Difference between Dedicated and Shared Server

Key Difference: Dedicated servers are when one website is hosted on one server, so that server hosts only one website or websites from one business. Shared servers are available by purchasing hosting plans from various hosting companies that place multiple websites on a server.

Choosing a server is one of the many important things one has to consider when creating a website. Simply making the website is not enough, if there is no server the website cannot be public. Now, there are two options that one can choose from – dedicated server and shared server. Both servers have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Dedicated servers are when one website is hosted on one server, so that server hosts only one website or websites from one business. This means that the owner is solely responsible for server and has complete control over it, from set up to maintenance and even security. The owner decides what he/she wants and how the server will function. This allows better security and a faster response time from the server. However, the person must have the technical skills and the know-how.

Shared servers are available by purchasing hosting plans from various hosting companies that place multiple websites on a server. These websites are not from the same company or owner, but rather from various owners around the world. Each website is allocated limited space and the website must not exceed that particular space. Shared servers are cheaper because the cost of maintenance and security is divided among all the websites hosted on the server, thus reducing the cost per person. Advanced technical skills are not required as personnel are hired to monitor the servers.

Both the servers come with many advantages and disadvantages, but one should choose depending on their needs. If one needs a specific server for hosting their websites, then they should opt for dedicated server, while if someone doesn’t have the know-how or the cost associated, then should instead opt for shared servers.

Comparison between Dedicated and Shared Server:

	Dedicated Server	Shared Server
Sites hosted	Only one website or websites from one company that has purchased the server are hosted on that server	Multiple websites are hosted on one server
Bandwidth or Disk Space	Since only one or few websites are hosted, they are not limited by space	Limited space is allocated to each website that is hosted on the server. If a website exceeds the limit, extra charges apply
Cost	The cost of maintenance is solely bared by the person who owns the shared server	The cost of maintenance is split among the many hosted websites, so cost is significantly less
Technical Skills	No personnel is hired for maintenance and security, so technical skills and know how is required to maintain websites	Someone is usually hired to take care of maintenance and security, hence a lot of technical skills are not required
Security	Security solely falls upon the person who owns the server. So they get to control the type of security they want to install. Is often more secure	The hosting company installs the firewalls and security applications and programs. Is often less secure because of the shared websites
Blacklisting	Has a less chance of being blacklisted as there is only one website on the server	Has a higher chance of being blacklisted as people who share the server can do unethical acts, resulting in the blacklist of the whole IP address
Response Time/Speed	Has a faster response time because of only one or limited websites hosted on the server	Has a slower response time because of the high number of websites hosted on the server
Level of Control	Allows are higher level of control	Level of control is limited to only your website, not the server