Most people host their first website on a shared hosting solution. That works for a while, but as their business grows, they’ll need more control, resources, and privacy. They might use VPS hosting for some time, but eventually, they might need an entire server dedicated to their needs. A Windows dedicated server solution offers a complete server to a single user. The user can enjoy all the resources available on the server without sharing them with anyone.
They typically come in two operating systems: Linux and Windows. Linux dedicated servers are cheap in terms of cost, but they don’t work well with specific applications. Windows dedicated servers can be expensive, but they are necessary for businesses, developers, and others who want to run popular Windows-based applications on their servers.
If you’re considering a Windows dedicated server, your next step should be deciding on the hosting provider. Our seasoned web hosting experts conducted an independent, in-depth study to find the best Windows dedicated server hosting providers. More about our ranking factors at the end of the article. For now, let’s delve into what to look for when choosing a hosting service like this.
What to Look for When Choosing a Windows Dedicated Server Provider
- Reliability: You should be looking for a web host that promises a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
- Security: Ensure that your host providers offer industry-standard security features.
- Customer support: Confirm that you can reach customer support and get solutions through the available channels
- Cost-effectiveness: Don’t be swayed by cheap plans. Each plan must contain all the features you need.
- User-friendliness: Choose a dedicated hosting provider that is user-friendly.
The Best Windows Dedicated Server Hosting Services of 2022 (Bought and Tested):
- Overall Score – 4.9
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.9
- User Friendly – 4.9
- Pricing – 4.8
- Reliability – 5
Overall Score – 4.9: Kamatera is our top recommendation for anyone looking for an affordable and dependable Windows dedicated server hosting solution.
Features – 4.8: Kamatera offers excellent features such as unmetered bandwidth, CDN, proactive firewall management, load balancing server, and automatic SSL certificates.
Support – 4.9: Customer support is available 24/7, so you can reach them round the clock to help you with any issues you may have. One of the best things about this level of support is that its technical teams actively monitor the environment for problems.
User Friendly – 4.9: Kamatera offers an intuitive and easy-to-use dashboard. Both beginners and advanced users will find the interface clutter-free and straightforward. There are also advanced settings to provide flexibility for developers.
Pricing – 4.8: Kamatera’s highly flexible Windows dedicated server services start from $0.005/hour ($4/Month). The basic plan comes with one vCPU (2667MHz), 1024 MB RAM (Memory), 20 GB SSD Storage, Internet Traffic at 5000 GB/month connected at 10 Gbit/s, 1 Public IP, and daily backups.
Reliability – 5: It combines advanced infrastructure with cutting-edge networking equipment to ensure fast, reliable performance. They offer an impressive 99.95% uptime guarantee. According to user reviews, users can go a whole year without experiencing downtime.
Additional parameter: Flexibility: Developers love Kamatera due to its flexibility. All servers offer scalability services so developers can upgrade their resources. You can upgrade hardware resources like storage space, RAM, and CPU. The provider also provides a long list of features to build apps and host websites.
Kamatera is famous for its great developer features, scalable resources, and impressive customer support.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Simple to use cPanel
- 99.95% uptime guarantee
- Multiple data centers
- 30-day free trial
- SSD Storage
Cons
- The free trial requires your payment info
- Focuses on enterprise-level customers
Kamatera is a fantastic choice for a reliable Windows dedicated server solution at a low cost. Try them at no cost with the 30-day free trial.
- Overall Score – 4.4
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.2
- User Friendly – 4.2
- Pricing – 4.5
- Reliability – 4.2
Overall Score – 4.4: Contabo is a superb Windows dedicated server host for those who want to build their servers with unique specifications. They also offer in-house DDoS protection and premium customer support.
Features – 4.8: A full range of features such as free website transfers, DDoS protection, on-click installations and upgrades, uptime monitoring, extra backup space, SSL certificates, and IPs. They also offer 5 data center locations on three continents: one in North America (Missouri, USA), three in Europe (Germany), and one in Asia (Singapore)
Support – 4.2: You can reach the customer support team via email or phone. Premium users can also contact a specialist team of 64 highly-trained technicians to help resolve issues. Aside from the support team, there are other support options like tutorials and FAQs.
