Considering the current rate at which the cloud computing industry is prospering in the IT industry, the choice between dedicated server or cloud hosting solutions quickly became a topic of discussion. There are, literally speaking, thousands and thousands of forums, blogs and discussion boards discussing this subject, but sometimes these discussions can be a bit biased, therefore not providing the neutral and clear opinions users might want.

This article will try to focus on the merits of these solutions, from a neutral and unbiased point of view.

Cloud Web Hosting
The next big thing in the hosting world is cloud computing, and it undoubtedly has enough potential to, one day, become the one and only solution for data and hosting storage. In the latter, the server is outsourced and run on virtual software. Several data centers are running on virtual servers, which means that a single server produces many virtual servers and, from the user’s perspective, this seems to be similar to dedicated servers. But in reality, it is not.

Dedicated Servers
The use of dedicated servers is the most conventional, trustworthy and highly recommended way of hosting anything, be it interactive websites,web apps or virtually any other thing. Getting a dedicated service follows an easy protocol, where a particular user leases or purchases a server from a providing company and then pays monthly fees for the services.

Price Comparison
When it comes to dedicated servers, the monthly costs might range from $100 to $1000, varying on the packages and the features they have. In fact, it can even start off at $50 but, usually, these packages are not enough for experienced webmasters and their websites.

In terms of cloud hosting, prices are much more variable, as they depend greatly on the storage space that is required, and the amount of time the deal will be in place.

Performance Overview
In terms of performance, both of them are pretty reliable. Dedicated web hosting servers are fast and reliable, not under performing at all when compared to their cloud counterparts. However, they do differ in one factor: the resources of a dedicated server are usually used below 60%, meaning that it never runs at full capacity. A fully loaded cloud can save a lot of electricity and money, being able to “replace” several dedicated servers.

With all this in mind, after going through the good and the bad things about the each of these hosting solutions, you have all the needed tools to make a decision. In spite of this, if you need help, you may check out websites that offer online web development and hosting courses, to improve your knowledge on this subject.