The Best Dedicated Hosting Services of 2025
Forbes Advisor Ratings
Methodology
To choose the best dedicated hosting services, we surveyed the field of options and selected 13 companies to analyze. These competitors were scored on 38 criteria across five categories, which were weighted according to their value for small businesses.
Here are the criteria we considered for best dedicated server hosting:
Decision Factor | Scoring Weight | Description |
---|---|---|
Value
| 35%
| We considered the monthly subscription cost, whether there was an introductory rate and how much the price may increase after the introductory period.
|
Service and Support
| 10%
| We considered the types of support available, including live chat, email, phone and a self-help knowledge base.
|
General Features
| 26%
| Some features we looked at include storage, RAM and data and transfer allowances.
Companies received bonus points for offering a free business email address, a content delivery network (CDN) and automatic backups.
|
Ratings and Reviews
| 9%
| We considered each host’s ratings on several review sites such as G2, Trustpilot, BBB and others and also factored in the number of reviews on each platform.
|
Expert Score
| 20%
| We factored in ease of use, popularity, features and the value for money.
|
Read more: How we test web hosting services
What Is Dedicated Server Hosting?
Among the many ways in which you can have a website hosted, dedicated servers provide resources specifically for your site—from storage to RAM to bandwidth—so that you aren’t sharing with other customers. These allocated resources make it the most stable, secure and expensive method.
Dedicated server hosting is meant more for established businesses that need extra resources to maintain high page load speed and for more media on their sites. It also means you don’t have to worry about other sites suddenly taking up more of the resources on the server, which could induce lag on your own site (and for your site visitors). Some of the best web hosting for small business include dedicated hosting packages.
How To Choose the Best Dedicated Hosting Service
The benefits of a dedicated server may be worth the added cost, so you may not even need to read this section. If you’re on the fence and wondering whether it’s worth increasing your monthly cost tenfold, keep reading to see what you’re getting with your own server.
Essential Dedicated Hosting Service Features
Here are some features you can look for in a dedicated server.
- Storage: Having a dedicated service gives you more storage, which can be helpful if you’re running a website that requires more bandwidth. Plus, website visitors probably won’t experience lag or slowdowns.
- Server uptime guarantees: Although no server is going to be up 24/7, you want to choose one that’s up and running when it isn’t conducting routine maintenance.
- Server location: You can usually choose your server location with a dedicated server, which can be useful if you want to study site visitor data. Web hosts that offer a content delivery network (CDN) can cut down the time it takes for your website to load in other parts of the world.
- Managed vs. unmanaged dedicated hosting: An unmanaged server costs less since the host doesn’t maintain the server, but you’ll need to do the work of installing a control panel and maintaining security and updates. A managed server, on the other hand, may cost more but the host will handle security and maintenance.
- HDD vs. SSD storage: An HDD is a mechanical hard drive where you store files and is the cheaper option. However, an SSD tends to be faster, uses less energy and power, and provides better overall performance.
How Much Does a Dedicated Server Cost?
The cost of a dedicated server varies depending on the host you choose, whether you go with fully managed or unmanaged and whether you opt for cloud hosting. The best dedicated server hosting costs $115, on average, per month (billed annually). You can expect to pay about $20 to $50 more per month for a fully managed dedicated server.
Many dedicated server hosts offer discounts on the first month or if you sign a long-term agreement. Signing up for years in advance can be pricey and you’ll be locked into the same web host for a long time, but there’s also typically a money-back guarantee if you’re not happy at the start.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Dedicated Server Hosting
Which is the best dedicated server hosting?
The best dedicated server host offers flexible contract terms with reasonable rates and the ability to increase resources when needed. We named Hostwinds, DreamHost and InMotion Hosting as the best among the industry.
What are the different types of web hosting services?
There are multiple types of web hosting services, including shared hosting, virtual private servers (VPS), dedicated servers and cloud servers. Most websites use shared hosting, which is affordable and suitable for new sites. Upgrading to a VPS, dedicated or cloud server gets you more resources, but they cost more.
Is dedicated hosting secure?
Dedicated hosting is as secure as any other type of server, but it requires maintenance to keep it safe. You can get a fully managed dedicated server to pay for maintenance and automatic updates, which should keep loopholes closed to hackers. Plus, extra security from secure sockets layer (SSL) certificates and hardware firewalls help.
What is the difference between dedicated hosting and VPS hosting?
The difference between dedicated hosting and VPS hosting is that with a dedicated server you don’t share any space on a server at all. A VPS server gives you essentially a slice of a server with dedicated resources for your site or sites, but you still have server neighbors.
How do I set up my own dedicated server?
If you choose an unmanaged dedicated server, you need to install and configure your operating system on the server and install the software you want yourself. You’ll also need to stay on top of any updates to your OS, content management system (CMS) and other installations. Your server should give you monitoring tools, so you can assess whether your RAM and storage needs are sufficient. You should also be able to access activity logs to see who’s doing what and when on your server.
How much traffic can a dedicated server handle?
There is no universal answer to this question because web hosts offer servers with different specs—some have more or less RAM and storage. Generally, you should expect your dedicated server to handle around 20,000 to 30,000 daily site visitors.
Is a dedicated server worth it?
Only you can answer this question. If your site, or multiple sites, are getting so much traffic that you’re regularly adding resources, then it’s likely worth it to upgrade to a dedicated server. However, there is a mid-level option to consider if you’ve outgrown shared web hosting. Consider the best VPS hosting services before choosing the more expensive option of dedicated server hosting.
Who needs dedicated hosting?
A good benchmark to use in determining whether you need a dedicated server is 1,000 site visitors per month. If you’ve reached that amount of traffic or you expect to soon, you may want to invest in dedicated server hosting to prevent slow loading times, server crashes or extra fees for additional resources. If you’re a new business that’s just creating a website for the first time, you won’t need a dedicated server yet.
Is dedicated hosting cheap?
Dedicated hosting services are rarely described as cheap. You can find good introductory deals that may shave off 50% of the regular rate for your first year. However, regular rates tend to run $115 to $170 per month, and even higher for more powerful servers with loads of resources. If you’re looking for a more affordable option for your website, consider the best cheap web hosting services.