Best Cheap Dedicated Server Hosting: Our Top 5

4.5 out of 5 stars

Cheapest price: $32/month for 24 months, plus a $50 configuration fee

IONOS is known for providing reliable accessibility for low prices, and its dedicated hardware does not disappoint in that aspect. It offers API and cloud integration and free unlimited traffic. IONOS has a variety of dedicated servers, and these can accommodate Intel or AMD processors.

✔️What We Like

• Loads of options for tech-savvy users
• Low prices for dedicated servers
• Unlimited traffic
• Full root access for lots of customization

❌What We Don’t Like

• Not good for beginners; can be complicated to determine what you want and need
• Phone-only support

Plans and Pricing

The cheapest dedicated server hosting plans with IONOS are the HDD server deal plans. These start at $32/month for an Intel Quad Core and go up from there. The least expensive plan offers:

• 12GB RAM
• 4 cores x 3.1 GHz
• 3.4GHz turbo boost.

Other HDD server deal plans include:

• one for $37/month for an AMD Hexa-Core with 16GB RAM
• two for $45/month, both offering 16 GB RAM
• one for $141/month for 128 GB RAM.

All of these plans are for 24 months and have a $50 setup fee.

If you prefer an SSD server, the plans begin at $50/month for an Intel Xeon and 16GB RAM and go up to $150/month for 64GB RAM. Again, these have a $50 startup fee and are for a 24-month term.

Quick Tip: HDD drives are more affordable than SSDs, but they have less speed and less efficiency. SSD drives have better performance overall but tend to be more expensive. You’ll also get less storage space for your money with an SSD drive since the storage itself costs more.

Performance and Scalability

IONOS guarantees 99.9% uptime and allows for unlimited traffic. It has a ton of options to choose from, so you’ll be able to decide how much you want to spend for better performance.

Because there are so many custom options, you’ll be able to scale as you go, as you can always upgrade to something bigger, better, and faster.

Compatibility and Support

In addition to a robust help center, where you can find information on the topic you need, IONOS also offers customer support by phone 24/7. We checked in with a customer service agent to see what the chat hours are for support, and they’re 10 am to 3 pm EST.

Security and Reliability

IONOS offers an advanced firewall, extended security, and US data centers that meet high safety and security standards. It has ISO 27001 certification to confirm these security measures.

Read our full IONOS review.

5 out of 5 stars

Cheapest price: $91.98/month when you sign up for a 36-month plan

Bluehost came out on top when we took all of our testing criteria into consideration (more about those specifics later!), scoring an impressive 4.9 out of 5 overall. It offers excellent customer support, which makes Bluehost a great choice for beginners. If this isn’t your first rodeo, though, no worries: it also offers options such as root access to allow you to do more customization to your server.

✔️ What We Like 

• Beginner-friendly
• Easy to pair with WordPress
• Unmetered bandwidth with all plans
• Optional root access available with all plans

❌What We Don’t Like

• Doesn’t offer 100% uptime
• Basic WordPress builder; you need an additional builder for advanced applications

Plans and Pricing

Bluehost offers three plans for dedicated server hosting.

The first is Standard, which provides:

• 8GB RAM
• 1TB HDD storage

This plan costs $91.98/month when you sign up for a 36-month term, which is its lowest rate. You can choose shorter subscriptions, but they cost more.

The second is the Enhanced plan, which includes:

• 16GB RAM
• 2TB HDD storage

This one is $121.88/month when you choose the 36-month plan.

Finally, if you need more storage, you can get the Premium plan, which provides:

• 30GB RAM
• 2TB HDD storage with the Premium plan.

This one costs $141.99/month for 36 months.

All three plans automatically renew at their regular rates once your initial term is over:

• Standard renews at $181.99/month for a 36-month term
• Enhanced renews at $181.99/month for a 36-month term
• Premium renews at $261.99/month for a 36-month term

The regular rate will also be listed in your control panel once you sign up, and you’ll be able to decide prior to renewal if you’d like to renew.

Read more about Bluehost pricing.

Performance and Scalability

Bluehost’s dedicated server offers high performance and is meant to scale to meet the demands of your growing website. As your traffic load increases over time, you can move from the Standard plan up to Enhanced or Premium to meet the power and storage requirements your website needs.

There’s also the option to upgrade your storage on your server without administrative assistance.

Compatibility and Support

Bluehost offers various hosting options, including shared hosting and VPS hosting, but the support you’ll get with a dedicated server hosting plan is provided by specifically trained agents. You can call or chat for help 24/7, so no matter what time zone you’re in or what time of day you like to work on your website, someone will be there to help.

Security and Reliability

Bluehost offers a wide range of security features, including firewalls, malware scanning, regular security updates, DDoS protection, and SSL certificates.

