A VPS (virtual private server) is the step after shared hosting: you get dedicated resources and root access, but the hard part is choosing between providers that sell very different things for the same label. Some sell raw, unmanaged servers at very low prices, some manage everything for you at ten times the price, and some sit in between.
This guide compares nine VPS providers on the numbers that decide the bill: the entry price, what you get for about 8GB of RAM, who manages the server, how many locations you can choose from and what the refund terms say. If you are not sure you need a VPS, read what a VPS is first, or start with our comparison of shared hosting.
My short answer: Contabo gives the most resources per dollar if you can run a server yourself. UltaHost VPS is the cheapest managed option with a price held for two years. InMotion has the longest refund window (90 days), Kamatera and Vultr give the widest choice of locations, and Cloudways, ScalaHosting and Liquid Web are the managed options when you want someone else to run the server.
🏆 Quick comparison: which VPS for which job
Prices are as displayed on each provider's page. "Managed" means the provider handles the operating system and updates for you; "unmanaged" means you do.
| Provider | Best for | Entry price | Management | Locations | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contabo | Most RAM per dollar | $5.28/mo (24 mo), $6.60 monthly | Unmanaged | 11 in 9 regions | - |
| UltaHost VPS | Cheap managed, fixed price | $5.52/mo (2-year) | Managed | Not in page text | 30 days |
| InMotion VPS | Longest refund window | $13.99/mo (24 mo) | Self-managed | 3 (US and Amsterdam) | 90 days |
| InterServer VPS | Simple slice pricing | $3/mo per slice | Managed from 8 slices | 3 (US) | - |
| Kamatera | Custom builds, 21 locations | From $4/mo (calculator) | Unmanaged, managed option | 21 | - |
| Vultr | Hourly, 33 locations | From $5/mo (1GB) | Unmanaged | 33 | None |
| Cloudways | Managed cloud, pay as you go | $14/mo (1GB) | Managed | Depends on provider | 3-day free trial |
| ScalaHosting | Managed VPS with SPanel | $29.95/mo intro, renews $54.95 | Managed | Not in page text | "Unconditional" (per page) |
| Liquid Web | Premium fully managed | $72/mo regular (2-month promo $36) | Fully managed | Not in page text | - |
A dash means the provider's plan page did not state it in the text I read, so check its terms before you rely on it.
| Provider and plan | About 8GB of RAM | Price per month | Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contabo Cloud VPS 4 | 4 vCPU, 8GB, 100GB | $5.28 (24 mo) | Unmanaged |
| InterServer 4 slices | 2 cores, 8GB, 160GB SSD | $12 | You manage it |
| InMotion VPS 4 vCPU | 4 vCPU, 8GB, 160GB NVMe | $13.99 (24 mo) | Self-managed |
| Vultr 4 cores | 4 cores, 8GB | $48 | Unmanaged |
| Cloudways Large | 4 vCPU, 8GB, 160GB | $99 | Managed |
| Liquid Web 8GB | 4 vCPU, 8GB, 240GB SSD | $100 regular ($50 for 2 months) | Fully managed |
The gap between $5.28 and $100 for a similar amount of memory is the price of having someone else patch, monitor and support the server. UltaHost (6GB for $20.69) and ScalaHosting sit between the two.
🔍 How I compare VPS providers
The regular or renewal price, and what you get for it, not only the promotional first price.
Managed, self-managed or unmanaged decides how much work and risk you take on.
The number and spread of data centers, which sets your latency to visitors.
How long you can leave if the server disappoints you, from none to 90 days.
Treated as promises with small credits, not as measurements. I run no tests of my own here.
What support covers: your server, or only the hardware and network.
1. Contabo: the most RAM per dollar
Contabo sells six Cloud VPS sizes from 4 vCPU and 8GB of RAM at $5.28 a month on a 24-month price ($6.60 as the monthly price, excluding VAT) up to 18 vCPU and 96GB at $47.04. It includes DDoS protection, a free firewall, dedicated IPv4 and IPv6, snapshots and unlimited traffic with fair-usage policies. It is unmanaged, so you run the server, and the page does not show the price after the first 24 months.
