While shared hosting is the most popular type of hosting service due to its budget-friendliness, cloud hosting is steadily growing too. To select one between the two for your website will require you to first understand the cloud hosting vs. shared hosting differences.
To make the selection easier, here is a detailed overview of 5 of the most significant differences between shared and cloud hosting-
1. Configuration and Server Resources
Let us start this comparison with how these hosting services are configured. As the name suggests, shared hosting is a type of hosting service where the server resources are shared among multiple websites. Based on the total capacity of the server, the resources are equally divided among all the websites hosted on the server.
In other words, shared hosting provides limited resources to each website. This type of hosting is generally recommended for beginners who want to host a small website.
Cloud hosting is the exact opposite. Unlike shared hosting, where a single server is shared among multiple websites, cloud hosting uses multiple servers to host a single website. The server resources are pooled together for hosting all the different websites. This also means that your website will have more hosting resources.
In fact, as multiple servers are used in cloud hosting, you can also increase or decrease the resources your website needs as and when needed. This type of hosting is generally recommended for existing websites that have challenging hosting requirements.
2. Scalability
Another significant cloud hosting vs. shared hosting difference is regarding scalability. While many of the web hosting service providers claim to offer shared hosting plans with unlimited bandwidth, storage, and databases, this is not entirely true.
As discussed in the point above, resources of a single server or dedicated server are divided among multiple websites in shared hosting, and every server has limited resources. So, even with a shared hosting plan that claims to offer unlimited storage, there will always be an upper limit to the amount of resources your website will be allowed to use. The configuration of shared servers is that way.
On the other hand, scalability is probably the biggest USP of cloud hosting. As multiple servers are implemented for hosting websites, you have complete freedom with regard to the resources your website needs. You can easily adjust the resource requirements of your website from the control panel of your hosting service.
3. Hosting Performance
You’d definitely want the best hosting speed and uptime for your website. So, the hosting performance is the next vital consideration. As the hosting server is shared by multiple websites with shared hosting, the hosting performance experienced by your website will significantly depend on other websites, apart from the server itself.
The higher the number of websites on a server, the more congested it will be, and the slower will be your website speed. But rest assured, if you’ve selected a reputed web host, the hosting performance would be highly adequate, especially if you have a small website.
The higher number of servers that your website can access in cloud hosting means that it will always have the best of resources and speed. In a side-to-side comparison, cloud hosting performs like dedicated hosting. However, there are some differences between shared and dedicated hosting. Shared hosting will probably always beat shared hosting in terms of page loading speed and other performance-related characteristics.
It is also worth noting that most reputed cloud hosting providers allow their customers to adjust the hosting environment as per their custom requirements. This helps in further boosting the hosting performance of your website.
4. Website Security
As a website owner, you’d definitely be concerned about the security of your virtual property. A lot of it has to do with the hosting you select. But rather than the type of hosting service you choose, security has a lot to do with the hosting provider you select.
You can now easily find shared hosting plans that come with basic security features, such as an SSL certificate that enable data encryption. You can also find plans with additional security features, such as DDoS protection, anti-spam, firewall, and more. If you go with one of the more expensive shared hosting plans, you can find features, such as 24×7 monitoring, malware scans, and website backups.
The same suite of features can be found with cloud hosting. But a considerable difference between cloud and shared hosting is that cloud hosting provides have more control over the security of your website.
With many of the cloud hosting providers, you are provided the option to choose from a variety of monitoring systems, intrusion detection system, and firewalls that you’d like to install. You can also go ahead and customize these tools for maximum website security.
So, while the security features are more or less the same with shared hosting and cloud hosting, the latter offers more control over the entire process.
5. Hosting Cost
The last important point in this cloud hosting vs. shared hosting difference post is the hosting cost. Needless to say, better hosting performance, resources, and speed come at a higher price. There can be a significant difference between the pricing of shared hosting and cloud hosting plans. Apart from the pricing difference, how the hosting cost is computed can also vary.
With shared hosting, you generally pay a fixed fee on a monthly basis. As compared to all the different types of hosting services, shared hosting is known to be the cheapest. This fee will include the cost of hosting and all the features included in the plan. Most web hosts encourage customers to purchase shared hosting plans for 1-3 years by offering steep discounts on a long-term commitment.
With cloud hosting, the cost can be fixed or based on the resources your website uses in a month. If you are new to web hosting, it can be challenging for you to understand the fluctuating monthly invoice.
Cloud Hosting vs. Shared Hosting: What Should You Select?
The simple answer to the question is it depends. The type of hosting that better matches the needs of your website and your expertise is the one for you. If a budget-friendly hosting plan with decent speed, security, and resources is what you are looking for, shared hosting is the best choice.
But if you have some hosting experience and need a hosting plan that can cater to the fluctuating traffic your website receives, cloud hosting is the way to go.
If you need further help in deciding which one is best for you, you can contact us and we will guide you. At Turbo Cloud, we offer you the complete range of services for all scales of hosting requirements. You can check out or shared and virtual server offerings. We also help you out in domain name selection, registration, and transfer, among other. So check out our services or contact us now!