In the world of technology, acronyms like VPN and VPS are thrown around quite randomly. However, regardless of whether you are tech-savvy or not, it is essential to understand the difference between VPS and VPN.

You might think they’re related, but that’s not the thing – Virtual Private Server (VPS) and Virtual Private Network (VPN) are entirely different.

Simple Differences – VPS vs VPN 

What is a VPS?

A VPS, or virtual private server, is essentially a physical server that has been separated into smaller virtual servers for people to use. You can think of a VPS as a shared house with several bedrooms and a different tenant in each room. The house represents the physical server, and each room represents a virtual server.

These virtual servers are available to rent for those who want to host blogs, apps, or other services, but a virtual private server is “private” to you, meaning you do not share the server’s resources, such as bandwidth and RAM, with anyone else. In our house analogy, it would be like getting your own room in a house with a bathroom and kitchen. Pretty cool, huh?

Why Would You Rent a VPS?

So, why would anyone want to rent a private virtual server? 

The short answer is that if you’re only planning to host one website or maybe a handful of business applications, you can continue to use a shared web hosting service, which will cost far less than renting a private server that you would need to manage yourself. Also, hosting high amounts of website traffic from your own singular personal device, will take up mass amounts of your personal device’s CPU (A Central Processing Unit or your main processor); renting a server will allow you to have a performance that is unchanged from your device while your clients, readers, etc. can have a slick, seamless experience with your business. 

Renting a web hosting server, which can be from shared, dedicated, or VPS servers.

For purposes of comparison, shared is shared among multiple clients at the same time, but they are cheaper and slower. A dedicated server is dedicated to a single client; therefore, it is faster but is also the most expensive of the three configurations. VPS is somewhere in between shared servers and dedicated servers. VPS Hosting has multiple clients. However, each client is assigned its virtual private server. Wait – how does that work?

Function of a VPS

A VPS is most commonly used for website hosting. You will need a VPS if you need anything hosted on a server.

Here are some scenarios where you’ll need a VPS:

• You are running an intensive application that uses a lot of CPU.
• You host a high-traffic site, and you need additional resources for good performance.
• You are hosting a site with an eCommerce platform, and you need it to run smoothly.
• You need a VPS if you want to run software on a remote basis

What is a VPN?

A VPN is a technology that offers a secure and encrypted connection of your device and the internet so you can be invisible to all ISPs and other crawlers on the internet. It does this by connecting you to a private server that routes your Internet traffic through it. One drawback is that a VPN will hide your IP address, plus the data you send is encrypted while in transit.

What is The Function of a VPN?

A VPN technology is designed so users can secure their Internet connection and protect their anonymity online. It does this by creating a private and secure connection between your device and the server you chose.

• Data Encryption

VPN will encrypt your web traffic so hackers, Internet service providers, and others cannot see your online activity.

• IP Address Masking

VPN will mask your original IP Address and give you the IP address of the VPN server. This keeps your location, and therefore, your anonymity, more private.

• Using Public Wi-Fi Securely

VPN will protect your data when you are on an unsecured network, like in a coffee shop, airport, or hotel.

• Bypassing Geo-Restrictions

A VPN will let you access content (such as streaming services) that may be restricted or blocked to users in your location.

• Bypassing Censorship

VPN will bypass sites or services blocked by governments and institutions.

• Secure Remote Access to Networks

A VPN can allow employees or users to access and securely connect to a company’s or production network.

Benefits of a VPN

A VPN has several benefits online. Using a secure and reliable VPN service like SaviourVPN can give you several benefits.

• Helping to secure your digital life while you’re on a public Wi-Fi connection.
• Obfuscating your IP address from others on the same network;
• Allowing you to bypass all blocked websites and platforms on the internet
• Obscuring your browsing history and behavior, using an encrypted tunnel to transport your activities;
• Prevention of anyone from tracking, monitoring, spying on, recording, and selling your internet preferences and private info – including your Internet Service Provider, advertising brokers, and nefarious individuals and entities
• In general, it enables you to surf and access with some peace of mind.

Which is better – VPS or VPN

Let’s talk about apples and oranges for a few minutes: one is an orange, one is red; one segments easily, one doesn’t. How are they similar? They are both round and edible.

The same concept applies to VPNs and VPSs. They are two completely different things, but they are both forms of technology. One is for hosting (VPS), and one is for privacy (VPN).

There is one instance where a VPN and VPS overlap. That is, if you are trying to access websites only available in one country, either can work for you. You can rent a VPS in that country and use it to circumvent the restriction. Or, you can go with a VPN and connect to that location with a click of a button and get the same results.

Which is better? We will leave that for you to decide.