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Overview When you compare VPS plans, six lines actually decide whether it's any good: the CPU type (shared vCPU or dedicated core), the storage class, the real bandwidth, whether the IPv4 is dedicated, whether backups are included, and where the datacenter physically sits. Almost everything else on the sheet is either standard or marketing. Read it in that order and the cheapest-looking plan often stops looking cheap. |
Comparing VPS providers should be simple. In practice you open three tabs, and every provider lists different things, in different units, with the important caveats hidden in a footnote. The cheapest plan always looks competitive — right up until you read what it actually includes.
This is a translator for that spec sheet, written from the buyer's side of the table. We'll go line by line through what matters, what's noise, and the exact questions to ask before you hand over a card. No hype, and where our own service is relevant I'll say so plainly rather than pretend this is neutral journalism.
Why spec sheets are built to confuse you
Here's the uncomfortable truth: a lot of VPS pricing is designed to make the headline number look good and push the real costs and limits somewhere you won't read them. “From €2.99” gets you in the door; the fact that it's a shared vCPU on oversold hardware with no backups and a shared IP lives three clicks away.
None of that makes a provider dishonest — it's just how the category markets itself. Your job as the buyer is to translate the sheet back into plain questions: what CPU am I really getting, what happens to my data if a disk dies, and what will this cost when I actually run it? Let's take them in order of how much they matter.
CPU: vCPU versus dedicated core (the biggest trick)
This is the single most misread line on any spec sheet. “4 vCPU” on one host and “4 vCPU” on another can be completely different products.
A vCPU is a share of a physical core. On a fairly-run platform, that share is generous and consistent. On an oversold one, dozens of customers are packed onto the same cores, and when everyone gets busy at once, your VPS waits its turn. That waiting shows up as CPU steal — time your server wanted the processor but couldn't get it. It's the reason a VPS can look idle and still feel slow.
A dedicated core (or dedicated vCPU) means the core is yours, not time-shared with strangers. It costs more, and for good reason: predictable performance under load.
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What to actually ask Two questions cut through the marketing: “Is this a shared or dedicated vCPU?” and “What's your oversubscription policy?” A provider that answers both clearly is telling you something good about the rest of their platform too. |
Storage: not all “SSD” is equal
“SSD” on a spec sheet tells you almost nothing on its own. It's like a car listing “has wheels.” The real question is the storage architecture behind it.
A single local SSD is fast and cheap — and it's a single point of failure. When that disk dies, your VPS is down until someone restores a backup. Distributed storage, like Ceph, keeps copies of your data across several servers, so one failed disk doesn't take you offline. You trade a sliver of raw benchmark speed for resilience and the ability to move a running VPS between machines during maintenance.
That trade-off deserves its own explanation, and we wrote one — see why Ceph storage on a VPS actually matters. For the spec sheet, the short version is: don't accept “SSD” as an answer. Ask what happens to your data when a disk fails.
Bandwidth versus port speed (the number everyone misreads)
Three different things get blurred into one impressive-looking number here, and they mean very different things:
• Port speed (e.g. 1 Gbps): how fast the connection can go at any instant. This is what “1 Gbps uplink” refers to — the width of the pipe, not how much you can push through it per month.
• Traffic allowance (e.g. 20 TB/month): how much total data you can transfer before extra charges or throttling kick in.
• Unmetered / “fair use”: no hard cap on paper — but read the fair-use clause, because there's almost always a real limit somewhere.
A plan can advertise a fast port and still hand you a small monthly allowance, or an “unmetered” plan on a slow port. Check the pair together: how fast, and how much. One without the other is half an answer.
The IPv4 line: dedicated versus shared
A dedicated IPv4 address is yours alone. A shared IP is one address split across many customers — fine for some uses, quietly painful for others.
If you plan to send email, run SSL cleanly, host anything that needs a stable reputation, or simply reach your own box reliably, you want a dedicated IPv4. On a shared IP, another customer's bad behaviour can get “your” address blocklisted, and you inherit their reputation without ever knowing why your mail bounces. IPv4 addresses are genuinely scarce now, so a provider that includes a dedicated one is giving you something with real cost behind it.
Backups: included, extra, or your problem?
This is the line buyers skim and later regret. “Backups” can mean three very different situations: included daily backups, a paid add-on you have to remember to enable, or nothing at all — your data, your problem.
And be precise about the word. A snapshot taken on the same system is not the same as a proper backup stored separately. If the backup lives on the same infrastructure as the thing it's backing up, one bad day can take both. Ask two things: are backups included, and where do they live?
