Hosting is the most underestimated part of a website. As long as everything works, nobody thinks about it. But the moment your site is slow, crashes or gets hacked, hosting is suddenly the only thing on your mind. The difference between shared hosting and VPS hosting is the difference between a student room and your own apartment. Both a roof over your head — but not the same experience.
Shared hosting: what is it?
With shared hosting you share a server with dozens to hundreds of other websites. Everyone uses the same processor, the same memory and the same disk space. The hosting provider manages everything — you don't have to do anything.
Advantages
- Cheap: From €3-10/month. The lowest entry.
- Simple: cPanel, one-click WordPress install, no technical knowledge needed.
- Managed: Updates, backups and security are (in theory) the provider's job.
Disadvantages
- Shared resources: If another site on your server has a spike, you feel it. Slowness, time-outs, sometimes even downtime.
- Limited control: No root access, no custom server configuration, no choice of PHP version or web server.
- Security risks: One hacked site on the server can affect the rest. You're as safe as your weakest neighbour.
- Scalability: As your website grows, you hit limits quickly.
VPS hosting: what is it?
A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a virtual server with reserved resources. You share the physical hardware, but your CPU, memory and storage are yours. No one else can use them.
Advantages
- Dedicated resources: Consistent speed, regardless of what other sites do.
- Full control: Root access, your own web server (NGINX, Apache), your own configuration.
- Security: Your environment is isolated. No trouble from neighbours.
- Scalability: Scaling up resources is often a matter of moving a slider.
Disadvantages
- More expensive: From €10-50/month for a basic VPS. More resources = higher costs.
- Technical knowledge required: You manage your own server. Updates, firewalls, backups — your responsibility.
- Maintenance: No cPanel (unless you install it). The command line is your friend.
The comparison in practice
Speed
An optimised VPS with NGINX and server-side caching loads an average WordPress site in 200-400ms. That same site on shared hosting? 1-3 seconds. The difference is immediately noticeable for your visitors — and for Google.
Security
Shared hosting is an apartment block: if someone blocks the fire escape, you all have a problem. VPS is a detached house: you decide the locks, the alarm systems and who comes in.
Price vs. value
Shared hosting is cheap if you look at the monthly price. But if your website represents your business and you lose customers to slowness or downtime, that €5/month saving is suddenly very expensive.
When is shared hosting fine?
- Hobby website or personal blog
- Test environment or temporary project
- Very limited budget with no growth ambition
- Website with minimal traffic (<100 visitors/day)
When do you move to VPS?
- Your website represents your business
- You have more than 500 visitors a day
- Speed and uptime matter
- You want control over your server environment
- You run a web shop or application
- You've run into the limits of shared hosting
Managed VPS: the best of both worlds
Not technical but want the advantages of a VPS? A managed VPS provider or a partner like Braaf. handles the management for you. You get the speed and security of a VPS, without the command line. They install, configure, secure and monitor — you only have to call when you want to change something.