I received a private message from a friend asking if it is possible to buy a VPS server for less than $1 per month on a certain platform.
Undeniably, there are times when we come across promotional offers from service providers that offer free or even as low as $0.5 per month for a server.
However, can excessively cheap VPS hosting be reliable?
Promotional products
If it is a promotional product from a VPS service provider, such as limited-time and limited-configuration offers for new customers, there is nothing wrong with that.
For example, we have seen cloud server vendors offering free cloud servers for a year, or providing three months or one month of free servers. It is understandable to obtain a free server by paying only a few dollars for verification purposes.
However, if such low-cost offers are available on a long-term basis, we need to consider whether the service provider can maintain the stability of the service in the long run, as servers also involve costs.
Configuration issues
Excessively cheap servers definitely have deficiencies in terms of configuration and hardware. For example, we have seen some so-called low-cost servers that use shared IP addresses and have relatively low configurations.
We also need to consider that if the server is extremely cheap, and the provider does not have strong financial resources, there must be some catch involved. Most likely, the server will have poor stability or other issues.
Resource exchange
I have encountered a service provider before who claimed to offer low-cost or free servers, but required us to advertise and promote their website. Moreover, there were certain traffic requirements that needed to be met. In such cases, it is not truly free, but rather a resource exchange.
Whether we choose a server that costs a few dollars or a few hundred dollars, my personal advice is to be cautious about the stability and security of excessively cheap servers. Of course, there are also some low-end VPS servers that cost around a dozen dollars per year, which we might have come across, but their speed is certainly not comparable to larger server providers.
Regardless of whether it is cheap or free, we should still evaluate if it truly suits our business needs. If it is just for personal experimentation, then feel free to make the purchase!