User Friendly – 4.2: Our first thought on using Contabo is that it has an outdated cPanel design. However, as we went through the control features and options, we realized that it offers all the functionality we would expect from a modern cPanel. The control panel allows you to control your server and make upgrades/changes as you deem fit.
Pricing – 4.5: When comparing prices, you should know that Contabo allows users to build their own windows dedicated servers. You can adjust the resources you need on each hardware, such as storage space, RAM, and backup space. You can also opt for server monitoring and management. The lowest dedicated hosting plan costs $119.99/month and comes with 8 Physical Cores (AMD EPYC 7282 2.8 GHz), 64 GB RAM, 480 GB NVMe storage space, 1 Gbit/s Port, and 32 TB Traffic.
Reliability – 4.2: Many users claim they have never experienced any downtime while using the Contabo hosting solution. We also recorded an impressive average response time of 570ms. The only downside is that Contabo offers a low 95% uptime guarantee.
Additional parameter: Advanced in-house security: Contabo takes server security personally with its enterprise-grade security measures. The provider allows users to access their round-the-clock server monitoring with their server management add-on plan. They also offer free DDoS protection developed by the Contabo team.
Contabo has one of the best flexible, dedicated server hosting plans, scalability options, and a well-spread-out data center location.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Lots of ability options
- Users can build their own dedicated servers
- Collocations services
- Inhouse server security features
Cons
- Requires users to verify identity
- Outdated cPanel interface design
Contabo offers the best value for money, great features in building dedicated servers, and excellent data center locations worldwide. Try them out today.
- Overall Score – 4.4
- Features – 4.4
- Support – 4.3
- User Friendly – 4.4
- Pricing – 4.5
- Reliability – 4.4
Overall Score – 4.4: InterServer is one of the world’s best windows dedicated hosting server solutions. With their 99.99% uptime guarantee, unlimited resources, and a simple but functional cPanel, it is hard to recommend a better alternative.
Features – 4.4: InterSever offers limitless bandwidths, emails, storage space, databases, and blogs. All hosting plans also come with Cloudflare CDN and a Plesk management panel.
Support – 4.3: The customer service team from InterSever offers fast expert support. However, they are not always available, and some of their responses didn’t seem too accurate during our tests. Overall, the support is good, but it might take a while for you to resolve any issues you encounter on your windows-based dedicated server.
User Friendly – 4.4: The cPanel interface doesn’t come with whistles and bells, but it provides enough functionality to allow users to manage and upgrade their servers. However, developers might find the control options somewhat limited.
Pricing – 4.5: Pricing starts at $67.00/mo and goes up to $500.00/mo. The basic plan includes 6 Cores Single CPU, 64GB Memory, 150TB Transfer, IPMI Console, and DDoS Protection. You can save money by going for plans lasting a year or more.
Reliability – 4.4: InterSever offers a top-tier 99.99% uptime guarantee, impressive website loading speed, and an above-average server speed.
Additional parameter – Security: Security is a significant issue when running dedicated servers. InterServer comes top of the line with its weekly backup on remote servers, DDoS attack protection, and its native security suite, InterShield. InterShield comes equipped with an antivirus scanner, web attack blocking, a machine-learning firewall, and an in-house malware database. Another security study is the Inter-Insurance package. This package promises to investigate and restore hacked or infected websites for free.
Interserver is famous for its suite of security features, enterprise-grade performance and reliability, and robust dedicated server hosting features.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Comprehensive security solutions
- Free weekly backups on remote servers
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- Affordable hosting plans
- Enterprise-grade infrastructure
Cons
- Manual backups
- Cluttered cPanel
InterServer is the go-to provider for cost-effective but high-performance Windows-based dedicated server hosting. Try them now with their no-questions-asked, 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Overall Score – 4.4
- Features – 4.5
- Support – 4.3
- User Friendly – 4
- Pricing – 4.5
- Reliability – 4.8
Overall Score – 4.4: IONOS employs cutting-edge hardware and networking technology to provide one of the best Windows dedicated hosting server solutions on the market. With more than 20 data center locations worldwide, you will be hard-pressed to find a comparative performance.
Features – 4.5: There are many fantastic hosting features, most of which are free. These include free email addresses, free domain for the first year, free SSL certification, and daily automated backups. IONOS offers a simple and fully functional interface and multiple data locations worldwide.
