Web Hosting vs. Dedicated Server: What are the differences?

The resource requirements of web projects vary greatly. With a wide range of options, hosting providers aim to offer the right product for every user. This ranges from Shared Web Hosting to a Dedicated Server. Customers are now faced with the decision of which offer is best for them. A dedicated server is much more expensive than web space. But where exactly are the differences and which projects are suitable for each product?

What is web hosting?

With classic Shared Web Space Web Hosting, customers book a predefined storage space on a server (web space). The operating system and various programs are pre-installed by the provider. The administration of the provided web space is done through a graphical user interface. This allows the customer to make a few settings and configurations such as

• choosing the PHP version, if the provider has installed multiple versions,
• setting up cron jobs, or
• integrating domains and subdomains

.

Access to web hosting is usually possible via SSH or FTP as well. This allows files and applications to be easily stored or installed.

A major advantage of web hosting offerings is that they involve little administrative effort for the customer. Maintenance, updates, or backups are taken care of by the provider. This ensures the server's functionality and the accessibility of the web project at all times.

Furthermore, web hosting is very cost-effective and can be obtained for less than £10 per month. This makes this solution particularly attractive for private users or start-ups running smaller websites with minimal resource or software environment requirements. This is a significant disadvantage of shared webspace.

You can also find all you need to know about web hosting in our comprehensive Web Hosting 101 Guide on our website.

Typically, with web hosting offerings, various customers share a server. This means they share the system's resources. This can lead to significant performance fluctuations. Additionally, the resources are very limited. The system's software environment is deterministic and allows only very limited customizations.

For those who find these conditions no longer sufficient, a dedicated server is the better choice.

What is a Dedicated Server?

Unlike web hosting, a dedicated server is solely and exclusively available to the customer. There are two different solutions:

• a dedicated VPS hosting
• a dedicated Dedicated Server

Both systems offer the user more freedom and resources than a shared web hosting package. However, there are differences between the alternatives, which we will outline below.

Dedicated VPS Hosting

A Dedicated Server is more costly than shared webspace. If you want to save costs and don't need access to the operating system, a VPS hosting is a good option.

A Virtual Dedicated Server is a software environment that virtualises the hardware using a Hypervisor. There are two types of hypervisors.

Type 1 is installed directly on the hardware, allowing it to access all resources and allocate them to individual virtual machines. This solution is much more performant than a Type 2 hypervisor.

A Type 2 hypervisor is installed at the operating system level. This creates an intermediary layer, and the hypervisor can only manage the resources allocated to it by the operating system.
The provider can provide information on which hypervisor the VPS hosting is based on.

In essence, a Virtual Dedicated Server behaves the same as a Bare Metal Server. The user can customise the server environment freely, requiring basic server knowledge.

Therefore, a Virtual Dedicated Server is particularly suitable for more complex e-commerce systems or online portals intended for commercial use. Despite the slightly higher price, users gain greater freedom and significantly better performance compared to web hosting offerings.

Dedicated Server

For those who require full access to the host system, a Dedicated Server is essential. This is a true dedicated server where all programs, the operating system including the kernel, and hardware components can be freely configured. A dedicated server with root access offers users a high level of flexibility, but also responsibility.

Customers opting for such a solution should have advanced server knowledge, as they will need to take over the administration of the entire system themselves. Updates, backups, security patches, and all configurations are their responsibility. This provides a high degree of freedom but can also lead to the crash of the entire system and irreversibly destroy access to important data.

However, for those who feel confident in managing the system and are willing to pay the higher price, they will receive a server environment that can handle any complex project.

Managed Server

A dedicated server requires significantly more management effort from the user than a web hosting package. Hosting providers have recognised this and offer a Managed Service for most server variants. This means that customers can enjoy the benefits of their own server without having to worry about administration. The provider takes care of this for a monthly fee.

Especially for commercial users, the advantage of this solution is that they can focus on processes that generate revenue and do not have to worry about managing the IT system. Therefore, a dedicated server becomes accessible to companies that require more performance than a shared webspace offers but cannot or do not want to employ a software expert.

Web Hosting vs Dedicated Server: Which is Suitable for Which Project?

When deciding between web hosting and a dedicated server, costs and required system resources are crucial factors to consider.

A classic shared webspace web hosting is primarily used for hosting simple online projects such as online business cards, blogs, websites, or small online shops that require minimal system resources and do not need extensive configuration freedom. Thanks to lower costs, web hosting plans are also affordable for projects with a small budget.

A dedicated server, on the other hand, is used for hosting more extensive online projects such as large online shops, web services, online communities, or other professional and commercial internet presences that require high resource demands and a high level of configuration freedom. The costs are accordingly much higher compared to a shared webspace web hosting.

Also, check out a comparison of other web hosting products:

Web Hosting vs. VPS Hosting
Dedicated Server vs. Managed Server
Dedicated Server vs. VPS Hosting
Cloud Server vs. VPS Hosting

Our article is based on our own experiences and research, as well as information from external sources.

Sources & further links on the topic:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostrechner (Definition of individual server types)
https://www.itwissen.info/Webhosting-web-hosting.html (Definition of the term web hosting)

Image credit:
Gerd Altmann on Pixabay