Seeing the word “hosting” in both the terms might have you a little confused about which one I should go for, as both of them are the branches of the same tree; cloud hosting. The size of the business, the number of software to be hosted, traffic received, and allocated budgets are key factors that play a quintessential role when it comes to choosing the type of hosting for your business. Don’t sweat on that, we’re here today to help you decide which option should be your go-to.
Cloud hosting, in general, is an impeccable work of technology and one cant point out the best between shared hosting over dedicated or vice versa. As both of these make sure that you’re rendered best in class security, uptime, and round-the-clock access.
Are you still held up and confused between the two and want to know what’s best for you? If yes, then just keep on reading, we’ve got you covered!
Dedicated Hosting vs Shared Hosting – Differences
The basic difference between dedicated hosting and shared hosting is that a shared hosting plan is shared by multiple clients, whereas dedicated hosting is for one single client, who enjoys a full-fledged cloud setup. Dedicated hosting lets you host as many applications as you want to on a dedicated cloud set up curated just for you. This is the apt choice for someone who wants to have a curated set up of tax, accounting, and payroll software all in one place. One major advantage of dedicated server hosting over shared cloud hosting is that it lets you adjust according to traffic spikes and miscellaneous performance stresses. So let’s dig a little deeper into dedicated hosting vs shared hosting, to see what sets them apart.
What is Dedicated Hosting?
Dedicated hosting means a complete dedicated setup for a single client/organization. A dedicated cloud server can also be defined as single-tenant cloud infrastructure. When a number of applications, be it tax or accounting, can be hosted on a cluster of servers instead of a single one, then it is termed as dedicated hosting. In case any issue or an error creeps up, your hosted apps could easily be migrated on to another server. In cloud computing, a number of machines work simultaneously in sync. The success and popularity of dedicated cloud hosting can be vouched for by its dominant presence across the industry for over two decades now. The seamless workflow of dedicated hosting is guaranteed by the presence of multiple servers. Cloud technology and dedicated server hosting, in particular, are hoisted for features like speed, flexibility, security, and fast troubleshooting. Dedicated hosting is the ideal option for organizations with huge traffic and those who want the topmost security offerings.
What is Shared Hosting?
A hosting plan will be shared across multiple clients. When choosing for a shared hosting plan, you can have one application of your choice, hosted on the cloud server. In a shared cloud hosting service, the apps of all the users and clients would be hosted together on a single server. All these clients that share the same server, utilize the same resources of the server such as disk space, storage, bandwidth, and database. Almost all of the major hosting providers offer such a shared hosting plan. There is a single dedicated server assigned by the web hosting provider that is shared by multiple businesses. One major upvote to shared hosting is that it is relatively cheaper. Shared hosting is something that is ideal for beginners or small businesses that have fewer users collaborating together and are looking to host just one software at a time.
To make the comparison easier for you, we’ve made a tabular difference note down. Let’s take a look at this table to get concise information on the key feature differences between dedicated and shared hosting:
Dedicated Hosting vs Shared Hosting Features
| Feature | Dedicated Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Cost | Relatively more expensive, as it provides an array of features, like better support, security. As only one website is hosted on multiple servers, there is the benefit of exclusivity. |
Relatively cheap when compared to dedicated hosting. Has a number of websites simultaneously hosted on the same server, hence bringing down the price for each individual user. |
| Number of Apps Hosted | For a dedicated hosting plan, the user enjoys the freedom to host as many apps or software as they wish for on the dedicated cloud setup curated specially for them. Thus it’s suitable for bigger businesses | When using a shared hosting plan, a user can host 1 software/app on the shared cloud environment. All this makes it more affable for smaller businesses. |
| Scalability |
More room for scalability as compared to shared hosting. Easier to accommodate high growth with dedicated servers as there is no competition for resources. |
The majority of the shared hosting plans are non-scalable. This means if there is a high fluctuation of traffic on a particular website, it might face lag or huge downtime. |
Cost and Pricing
Pricing and tariffs are other areas where shared hosting paces ahead of dedicated hosting. As a given, since a shared hosting plan has multiple clients sharing the same server, the prices are bound to be lower. It is the ideal choice for beginner businesses or smaller organizations with fewer users to collaborate. With it’s attractive and more economically viable pricing, shared hosting is what most businesses with a smaller budget go for. Dedicated hosting surely loses a few points in this comparison, as dedicated hosting plans are relatively more expensive. But, what dedicated hosting loses in price point, it makes up for in the added security aspect.
Scalability and Flexibility
When it comes to scalability and flexibility, dedicated hosting comes out triumphant. Dedicated hosting plans are really flexible and scalable. They can be adjusted easily according to traffic influx, storage space requirement, user capacity, and in terms of a number of software being hosted. Now, we wouldn’t exactly say that shared hosting plans are non-scalable, but they sure do fall behind in this aspect. Sure, even with shared hosting plans you get scalability, but it is not as flawless. The maximum flexibility that you get with shared hosting plans, is that you can have your HDD space and size of individual databases increased but you can’t upgrade/change the CPU power of the shared hosting solution and neither can you increase the amount of RAM being used. This is because shared hosting is a pooled service and a number of clients are sharing the same server and cloud setup.
Dedicated Hosting or Shared Hosting: Our Conclusion
This is where we draw towards the end of our comparison blog, and to summarize it all, dedicated hosting and shared hosting are both good based on your requirements. It is something of personal preference. As when it comes to pricing, shared hosting takes a win being cheaper and more affordable. It’s a perfect plan for those on a budget or for people who are just starting out. But when we talk about server features, scalability, number of apps being hosted, overall seamlessness, speed, and performance, then dedicated hosting is the clear winner. All the features packed into dedicated hosting, make it an ideal choice for SMBs and bigger businesses who deal with the need to host multiple apps and have a large number of employees involved in collaborative working. Shared hosting is for those who are dipping their toes into cloud hosting and have smaller requirements or just one app to host. Based on your needs and budget, we hope you were able to make an informed decision.
