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A VPS is a virtual private server, a small chunk of a server that can be used to host webpages, VPN software, a simple script, or pretty much anything that would normally run on a computer. Depending on what it’s used for, these days there may be other fancy terms such as cloud computing, cloud hosting, as well as many trademarked names by big corporations.

Okay, so how do you save money and get pretty much the same thing?

This is meant to be a quick guide to help you understand the costs associated with a VPS service so you can see how a business may get these costs down and ultimately save you money. Once that’s understood, you’ll be able to find the perfect VPS that fits your exact needs at the lowest prices possible.

The main costs:

1. The computer. A business selling you a VPS has to purchase hardware, computer servers. This is the main non-recurring price component. If a company goes fancy with this, then that ultimately means higher prices passed onto you.
2. Internet & power. The VPS is on a physical server that gets placed in a datacenter, which is a building with lots of power, data flowing in & out, as well as engineers working there to keep everything functional. Therefore, the geographical location of a VPS matters.
3. The support. A huge part of the cost of any service is going to be the support. Whether it’s efficient, where the company is based out of, and so on.
4. Miscellaneous costs. This includes costs of an IPv4 address, any licensing fees that get passed down.

What to AVOID:

It’s often better to understand what you shouldn’t be looking for first, as it helps you avoid falling for what is essentially a large marketing budget.

• Don’t search for cheap VPS. The top results are either going to be (1) very large companies with relatively high prices, (2) companies that are promoting other products for a commission, (3) companies that are getting lots of visitors so they know they can raise prices. Avoid pretty much all the go-to phrases you’d normally be inclined to search for, but sadly what you are presented definitely doesn’t match.
• Don’t go after a name you’ve heard of before. This just means either they’re doing good marketing, which costs them money, or many other people know about it as well, which, again, means they’re obviously getting lots of business and therefore don’t necessarily have the best prices. You’re searching for the cheapest VPS, so a big part of that is actually looking around.
• Don’t go for convenience. Many companies may lure you in and then keep you around, and once they know you will stay with them because it’s easier, then you’ve lost the fight (at least for competitive pricing.) If the product is easy to use, and everything is perfect, then the business knows, and it will carry a price premium. You’re looking for cheapest, not the best.
• Don’t go for introductory offers. They may seem like the most attractive but if the business is giving you and others $100 of free credits, or 90% off the first 3 months, you can bet that they’ll be collecting the cost associated with that, plus more, from any people that stick around after the introductory period.
• Don’t read blog posts and guides (like this one.) All of them are written for a purpose and it’s definitely not to save you money. For example, even this guide you’re reading right now is written by a VPS company (us, VirMach.) Luckily we’re not asking you to use our service but always remember that if you ended up on a random article written saying it’ll save you money, they’re trying to get something from you whether it’s ad revenue, commission, or brand exposure.

What to do:

Okay, you’ve almost made it. So how exactly are you supposed to find a cheap VPS if pretty much everything you’re doing is on the avoid list above?

• Go to page 2 or 3, scroll down. If you are searching for any terms, just skip the first 20 to 30 results. Businesses worked very hard to make sure they’re at the very top of the results, and you can definitely bet that the companies providing the cheapest services definitely haven’t since they are keeping costs low. For example, searching for “cheap vps” gets us prices in the range of $3 to $10 per month on the first page, but closer to $1 to $3 per month on the 2nd or 3rd page of results.
• Be specific. Know what you need and make sure to add that to your search. For example, if the service has to be in a specific location, have a specific amount of memory, port speed, it will bring up businesses that you might have otherwise not seen. For example, searching for “$20/yr 1gb cheap vps us” actually ends up bringing up some discussions and special offers, as well a few pretty good options.
• Find message boards. VPS enthusiasts, small business owners, and all the people that end up using a VPS for whatever purposes will end up speaking about it and once you have a bunch of people who know what they’re talking about in one area, and the thing they’re talking about is an affordable VPS, then you need to be there.

This is the part where we try to lead you somewhere, but don’t worry, it’s not to tell you to buy a VPS from our company, but to instead visit a message board where you can find amazing deals, not just from us, but other small businesses. At this time, there are deals such as $1 a month for a 2GB VPS, as well as some others on the extreme low pricing end of $5 to $10 a year.