Best Dedicated Server Hosting: Compare the Top 6 Providers

Best Dedicated Server Hosting

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Bluehost came out on top in our research. It’s a great all-around hosting provider that excels in many different areas, such as value for money and features.

It is a safe pair of hands for any website, but other providers still have plenty to offer in their chosen niches, such as IONOS for those wanting the best-performing website.

This is how they compare like-for-like:

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Editor's Choice
Bluehost	IONOS	HostGator	InMotion	A2 Hosting	DreamHost
Overall rating 4.7	Overall rating 4.7	Overall rating 4.2	Overall rating 4.2	Overall rating 3.9	Overall rating 3.8
Starting from - Dedicated $99.97	Starting from - Dedicated $45 ($65 after 6 months)	Starting from - Dedicated $109.97	Starting from - Dedicated $89.99	Starting from - Dedicated $159.99	Starting from - Dedicated $149
Uptime 99.98%	Uptime 99.99%	Uptime 99.99%	Uptime 99.98%	Uptime 99.95%	Uptime 100%
Max Bandwidth 15TB	Max Bandwidth Unlimited	Max Bandwidth Unlimited	Max Bandwidth 1Gbps Unmetered	Max Bandwidth 15TB	Max Bandwidth Unlimited
Max RAM 16GB	Max RAM 64GB	Max RAM 30GB	Max RAM 192GB	Max RAM 128GB	Max RAM 64GB
Max CPU Coress 4	Max CPU Coress 8	Max CPU Coress 8	Max CPU Coress 24	Max CPU Coress 16	Max CPU Coress 12
Server locations Utah	Server locations London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Spain, Nevada, New Jersey	Server locations Utah, Texas	Server locations California, Virginia	Server locations Michigan	Server locations Virginia, Oregon
	Visit IONOS
See our Bluehost review	See our IONOS review	See our HostGator review	See our InMotion review	See our A2 Hosting review	See our DreamHost review

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 the 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. The more cashiers (CPUs), the faster the queue (requests) 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 around!

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.

Now the ground rules are out of the way, let’s begin with the list!

Bluehost

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Best Value for Dedicated Server Hosting

Editor's Choice

Bluehost

Best Overall for Dedicated Server Hosting

Excellent

4.6

out of 5

• Best price
• Great help and support
• Free backups

Paid Plans: $1.99 - $119.99 / month

Pros

• Good uptime guarantee of 99.98%
• Plans offer the best value
• Free backups included as standard

Cons

• Only one server, and based in the US
• Only four CPU cores with all plans

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Bluehost is our overall dedicated hosting king, and it’s easy to see why. Its dedicated hosting plans are among the cheapest of all nine providers, but 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. When it comes to features, it even offers free backups, which is rare.

The downside of Bluehost? Fewer CPU cores than most providers, and a cap of bandwidth at 15TB. If you’re a 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

Bluehost Dedicated Hosting Prices

Bluehost offers three dedicated server plans: Standard, Enhanced and Premium, and they all come with a money-back guarantee, 24/7 support, and four CPU cores.

The pricier the plan, the more storage, RAM, and bandwidth there is. The Enhanced plan is the best value, as it offers the same storage as the Premium plan. Check out our Bluehost Pricing Review for a detailed breakdown.

If all this is looking a bit much, then perhaps one of Bluehost’s VPS hosting plans would be better. Instead of getting your dedicated server, VPS hosting gives you a private room. Think of it like the penthouse suite in a hotel. And Bluehost’s penthouse is the nicest on the market. We gave it a 4.6 out of 5 in our research, the best we tested

Forget The Blues With Bluehost

Bluehost is our overall dedicated hosting choice. Why? It has a great assortment of features, and it doesn’t break the bank. You can support both your site and your budget.

Take Me to Bluehost's Dedicated Server Plans

1&1 IONOS

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Best for Affordability

IONOS

Best for afforability

Excellent

4.2

out of 5

• Best site speed
• Affordable plans
• Hidden fees

Paid Plans: $0.5 - $35 / month

Pros

• 8 plans
• Best site speed and server response
• Affordable starting prices

Cons

• Additional fees
• No email or live chat

Read Review

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1&1 IONOS is our silver medal stunner with a respectable overall score of 4.5 out of 5 for its dedicated hosting service. It has great scores across all our evaluation metrics for dedicated hosting and has the fastest site speed and server response time of all the hosting providers we looked at. It is also the most affordable provider on this list, with annual plans starting at $65/month.