Support – 4.3: IONOS takes customer service to a whole new level by assigning customer service agents to customers. You can reach your designated support agent via live chat.
User Friendly – 4: IONOS offers a straightforward cPanel with one-click installation processes. Although the control panel appeals to those experienced with server management, even beginners can find their way around and get things done efficiently. They can reach out to their designated support agent if they encounter problems.
Pricing – 4.5: IONOS offers low prices, but the prices can rise when you want to renew your plans. The basic plan comes with 6 cores/12 threads x 3.6 GHz (AMD Ryzen™ 5 PRO 3600), 32 GB RAM (DDR4 ECC) 1,000 GB HDD (2 x 1,000 GB SATA) and costs $0.0903 /hour or maximum of $65/month
Reliability – 4.8: With their state-of-the-art web hosting infrastructure, it is not supposed that IONOS offers exceptional performance. It provides a superb 99.98% uptime guarantee with data center locations across the United States and Europe. The provider also mirrors your data between two data centers, so your server remains operational during routine maintenance.
Additional parameter: web hosting infrastructure: IONOS invests heavily in hardware and communication technology to produce the best server performance for its users. Its windows dedicated server solution runs on cutting-edge infrastructure along with Content Delivery Network (CDN) and the IONOS WebSpaceExplorer interface.
IONOS is better known for its top-of-the-line performance, security, and dedicated customer experience.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 99.98% uptime guarantee
- Competitive Pricing
- Free domain name, SSL certification, and email address
- Dedicated customer support agents
- Easy to use and fully functional cPanel
Cons
- No free website migrations
- Higher renewal prices
Are you looking for a Windows dedicated server for your website or application? Check out the fantastic hosting solution from IONOS.
- Overall Score – 4.8
- Features – 4.9
- Support – 4.9
- User Friendly – 4.9
- Pricing – 4.2
- Reliability – 4.8
Overall Score – 4.8: Depending on your needs, Liquid Web might be the perfect Windows dedicated server provider for your business. It is more expensive than some of the providers on this list, but their excellent performance and customer service make their plans worth the price tag.
Features – 4.9: Liquid Web offers all the hosting features you would expect. These include free SSL certification, SSD storage, and so much more.
Support – 4.9: Liquid Web is the perfect provider for you if you switch web hosts because of customer support. They offer a friendly and knowledgeable support team and tutorials to help you resolve any server issue you might encounter.
User Friendly – 4.9: Liquid Web offers one of the best user-friendly hosting solutions we have seen for a long time. Although some of the tools might be tricky to handle, there is an excellent support system to break down the processes into small parts. Both beginning and expert users will have much ease with this web host.
Prices – 4.2: We can’t complain when we examine the fantastic features and impressive performance this provider offers in exchange for their slightly expensive plans. The basic plan costs $169/mo ($2,028 billed upfront for 1 year) and provides four cores @ 3.9 GHz Max, 16 GB RAM, 2 x 240 GB SSD Primary Disk, 1 x 1 TB SATA Backup Disk, 5 TB Bandwidth and 250 GB Acronis Cyber Backups.
Reliability – 4.8: Liquid Web is a clear winner regarding reliability and performance. They offer a fantastic uptime guarantee, fast server speed, and blazing page response time.
Additional Parameters: Excellent Customer Service: We can’t stop singing the praises of Liquid Web regarding their superb customer support. You can contact the specialist support team via phone or help desk ticket and get a response in under a minute. There is also the live chat option for those who want to ask questions regarding their hosting solutions.
Liquid Web is a famous dedicated server hosting provider due to its excellent service and performance.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 24/7/365 specialist support staff
- Impressive server performance
- Awesome uptime guarantee
- Multiple control panel options
- No limits on plugins
- eCommerce integration
Cons
- Slightly expensive hosting plans
- No free trial
Check out Liquid Web’s hosting solutions if you want a solid Windows dedicated server solution.
- Overall Score – 4.6
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.6
- User Friendly – 4.2
- Pricing – 4.8
- Reliability – 4.8
Overall Score – 4.6: OVHcloud might not be a household name, but it offers excellent performance at an affordable price. When we say affordable, we mean the plans are so cheap we were skeptical of the performance. Overall, we are impressed with OVHcloud performance, hence its inclusion in this list.
