This article will compare and contrast the top six dedicated hosting providers, and help you choose the one that best suits your website.
But first, what exactly is dedicated hosting? And do you even need it at all? Let’s recap.
Hosting is like renting a virtual plot of internet space for your website. At the cheapest end, you have shared hosting. Think of it like having a room in a shared apartment: fine for a while, affordable, and maybe even fun, but it won’t last forever. Soon enough, you’ll crave your own space, and get your own apartment - or maybe, eventually, your very own detached house.
That’s the equivalent of dedicated hosting - a property to call your own, and all the space you could possibly need. It’s just going to cost you a bit more. That’s why it’s not for everyone.
Our site, websitebuilderexpert.com, receives many thousands of visits every week from people just like you. We need a dedicated hosting service to give you all the best possible experience - a site that loads fast, with no error messages. If you’re a smaller site, you’ll be better off on VPS hosting for the time being - you can always upgrade later!
Once you’ve decided you’re ready to make the leap to dedicated server hosting, it’s on to the next question - which provider should you choose?
Best Dedicated Server Hosting Providers
We’ve carried out extensive hosting research to find the top six dedicated server hosting providers for sites just like yours. We’ve painstakingly cross-referenced uptime stats, CPU cores, bandwidth, RAM, prices, and help and support to find the very best in the hosting business.
The results are in, these are the best dedicated servers:
InMotion - Best overall for dedicated server hosting.
HostGator - Best uptime performance
Bluehost - Best value for money.
A2 Hosting - Best customer service.
iPage - Best for nothing, but okay at everything.
DreamHost - Best storage space.
At the top of our list is InMotion. It’s the best all-around hosting provider and the best choice for dedicated hosting - its scores below speak for themselves. HostGator is an excellent second option, boasting the best uptime performance out there. Bluehost shines thanks to its affordability, offering the best value plans around.
Let’s take a closer look at each one, then answer your common dedicated server hosting questions.
Best Web Hosting - Dedicated hosting aside, find out who the overall best providers are.
Web Hosting Comparison Chart - Check out our detailed chart for a side-by-side view of the top providers.
- 1 Best Dedicated Server Hosting
- 2 InMotion
- 3 HostGator
- 4 Bluehost
- 5 A2 Hosting
- 6 iPage
- 7 DreamHost
- 8 How Do You Choose a Dedicated Server Hosting Provider?
- 9 Best Dedicated Server Hosting: Summary
- 10 Best Dedicated Hosting Providers: FAQs
Best Dedicated Server Hosting
InMotion came out on top in our research. It’s a great all-around hosting provider that excels in many different areas.
InMotion is a safe pair of hands for any website, but other providers still have plenty to offer in their chosen niches.
This is how they compare like-for-like:
Side-By-Side Dedicated Server Hosting Comparison
* Just bear in mind that except for DreamHost, these are all promotional prices for new customers. Hosting providers are fairly generous, though - you can often keep prices this low for a year or more.
We can see that Bluehost has the least expensive price range, while A2 Hosting offers the most server locations. The table also shows variety in bandwidth between hosting providers, and while the low end of most CPU scores is similar, the high end ranges a lot depending on provider.
Okay, that’s great, but RAM? Bandwidth…? CPU cores…? What does it all actually mean for you?
CPU Cores - CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. They’re like the brains behind the physical server your site is hosted on. They are in charge of processing information, and the more there are, the better.
Think of it like trying to check out of a supermarket - the requests have to queue, and the CPUs are the cashiers. RSPS The more CPUs, the faster the line moves.
RAM - RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and is your server’s main memory store. As you’d expect, it’s important there’s enough of this to go round!
Bandwidth - Bandwidth basically refers to the amount of data transfer your site can cope with - or in other words, how much traffic it can accommodate. Don’t undersell the amount you need here - the last thing you need is your site crashing after a big marketing campaign sends customers flocking to your site.
Server locations - This is where the physical servers hosting your site are based. The closer they are to your users, the better. They’ll get a faster connection, and your site will rank better in return. Win win.
InMotion
Best Overall for Dedicated Server Hosting
4.8
4.3 out of 5 stars
3.4 out of 5 stars
InMotion’s dedicated hosting plans have a lot to offer across the board, but its standout feature is the number of CPU cores on offer. With the most expensive of the InMotion dedicated hosting plans - and at $539.99 per month, it is pricey - you get a massive 24 CPUS.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you have a tech-heavy website, it’ll help keep site speed down, and stop users from bouncing away from your site. What’s more, it’ll encourage Google to rank your site higher. Not to be sneezed at!
And that’s not the only thing that means InMotion tops the dedicated hosting charts. It also comes with a robust set of features, as well as scoring top marks in help and support. Its plans might be an investment, but they reflect the quality InMotion brings to the table.
InMotion: Pros and Cons
Huge number of CPUs (24) available on the top plan
Good help and support
Plans are more expensive than average
InMotion Dedicated Hosting Prices
InMotion offers six different dedicated hosting plans. The Essential plan is cheapest at $99.99/month, while the CC-2000 plan comes in at that whopping $539.99/month we mentioned earlier. There’s a pretty even spread of prices in between, so if CPUs are a priority for you or you have a very tech-heavy website, then chances are you’ll find an InMotion plan at a relatively reasonable price.
Not sure which plan you need?
Save money while you figure it out! InMotion is offering an exclusive discount on its cheapest 6-month VPS plan. You can now get the plan for $17.99/month instead of $59.99/month, saving 70%.
If you’re not sure which dedicated plan you’ll need - if any - then why not save 70% while testing out a VPS plan? The best part is, you can always upgrade to a dedicated plan after the 6 months are up.
