Is VDS just a marketing name for VPS?

Across the hosting industry, very often yes — the two terms get used interchangeably and the label alone tells you nothing. On this catalogue it is not marketing: the VDS range states dedicated RAM in every plan, guarantees Port 25 with PTR/rDNS support, and lists up to 36 additional IPv4 addresses. None of those are stated on the VPS ranges. Judge the guarantees, not the word.

What is actually dedicated on a VDS here?

Memory. Every plan in the VDS range states dedicated RAM rather than an allocation. CPU cores are not dedicated on any range at any price, and we will not describe them as though they were.

Do I need VDS, or is VPS enough?

VPS is enough for most workloads, and it starts at $4.95 rather than $24.95. Move to VDS when one of three things is true: your database needs memory that cannot be squeezed, losing the ability to send mail would stop your business, or you need to split sending across many IP addresses.

Is a VDS faster than a VPS?

Not by virtue of the name. The VDS plans do have higher core and memory counts than the VPS ranges, and the top VDS plan leads the whole catalogue on cores, memory and disk at once — but that is because of what is in the plan, not because of the three letters on it.

Do both use the same virtualization?

Yes. All 16 plans across all five ranges run on KVM, so both boot their own kernel and both support Docker, custom kernels, nested virtualization and any operating system. This is the part where the two labels genuinely do not differ.

No. Every plan on this site is unmanaged regardless of range or price. Paying more buys you resources and guarantees, not somebody else doing your patching.

Which VDS plan should I start with?

The entry VDS plan at $24.95 already carries dedicated RAM, guaranteed Port 25 and PTR/rDNS support, which is the whole reason to be in this range. Move up the range for cores, memory and disk rather than for guarantees, because the guarantees are the same on all 4 of them.

If I only need one of the three guarantees, is VDS still worth it?

Possibly not, and it is worth checking. If the guarantee you need is Port 25, the Cloud range also has it and starts lower. If what you need is memory, compare the memory figures directly rather than the labels. Buy the cheapest plan that carries the specific guarantee you need.

Comparison · VPS vs VDS

The label means nothing. The guarantees mean everything.

Across the hosting industry, “VPS” and “VDS” are used interchangeably and the word on the plan tells you nothing. On this catalogue that is not true, and the previous version of this page was wrong to say it was: the VDS range carries three specific guarantees the VPS ranges do not. Here is exactly what they are, and when they are not worth paying for.

Dedicated RAM on VDS
Port 25 guaranteed
Up to 36 IPv4
KVM on both

Which One Are You? The Full Table

VDS range from

$24.95/mo

4 plans · VPS ranges start at $4.95

Dedicated RAM, stated per plan
Port 25 open and guaranteed
PTR / rDNS support stated
Still not dedicated CPU cores

The Short Answer

In general hosting usage the two terms are interchangeable and mean nothing on their own. On this catalogue they are not interchangeable. Every plan in the VDS range states dedicated RAM rather than an allocation, guarantees Port 25 with PTR/rDNS support rather than merely leaving it open, and lists up to 36 additional IPv4 addresses. The VPS ranges state none of those three. Everything else is identical: same KVM virtualization, same full root access, same unmanaged terms, same network. So the correct way to choose is to ignore the letters entirely and ask whether you need any of those three guarantees. If you do not, the VPS ranges start at $4.95 and will serve you perfectly well.

Dedicated RAM: VDS only, all 4 plans, from $24.95.
Port 25 guaranteed: NVMe VPS and Cloud VPS and Classic VPS and VDS ranges.
Up to 36 additional IPv4 stated on VDS.
Dedicated CPU cores: neither — not offered anywhere.
KVM, root access, unmanaged: identical on both.
VPS ranges cover 12 of the 16 plans and start at $4.95.

Which One Are You?

Two columns, and the left one is the honest answer for most visitors.

Choose a VPS range

You are hosting websites, apps, containers or a development environment.
Mail is not what your business depends on, or you send only transactional volume.
One dedicated IPv4 address is all you need.
You would rather put the difference in price into storage speed.
You want the cheapest route to full root access — from $4.95.

This covers most people, and saying so costs us money on this page. 12 of the 16 plans are in these ranges for a reason.

Compare the VPS ranges →

Choose the VDS range

Losing the ability to send mail would stop your business — you want the guarantee, not the default.
You need PTR/rDNS support stated rather than requested.
You are splitting sending reputation across many IP addresses.
Your database working set genuinely needs memory that will not be squeezed.
You want the highest cores, memory and disk in the catalogue.

From $24.95. The guarantees are identical across all 4 VDS plans — you move up the range for hardware, not for promises.

See the VDS plans →

Every Factor, Side by Side

Generated from the plan catalogue. Where both columns say the same thing, that is the point — those are the rows where the label genuinely does not matter.

Every Factor, Side by Side
Factor	VPS ranges	VDS range
What the term means in the industry Generally, and honestly: very little on its own.	Virtual Private Server — any isolated virtual machine	Virtual Dedicated Server — historically implied guaranteed resources
Memory on our plans The difference that is actually written into the catalogue.	Allocated to your instance	Dedicated RAM, stated per plan
CPU cores Neither. Anyone claiming dedicated cores at this price should be asked to put it in writing.	Not dedicated	Not dedicated
Port 25 for outbound mail Open everywhere. Guaranteed on two ranges only.	Open, not guaranteed	Open and guaranteed
PTR / rDNS support The record that decides whether your mail is accepted.	On request	Stated in the plan
Additional IPv4 addresses Subject to datacenter availability in both cases.	On request; NVMe states up to 4	Up to 36 stated
Virtualization Identical. This is the part where the labels genuinely do not differ.	KVM	KVM
Root access	Full	Full
Management Unmanaged on both. A bigger plan is not a managed plan.	Unmanaged	Unmanaged
Starting price	$4.95/mo	$24.95/mo

Read the table for the rows where the two columns differ: memory, Port 25, PTR/rDNS and IPv4 count. Those four are the entire difference. Every other row is identical, which is exactly why the industry treats the two words as interchangeable — and exactly why a page that stops there gives you nothing to decide with.

Three Things the Label Never Tells You

Neither gives you dedicated CPU cores

The previous version of this page said a VDS is "an isolated virtual machine with dedicated CPU and RAM allocation". The RAM half is true of this range; the CPU half is not true of any range here, at any price. If exclusive cores are a hard requirement, what you need is a physical machine.

The word is not a specification

Another host's "VDS" may guarantee nothing at all, and another host's "VPS" may guarantee more than ours. The only way to compare across providers is to read what each plan actually states about memory, ports and addresses — which is why this page puts our guarantees in writing rather than in the product name.

Neither is managed

Paying $24.95 instead of $4.95 buys resources and guarantees. It does not buy anyone patching your operating system, monitoring your services or taking your backups. Managed versus unmanaged →

VPS vs VDS Questions

Buy the guarantee you need, not the letters.

VPS ranges from $4.95, the VDS range from $24.95 with dedicated RAM and guaranteed Port 25 — and a 7-day money-back guarantee on a first order either way.

See All 16 Plans Tell Us What You Need Guaranteed