Five providers, real entry prices (advertised rates, checked Sep–Oct 2026 — verify at checkout):
The renewal trap from shared hosting applies to VPS too — sometimes worse, because the numbers are bigger:
Rule of thumb: compare the renewal column, not the banner. A $4 VPS that renews at $11 is an $11 VPS.
Windows Server licenses cost the provider real money, so expect Windows VPS pricing at roughly 2x the Linux equivalent — a $5 Linux VPS becomes ~$10 with Windows. InterServer sells Windows slices on the same $3-based structure (license extra); Vultr and DigitalOcean both list Windows options at a premium. If you just need to run .NET or specific Windows software, price the license in before comparing — and if you don't specifically need Windows, Linux is always cheaper.
If your site gets under ~10k visits a month and you're not running custom software, a VPS buys you responsibility without benefit — you're the sysadmin now (updates, firewall, backups). Read the 7 signs you're actually ready before spending the extra money.
On raw entry price, DigitalOcean ($4) and Vultr ($5) are the cheapest honest numbers here. On specs-per-dollar, Contabo is absurd — if you can live with the support trade-off. On total cost over two years with zero renewal risk, InterServer's $3 locked slice is the cheapest server you'll never have to think about again.
VPS slices from $3/mo, locked forever — the only provider here whose renewal can't ambush you.
Exclusive: first month $0.01 with code DEVHOST01 at checkout
Shared, VPS, or cloud hosting? A plain-English guide to picking the right type — most first sites need shared, and that's fine.
The $2.95/mo headline vs the 3-year reality. We do the renewal math for 4 popular hosts — and show the one policy that kills the trap.
The honest head-to-head: InterServer's never-rising $7/mo against Hostinger's speed and polish. Verdict by use case.