Visit InMotion
InMotion Review - Feature-rich and business-focused.
HostGator
Best Uptime Performance
3.25 out of 5 stars
0 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5 stars
We’ve already been singing HostGator’s praises, and with good reason. Its combination of high bandwidth (unmetered, in fact), copious CPU cores and plentiful RAM means it scored higher than any other provider for dedicated hosted features (4.6 out of 5).
HostGator’s prices aren’t the cheapest, but you certainly get a lot of bang for your buck. There’s an array of help and support options (including phone and live chat), plus a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
The downside? Both servers are located in the US, so might not be the best option for sites with a largely international audience.
Hostgator: Pros and Cons
Great uptime guarantee of 99.99%
Plenty of ways to get help and support
Plans offer good value for money
Promotional prices are very generous
Servers both located in the US
HostGator Dedicated Hosting Prices
With HostGator, you have three dedicated plan options: Value Server, Power Server and Enterprise Server. All come with unmetered bandwidth, which is a huge plus. The Power Server plan is the middle option, and is the one HostGator recommends.
Hostgator Review - Does HostGator snap up the competition?
Bluehost
Best Value for Dedicated Server Hosting
4.6
3.3 out of 5 stars
While Bluehost’s dedicated hosting plans are among the cheapest of all nine providers, this doesn’t mean it has compromised on quality.
In fact, Bluehost offers some of the best help and support of any provider we tested. It also more than holds its own when it comes to features, even offering free backups, which is rare.
Help and Support Performance
Bluehost excelled in our customer service research, exceeding our expectations more than any other provider we tested.
Bluehost’s live chat exceeded our expectations by 3%
Bluehost’s knowledge base exceeded our expectations by 15%
Speedy live chat responses and informational knowledge base articles put Bluehost well ahead of the pack.
The downside of Bluehost? Fewer CPU cores than most providers, and only one server, based in Utah. If you’re a very large website with an international audience, Bluehost might not be for you. Otherwise, it could be just what you’re looking for.
Bluehost: Pros and Cons
Good uptime guarantee of 99.98% (second only to HostGator)
Plans offer the best value of any dedicated hosting provider
Free backups included as standard
Only one server, and based in the US
Only four CPU cores with all plans
Bluehost Dedicated Hosting Prices
Bluehost offers three dedicated server plans: Standard, Enhanced and Premium. There’s a price difference of $20 between each, and they all come with a money back guarantee, 24/7 support, and four CPU cores.
New customers can get dedicated hosting from $79.99/month with Bluehost (normally $119.99)
So what do you get for $79.99/month?
- Free website domain for 1 year
- Free SSL certificate
- 4 CPU cores & 4GB of RAM
- 5TB of bandwidth & 500GB of storage
- 24/7 support via phone & live chat
All of Bluehost’s dedicated hosting plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not completely happy with the service you receive, you’ll get a full refund.
Take Me to Bluehost's Dedicated Server Plans
The more expensive the plan, the more storage, RAM and bandwidth there is. On balance we’d say the Enhanced plan is the best value, as it offers the same storage as the more expensive Premium plan. Check out our Bluehost Pricing Review for a more detailed breakdown.
Bluehost Review - The Steady Eddie of web hosting.
A2 Hosting
Best Hosting Provider for Customer Service
4.3
3.65 out of 5 stars
What’s the one thing worse than your site going down? Your site going down, and not being able to get hold of your hosting provider. A2 Hosting offers the best customer service of any provider we tested, so you can get hold of them almost any way, at any time.
A2 Hosting: Pros and Cons
Excellent customer service
No free backups offered
Pricey compared to competitors
Relatively low uptime of 99.95%
A2 Hosting Dedicated Hosting Prices
A2 Hosting offers three managed dedicated server hosting packages: Sprint, Exceed and Mach.
There’s a hefty jump in price between all three, with Sprint costing $141.09 and Mach costing $290.49 per month. This is reflective of a leap in storage and RAM, but ultimately, A2 Hosting is a pricey option when compared to competitors. That said, with free transfer and a money back guarantee on offer, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving them a go.
A2 Hosting Review - Low-risk Windows specialists.
iPage
Best for Nothing, but Okay at Everything
4.2
3.5 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars
2 out of 5 stars
We’ll be honest - it’s hard to know what to say about iPage dedicated server hosting. The truth is, iPage is okay at everything, but doesn’t really excel in one particular area. Aseanbiotechnology
Features are fairly good, but no better than the likes of HostGator and Bluehost. Prices are fairly middle of the road. It’s done well to beat many competitors for sixth place in our research, but ultimately, if you’re considering iPage, you’d be better off with one of the plans featured above.
iPage: Pros and Cons
Scores fairly well across the board for features
Free backups included
Only featured provider not to include a free SSL certificate
iPage Dedicated Hosting Prices
iPage offers three dedicated hosting plans: Startup, Professional and Enterprise. Each plan is aptly named - Startup offers 4GB of RAM and 5TB of bandwidth (perfect for a small business), while Enterprise offers 16GB of RAM and 15TB of bandwidth (ideal for large operations).
Further Information
iPage Hosting Review - Cheap and somewhat cheerful.
DreamHost
Go to the top
Best Hosting Provider for Storage Space
3.1
3.75 out of 5 stars
1.85 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 stars
2.5 out of 5 stars
DreamHost isn’t a bad hosting provider - there are just a lot of better ones out there. It does excel at storage space, though, with plans of up to 64GB RAM.
The help and support is lacking, with no phone or live chat facilities. That, coupled with a relatively low uptime guarantee of 99.95%, doesn’t inspire huge amounts of confidence.