While Bluehost doesn’t offer an uptime guarantee, its average uptime is 99.88%. There are other hosting providers who guarantee 100% uptime, but Bluehost is quite close and you shouldn’t have any issues with reliability.

Read our full Bluehost review for more information.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Cheapest price: $91.98/month for 36 months

HostGator is well-known and trusted, and for good reason. It offers solid performance with maximum reliability (boasting a 99.9% uptime guarantee), great customer service, and lots of features for you to choose from. You’ll call the shots thanks to 100% server control, and you’ll be happy to know there are lots of security features in place to keep your site safe.

✔️ What We Like

• 100% server control with full root access
• Lots of ways to access support
• Linux and Windows control panels available
• 99.9% uptime guarantees
• Semi-managed option for those who want even more control

❌ What We Don’t Like

• High renewal fees
• No free SSL certificates

Plans and Pricing

HostGator offers three dedicated server options. The most affordable is the Value Server, which works with a 4 core Intel Xeon, comes with 8GB RAM and either 1TB HDD storage or 512GB SSD storage. It starts at $91.98/month with a 36-month commitment. The renewal price is $169.99/month if you want to stick with the three-year renewal.

The Power Server option works with an 8 core Intel Xeon and offers 16GB RAM and either 2TB HDD or 512GB SSD storage. It begins at $121.88/month for 36 months. The three-year renewal cost is $249.99/month.

Finally, the Enterprise Server starts out at $141.99/month with a 36-month term. It works with an 8 core Intel Xeon and offers 30GB RAM and 2TB HDD or 1TB SSD storage. The three-year renewal cost is $279.00/month.

Read our comprehensive HostGator Pricing Review for more details.

Performance and Scalability

HostGator offers a fully redundant network and multiple bandwidth providers, so your performance will be smooth. You’ll also have the ability to grow your service along with your website with tons of server options, including semi-managed options.

Compatibility and Support

You can use either a Linux or Windows system with any of the dedicated server options.

Customer support options include phone and chat, and you should be able to reach someone 24/7. If you don’t want to wait on hold, you can also request a callback.

Security and Reliability

HostGator guarantees 99.9% uptime, so reliability won’t be an issue. You’ll be able to create scheduled and manual backups, and you’ll have advanced DDoS protection. You can purchase a Positive SSL by Sectigo for $39.96 for 12 months at checkout; they aren’t free with HostGator. This renews at $89.88 after 12 months.

Read our full HostGator review.

4 out of 5 stars

Cheapest price: $149/month for a one-year commitment

DreamHost offers good customer support along with a nearly unheard-of 100% uptime guarantee. You’ll have all of the power with full root and shell access, and you can reboot your server whenever necessary. The control panel is intuitive and easy to use making DreamHost a good option if you’re new to dedicated hosting.

✔️ What We Like 

• Uncapped bandwidth
• Lots of RAM options for easy scalability
• No-commitment monthly options available
• Great security features
• 100% uptime guarantee

❌ What We Don’t Like 

• Only email and chat support
• Big price jump from lower-tier plans

Plans and Pricing

With DreamHost, you’ll be able to choose the options you’d like, so there aren’t just a few plans to pick from. First, you’ll decide between an Intel Xeon 4 or 12 core, then you’ll pick how much storage and RAM you want. There are also two options when it comes to commitment: You can choose the yearly plan for savings, or you can go with a monthly plan if you want to try things out and not commit.

The cheapest dedicated hosting plan would give you the 4-core Intel Xeon, 1TB HDD storage, and 4GB RAM. This starts at $149/month if you want the yearly option or $169/month with no commitment or contract.

Conversely, if you went with the 12-core and wanted 2TB HDD and 16GB RAM, you’d pay $279/month on an annual basis or $299/month with no contract.

Read our full DreamHost Pricing Review for more information.

Performance and Scalability

Because there are so many options available and the option to avoid a yearly contract, you will be able to add memory and storage as you go, making scalability simple. Whether your growth is expected to be quick or more methodical, DreamHost would be a good choice.

Compatibility and Support

DreamHost uses Ubuntu, which is Linux-based.

Customer support is good, but it’s not available via phone, only email and chat. Expert support is available 24/7/365, though.

Security and Reliability

Thanks to multiple data centers, redundant cooling, constant monitoring, and emergency generators, you can count on DreamHost’s 100% uptime guarantee.  You’ll also enjoy DDoS protection with all plans.

Read our full DreamHost review.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Cheapest price: $174/month for a limited time. Right now, Liquid Web is offering $100 off of its regular prices; the regular lowest price is $274/month.

