features. Indeed, every plan seems to be backed by a 99% uptime guarantee, and almost all major providers offer unlimited bandwidth/disk space and a slew of other perks. So, what really is the cheapest kind of hosting to get started with? Have a look at the startup costs of hosting types mentioned here to know which one is the cheapest one.
Startup Costs of Hosting Types:
The Startup Cost of Shared Hosting
Although shared plans are often cited as being the cheapest in web hosting, the initial investment required to obtain a shared hosting plan from a reputable provider is usually a bit higher than the minimum requirement seen with other types, due to annual upfront payments. With most hosts you’ll have to pay for at least a year of service in advance in order to obtain a shared plan at all, especially if you want to get the advertised promotional price. Ultimately, that $5 per month plan actually costs you $60, plus a setup fee in many cases. So while you may be paying less on a monthly basis, you not only need to make a commitment to service for an entire year, you also need to pay for it upfront.
The Startup Cost of VPS Hosting
VPS (virtual private server) hosting plans typically range in cost from $10-$140 per month depending on the plan features. Although this monthly cost is a bit higher than the incredibly cheap $5 shared plans that are available, you can usually find a provider to give you access to a plan with only one month’s payment upfront. Which means you’d have your account up and running with much less of an initial investment. Spending less to get started is a big part of being successful as a novice, because you don’t want to create too much overhead unnecessarily. Although $60-$80 for a year of shared hosting is not that large of an investment, why pay that much when you can get started with a VPS for $20 and then determine whether you’ll need additional hosting? After all, with the same $60-$80 that pays for a year of hosting you could purchase 4 months of VPS, and if your online business endeavour is truly profitable then you should have made back the investment by then anyways.
The Startup Cost of Dedicated Hosting
Like VPS hosting, some dedicated hosting plans allow for the option to pay on a monthly basis, with no upfront yearly payment required. However, dedicated servers are expensive to rent, so these plans typically cost the most on an annual basis. In fact, the startup cost associated with securing a dedicated plan maybe equal to the entire 1-year payment for a shared plan. If you expect, or already have, a lot of web traffic, and need the utmost in hosting performance, choosing a dedicated plan is recommended. In terms of annual cost, dedicated hosting is much more costly than most other types, with a year of service usually costing at least $400-$1000. Fortunately, you won’t have to cover this expense upfront, as is the case with shared hosting.
