Practical hosting guide
How to Choose a VPS Size
Match CPU, RAM and storage to measured application work, then leave room for bursts and growth.
Start with a resource inventory
List the operating system, web server, database, application services, background jobs and monitoring agents. Include disk space for data, logs, temporary files, updates and local recovery work.
Memory is consumed by the whole stack. A 1GB server may suit a lightweight development service but should not be assumed suitable for every production CMS, database or Windows workload.
Use measurements to choose a starting point
| Resource | What to measure | When more helps |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | Peak resident memory, swap and out-of-memory events | The stack exhausts memory under representative work |
| CPU | Sustained utilisation and time waiting for CPU | Processing is constrained after application issues are reviewed |
| Disk | Capacity growth, I/O latency and temporary space | Data growth or measured storage limits require headroom |
| Network | Transfer allowance and workload peaks | The selected plan’s bandwidth or connectivity is the constraint |
Test the work that matters
Reproduce representative concurrent requests, imports, scheduled tasks and database queries in an isolated test environment. Record response times, errors and resource use; avoid an unplanned load test against a trading site.
A visitor total alone is not a sizing calculation. A cached brochure page and a checkout or report-generation job have different resource costs. Reserve headroom and review the results after launch.
Compare plans after you identify the constraint
| Plan | Memory | Processor | SSD disk | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Core | 1GB | 1 core | 25GB | £19.99 |
| 2 Core | 2GB | 2 cores | 50GB | £25.99 |
| 4 Core | 4GB | 4 cores | 75GB | £40.99 |
| 6 Core | 8GB | 6 cores | 100GB | £55.99 |
| 8 Core | 16GB | 8 cores | 200GB | £80.99 |
| 10 Core | 32GB | 10 cores | 400GB | £199.99 |