If you need more power, then there are eight different plans for you to choose from, giving you a lot of room to pick the support your site needs. It also doubles up as a website builder, meaning you can build your site with them as well.

However, IONOS isn’t all gold. It has a nasty habit of sticking you with additional fees at checkout and makes you pay more if you use Windows. There’s also poor help and support, with no email or live chat support across all plans.

1&1 IONOS: Pros and Cons

1&1 IONOS Dedicated Hosting Prices

IONOS offers eight plans, split between SSD (solid state drives) and HDD (hard disk drives). SSDs are more powerful and offer faster loading times for your site, but they come at a higher cost. While the SSD prices range from $65/month to $160/month, the HDDs range from $47/month** to $140/month. You will be dealing with an outdated form of data drive but at a cheaper price, so it’s best to make your choice before you jump in.

All of these plans come with unlimited bandwidth, daily backups, and free domains. IONOS also has the most server locations, with servers based in London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Spain, Nevada, and New Jersey.

Feel The Power With 1&1 IONOS

IONOS has the best site speed of any provider and is our choice as the best affordable option. What more could you ask for?

Visit IONOS

HostGator

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Best for Bigger Sites

HostGator

Best for Bigger Sites

Very Good

3.7

out of 5

• Best help and support
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Generous promotions

Paid Plans: $3.95 - $159.99 / month

Pros

• Plenty of ways to get help and support
• Unlimited bandwidth across all plans
• Promotional prices are very generous

Cons

• Servers both located in the US

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HostGator’s pleasant mascot charms many, and they are our number one choice for shared hosting providers. In terms of dedicated hosting, they are in third place.

While not excelling in performance, HostGator dominates in the help and support category with a 4.9 out of 5 in our research. With an array of help and support options (including 24/7 phone and live chat), we think it’s the best for bigger sites, giving you the necessary support for when your site may be getting a little too big for just one person to manage.

HostGator’s prices aren’t the cheapest, but you certainly get a lot of help for your buck. The downside? Both servers are located in the US, so this might not be the best option for sites with a large international audience

Hostgator: Pros and Cons

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.

For annual payments, the prices are:

• Value Server – $109.98/month
• Power Server  – $139.99/month
• Enterprise Server – $159.99/month

See You Later, Alligator?

HostGator offers the best help and support of any provider on this list. If you have your own business, or if you’re new to hosting, any help is appreciated. To be in such good hands will be a huge relief.

Visit HostGator

InMotion

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Best for Range of Features

InMotion

Best for Range of Features

Very Good

4.3

out of 5

• Most CPU cores
• Best features
• Worst value for money

Paid Plans: $3.49 - $539.99 / month

Pros

• Huge number of CPUs (24) available
• Good help and support

Cons

• Plans are more expensive than average

Read Review

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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, but you get 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 something to be sneezed at!

In our research, we gave it 4.8 out of 5 for features, the highest of any provider we tested. It also scores a shocking 2 out of 5 for value for money – the lowest among the brands we tested. Its plans are an investment, but they reflect the quality InMotion brings to the table.

InMotion: Pros and Cons

InMotion Dedicated Hosting Prices

InMotion offers six different dedicated hosting plans. The Essential plan is cheapest at $139.99/month when billed annually, while the CC-2000 plan comes in at a whopping $539.99/month. There’s a pretty even spread of prices in-between, so if CPUs are a priority for you, or you have a tech-heavy website, then chances are you’ll find an InMotion plan at a relatively reasonable price.

The InMotion Of The Ocean

If you need the power, then InMotion should be your provider. While it’s definitely on the pricier side, if your needs demand it, then we’d rather you be prepared than struggling.

Visit InMotion

A2 Hosting

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Best for Storage

A2 Hosting

Best for Storage

Good

4

out of 5

• 2 x 1TB Storage
• No free backups
• Expensive plans

Paid Plans: $6.59 - $529.99 / month

Pros

• Good storage

Cons

• No free backups offered
• Poor help and support
• Relatively low uptime of 99.95%

Read Review

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A2 Hosting scores quite high in disk space, coming second with a 4.3 out of 5 in our research. Even on the lowest plan, you get 2x1TB storage, which is more than any other provider offers.

