A €3 VPS and a €5 VPS can be completely different products. Before you pay, run down this short checklist — it's the difference between a bargain and a regret.
KVM gives you a real virtual machine (own kernel, Docker, full root). Containers (OpenVZ/LXC) are cheaper to oversell and more limited. If a listing doesn't say, ask. (Full explainer: what is a KVM VPS.)
Look for SSD storage and a sense of whether the node is packed. "Dedicated"/"single-tenant" bare metal and honest specs are good signs; vague claims and impossibly cheap "unlimited" plans are not. Beware spec-sheet inflation — if everything is superlatives, be skeptical.
Check the uplink speed (e.g. 10 Gbps) and whether bandwidth is truly unmetered or has a fair-use cap. Both are fine — you just want to know.
Dedicated IPv4, or shared NAT with forwarded ports? Neither is wrong, but it determines whether you can run, say, your own mail server. A host that's clear about this up front is telling you something good about how they operate. (See NAT IPv4 vs dedicated IP.)
Are backups included, and can you restore yourself? Daily automatic backups you can roll back are worth a lot the day something breaks.
Is there a public status page? Are the specs specific and honest, or all marketing? A host willing to publish live uptime and admit what's on the roadmap is usually a host that sleeps better — and so will you.
Clear pricing, a real currency, easy cancellation, and terms you can actually read. Avoid anything that makes leaving hard.
You don't need 24/7 phone support on a €5 box, but you do want a real address and a sane response target. Email them before you buy and see how they answer.
Often it's an oversold container rather than KVM, or specs that don't hold up under load. Not always — but check KVM, SSD, the IP situation and whether there's a status page.
You can't always tell from outside, but honest specs, single-tenant/dedicated language, a public status page and a sane price are good signals. Impossibly cheap 'unlimited' plans are a red flag.
Only once you trust the host. Try monthly first; if uptime and support hold up, annual billing is usually cheaper.
Only for a few use cases (notably self-hosted mail). For game servers, bots, dev boxes and Cloudflare-fronted sites it's fine.
The first thing to check.
What the IP line really means.
KVM, SSD, from €4.99/mo.
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