Features – 4.8: OVHcloud offers excellent features such as multiple disks in RAID, powerful processor resources, DDoS protection, generous storage spaces, no hard bandwidth limits, scalable hardware specs, and generous port speeds. With OVHcloud, you can keep upgrading your website without making server transfers.
Support – 4.6: The customer support team at OVHcloud is always on standby and ready to help. You can reach them to resolve any issue you encounter. You can use the blog articles or reach out to the community forum for answers to your questions.
User Friendly – 4.2: OVHcloud dedicated servers are as user-friendly as an unmanaged (self-managed) hosting solution can be. You can enjoy 100% automation with their control panel, so you might not have to contact the support team in most instances.
Pricing – 4.8: You will be hard-pressed to find a cheap Windows dedicated server provider that offers OVHcloud’s level of performance. The most affordable plan costs $56.75/month and comes with an Intel Xeon E3-1245v5 CPU, up to 64 GB DDR4 ECC RAM, SSD or HDD storage, and up to 250 Mbps public bandwidth.
Reliability – 4.8: Regarding reliability, we heartily recommend OVHcloud hosting solutions. There is a 99.99% uptime guarantee and an added guarantee of a 5-minute response time in case of a hardware failure. The web host employs RAID 10 configuration for their hard disks to provide round-the-clock stability and performance. They also equip their state-of-the-art data centers with network and cooling systems and redundant resources to prevent large-scale outages.
Additional Parameter – Cost-effectiveness: OVHcloud provides excellent dedicated server hosting at low prices. Although unmanaged server plans are generally cheap, the resources on each plan for OVHcloud deliver far more value for their costs. It is an excellent choice for gamers and users who require reliable dedicated servers but do not have the budget for the pricey providers.
OVHcloud is famous for its incredibly cheap unmanaged dedicated server hosting solutions and environmentally friendly data centers.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Environmentally friendly data centers
- 99.99% uptime guarantee
- 5-minute response time guarantee
- Cheap hosting plans
- Transparent pricing
Cons
- Not well suited for beginners
- No managed hosting
OVHcloud will provide all of your needs with their unmanaged Windows dedicated server hosting solution. Try them now to enjoy their hosting solutions at low prices.
- Overall Score – 4.5
- Features – 4.3
- Support – 4.6
- User Friendly – 4.8
- Pricing – 4.3
- Reliability – 4.9
Overall Score – 4.5: Hostwinds offers a dedicated server solution that covers all the bases.
Features – 4.3: A significant number of features come in every hosting plan from Hostwinds. These include unlimited email accounts, free SSL certificates, migrations, and one-click installations. They also offer regular backups and domains, but you have to pay extra.
Support – 4.6: You can reach the super helpful support team from Hostwinds via phone, email, live chat, and the help desk ticketing system. They are available round the clock and will provide solutions to even the most technical issues.
User Friendly – 4.8: Hostwinds hosting solutions are super friendly, so everyone can use them. Their cPanel is easy to use and provides one-click installation to fast-track your server setup and upgrades. You can contact the expert support team to resolve any issue you may encounter.
Pricing – 4.3: Hostwinds’ cheapest Windows dedicated hosting plans start at $147.00/mo and offer 4 CPU Cores with 8 CPU Threads, 1TB Enterprise HDD, 8 GB RAM, 10 TB Bandwidth, and 8 IPs Addresses.
Reliability – 4.9: Hostwinds shine in terms of their permanence and reliability. They offer a comparatively fast server speed and page loading time. You also get one of the best server uptimes in the web hosting market.
Additional Parameter: All–In–One Customer Experience: Hostwinds is unique because they tick all the right boxes. The entry plans are super affordable, and the renewal prices are competitive. The support staff is knowledgeable and responds quickly.
Hostwinds is famous for its superb customer experience. Little wonder that they won the 2017 award for best customer service.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Superb uptime
- Excellent customer support
- Free website migration
- Unlimited disk space
- Easy-to-use cPanel
Cons
- You have to provide KYC (Know your customer) document
- Higher renewal prices
What is not to love about Hostwinds? They offer excellent customer support, fantastic performance, and fabulous hosting plans. Check them out now.