The specs nobody prints — but you should ask about
The lines that separate a good provider from a cheap one usually aren't on the sheet at all. This is where an experienced buyer earns their keep:
• Network location and latency: where is the datacenter, physically? It sets your latency and your legal jurisdiction. A European datacenter matters if your users or your compliance are European.
• The SLA, in writing: not “we aim for high uptime” but an actual number with credits attached.
• Maintenance behaviour: does planned maintenance take your VPS down, or can it be migrated live to another node?
• Root access: full control of your own machine, or a locked-down panel?
• Payment and cancellation terms: monthly or locked-in, auto-renew traps, and — crucially — is there a money-back window if it's not what you expected?
On the SLA specifically, we published exactly why we state a real number and what stands behind it — hardware facts and SLA. A provider that hides these details isn't being careful; it's hoping you won't ask.
The 60-second spec-sheet checklist
Run any provider — including us — through this before you buy. If you can't get a clear answer to a line, that's an answer in itself.
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The 60-second spec-sheet checklist ✓ CPU: shared vCPU or dedicated core? What's the oversubscription policy? ✓ Storage: single disk or distributed/redundant? What happens when a disk fails? ✓ Bandwidth: what port speed AND what monthly traffic allowance? ✓ IPv4: dedicated or shared? ✓ Backups: included or extra? Stored separately from the VPS? ✓ Location: where is the datacenter, physically? ✓ SLA: is there a real, written uptime figure with credits? ✓ Maintenance: live migration, or downtime during planned work? ✓ Access: full root access? ✓ Terms: money-back window, and no auto-renew surprises? |
How hosting662's sheet reads
Since the whole point of this article is running the checklist honestly, here's ours against it, no adjectives added:
• Storage: Ceph SSD, distributed across three clusters — your data survives a disk failure by default.
• IPv4: dedicated IPv4 included.
• Bandwidth: 1 Gbps uplink.
• Backups: daily backups included.
• Location: our own European (Czech) datacenter.
• SLA: published 99.99%, with the reasoning made public.
• Access: full root access on Linux and Windows VPS.
• Terms: 30-day money-back guarantee, clear plans, Revolut and Stripe payments.
You can check every one of those against the full, published spec sheet on our technical specifications page, and see the plans on the VPS hosting page. We publish the details rather than hide them — which, after reading this far, you'll know is the whole point.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when choosing a VPS?
Focus on six things: the CPU type (shared vCPU or dedicated core), the storage architecture (single disk or distributed), the real bandwidth (port speed and monthly allowance), whether the IPv4 is dedicated, whether backups are included and stored separately, and where the datacenter physically sits. Those decide quality; most of the rest is standard or marketing.
What's the difference between vCPU and a dedicated core?
A vCPU is a share of a physical core that may be split among many customers; under load you can experience CPU steal, where your server waits for processor time. A dedicated core is reserved for you, giving predictable performance. If your workload is sensitive to consistency, pay for dedicated.
Does a VPS need a dedicated IPv4 address?
If you send email, run SSL cleanly, or host anything that depends on IP reputation, yes — a dedicated IPv4 protects you from other customers' behaviour on a shared address. For a simple test box it matters less, but a dedicated IPv4 is a real advantage worth having.
What does “1 Gbps” actually mean on a VPS plan?
It's the port speed — how fast the connection can go at any instant — not how much data you can transfer per month. Always check it alongside the traffic allowance: a fast port with a tiny monthly cap, or an “unmetered” plan on a slow port, are both half-answers.
Are VPS backups usually included?
It varies — some providers include daily backups, some sell them as an add-on, and some leave it entirely to you. Check whether they're included and, importantly, whether they're stored separately from your VPS. A snapshot on the same system is not a real backup.
How much RAM and CPU do I actually need?
It depends on the workload, but rough starting points: a small website or bot runs happily on 1 vCPU and 1–2 GB RAM; a busy app or small database wants 2–4 vCPU and 4–8 GB; anything heavier scales from there. Start modest — it's easy to upgrade, and over-buying on day one is wasted money.
The bottom line
A VPS spec sheet is a sales document, not a neutral fact table. But once you know which six lines actually matter — and which questions force a clear answer — the comparison gets honest fast, and the cheapest plan usually stops looking like the best deal.
Run any provider through the checklist above, including us. Our full spec sheet is published, not hidden — it's all on the technical specifications page.
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