✅ Pros
- Far more RAM and CPU per dollar than any provider here
- 11 locations in 9 regions
- Unlimited traffic, firewall and DDoS protection
❌ Cons
- Unmanaged: you run and secure the server
- Renewal and refund terms are not in the page text
- No independent performance data checked
Contabo Cloud VPS 4 starts at $5.28 a month on a 24-month price
☑️ See Contabo VPS plans
2. UltaHost VPS: cheap managed with a fixed price
UltaHost VPS starts at $5.52 a month on a 2-year term for 1 core, 1GB of DDR5 RAM and 30GB of NVMe, and goes up to 4 cores, 6GB and 100GB at $20.69. The entry plan says it renews at the same price for 2 years. It lists a free weekly backup, snapshots, staging, Monarx security, free migration and a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
✅ Pros
- Managed, with the entry price held for 2 years
- NVMe storage and a free staging site
- Free migration and a 30-day refund
❌ Cons
- Modest RAM (1GB to 6GB)
- Free backups are weekly
- No independent performance data found
UltaHost VPS starts at $5.52 a month on a 2-year term
☑️ See UltaHost VPS plans
3. InMotion VPS: the 90-day safety net
InMotion's self-managed VPS starts at $13.99 a month on a 24-month term for 4 vCPU, 8GB of RAM and 160GB of NVMe, and renews at $26.99. It runs on hardware InMotion says it owns in Los Angeles, Ashburn and Amsterdam, with unlimited bandwidth on the 8 vCPU plan and a 90-day money-back guarantee. Support covers hardware and network only.
✅ Pros
- 90 days to test the server
- Full root and SSH access
- Always-on DDoS protection
❌ Cons
- Renewal is 1.9 to 2.7 times the 24-month price
- Self-managed: support does not cover your software
- Only three locations
InMotion VPS comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee
☑️ See InMotion VPS plans
4. InterServer VPS: simple slice pricing
InterServer sells VPS in $3 slices, each adding 2GB of memory, 40GB of SSD and 2TB of transfer, from 1 to 32 slices ($3 to $96 a month). Managed support is included from 8 slices ($24 a month), and you can choose Webuzo, DirectAdmin, cPanel or Plesk. Locations are New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.
✅ Pros
- Linear, monthly pricing that is easy to scale
- Managed help at 8 slices
- Windows and Linux options
❌ Cons
- US locations only
- No refund window or uptime guarantee on the page
- CPU scales slower than memory
InterServer VPS starts at $3 a month
☑️ See InterServer VPS plans
5. Kamatera: build exactly the server you need
Kamatera prices servers in a calculator: you choose the server type (availability, general purpose, dedicated or burstable), cores, RAM, NVMe storage, location and operating system. It says servers start at $4 a month with no contracts, bills hourly servers by the minute and has 21 data centers from Sydney and Tokyo to Tel Aviv and Atlanta.
✅ Pros
- Precise sizing and 21 locations
- Hourly or monthly billing
- Optional cPanel, Plesk and managed service
❌ Cons
- No fixed plan table to compare
- Traffic, storage and licenses are priced on top
- No refund or uptime terms in the page text
Kamatera has 21 locations and a free trial
☑️ Try the Kamatera calculator
6. Vultr: the best-known hourly cloud
Vultr sells Cloud Compute from $5 a month (1 core, 1GB, 25GB SSD), NVMe from $6, 2 cores and 4GB for $24, 4 cores and 8GB for $48, and dedicated-CPU servers from $30. It bills by the hour with a 672-hour monthly cap and has 33 locations. Read the terms: Vultr has no refund guarantee and blocks port 25 by default, and its SLA promises 100% availability with credits.
✅ Pros
- 33 locations and hourly billing
- Many server types, including dedicated CPU
- Pay by the hour, with a monthly cap
❌ Cons
- No refund guarantee
- Port 25 blocked by default
- Pricier than Contabo for the same RAM
Vultr Cloud Compute starts at $5 a month
☑️ See Vultr plans
7. Cloudways: managed cloud, pay as you go
Cloudways runs your site on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud and manages the stack. The first four Standard sizes are $14, $28, $54 and $99 a month (1GB to 8GB of RAM), shown per month with an hourly rate. Staging, Redis and a server firewall are included, while a CDN, email and advanced support are paid add-ons.
