However, most of the time the best-dedicated servers aren’t exactly affordable. You get an entire machine to yourself, lots of bandwidth, storage space, and high performance. It makes sense as to why they’re not cheap.
But, it doesn’t mean there aren’t cheaper hosting alternatives out there. A lot of web hosting companies are starting to recycle older servers and update their technologies to keep up with the competition. This means some web hosts are offering cheap dedicated servers that customers can get their hands on.
We’ve tested and analyzed the best-dedicated options for you using our test sites, focusing on UK response times, customer service, and uptime during the past 12 months.
Why Do I Need Dedicated Server Hosting?
Choosing the wrong hosting options isn’t something you want to chance (that’s why we’ve rated the best ones). Building a website takes a lot of time and effort, and without hosting, your website isn’t visible on the internet.
Web hosting is an essential piece of equipment if you want people to access your website, so instead of shooting yourself in the foot, it’s worth investing some time into your choices.
A dedicated server will provide exclusive server access which is only available for your website. This means, unlike shared hosting, WordPress hosting, cloud hosting, or VPS hosting, your website will not share server resources with any other customers.
That’s right, you’ll have all the space and bandwidth to yourself which comes with the following benefits:
- Increased speed and performance
- Better security measures
- More storage and bandwidth
- Control over your server
So if that tickles your fancy, it’s time to pick up your knife and fork and dig into our best cheap dedicated server hosting list!
1. BlueHost (Best Overall Dedicated Server)
CPU: 4 cores @ 2.3GHz | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 500GB (Mirrored) | Bandwidth: 5TB
As you’re probably already aware, BlueHost is one of my top 10 web hosts. They offer insanely cheap dedicated server hosting from just £61.84 per month (usually £92.76). Whilst the ‘normal’ price may seem a bit steep, I’ve never known BlueHost’s cheap dedicated server hosting not to be on offer.
If you’re looking for high speed, high-performance servers on a budget, BlueHost is a great choice. You’ll get a generous 500GB storage, 4GB RAM and 5TB bandwidth. Although this may not suit everyone’s needs, it’s a great starting point in my opinion.
Alongside their technical specs, you’ll also get 24/7 support and a 30-day money-back guarantee as a BlueHost customer. If that’s not enough, how about a FREE SSL certificate, 24-72 hour provisioning and root access. Now we’re talking!
If your website, whilst hosted with BlueHost, gets more traffic than anticipated, they won’t penalise you for it. Unlike some punishing hosts, BlueHost won’t ban you or suspend your account. Your website will slow down a little, but at least you’ll have the option to upgrade or move hosts.
In my own tests, BlueHost’s performance offered up an uptime guarantee of 99.98%. It’s an acceptable network SLA but not the best by far. Their support is okay but not outstanding, and their prices are advertised for 36-month terms. It’s for this reason they’re lower down my best cheap dedicated server hosting list.
VISIT BLUEHOST.COM (£61.84/MONTH)
2. IONOS (Best Value 8-Core Dedicated Server)
CPU: Intel Xeon Silver 4123 8-core | RAM: 96GB | Storage: 8TB SATA HDD | Bandwidth: Unlimited
Let me say from the start. This server isn’t cheap in terms of overall dedicated hosting, but it is VERY good value for money, given its specifications.
IONOS, which used to be 1&1, offers up a magnificent 8-core dedicated server with a whopping 96GB RAM for £180 per month. The XXL-96 HDD can be configured with a Linux or Windows OS as well as 4 data centre options.
The Intel Xeon Silver 4123 CPU was launched in 2018, packing eight 3GHz cores. You won’t be restricted on bandwidth and your machine will be set up within 480 seconds (8 minutes).
What I love about IONOS’s cheap dedicated servers is that there’s NO minimum contract period. You can set up your server with no additional fees and get straight to it.
If you’re looking for email hosting then you can make use of IONOS’s offer of UNLIMITED email accounts with 2GB storage each. That’s a pretty good deal if I do say so myself!
VISIT IONOS.CO.UK (£60.00/MONTH)
3. Simply Hosting (Best Cheap Dedicated Server Hosting)
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1220 v6 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: 1TB HDD | Bandwidth: 10TB
If you’re looking for cheap dedicated hosting, Simply Hosting is a solid bet. Simply Hosting is based in the U.K. and provides some extremely good deals for new customers.
Their SFO2.5 server is just £7.50 per month for the first 6 months! With this you’ll get 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 5TB bandwidth and an Intel Xeon E3-1220 v5 processor @ 3.0GHz. That’s going to be hard to beat!
This web host doesn’t charge any setup fees. They also have 24/7/365 support, 10Gbps redundant rack uplinks, and a 10-minute ticket response time.
