Best VPS hosting providers 2026: independent ranking
We compare virtual private servers and cloud servers on one reference configuration: the cheapest plan with at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM, paid month by month. For that plan we take the monthly price, the included disk and traffic, and add billing options, network features, the uptime SLA from the provider's own terms and transparency. Every fact links to the provider's official page and carries the date we checked it. Paid placement never changes the Score.
| # | Company | Who it serves | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hetzner | 80 | $22.35 | 80 | Yes | 99.9% | Hourly or per-second billing DDoS protection included |
| 2 | DigitalOcean | 78 | $24.00 | 85.9 | Yes | 99.99% | Hourly or per-second billing Free trial or signup credit |
| 3 | OVHcloud | 75 | $4.54 | 40 | Not verified | 99.9% | DDoS protection included |
| 4 | netcup | 63 | $6.55 | 80 | No | Not verified | DDoS protection included |
| 5 | Kamatera | 49 | $39.00 | 20 | Yes | 99.9% | Hourly or per-second billing Free trial or signup credit |
-
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan, per month (monthly billing)
- $22.35
- Disk in that plan, GB
- 80
- Hourly or per-second billing
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Uptime guaranteed in an SLA with credits
- Pay only for the hours a server runs
- Snapshots or backups with a clear price
- DDoS protection at no extra cost
Details Visit site ↗ 93% backed by facts
-
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan, per month (monthly billing)
- $24.00
- Disk in that plan, GB
- 85.9
- Hourly or per-second billing
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.99%
Pros
- Uptime guaranteed in an SLA with credits
- Pay only for the hours a server runs
- Free trial or credit for new accounts
- Snapshots or backups with a clear price
Details Visit site ↗ 94% backed by facts
-
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan, per month (monthly billing)
- $4.54
- Disk in that plan, GB
- 40
- Hourly or per-second billing
- Not verified
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Low monthly price for 2 vCPU and 4 GB
- Uptime guaranteed in an SLA with credits
- Snapshots or backups with a clear price
- DDoS protection at no extra cost
Details Visit site ↗ 80% backed by facts
-
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan, per month (monthly billing)
- $6.55
- Disk in that plan, GB
- 80
- Hourly or per-second billing
- No
- Uptime SLA
- Not verified
Pros
- Low monthly price for 2 vCPU and 4 GB
- Snapshots or backups with a clear price
- DDoS protection at no extra cost
- Servers can be managed through an API
Cons
- No hourly billing
Details Visit site ↗ 76% backed by facts
-
- 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan, per month (monthly billing)
- $39.00
- Disk in that plan, GB
- 20
- Hourly or per-second billing
- Yes
- Uptime SLA
- 99.9%
Pros
- Uptime guaranteed in an SLA with credits
- Pay only for the hours a server runs
- Free trial or credit for new accounts
- Servers can be managed through an API
Cons
- IPv6 is paid or not offered
Details Visit site ↗ 75% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Akamai (site closed to automated checks, )
- Amazon Lightsail (64% backed by facts)
- Atlantic.Net (66% backed by facts)
- Cherry Servers (site closed to automated checks, )
- Contabo (63% backed by facts)
- Hostinger (48% backed by facts)
- Hostwinds (54% backed by facts)
- IONOS (40% backed by facts)
- InterServer (68% backed by facts)
- Time4VPS (site closed to automated checks, )
- UpCloud (site closed to automated checks, )
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
35%
Price
Monthly price of the cheapest plan with at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM ($0 scores 100, $60 or more scores 0): with monthly billing, or — if the price is published only for a term of up to 12 months — its monthly equivalent, with the term shown next to it. Prices that need a longer term or apply only to the first months do not count. Also hourly or per-second billing and a free trial or signup credit.
15%
Resources
Disk space of the same plan (log scale, full credit at 200 GB), included outbound traffic (20 TB or unlimited gets full credit) and an IPv6 address at no extra charge.
25%
Features
Snapshots or backups with a published price, DDoS protection included at no extra charge, a public API or official Terraform provider, and the number of data-center locations for VPS (log scale, full credit at 30).
25%
Reliability
Uptime percentage from an SLA document or the terms of service (99% scores 0, 100% scores 100; marketing claims do not count), the company's track record (20+ years gets full credit), an ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification and a public status page that works without JavaScript.
How to choose a VPS
Size the server for your workload
2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM handle a typical website, a small database or an app server. Start small: most providers let you resize later, though shrinking the disk is often impossible.
Compare the monthly price, not the promo
Some providers advertise a price that only applies if you prepay a year or more. Compare the price with monthly billing, and check whether a public IPv4 address, backups and Windows licences cost extra.
Check traffic and location
Included traffic ranges from 1 TB to unlimited, and some regions get less. Pick a data center close to your users and check the traffic allowance for that region.
Look for an SLA, not a slogan
A real SLA is a document that promises an uptime percentage and credits you if it is missed. A headline like '99.9% uptime' on a sales page is not the same thing.
Plan backups and security yourself
An unmanaged VPS is your responsibility: enable snapshots or backups, keep the system updated, set a firewall and use SSH keys instead of passwords.
Frequently asked questions
Which VPS provider is the best right now?
The provider at the top of the ranking above has the highest Score by our public methodology. Your best choice depends on what you need most: look at the factor bars — price, resources, features, reliability — and pick the leader in the factor that matters to you.
Why do you compare a 2 vCPU / 4 GB plan?
Providers name and size their plans differently, so the cheapest plan of each is not comparable. A fixed configuration — the cheapest plan with at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB of RAM — is enough for a typical website, small database or app server and exists at almost every provider.
Why is a price missing for some providers?
We take a monthly price you can actually get: with monthly billing or, if the provider publishes the price only for a term of up to 12 months, its monthly equivalent with the term shown. If the pricing page shows only a price that needs 24 months or more upfront, a promo for the first months, or hides the price behind a script, we leave the price empty instead of guessing.
What is the difference between a VPS and shared hosting?
On shared hosting many sites share one server managed by the provider. A VPS is your own virtual server with guaranteed resources and full root access: more control and performance, but you install and update the software yourself unless you buy a managed plan.
How do you rank VPS providers?
By facts from official pages, each with a link and a check date, combined by a fixed public formula. We do not run our own benchmarks, so the ranking is reproducible and cannot be bought.