Find Colocation, Dedicated Servers & Cloud Hosting:
Call Now (888) 400-5732

How to Find Cheap Unmetered Dedicated Servers

Posted by QuoteColo on March 02, 2015 - Updated on March 03, 2016

How to Find Cheap Unmetered Dedicated Servers

Some companies today are looking at the possibility of using unmetered dedicated servers for their hosting needs. They can offer a number of benefits, but it is important to choose a quality service that is upfront about everything that they offer and the actual costs associated with using their servers. It is also important to know some of the drawbacks before choosing this option. Let’s look at what unmetered servers really are and the best way to find quality servers that are still affordable.

What Is Unmetered Hosting?

There are many who mistakenly believe that unmetered and unlimited are the same thing. It is very important to remember that they are quite different. In fact, many times, the unmetered plans have a limit in the amount of data a company is able to receive and send each month. The amount of traffic that you can receive will always have a limit. The amount of actual bandwidth that you have will play a huge role in the amount of traffic you are able to receive without going over your limits each month.

Therefore, it is very important that you speak with the company and have a good understanding of what you can use and compare that with the amount of traffic that you expect to receive on average. You always want to find this out before you commit to a host. Working with a dedicated server can help you in this area though, as you will have the full power and resources of the server at your disposal. This is typically a slightly more expensive option, but it means that your visitors should not have trouble when it comes to accessing your site.

How Fast Is It?

In many cases, unmetered servers have been considered relatively slow. However, it really depends on your needs whether a server will be “slow” or not. For example, if you have a blog that you put up a few times a week, and you get several hundred readers, using a cheap and supposedly slow unmetered server is not going to be much of a problem at all. It will still work well and your readers will not notice any slowdown whatsoever, as long as you have a quality host behind you.

However, even if you have a small site right now, you do want to think about the future. What happens if your site suddenly gets more popular and your hundreds of visitors turn into thousands or tens of thousands of visitors? Will the hosting company for your unmetered server be able to scale your site and service up to meet that demand without charging you with excessive fees? This is something else that you will certainly want to ask of your host. With a dedicated host though, the bandwidth speeds should not be too much of an issue. Still, you want to know the facts.

When you are talking with the provider who is promising cheap service now, make sure that you know more about what they are really capable of offering. This also gives you an opportunity to learn more about how they actually treat their customers. You always need to know exactly what you are buying.

Benefits of Unmetered Dedicated Servers

When you have a dedicated server, you will have full control of the machine, even though it might be offsite. One of the benefits of using a dedicated server is that you will typically have much more bandwidth, and we’ve already discussed just how important that is when it comes to meeting the needs of your traffic. Since the server is dedicated, and using more bandwidth than usual won’t affect any other site since you are the only user, many hosts do not charge overage fees. This can be a good option for those sites that have a lot of videos and downloadable files, and even for game servers. As long as you have a dedicated server, it can be a very good option. Just make sure that you are actually getting a dedicated server and not a shared or VPS server when you sign up.

Starting Your Search

Where should you start your search? You will want to start online, naturally. A quick search will result in a number of different options. However, instead of choosing the first company that you find, you need to make sure you put in the time to research first.

You will start by visiting the website of each of the providers and reading about what they have to offer. Check out some testimonials and then do a deeper search in your favorite search engine. You want to look for some real reviews from others who have used the service. These will let you know the finer – and honest – details of what you can expect. Just because a site looks great and it seems to have the features that you want does not mean it’s the right choice for you. If they have bad customer service, for example, you don’t want to deal with them.

Once you are able to narrow your choices to the companies that have the best service and options in the field, it’s time to look at the price. Even though you are looking for cheap unmetered dedicated servers, you don’t want to sacrifice quality to save a few dollars, as this could come back to haunt you. Once you have a list of companies that are similar in quality and features though, it’s time to think about your budget. Look at the features they offer, their service, and their price. When all things are equal, or fairly equal, you can go with the cheapest option.

Read the Fine Print

Hosts who are offering cheap unmetered dedicated servers want you as a customer. They have those initial offers meant to entice you with their low prices and make you think that you are getting a great deal. When you find the right host that might be the case. However, you really do need to make sure that you always read the fine print. Many that are promising you a great package will have fine print that includes extra charges and fees in addition to paying overage costs even if you have a dedicated server. Others may even have a clause that gives them the right to shut down your site and some can do it without warning.

Choose a dedicated server where you have full control, and you know exactly what the host can and cannot do. Take your time and research each of the providers you are considering. Remember to look at the good and the bad about each of them, and look up reviews from professionals as well as from business owners like you. You need to have the facts before you make your decision. Spending time to ensure that you are getting a server and a host that will be able to grow along with you is very important.

What Do You Think?