✅ Pros
- Managed server with free migration of your first site
- Choice of provider and region
- Prices shown per month with an hourly rate
❌ Cons
- $14 minimum, much more than unmanaged VPS
- No refund on the page, only a free trial
- CDN, email and advanced support cost extra
Cloudways offers a 3-day trial with no credit card
☑️ Try Cloudways
8. ScalaHosting: managed VPS with SPanel
ScalaHosting's managed cloud starts at $29.95 a month and renews at $54.95 (Build #1); Build #4 goes from $94.95 to $244.95 at renewal. It includes NVMe storage, unmetered bandwidth, automatic offsite backups, a dedicated IP, SShield security and free zero-downtime migration. In WPBeginner's July 2026 test of its ScalaHosting VPS pick (a plan it lists from $14.95 a month), uptime was 100% and the P95 response under load was 29 ms, while the page load (LCP) was a slower 980 ms.
✅ Pros
- Free SPanel instead of a paid cPanel license
- Strong load and uptime result in WPBeginner's test
- Free migration and 24/7 support
❌ Cons
- Renewal 1.8 to 2.6 times the intro price
- Specs and term behind each intro price not in the page text
- Pricier than shared and unmanaged VPS
ScalaHosting managed cloud starts at $29.95 a month
☑️ See ScalaHosting plans
9. Liquid Web: premium fully managed
Liquid Web's fully managed VPS costs $72, $100, $145 and $178 a month at regular prices for 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 24GB, with a 50% discount for the first two months. It includes root access, a dedicated IP, DDoS protection, migration help, and cPanel, Plesk, Interworx or Windows as options.
✅ Pros
- Setup, patches and updates handled by Liquid Web
- 24/7 expert support and a 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Control panel and Windows choices
❌ Cons
- Regular prices of $72 to $178 a month
- Promo covers only 2 months
- Locations and refund terms not in the page text
Liquid Web managed VPS starts at $36 for the first two months
☑️ See Liquid Web plans
🧭 Managed or unmanaged VPS: which to choose
| Type | Who it suits | Examples here |
|---|---|---|
| Unmanaged | You are comfortable with Linux, SSH, firewalls and backups, and want the lowest price | Contabo, Vultr, Kamatera, InMotion |
| Managed | You want the provider to set up, patch, monitor and support the server | UltaHost, Cloudways, ScalaHosting, Liquid Web, InterServer (8+ slices) |
If you do not know how to harden a Linux server, a managed plan is worth paying for. Read what SSH is before you connect to an unmanaged server, and what cPanel is if you want a control panel on top.
✅ How to choose a VPS in 5 steps
🏆 Final verdict: which VPS should you choose?
The best VPS depends on how much of the work you want to do. Contabo wins on resources per dollar if you can run a server. UltaHost VPS is the cheapest managed pick, and InMotion gives you the longest time to change your mind. Kamatera and Vultr are for people who care most about where the server sits, and Cloudways, ScalaHosting and Liquid Web are for people who want the server looked after, at a higher price.
📌 Which VPS for what
- 🥇 Most RAM per dollar: Contabo.
- 🥈 Cheapest managed VPS: UltaHost VPS.
- ↩️ Longest refund window: InMotion, 90 days.
- 🌍 Most locations: Vultr (33) and Kamatera (21).
- 🧩 Simplest pricing: InterServer, $3 a slice.
- 🛠️ Managed cloud, pay as you go: Cloudways.
- 🔧 Managed with a free panel: ScalaHosting.
- 🎧 Fully managed, premium support: Liquid Web.
Providers not covered here
This guide only includes providers whose current pricing and terms I could read on October 12, 2026. Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, OVHcloud and VPS plans from shared hosts such as Hostinger are not compared, and I will add them when their pages are verified. See also Contabo vs Hetzner and Cloudways vs Contabo.
❓ VPS hosting FAQ
❓ What is the cheapest VPS hosting in 2026?
❓ What is the difference between managed and unmanaged VPS?
❓ Which VPS has the best money-back guarantee?
❓ Which VPS provider has the most locations?
❓ Is a VPS better than shared hosting?
❓ Do I need cPanel on a VPS?
❓ Which VPS is best for WordPress?
❓ How much RAM do I need?
❓ Can I move from shared hosting to a VPS easily?
❓ Are the uptime numbers on these pages reliable?
Questions about which VPS fits your project? Leave a comment with your workload and budget.
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📘 What is a VPS?
The server type behind this guide. Start here
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