Nowadays there are a lot of providers around the internet who offer very tempting offers. Starting with low cost packages, 99.99% uptime, no logs etc. Of course the concept that the more attractive the offer looks outside – the worse it actually is inside, is absolutely correct for a lot of the providers. Below I will explain you a couple of differences between cheap and expensive providers and why cheap often turns out to be expensive.
But before I continue, since I continue the series of that type of threads take a look at the previous threads.
Why most “Anonymous” providers are a lie nowadays.
No logs Marketing or true?
The reality is that – the cheapest providers are usually either big companies such as
http://hetzner.com/ https://contabo.com/en/ https://www.digitalocean.com/
or some similar providers which are big companies. Many other providers offer similar prices because of just 1 reason. They are just resellers of some of the mentioned companies. They offer the same products with a markup but not so much that it can attract the eye. At first glance it sounds extremely tempting, good RAM CPU and SSD NVMe on affordable price. But is it really worth it? Well let’s see other examples.
DarkVPS – own hardware based in Bulgaria
Quick look show us that the price is more expensive than the others – does it cost? – Let’s analyze.
Here we can understand that high price comes from two main reasons.
- Own Hardware
- Country Iceland
As you see a perfect example of very strong provider which is real.
Own hardware force them to offer expensive services because of the bills that they have.
Iceland is a country with absolutely strict privacy when we talk about privacy data. Along with that, internet connection is under the water and all these expenses affect the services it offers the current provider.
Why cheap often costs you more
Ok so we understand now – cheap means reseller. But some people will say “ok I don’t care about anonymous things I just need a cheap server”. Well even in that case the cheap turns out to be expensive. Below I will explain you why.
Shared IP reputation
The resellers get IP ranges from the main provider. These IPs are used by hundreds of other customers before you. If someone on the same range was spamming, doing phishing or some other dirty things – the IP is already blacklisted. You pay for clean server and you get IP that cannot even send a simple email. The reseller will not give you new IP because he has no control of that – he needs to ask the main provider and most of the time the answer is no.
Overselling
This is the most common trick. The reseller buys one dedicated server with for example 64GB RAM and 16 CPU cores. Then he sells 50 VPS packages each with “4GB RAM and 2 CPU”. Mathematically this is impossible but they do it because they know that not all customers use all resources at the same time. The problem is – when you actually need your 4GB RAM, you don’t get it. Your server lags, your website is slow and you don’t understand why because on the panel it shows you have free resources.
Slow support
When you have problem with the reseller, he cannot fix it alone. He needs to open ticket to the main provider (Hetzner, Contabo etc.) and wait. So your 2 hour problem becomes 48-72 hour problem. And if the issue is on hardware level – you are completely lost because the reseller doesn’t have physical access to the server.
No real control
With reseller you cannot get custom kernel, you cannot get extra IPv6 ranges, you cannot get proper reverse DNS, you cannot get special network configuration. Everything is limited to what the main provider allows. If you need something custom for your project – forget it.
One day the reseller can disappear
The main provider can suspend the reseller account for any reason – too many abuse reports, late payment, terms violation. When this happens all customers of the reseller disappear at the same moment. Your data, your projects, your work – gone. And good luck to find the reseller after that for refund.
The price is not really cheaper
Here is the funny part. If you go directly on Hetzner or Contabo you will see that the prices are almost the same as the reseller. So basically you pay markup to the reseller for nothing – same hardware, same network, same datacenter, but with extra middleman between you and the server. Why?
The truth about uptime
One more thing about that famous “99.99% uptime” you see everywhere. The reality is that every hosting provider has his own problems – no matter how big or how small, no matter how expensive or how cheap. Nobody can really guarantee 99.99% uptime, this is just marketing on the website.
The real question is not when the server will go down – because sooner or later it will. The real question is how fast the problem will be solved. And here is exactly where you see the difference between real provider and reseller. The reseller wait for the main provider to fix it – so you wait 2-3 days. The real provider with own hardware go to the server, fix the problem and you are back online in 1-2 hours. That’s the difference you pay for.
So when cheap is ok and when is not?
Cheap is ok if you need server just for testing, learning or some small personal project where you don’t care if it disappear tomorrow. In this case go directly to Hetzner or Contabo – don’t pay reseller markup for nothing.
Cheap is NOT ok if you need real privacy, real performance, real support and real control on your server. In this case you need provider with own hardware – like DarkVPS in Bulgaria or 1984.is in Iceland. Yes the price is higher but you get what you pay for – real infrastructure, real anonymity, real support.
Remember – the cheap is expensive at the end. Better pay once for real service than pay cheap and lose everything after few months.