- Overall Score – 4.7
- Features – 4.5
- Support – 4.6
- User Friendly – 5
- Pricing – 4.3
- Reliability – 4.9
Overall Score – 4.7: HostGator shines in many respects, but its greatest strength lies in its user-friendliness. In addition, they offer great Windows dedicated server plans with excellent features in each package.
Features – 4.5: Users will enjoy free features such as free SSL certification, money-back guarantees, free domains, website builders, and so much more.
Support – 4.6: HostGator customer support team is available round the clock every week. Users can reach them via phone, live chat, and ticket-based email support. Although the agents might take a little while to respond, they generally provide practical solutions to users’ queries and complaints.
User Friendly – 5: HostGator is a super user-friendly provider with a very easy-to-use interface. You can carry out most of your installations and upgrades with the single-click installation buttons on the cPanel.
Pricing – 4.3: Although HostGator is not the cheapest provider on the market, it packs enough features in its competitively priced plans. The only downside is the higher renewal pricing on each plan. The most affordable plan comes with four core / 8-thread Intel Xeon-D CPUs, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, and unmetered bandwidth. It currently costs $89.98/month for the first year.
Reliability – 4.9: Regarding performance reliability, Hostgator is on another level. It offers an incredible 99.98% uptime guarantee, 431ms page loading speed, and 660ms page response time.
Additional Parameter: Easy Navigation: Hostgator is one of our top recommendations due to its easy-to-navigate platform and simplified installation processes. HostGator did not leave any stone unturned to ensure both beginning and advanced users can get the most out of their plans. Add that to the excellent support from the professional expert team, and you have a world-class web hosting provider within your reach.
HostGator is famous among professionals due to its robust features and easy-to-navigate platform. Beginners can also enjoy its solutions with considerable ease.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 99.98% uptime guarantee
- Free SSL certificate and domain name
- User-friendly panel interface
- 45-day money-back guarantee
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Higher renewal rates
- Backups, SEO tools, and SiteLock are not free
HostGator’s dedicated server hosting features are worth the hype. Check them out now with the excellent 45-day money-back guarantee.
- Overall Score – 4.3
- Features – 4.1
- Support – 4.4
- User Friendly – 4.6
- Pricing – 4.1
- Reliability – 4.7
Overall Score – 4.3: UltaHost provides enough features and performance to rival some of the biggest names in the web host industry. Here is a rundown of what makes them one of the best Windows dedicated server hosting providers.
Features – 4.1: UltaHost offers 7 data center locations, SSD-only servers, anti-malware protection, and many free features. These features include free daily backups, free SSL certification, free domain transfer, 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee on each plan. Other great features include the RocketBooster high-performance php7 hosting environment and Cloudflare CDN Caching.
Support – 4.4: UltaHost offers a great customer support system. You can reach the support team via live chat, email, phone, and ticketing system. You can also get assistance from its knowledge base and FAQs.
User Friendly – 4.6: UltaHost uses a user-friendly and straightforward panel interface. With it, you can manage your servers, maintain your websites and perform other server-related tasks. The panel provides relevant information on your domains, IP addresses, and further details.
Pricing – 4.1: UltaHost offers managed dedicated server solutions. The cheapest plan costs $129.90/month and offers 2x 960 GB SSD, 64 GB RAM, and 1 IPv4 IP address. All plans come with BitNinja Security, SSH and SFTP Access, Unlimited Bandwidth, and 24/7 Real-time Monitoring.
Reliability – 4.7: UltaHost promises a 100% uptime guarantee on its dedicated server hosting plans. This guarantee is no surprise as the provider uses Tier-3 and Tier-4 data centers to provide you with their web hosting solutions. Their data centers have the latest SSD technology and redundant RAID 10 configuration.
Additional Parameter: Security and Backups: UltaHost takes server security very seriously. It provides in-house server monitoring to prevent any issue from appearing under its Complete Server Management plan. It offers other security solutions like its Web Application Firewall (WAF), malware scans and reports, and free daily backups. Users can quickly restore these backups using the 1-click Restore Manager. If that fails or you run into an issue, the support team will help you restore your data at no extra cost.