All of their cheap dedicated servers can be configured with Windows or Linux OS. They guarantee 100% power and a 99.999% uptime. All contracts are done on a monthly basis, so if you don’t like what you’ve got, you can change as and when.
Simply Hosting also offer bundles. For example, for IT Managers and Digital Agency’s, you can try these for a measly 99p for the first month. All of their bundles include Plesk Web Host Edition, Kernel Care Plesk, Security Advisor, Plesk Migrator, and Plesk Mobile Center.
VISIT SIMPLYHOSTING.COM (£0.99/MONTH)
4. LiquidWeb (Best Reliable Dedicated Server)
CPU: Intel Xeon 1230 v6 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 2x 240 GB SSD | Bandwidth: 5TB
LiquidWeb is the best dedicated hosting for reliability. If you’re looking for decent, powerful and solid servers, you’ll struggle to find better than this.
These cheap dedicated servers have fully managed options. This is available for Cloud Linux, Windows, and CentOS servers. You can also get self-managed servers for Ubuntu.
All of LiquidWeb’s best dedicated servers come with SSD drives. This is for primary storage, but they do have a SATA HDD for local backups. Prices start from $149 per month (which is around £115).
Whilst the initial price may seem expensive, you get what you pay for. In terms of value for money, these servers are extraordinary. Their dedicated support is ultra-fast and always reliable. I’ve personally never encountered an issue with them.
VISIT LIQUIDWEB.COM (£0.99/MONTH)
5. Easyspace (Best Unlimited Bandwidth Dedicated Server)
CPU: Xeon E3-1240 V2 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 250GB SSD | Bandwidth: Unlimited
Easyspace is owned by Iomart who are based in Scotland. These are some of the cheapest dedicated hosting servers I’ve come across. From just £32.99 per month, you’ll get a 4-core processor @ 3.4GHz and 32GB RAM. What’s more, Easyspace have no limits on bandwidth – awesome!
One of the things I really like about this company is that the price is what they say it is. There are no introductory offers or hiking prices up at renewal and they’re based in the U.K.
Their ready-to-go dedicated servers change quite often as they display what’s available there and then. So if you find something you like, you’ll have to be quick in case someone else nabs the machine.
If you want a reliable service at an affordable price, Easyspace’s cheap dedicated servers have a 100% uptime guarantee, SMS monitoring alerts and any OS you like (for free).
Unfortunately, there isn’t a server backup option, which is a big downfall. However, if this doesn’t bother you or you can back your data up elsewhere, then I’d highly recommend giving them a try.
VISIT EASYSPACE.COM (£42.99/MONTH)
What To Look For When Buying Dedicated Server Hosting
Now you’ve seen our five best dedicated server hosting companies, it’s time to look at our dedicated server hosting buying guide.
If you’re still not sure what to look for, or you don’t fancy any of the dedicated server hosts on our list, these considerations should help you when making your choice further down the line.
- Server Locations: Just like with shared hosting, the further away the server is located to where your website users are visiting from, the slower your website will load. However, most web hosting companies will offer a choice of data center location, meaning you can choose a server that’s located in the best area for your needs.
- Memory: The more memory your server has, the better it will run and perform. Random Access Memory (RAM) can increase your site speed and reduce loading times. This obviously provides a better user experience, so it’s worth investing in.
- Customer Support: Customer service should always be a priority, even if you’re a technical whizz, there may come a time when you need help. Some web hosts will guide you through the entire process of setting a dedicated server up; this is something I highly recommend as it will save you time in the long run.
- Bandwidth: If you plan on uploading a lot of images or videos to your website, you’re going to need a server with higher bandwidth. Bandwidth refers to the data transferred between your website and the data center, so the more demand your site puts on the data center, the more bandwidth you’ll need.
Dedicated Server Hosting FAQs
What Are The Advantages Of Dedicated Hosting?
The best dedicated servers come with quite a lot of benefits. If you plan to buy a dedicated server then it’s worth considering the following advantages to reassure your choice:
- Faster speeds
- Security improvements and enhancements
- More accessible storage
- You don’t share resources with anyone else
- Full control over your server
- More bandwidth
- Better overall user experience
What Is A CPU Core?
CPU refers to processing power. So if you have limited processing power and a lot of demand and requests coming through, your website will bottleneck and experience slower loading times and even error pages.
The more CPU cores you have, the better (as is the case with many things) and cheap dedicated hosting doesn’t mean you have to make compromises. If you know your website is going to receive a lot of traffic, you’ll want to make the most out of your CPU cores, so 1 or 2 probably won’t do the job.
What Is Server Uptime?
Uptime refers to how long your website is up and running for, with no server outages. If you want people to be able to access your website (which I hope you do), then server uptime is essential.
If you’re selling a service or products, people won’t be able to purchase from you if your website isn’t available. I always recommend looking for a minimum uptime of 99.9% when choosing the best dedicated servers.