Do I need a VPS Plan?

Bluehost offers a wide selection of hosting services to suit different needs, and as your website grows, you may eventually consider moving to a Virtual Private Server (VPS). In this guide, we'll explain what a VPS provides and help you determine whether it’s the ideal upgrade for your site.

This article covers the following topics:

• What's in the box?
• Send all the emails!
• Storage, CPU, and RAM, oh my!
• More power
• Means more responsibility
• You are the Manager!
• So, what's it gonna be?
• Summary
   

What's in the box?
VPS vs. Shared hosting

On Shared hosting, your website uses resources that are distributed among many customers. CPU, RAM, bandwidth, and disk space are shared with other users. While our team works to maintain optimal performance, one site’s excessive usage may slow down others on the same server.

A VPS, however, provides dedicated CPU, RAM, and storage for your plan alone. You can also scale these resources whenever your site requires more power.

For more details about VPS hosting, visit our Bluehost VPS Hosting page. You may also find our Guide to Purchasing Self-Managed VPS Hosting with Bluehost guide helpful.

Send all the emails!
VPS hosting to send unlimited emails

Shared hosting plans include sending limits on outbound emails. If another customer on your server sends spam, it may affect overall deliverability, temporarily impacting your own email performance. On a VPS, this risk is significantly lower because you aren’t sharing an email reputation pool with other users.

VPS plans do not impose a fixed limit on outgoing emails. You still need to comply with email‑sending regulations, so we recommend reviewing our Anti-SPAM Policy. Beyond that, you're free to send as many emails as your business needs—great for marketing pushes and high-volume campaigns.

Storage, CPU, and RAM, oh my!
VPS storage & other resources

Shared hosting provides unmetered resources, meaning RAM, CPU, and storage aren’t fixed allocations. However, if your account uses more than 25% of server resources for over 90 seconds, it may violate our Terms of Service (TOS).

With a VPS, you select the exact amount of storage, CPU, and RAM your website requires. When traffic increases, you can simply upgrade—something Shared hosting cannot offer.

More power
VPS root access

Shared hosting is similar to living with family—everything is accessible, but shared. If someone uses too much of a resource (like “hot water”), you may feel the impact. You also aren’t responsible for major maintenance tasks.

A VPS is like having your own apartment. You control the entire environment, and no one else uses your resources. You get predictability, privacy, and consistent performance.

On a VPS, you gain root access, which gives full administrative control through root WHM (rWHM).

Root access lets you create cPanel accounts, restart services, adjust DNS zones, track server health, and install or request additional software.

As the famous saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.” The resources below can help you manage WHM, optimize cPanel setups, and follow best practices.

• Web Hosting Security Best Practices for Hosted Web Safety
• WHM Support: A Complete Guide
• cPanel overview: Your Simple Guide to Mastering Website Management

Means more responsibility
VPS backups, restores, and maintenance

Greater control also means more responsibility.

Backups & Restores

On Shared hosting, Bluehost provides daily, weekly, and monthly backups to help safeguard your content. 

These courtesy backups aren’t guaranteed, so you should always maintain your own backups no matter which plan you use.

On VPS hosting—especially NVMe VPS—Bluehost no longer provides automatic backups. VPS customers must configure and manage backups via rWHM or through a third-party service like CodeGuard.

When you manage your own backups, you can restore data anytime without submitting a support ticket.

Software Updates

As a VPS owner, you’re responsible for updating most installed software, including PHP versions and any custom modules. If you choose not to use cPanel, you may install another control panel—but you’ll also handle all patches and security updates.

If you're using CentOS with WHM/cPanel, our administrators apply regular server updates and critical security patches. They may notify you about available updates to software like PHP, but won’t upgrade your websites automatically so you can test compatibility first.

If you're adopting VPS hosting, the resources below are valuable reading. In addition to our Knowledgebase, cPanel’s documentation provides extensive information for managing WHM.

cPanel documentation

• Backup Restoration
• File and Directory Restoration for WHM

You are the Manager!

You can also add a Web Host Manager Complete Solution (WHMCS) license to your VPS. While VPS plans don’t include WHMCS by default and may not be ideal for many resource-heavy accounts, it’s a great way to explore WHMCS before upgrading to a Dedicated server. WHMCS enables you to set up billing systems, create hosting packages, and expand functionality with addons such as mobile management tools.

So, what's it gonna be?

Is a VPS the right upgrade for your site? Here’s a look at the benefits and potential challenges.

Pros

• Root access
• Ability to install custom or third-party software
• Dedicated resources
• Option to build sandbox or development environments
• More cost-effective than Dedicated hosting
• No outgoing email limits
• Flexible and scalable resource upgrades
• Control to reboot your server and restart services
• Perform your own restores
• Manage your server using industry-standard tools

Challenges

• Requires technical knowledge, especially Linux-based management
• You are fully responsible for your own backups
• Resource limits depend on the VPS plan you select
• Higher cost compared to Shared hosting
• Not a workaround for Shared hosting TOS limits related to resource usage

If you're comfortable with technical tools—or ready to learn—and want greater control over your hosting environment, upgrading to a VPS could be an excellent next step.

If you'd prefer a fully managed environment, find server administration overwhelming, or need significantly more resources, a VPS may not be the best fit. Bluehost offers a variety of hosting tiers, making it easy to choose what fits your needs and upgrade later. If you purchase a new VPS or upgrade an existing plan on a 12‑month term or longer, you're eligible for free migrations within 30 days. Moving from Shared hosting to VPS or Dedicated is quick and simple!

Summary

A VPS gives you dedicated resources, root access, and the freedom to scale your hosting environment—making it a strong upgrade from Shared hosting for growing sites. It offers more power, better performance, and unlimited outgoing emails, but also requires you to manage backups, updates, and server maintenance. If you’re comfortable with technical tools or ready to learn, a VPS provides flexibility and control that Shared hosting can’t match. If you prefer a fully managed setup or need significantly more resources, another hosting tier may be a better fit. Bluehost also makes upgrading simple with free migrations on annual VPS plans.