UltaHost enjoys popularity and patronage due to its ultra-modern state-of-the-art data centers, network hardware, and technology.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free SSL certification for life
- 100% uptime guarantee
- Transparent pricing
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- State-of-the-art infrastructure
Cons
- Customer support is not round the clock
- Steep learning curve
Do you want a reliable Windows dedicated server hosting provider that offers freebies and enhanced security solutions? Then try out UltaHost with their 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Overall Score – 4.4
- Features – 4.3
- Support – 4.5
- User Friendly – 4.2
- Pricing – 4.1
- Reliability – 4.7
Overall Score – 4.4: If you want to resell Windows dedicated server hosting, then ResellerClub is a great option. They offer great hardware resources and other complimentary servers to help you deliver the best packages to your clients.
Features – 4.3: There are a lot of great features from ResellerClub. These include ample storage spaces, large RAM and bandwidth limits, weekly backups, multiple data center locations, and generous uplink. You also get all the regular bonuses like email addresses and the freedom to install other OS on the dedicated server.
Support – 4.5: ResellerClub offers exceptional support. You can reach the customer service agents 24/7/365. The company also provides proactive monitoring, mostly fixing issues that can affect performance.
User Friendly – 4.2: This hosting provider offers a modern, clutter-free, easy-to-use cPanel. You can make upgrades on your packages and other configurations without stress.
Pricing – 4.1: The cheapest Windows dedicated server hosting plan costs $71.99/month (billed for three years) and renews at $120/mo. It offers Quad Core Intel E3-1265LV2, 4 GB RAM, 1000 GB HDD in RAID 1, 5 TB Data Transfer, 1 Dedicated IP + 2 Free IPs, and Full Root Access.
Reliability – 4.7: The ResellerClub offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee. They also employ enterprise-grade hardware and communications systems to ensure outstanding performance. Users can also boost their website speed by choosing one of the worldwide data centers.
Additional Parameter: Quality Reseller Hosting Experience: Resellerclub World started operations in 2009. Since then, they’ve carved a reputation for themselves as out of the best reseller hosting providers. They offer their clients the chance to provide multiple data center locations for reselling. They also offer other hosting packages like shared hosting and VPS hosting. This feature, reasonable pricing, and excellent customer support make them one of the best reseller hosting companies.
The ResellerClub World has the best reseller hosting packages on the market.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Lots of software options
- Multiple data locations
- Competitive pricing
- Excellent customer support
- Seven-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Focused mostly on resellers
- Only weekly data backups
The ResellerClub is the number one destination for anyone who wants to resell quality and affordable hosting packages. Check them out now!
Best Windows Dedicated Server Hosting Services: Final recommendations
The best provider for you depends on a combination of factors. The five key factors are customer support, pricing, features, reliability, and user-friendliness. However, these factors mean different things to different people. If you are on a huge budget, you will focus more on features and reliability than pricing. If you are a beginner, user-friendliness and customer support should be your top priority.
When it comes to ticking all the right boxes, Kamatera is your best bet. You get reliable hosting performance with features you need to run a fully operational Windows dedicated server. They also provide solid customer support. Check the provider that aligns with your needs.
Types of Windows Dedicated Server Hosting and Which Is the Right One for You
There are three types of Windows dedicated server hosting: managed, unmanaged, and semi-managed Windows dedicated server hosting.
Managed hosting solutions remove the stress of monitoring and managing your servers. The provider does all of that for you. In exchange, you pay a higher fee than you would if you ran an unmanaged hosting solution.
Unmanaged hosting solutions require you to manage your servers or hire a professional. If you have technical experience and time, a self-managed dedicated server can be perfect for you.
Semi-managed dedicated hosting solutions mean the provider will handle hardware, OS, and other basic configurations. You have to carry out the rest of the tasks on your own. It is a fair compromise for those who want to save costs but still require maintenance and management help.
Here are two main reasons why many businesses and individuals opt for unmanaged and semi-managed dedicated servers:
- Cheaper cost: depending on the provider, unmanaged and semi-managed dedicated server solutions are far more affordable than the managed alternatives.
- More control: Since you (or your team) manage the server, you can tweak the server to your specific needs. Some people and organizations go for unmanaged servers not to save money but to have their servers running strictly according to their specifications and security parameters.
