Both give you root access and a public IP. The difference is what sits underneath.
VPS (virtual private server)
A VPS is a slice of a physical machine, isolated by a hypervisor such as KVM. You get a fixed amount of CPU, RAM and storage. It deploys in minutes, costs less, and is easy to resize. It is the right starting point for websites, small databases, bots, dev environments and remote desktops.
Dedicated server
A dedicated server is a whole physical machine. There is no hypervisor overhead and no neighbours, so performance is consistent. You also get hardware features such as ECC memory, multiple drives and IPMI/KVM remote console. It suits busy databases, game servers, streaming, large VoIP platforms and anything that needs predictable disk and CPU performance.
Quick rules of thumb
- Under about 8 cores / 24 GB RAM of need: start with a VPS.
- Sustained high CPU, heavy disk I/O or lots of traffic: choose dedicated.
- Need to push the full 1 Gbps port all month: see unmetered dedicated.
- Not sure? Start on a VPS; plans can be upgraded and our team helps with migration.