Thread: Best Managed VPS/Dedicated Hosting Providers in 2023?

Hello WHT peeps. I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on some good providers for managed hosting? I've looked at dozens of companies, but would like to solicit some advice that goes a bit deeper than a basic review... I have some of my own comments and thoughts, but feel free to ignore everything else I write and just state your personal preferences/experiences haha.

My Goals:
- To grow out of reseller hosting plans
- To be able to offer my customers a wide range of options

My Wants/Needs:
- Ability to customize as needed.
(For example, I want to be able to offer shared hosting plans with as many different control panels as possible.)
- Ability to scale. I don't need something super fancy right off the bat, but I want a host that can accommodate growth.
- Good technical support. Does NOT need to be over the phone or 24/7/365 live chat, but responsiveness and the ability to assist is incredibly meaningful to me. My issues are typically not super complex. The most complicated things I've needed done have been migrations, changing an account directory, etc. If a certain error appears on WHMCS or Wordpress, I would like to be confident that my host provider can handle it.
- If possible, a decent reseller program. WHMCS automation modules and reseller discounts is a plus.

In the past (with non-VPS/dedicated hosting), I have had many not-so-great experiences. Some hosts had great speed and tools but awful support. Some were the exact opposite. Right now, I use a host for shared reselling that I am VERY happy with, but unfortunately their VPS and dedicated options are cPanel only. I am experimenting with using a combination of hosts, but it would be great to consolidate a bit. I don't mind using different companies for different services, but as someone who is still under 100 customers, it would make me feel better to know that I am offering the same or similar quality for different products rather than having a cPanel server and a DirectAdmin server that have wildly different metrics.

For the time being, I am trying to stay within a budget of aprox $100 per month. I don't actually need the resources of a dedicated server at the moment, but I've had several people ask me if I sold VPS plans, and I thought it may be better to deploy my own than to resell. (Thoughts on that?) I'm also concerned about the costs of licenses. Say I want to resell Sitepad licenses to my customers, do I need to buy a server license for each VPS? I've made a couple thousand dollars through website design and hosting, but it's been solely through my own personal network and I would really like to expand beyond that and be more serious about the business.

My Current List of Considerations:
- Liquid Web
- *********
- KnownHost
- FrogeHost
- Hostwinds
- Namecheap
- OVH Cloud

Let me know what you all think... thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by CrimsonRed

I don't mind using different companies for different services, but as someone who is still under 100 customers, it would make me feel better to know that I am offering the same or similar quality for different products rather than having a cPanel server and a DirectAdmin server that have wildly different metrics.

Understandable. One of the disadvantages of being "just" a reseller is that you don't have more control over the distribution of system resources.

For the time being, I am trying to stay within a budget of aprox $100 per month.

If you want to offer multiple control panels, I'm afraid a budget of $100/mo might not be enough. Regular pricing of control panel software:
- cPanel $39.99/mo for 30 accounts
- DA $29/mo
- Webuzo $25/mo

The cost of control panel licenses would eat up most of your budget. Which control panels were you thinking of offering?

I don't actually need the resources of a dedicated server at the moment, but I've had several people ask me if I sold VPS plans, and I thought it may be better to deploy my own than to resell. (Thoughts on that?)

On one hand, it would be better for you and your clients if you were to get rid of the middle man. Reselling OVH, Hetzner, Vultr, etc. VPSs would mean you'd have to markup the price to make a profit, so probably not a good idea unless you already have clients lined up and they're willing to pay a premium. On the other hand, $100/mo might not get you a good enough dedicated server for VPS hosting. Perhaps you could start off as a VPS reseller and then once your operating budget increases, you could get a dedi.

I'm also concerned about the costs of licenses. Say I want to resell Sitepad licenses to my customers, do I need to buy a server license for each VPS?

Yes - according to their site it's one license per server.

My Current List of Considerations:
- Liquid Web
- *********
- KnownHost
- FrogeHost
- Hostwinds
- Namecheap
- OVH Cloud

Let me know what you all think... thanks in advance!

Thanks for considering us.

Hi, thanks for the comment!

Which control panels were you thinking of offering?

cPanel and DirectAdmin for sure. I think Interworx may end up being the 3rd. Trying out a Liquidweb VPS right now, and I rather like the control panel. I have a lot of my own personal projects, and it might be best for me to move them off my reseller accounts so that I have more space for customer accounts. I have a pre-paid plan for 110 cPanel accounts, at the moment. That host has been great, so I don't plan on cancelling service with them. It might just end up being more money overall.

Perhaps you could start off as a VPS reseller and then once your operating budget increases, you could get a dedi.

Yep, that's what I think will be happening. Potentially, a hybrid option. Having a VPS + cPanel reseller hosting + DirectAdmin reseller hosting.

Thanks for considering us.

Of course!

Per "For example, I want to be able to offer shared hosting plans with as many different control panels as possible." would cloud hosting be better for such fexibility? that's being said, user can get their control panel on their own given all open sourced platform

It sounds like your budget is too low to try to do everything you want to.

Supporting one control panel alone is a lot of work never mind two or three of them, unless you have a big team behind you, which you don't.

I would say focus on the control panel you are most familiar with cPanel.

You may need to stick to reseller hosting with your budget. Maybe look into switching from reseller hosting to running your own managed VPS/Dedicated servers to offer Shared/Reseller hosting to start with. The next step would be to use unmanaged VPS/Dedicated servers from a provider like Hetzner. Then from there, you could resell VPS. Finally, set up your own VPS node to reduce overheads and later start reselling dedicated servers.

There is not much to be made when reselling dedicated servers. Better if you colocate your own hardware as better profits etc.

If it is mainly you probably best to stay small, slow-growth.