VPS or dedicated server: which server fits which project

If you are weighing a VPS against a dedicated server, what you really want to know is whether the cheaper class is enough for your own project. The answer comes down to four points: shared or exclusive hardware, price, scaling and who carries the responsibility for running the machine. This article answers the question along the four server classes at KernelHost, with prices, tables and a recommendation for each use case.

All prices are per month including VAT, as of September 2026. Every class is PrePaid: no minimum term, no notice period, no automatic renewal and no setup fee.

The difference at a glance

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtual machine on a host system that several customers share. KVM assigns each machine its RAM, storage and CPU time, and the operating system runs with its own kernel and full root access. A dedicated server is a physical machine that only you use: your own CPU, your own RAM, your own disks, your own network uplink.

KVM VPS: the entry class from €9.99

The KVM root servers run on AMD EPYC processors with DDR4 reg ECC RAM and datacenter NVMe SSDs in RAID-1 or RAID-10, connected at 2x 1 Gbps in the maincubes datacenter in Frankfurt am Main (TÜV TIER3+ certified). Included are one IPv4 address, a /64 IPv6 subnet, root, SSH and VNC access, three backup slots and 3.2 Tbps of Arbor DDoS protection. Once you have ordered, the server is ready to use in around 30 seconds.

You share the cores with other virtual machines on the same host system. For websites, bots, small databases and test environments this is the right class. When the project grows, you raise RAM, cores and storage in the customer panel, without a reinstall.

Professional VDS: dedicated cores without your own hardware

The Professional VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server) is the step in between: the AMD EPYC cores are permanently assigned and are not shared with other customers, and RAM and storage are guaranteed. Added to that are 17 Tbps of DDoS protection and the choice between Linux and Windows Server 2022. Provisioning and upgrades work exactly as they do on a VPS.

Dedicated servers: your own hardware

Dedicated servers with Intel Xeon and i7

The dedicated servers are bare metal: you are the only user of the machine. Every model comes with a dedicated 1 Gbps uplink and unlimited traffic, 3.2 Tbps of Arbor DDoS protection, one IPv4 and one IPv6 address and no setup fee. Linux and Windows Server 2022 can both be installed. The location is Frankfurt am Main or Nuremberg.

Professional Dedicated with AMD Ryzen and EPYC

The Professional Dedicated Servers are built around high clock speeds, on the Ryzen models around enterprise NVMe with 1 million IOPS, and around 17 Tbps of DDoS protection. The uplink is 1 Gbps dedicated with fair-use traffic, optionally 2x 10 Gbps LACP with unlimited traffic. Additional IP subnets are available on request. The location is the maincubes datacenter in Frankfurt am Main.

Decision matrix by use case

What people often overlook

Traffic: fair use or unlimited

VPS, VDS and Professional Dedicated come with fair-use traffic, while the Intel dedicated servers have unlimited traffic on 1 Gbps. If you serve large volumes of data around the clock, downloads or video for example, settle that question before you settle on a class: Professional Dedicated can be upgraded to unlimited, and for virtual servers there is the Unlimited Traffic VPS category.

Backups are your job

The KVM servers come with three backup slots, one of them a weekly automatic emergency backup. That is a safety net, not a backup strategy: a backup belongs on a different system, for example a storage server in Nuremberg from €9.99 for 1 TB. A dedicated server ships with no backup at all. What that looks like in practice is covered in a backup strategy for root servers.

No IPMI, but a VNC console instead

Neither the KVM servers nor the dedicated servers have IPMI or iDRAC. The way onto the screen is the VNC console in the customer panel, independent of SSH, the firewall and the network of the system. If you lock yourself out with a firewall rule, that is how you get back in. Test the route before you need it, as described in the checklist for the first 30 minutes.

Scaling

A VPS grows in minutes: RAM, cores and storage are raised in the customer panel and taken over without a reinstall. A dedicated server grows only through a hardware swap, which means a new machine and a data migration. So plan headroom on RAM and disks there from the very start.

What happens when hardware fails

On a VPS, responsibility for the host system with its NVMe in a RAID and its ECC RAM sits with KernelHost: a failed disk there stays invisible to your machine, whereas a reboot of the host system hits every machine on it. On a dedicated server you check the RAID status and the SMART values yourself, and a hardware fault means standstill until the part is replaced. If you cannot absorb an outage lasting hours, what you need in either class is a second system and a tested restore, not a different server class.

Three worked examples

The premium for moving from a virtual to a physical machine works out at €50 to €70 per month here. It buys exclusive hardware and, on the Intel model, unlimited traffic, but it does not buy an automatic emergency backup or an upgrade without a migration.

Conclusion: which server for which situation

• KVM VPS when your project fits into 32 GB of RAM, load peaks are short and you want to grow within minutes: most websites, shops, bots and small game servers.
• Professional VDS when you need predictable performance for databases, large game servers or Windows Server, but do not want to run your own hardware.
• Dedicated server when unlimited traffic, plenty of RAM (up to 256 GB) or exclusive hardware is a hard requirement, for example in reseller operations.
• Professional Dedicated when clock speed, NVMe IOPS and 17 Tbps of DDoS protection have to come together, which is typical for large game server networks and write-heavy databases.

When in doubt, start small: the PrePaid model lets you order a different class at any time and let the old one run out, with no notice period. More on the location under Datacenter, on protection against attacks under DDoS protection and on how you can pay under Payment methods.