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Boost Your Business with VPS: The Smart Alternative to Shared Hosting

A virtual private server (VPS) is a slice of a physical server reserved for you, with its own operating system, memory and storage. A VPS is the usual next step when a business site outgrows shared hosting: it stays fast under load, is isolated from other customers and is fully under your control. It also asks more of you.

What is a VPS, and how is it different from shared hosting?

On shared hosting, many sites run on one server and share its processor, memory and software settings. A VPS uses virtualization to split a physical server into separate virtual machines, each with resources set aside for it and its own operating system that you control as the administrator (root).

The practical difference: on shared hosting the host runs the server and you upload a site; on a VPS you run the server, and the host keeps the hardware and network working.

Shared hosting, VPS and managed hosting compared

Option

Best for

Shared hosting

Small, low-traffic sites on a tight budget

Unmanaged VPS

Teams that can run and secure a server

Managed VPS or managed hosting

Businesses that want VPS speed without server work

Hosted platform (Shopify, Squarespace)

Stores and sites that don’t need a server at all

What a VPS gives your business

  • Steady performance: your memory and CPU aren’t taken by a busy neighbour, so pages stay fast during traffic peaks.

  • Control: choose the operating system, software versions and settings your site or app needs.

  • Isolation: a problem on another customer’s site doesn’t reach yours.

  • Room to grow: most providers let you resize to a larger plan as traffic rises.

How much does a VPS cost?

An entry-level unmanaged VPS costs from about US$5 to CA$25 a month, and a managed VPS with a control panel starts around CA$60. These are the prices listed in November 2026:

  • Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode): a Shared CPU Nanode with 1 GB of memory, 1 vCPU, 25 GB of storage and 1 TB of transfer is US$5 a month; 2 GB is US$12 and 4 GB is US$24, per Akamai’s compute pricing. Akamai notes that some plan prices differ by region, and backups are an extra charge per server.

  • Web Hosting Canada: the Canadian VPS plans start with a self-managed 2 GB server at CA$18.50 a month on promotion (regularly CA$22.50). Managed plans with cPanel/WHM start at CA$56.48 a month on promotion (regularly CA$60.48). The order links bill yearly, so confirm the term before you buy.

Add the costs that don’t appear on the price list: backups or snapshots, a control panel licence if you want one, and the hours someone spends on updates and monitoring. On an unmanaged VPS, that time is usually the largest cost.

What you take on with a VPS

  • Security updates for the operating system and software, applied promptly

  • A firewall, SSH keys instead of passwords, and monitoring

  • Backups that you have tested by restoring them

  • Operating system upgrades. Ubuntu LTS releases get five years of standard security maintenance, per Ubuntu’s release cycle: 24.04 LTS is covered until May 2029, and 26.04 LTS was released in April 2026.

  • Fixing things when they break, at any hour

If nobody on your team will do this, choose managed hosting, or a hosted platform if you run a store.

When to switch from shared hosting

  • Pages slow down when traffic rises, or the host warns you about resource limits.

  • You need software or settings the shared host doesn’t allow.

  • You run several sites or an application, not only a brochure site.

  • Security or compliance requires isolation from other customers.

What is a VPS used for?

  • Business websites and WordPress that have outgrown shared hosting. Current WordPress requires PHP 8.3 or later, MariaDB 10.11 or MySQL 8.4 or later, and HTTPS support, which a VPS lets you control directly.

  • Custom web applications and APIs, such as a customer portal or an internal tool.

  • Staging copies of a live site, to test changes before customers see them.

  • Several small sites on one server, when you manage them yourself.

  • Background jobs: scheduled imports, reports and integrations between systems.

Questions to ask a VPS provider

  • Where are the data centres? Canadian businesses may want data kept in Canada. Web Hosting Canada keeps its servers in Canada, and Akamai Cloud has a Toronto region.

  • Are backups and snapshots included, and how are they restored?

  • What does support cover on an unmanaged plan?

  • How easy is it to resize the server, up or down?

Two options to compare: Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode) for flexible VPS plans, and Web Hosting Canada for Canadian-hosted plans. These are affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.

Setting up your VPS

In msmtech’s own server setups, security comes before any software. A first session on a new VPS looks like this:

  1. Choose a current Ubuntu LTS image and the data centre closest to your customers.

  2. Sign in with an SSH key, create a regular user with sudo, and disable password logins for root.

  3. Turn on a firewall that allows only SSH, HTTP and HTTPS.

  4. Turn on automatic security updates.

  5. Install your web stack, then add a free SSL certificate.

  6. Set up backups or snapshots, and test a restore.

Our tutorials cover the details: install WordPress on Ubuntu on a cloud VPS → and add a free SSL certificate with Certbot →. If staff will reach the server from home, read how to secure remote work →. Need an application built to run on it? See custom software solutions →, or talk to msmtech about your hosting →

Frequently asked questions

Is a VPS better than shared hosting for WordPress?

For a busy site, usually yes: a VPS gives WordPress dedicated memory and lets you choose PHP and database versions. For a small, low-traffic site, good shared or managed WordPress hosting is cheaper and needs no server work.

Do I need technical skills to run a VPS?

For an unmanaged VPS, yes: you need to be comfortable with the command line, updates, firewalls and backups. If you aren’t, choose a managed VPS, where the provider handles the operating system and monitoring.

Can I host a VPS in Canada?

Yes. Web Hosting Canada runs its VPS plans from Canadian data centres, and Akamai Cloud offers a Toronto region. Choose the region when you create the server.

Is a VPS the same as a cloud server?

Mostly. Cloud providers such as Akamai sell virtual machines that work like a VPS, often priced by the hour as well as by the month. The term “VPS” is more common with traditional hosts that bill monthly or yearly.

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