Windows VPS vs Linux VPS: features, costs, and which to pick

Choosing a VPS feels like picking a rental apartment for your apps: location, utilities, and landlord matter. At a glance, a Windows VPS gives you native RDP, .NET and MSSQL support, plus a familiar GUI. A Linux VPS (Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian) offers rock solid command line tooling, lower resource overhead, and the classic LAMP/LEMP stack for web apps.

Features to weigh

• Compatibility: Need IIS, ASP.NET, or specific Windows only software? Windows VPS is the obvious choice. For PHP, Node, Python, Docker containers, or running a SSH first workflow, Linux VPS is more natural.
• Management: Many providers bundle control panels: Plesk often on Windows, cPanel or Webmin on Linux. Managed VPS hosting is available if you prefer hands off ops.
• Performance and customisation: Linux tends to be leaner, giving you more CPU/RAM for the price. Windows carries licensing overhead, which can slow scaling.
• Security: Both can be hardened, but Linux’s smaller default attack surface and frequent package updates make it a favorite for web servers.

Costs and providers
Windows licenses increase monthly bills; expect a higher baseline price for Windows VPS than for Linux. Cheap VPS options exist from Hostinger, Contabo, Hetzner, OVH, Vultr and DigitalOcean; Google Cloud, AWS and Azure provide robust cloud VPS with pay as you go billing (useful for bursty workloads). Cheap Windows VPS variants do exist, but watch for limited CPU or storage. If you hunt for free VPS, beware of restrictions and ephemeral uptime.

Which to pick
Pick Windows VPS when you must run Windows specific applications, need GUI access, or rely on MSSQL and .NET. Choose Linux VPS if you want cost efficiency, container orchestration, web hosting, or the widest open source tooling. For general purpose web projects, Linux is usually the best VPS hosting route. For specialized enterprise apps, Windows VPS often wins.

Final tip: compare real world benchmarks, check provider reviews, and match the VPS server (cloud VPS or traditional) to your scaling plans. Happy hosting. #VPS #Windows #Linux