Factors to Consider when Choosing a Windows Dedicated Server Hosting Plan
If upgrading to a Windows dedicated server for the first time, you need to know what you should be getting from your service provider. Here are some crucial areas to consider when choosing a hosting plan:
- Server Uptime Guarantee: No server will be up every day of the year as providers have to perform maintenance once or twice a year. Natural events can also cause servers to go down. However, many web hosts offer a 99.9% server uptime guarantee. So if you keep experiencing downtimes outside the scheduled maintenance period, you are entitled to some part of your monthly fee. However, if downtime severely affects your business, it is time to move to a new provider.
- Managed vs. Unmanaged Windows Dedicated Hosting: Windows dedicated servers come in two main types: unmanaged and managed. An unmanaged server will save you money in the short term but cost more if you have to hire a professional to handle it for you. A managed server costs more, but it relieves the stress of handling and maintaining it yourself. There is a third option: semi-managed dedicated hosting. With this option, the provider will handle hardware and other basic configurations. Software monitoring and upgrades are yours to do.
- HDD and SSD: Hard disk drives (HDD) are cheap storage options for computers and servers. However, they are slower and require more energy. A solid-state drive (SSD) costs more but delivers faster performance and energy efficiency. As a result, SSDs have become the gold standard, despite their generally high cost. If you are looking for a large storage option at a low price and don’t mind the slower speed, then you can go with HDD.
How Do We Rank, and How Should You Choose Your Windows Dedicated Hosting Provider?
We rank Windows dedicated hosting packages based on several critical factors. Our in-house hosting experts perform independent, rigorous tests on each provider’s plans based on these vital elements. We then rank the provider’s performance based on industry standards and compared to other providers. We also review comments and feedback from past and current customers to get a holistic picture of how well the provider has performed over time.
Here are the key factors we look out for when ranking for the Windows dedicated web hosting category:
How Did We Choose The Top 10 Windows Dedicated Hosting?
- Server Performance30%
- Security Features10%
- Customization Options13%
- Customer Support10%
- Pricing7%
- User Reviews30%
- Server Performance (30%): The critical elements under this factor are processor speed, RAM, bandwidth and storage space specifications, uptime guarantees, and data center setup.
- Security Features (10%): We prioritize safety when reviewing unmanaged Whipsnade dedicated hosting solutions. Typically, we focus on providers that offer industry-standard security solutions. We also award extra points to providers that provide in-house state-of-the-art security tools and assurances.
- Customization Options (13%): Most people and organizations choose dedicated server hosting because they want complete control. We focus on dedicated server providers that offer unlimited access, flexibility, and scalability.
- Customer Support (10%): Regardless of whether you are a developer or newbie, you need all the help you can get in running a dedicated server. Your hosting provider should provide round-the-clock support through several channels like email, phone, live chat, and ticketing support.
- Pricing (7%): Dedicated servers are not cheap, so you have every right to expect total value for your money. We examine entry prices, renewal rates, the cost of add-on features, and other benefits of getting the best deals on the market. We also love it when providers offer money-back guarantees.
- User Reviews(30%): The best web hosts have consistently delivered great experiences over a long period. We believe user reviews are the best way to gauge how well a provider performs over time.
In summary, here are key features to look out for:
- Complete access and control
- Ample processor speed and performance
- Industry-standard security features
- Generators and scalable bandwidth, RAM, and storage spaces
- Ease of use and excellent customer support
- Uptime guarantee and scalability
- Pricing and money-back guarantees
What Is the Best Windows Dedicated Server Hosting, and Who Is It For?
Dedicated hosting plans are the crème de la crème of web hosting. They dedicate an entire server to the needs of a single client. It is the only hosting plan where you don’t have to share server resources such as CPU output, bandwidth, and RAM with other users. You also get to configure the server to your exact specifications. You won’t get this feature with shared, VPS, or cloud hosting plans. It is the top web hosting tier but also the most expensive.
Its high price tag makes it exclusively for large organizations and websites that attract hundreds of thousands of web visitors. It is also the ideal plan for businesses and individuals who want complete control and flexibility. Websites that require strict security, large-scale resources, and unique specifications should go for a dedicated server.
Although website needs are the primary consideration, budget is another major consideration. It is not uncommon for dedicated plans to run into thousands of dollars per month.
However, there are clear signs that you need to move your website or web-based application to a dedicated server. These signs include:
- Performance lag during times of high-volume traffic
- Multiple security threats
- Need for dedicated IP addresses
- Demand for better control, flexibility, and scalability