Most workloads never need a dedicated server — a VPS gives dedicated-grade performance for a fraction of the price. But a specific set of workloads pays real money for the variability a shared CPU can introduce, and for those, single-tenant hardware is cheap insurance. Here is how to tell which side of that line you are on.
What dedicated actually removes: steal time
On a shared VPS the hypervisor schedules several tenants across the same physical cores. Usually that is invisible, but on a busy host you can get steal time — CPU your machine wanted but could not have because a neighbour was using the core. On a dedicated or virtual-dedicated server nobody else can touch your cores, so steal time is zero by design and your benchmarks stay flat whether the rest of the rack is asleep or on fire. That single guarantee is what you are buying.
VDS or full dedicated?
You do not always need a whole physical machine to get guaranteed performance. A VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server) reserves physical cores for you on shared hardware — no overselling, no steal time — at a lower price than renting the entire box. A full dedicated server gives you the whole machine, every core and all the I/O, for the heaviest and most sensitive workloads. For most teams a VDS is the sweet spot; step up to bare metal when you need every last cycle or full hardware isolation.
| VPS | VDS | Dedicated | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | Shared | Reserved for you | Entire physical CPU |
| Steal time | Usually low, can spike | None by design | None by design |
| Consistency | Excellent on average | Flat under load | Flat, full hardware |
| Best for | Most web and app work | Databases, trading, CI | Max, isolated workloads |
When bare metal earns its premium
- Production databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis) where steal time turns directly into query latency.
- Latency-critical trading and anything that must execute on time, every time.
- Heavy CI/CD and ML inference that need predictable, repeatable run times.
- Sustained high load — workloads pinned near full CPU or disk I/O around the clock, where a VPS would be fighting for headroom.
VDS & dedicated server plans
| Plan | vCPU / RAM | Storage | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VDS-SDedicated resources | 6 dedicated vCPU | 32 GB RAM · 2×512 GB | $89/mo | Get started |
| VDS-MHeavy databases & ML | 12 dedicated vCPU | 64 GB RAM · 2×1 TB | $169/mo | Get started |
| EnterpriseCustom infrastructure | Tailored CPU / RAM / NVMe | Multi-region failover | Custom | Contact sales |
A simple way to decide
Ask one question: would a few seconds of variable CPU, a few times a day, cost you money or breach an SLA? If yes, reserve the cores — the premium is cheap next to the downside. If no, a VPS gives you more machine for the money and you can upgrade when the workload outgrows it. Many teams run both: a VDS or dedicated box for the database or trading engine that must never stutter, and cheaper VPS instances for the web tier and staging. Our VPS vs VDS guide goes deeper on where that line sits.
Getting started
Pick a VDS or dedicated configuration, choose Germany or South Africa, and we rack and hand it over with a 99.99% SLA and optional managed support. Not sure which tier fits? Talk to our engineers and we will size it with you.