Dedicated servers and virtual private servers both have their place. The right choice depends on your workload, your budget, and how much control you need over the underlying hardware. Here's when to use each.
When You Need a Dedicated Server
A dedicated server — bare metal — means the entire machine is yours. No hypervisor, no shared resources, no noisy neighbors. You get full hardware control and consistent performance that doesn't fluctuate based on what other tenants are doing.
Go dedicated when you need:
- Consistent, guaranteed performance — CPU, RAM, and storage are entirely yours. No contention.
- BGP and IP announcements — Announce your own prefixes through AS398999 with full routing control.
- Heavy or sustained workloads — Databases, game servers, rendering, large-scale applications that need predictable resources around the clock.
- Compliance requirements — Some regulatory frameworks require dedicated hardware with no multi-tenancy.
- Custom hardware configurations — Choose your CPU, RAM, storage, and network setup to match your exact needs.
Our Toronto dedicated servers start at $42.99/mo — the cheapest location in our network. Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Ashburn start at $104/mo. Every bare metal server includes SucuraGuard DDoS protection and 10G network connectivity.
When a VPS Makes More Sense
A virtual private server gives you an isolated environment on shared hardware. You still get dedicated vCPU cores, RAM, and NVMe storage — but you're not paying for an entire machine when you don't need one.
A cheap VPS is the right call when you need:
- Testing and development — Spin up environments in seconds, tear them down when you're done.
- Smaller or variable workloads — Web apps, APIs, monitoring tools, DNS servers, and other services that don't need a full dedicated server.
- Hourly billing flexibility — Pay $0.010/hr and only for what you use. No monthly commitment required.
- Quick deployment — VMs deploy in under a minute from the Nexus panel. No provisioning wait.
- Multi-location presence — Deploy across all five locations without the cost of five dedicated servers.
Monthly VPS plans start at $7.50/mo. Same infrastructure as our dedicated servers — 10G ports, NVMe storage, SucuraGuard DDoS protection included.
Quick Comparison
| Dedicated Server | VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Full physical CPU (bare metal) | 1–16 vCPU cores |
| RAM | 16 GB – 256 GB+ | 1 GB – 64 GB |
| Storage | NVMe / SSD (configurable) | NVMe SSD |
| Network | 10 Gbps | 10 Gbps |
| Billing | Monthly | Hourly or monthly |
| BGP Support | Full BGP, IP announcements | BGP available via Nexus |
| DDoS Protection | SucuraGuard included | SucuraGuard included |
| Deployment Time | Same day – 48 hours | Under 60 seconds |
| Starting Price | $42.99/mo (Toronto) | $0.010/hr or $7.50/mo |
Our Locations
Both dedicated servers and VPS are available across all five of our locations. Pick the one closest to your users — or deploy across multiple for redundancy.
- Toronto, ON — Our home base and cheapest location. Canadian data sovereignty for organizations that need to keep data within Canada. Toronto dedicated server plans start at $42.99/mo.
- Dallas, TX — Central US with strong connectivity to both coasts and Latin America.
- Chicago, IL — Midwest presence with low-latency access to major Midwest and Eastern markets.
- New York, NY — Financial district connectivity. Ideal for latency-sensitive applications serving the Northeast.
- Ashburn, VA — The largest interconnection hub in North America. Direct access to hundreds of networks.
Bottom Line
If you need guaranteed resources, full hardware control, and BGP hosting with IP announcements — go with a dedicated server. You get bare metal performance with no virtualization overhead.
If you want flexibility, instant deployment, and the ability to scale up or down without long-term commitments — a virtual private server is the better fit. Hourly billing means you only pay for what you use.
Both options include SucuraGuard DDoS protection, 10G network connectivity, and NVMe storage across all five locations. The infrastructure is the same — the difference is whether you want the whole machine or a slice of it.
Not sure which to pick? Start with a VPS — you can deploy one in under a minute with hourly billing. If you outgrow it, move to a dedicated server. Contact us if you need help sizing your infrastructure.
— Eric B
President, Sucura Networks
AS398999