The most expensive of the cheap dedicated hosting providers on our list is Liquid Web. It offers fast speeds and that 100% uptime guarantee we don’t hear too much about when it comes to hosting. There’s also lots of customization available for those who like to take control of their servers. The downside is that it’s priced high in comparison to similar providers.

✔️What We Like 

• Worldwide servers
• Full-control root access capability
• SSD storage
• 24-hour support

❌ What We Don’t Like

• High prices
• Only DDoS security is included

Plans and Pricing

Right now, Liquid Web is having a sale on some of its hosting plans.

The Intel Xeon E-2334 plan is $174/month, but only for a limited time (an end date isn’t defined), at which point it will revert back to $274/month. This plan offers 4 cores, 16GB RAM, two 480 SSD primary disks, a 2TB SSD backup disk, and 8TB bandwidth. You can double the amount of RAM, SSD storage, and backup storage for an additional $50/month.

The Intel E-2356G plan is temporarily $199/month and will revert to $299/month when the sale is over. Aside from offering 6 cores rather than 4, all of the storage, RAM, and bandwidth are the same as the previous plan. You can also add on the $50 fee to double the RAM, SSD storage, and backup storage.

Finally, the Intel Xeon Gold 6226R plan is $299/month. This is not a limited-time offer; it’s the regular price. This plan offers 16 cores, 64GB RAM, two 960GB SSD primary disks, a 4TB SATA backup disk, and 10TB bandwidth. The $50 deal for extra storage and memory doesn’t apply to this plan.

If none of these are right for you, there are hosting advisors who can help you find a customized solution for your site, so you can chat with someone 24/7 to discuss pricing for those plans.

Performance and Scalability

With large amounts of bandwidth, you’ll be able to enjoy great speed. With the ability to increase your RAM and storage with either of the two lower-cost plans or to work with customer service to develop a custom plan, your scalability won’t be hindered in any way.

Compatibility and Support

Both Linux and Windows are supported by Liquid Web. You’ll be able to reach someone in customer support 24/7 by phone, chat, or email.

Security and Reliability

Only DDoS security is included, but there’s also ServerSecure protection available if you need or want it. You’ll also have your own dedicated IP address. As far as reliability goes, Liquid Web has a 100% uptime guarantee, so you won’t experience outages.

If you’re looking for cheap dedicated hosting, keep in mind that the cheapest plan might not be the best one for your needs. It’s important to look at a range of criteria rather than to focus only on the cost. Here are some to consider:

• Potential downtime. You want your website’s visitors to be able to access your site every time, so it’s important to look at the guaranteed uptime for the hosting provider you’re considering.
• Performance requirements. First, do you need dedicated hosting? If you haven’t scaled your business to 1,000 visitors per month, you might not quite yet; in this case, you may consider shared or VPS hosting. If you do, think about how many users you expect, what types of content you have (images and videos will require more storage than text-based content), and whether you need ecommerce services.
• Customization. Do you plan on using a drag-and-drop site, or are you more tech-savvy and wish to customize your server? Even if you want to use a server as it is now, you might want the option to customize it later. If you think this might be the case, look for a cheap dedicated hosting server that can scale later.
• Support. Customer support might be one of the most important considerations. Can you reach an agent with your preferred method of contact (email, chat, or phone)? Is this support available 24/7? There’s nothing quite as frustrating as being stuck and not being able to access help until the next day.

What Are Cheaper Alternatives to Dedicated Hosting?

Dedicated hosting is the most expensive form of web hosting. VPS is the next cheapest option. If your website is big enough to need dedicated hosting, we don’t recommend you go with anything less – it’ll cause you a lot more hassle if website visitors flood in and your system isn’t capable enough to hold them!

Is VPS Better Than Dedicated Hosting?

Dedicated hosting is a step up from VPS hosting. With dedicated hosting, you get the server and all of its tools completely to yourself. This does mean it comes with a higher price tag. If your business has rapidly expanded and you have a lot of website traffic, dedicated hosting is what you’ll need. You can read more information about the difference between VPS and dedicated hosting.

After reading through our thoughts on the various cheap dedicated server hosting providers, you may be wondering where we’re getting our ratings and thoughts from.

We have put in almost 2,000 hours to research and analyze a wide variety of web hosting providers. We perform a market analysis, establish areas to investigate, collect our data from each company, speed-test sites using over 1,700 URLs, and use a custom-built scoring algorithm.

You can read more about how we conduct our hosting research.

Depending on your needs, you should be able to find the best and cheapest dedicated hosting with one of the providers we’ve covered. Do keep in mind that the cheapest doesn’t necessarily equal the best; you want to be sure you’re getting the value you want.

Our best recommendation for most people is Bluehost. You’ll get plenty of bang for your buck, it’s easy to use, and you’ll be able to scale as you go.