However, its plans are quite expensive – the lowest plan begins at $159.99/month! Aside from that, there’s nothing A2 Hosting really fails at, but there’s also nothing it particularly succeeds in either

A2 Hosting: Pros and Cons

A2 Hosting Dedicated Hosting Prices

A2 Hosting offers seven managed dedicated server hosting packages. They start at $159.99/month and go all the way up to $529.99/month. At that price, you’re getting a lot more storage, but, unless you really need all the disk space, it still doesn’t justify the price. That said, with free transfers and a money-back guarantee on offer, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving them a go.

Is A2 Your Number 1 Choice?

A2 Hosting has a great variety of plans with the most storage. If you really need that extra space and don’t mind the price, then give A2 a try today!

Visit A2 Hosting

DreamHost

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Free Plugin for WordPress

DreamHost

Free Plugin For WordPress

4.3

out of 5

• 100% uptime
• Good site speed
• No phone support

Paid Plans: $2.95 - $379 / month

Pros

• Free plugin for WordPress
• Unmetered bandwidth for all plans
• 100% uptime guarantee

Cons

• Help and support could be better
• Not the best value plans

Read Review

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DreamHost is a decent provider – it boasts 100% uptime and a money-back guarantee if it doesn’t hit this mark. There are also nine different plans and the second-highest site speed.

But we’re going to have to yuck your yum on DreamHost a bit. The help and support are lacking, with no phone facilities. This, combined with a relatively low performance across our research for features, disk space, and high costs, doesn’t inspire much positivity, finding DreamHost at the bottom of our list.

DreamHost: Pros and Cons

DreamHost Dedicated Hosting Prices

What’s odd about DreamHost’s plans online is that they separate them by Standard and Enhanced, which you can then customize how much RAM and storage you need. There’s also the free plugin to WordPress, which is super useful for all budding website builders. The lowest price starts at $149/month, and the most expensive is $379/month.

Do You Dream Of DreamHost?

DreamHost offers 100% uptime and a 97-day money-back guarantee, which, according to our professional opinion, is very tempting. Why not try it out today?

Visit DreamHost

How Do You Choose a Dedicated Server Hosting Provider?

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As you’ve seen from this article, there’s plenty to consider when you’re choosing a hosting provider. This includes:

• Memory – The amount of RAM your hosting server can provide. This will ensure your website can load quickly and handle all processes smoothly.
• Bandwidth – The amount of allocated data you can transfer between server and site. More bandwidth ensures faster load times, which is crucial to reduce the bounce rate for visitors to your site.
• Location of servers – Where your server is physically located. The closer to your audience, the better, or they will suffer latency (or lag) when on your site.
• Number of CPUs – The CPU is the brain of your computer, and the more brains the better! More CPU cores allow more processes and data to be handled, letting you add more to your site.
• Value for money – This is the price of the hosting provider against the features it offers. You want to hit a good balance where the price accurately reflects the product.
• Guaranteed uptime – The amount of time your website will be live in a year. The hosting provider will need to do maintenance, so 100% cannot be guaranteed (although some do), but 99.9% is the average, with a total of eight hours of downtime per year.
• Help and support – The support the provider offers to assist you. Hosting can be tricky, so it’s essential they teach newcomers how the process works.

It’s worth noting here that value for money doesn’t mean the lowest prices – while it may not offer the cheapest plans on the list, the value for money Bluehost offers earns it a solid overall score of 4.7 out of 5 in our research.

Best Dedicated Server Hosting: Summary

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This article has taken you on a whistle-stop tour of the best dedicated hosting providers, as determined by our extensive independent research. Now let’s recap.

Best dedicated servers:

1. Bluehost – Best overall dedicated hosting provider
2. IONOS – Best for affordability
3. HostGator – Best for bigger Sites
4. InMotion– Best for range of features
5. A2 Hosting – Best for storage
6. Dreamhost – Free plugin for WordPress

Our independent research found Bluehost to be the best all-around provider, making it a safe choice for anyone looking for a dedicated hosting provider for their website. It offers the best value for money, and its RAM and CPU offerings are great too. It’s WordPress’s #1 choice, and ours too!

At the end of the day, it’s about deciding what’s most important to you and making this your priority. All of these providers offer a money-back guarantee trial, so experiment and find the one that suits the needs of your site.

Until then, Happy Hosting!