VPS vs. dedicated server (bare metal)
Nevv offers VPS (cloud servers), which are created automatically when you pay, and dedicated servers, where you get an entire physical server to yourself. Here's how they differ and which to choose when.
How they're built
- VPS — A physical server is divided into several virtual servers using virtualization, and you use one of them. You get the vCPU, memory and disk set by your plan, and you share the same physical server with other virtual servers.
- Dedicated server (bare metal) — You use a whole physical server by yourself, without sharing it with other customers. "Bare metal" means using the physical server as it is, without a virtualization layer.
How using them on Nevv differs
| VPS | Dedicated server | |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Share a physical server (the plan's vCPU, memory and disk) | Use an entire physical server by yourself |
| Getting started | Order and pay, and your server is created automatically, usually appearing in your Dashboard within a few minutes | Purchase inquiry → we contact you after checking stock and the setup schedule → agree to the quote and terms we give you, then pay |
| Pricing | Prepaid for one month, renewed in 30-, 60- or 90-day increments before expiry | Based on a monthly price (a one-time setup fee depending on the product); payment methods are explained when you inquire |
| Operating system | You choose it yourself when ordering | Explained when you inquire |
For both products, prices are shown excl. VAT, with the price incl. VAT shown alongside.
With a VPS, you can't change the specs, operating system or network while you're using it, so to change them you need to get a new server and move your data. (Moving to a new server)
When a VPS is a good fit
- When you're starting small, like a Discord bot, a personal website or a game server for friends
- When you need a server right now — it's created automatically when you pay.
- When you're not sure about specs and want to try a small plan first before deciding — you can't change the specs of a server you're using, but you can get a new one on a bigger plan and move to it.
When to consider a dedicated server
- Services that need high performance consistently — worth comparing if your service uses a lot of CPU for long periods.
- When you want a whole server to yourself without sharing resources with other customers
- When you need more memory or storage than the VPS plans on the Pricing page offer — compare specs on the Dedicated servers page.
Are vCPUs and CPU cores the same?
The vCPUs listed in VPS specs are units of a physical CPU's processing power shared out to a virtual server. So even when the numbers are the same, a VPS's vCPUs and a physical server's cores may not perform the same, and per-core performance also differs by CPU type (generation, clock speed).
To find out whether core count or per-core performance matters more for your program, see Single-core or multi-core?.
What to check before choosing
- How much you're using now — If you already have a server, first measure your actual usage with Check your server's specs and How much memory do you need?.
- Budget — Compare monthly prices on Pricing and Dedicated servers.
- Measure it yourself — To measure and compare performance with the same commands, see Measuring server performance.
The inquiry and payment steps for dedicated servers are explained in detail in How to buy a dedicated server.