Dedicated server hosting is an internet hosting model in which an entire server (dedicated server) is assigned to a single customer. Unlike shared hosting, this web hosting type permits you to lease a whole server without sharing it with other clients. It also offers you full control over the web server and choice of hardware and operating system. Dedicated servers have an edge over shared servers in terms of reliability, stability, and security.
At HostAdvice, our specialists research and test the most suitable web hosting providers for each category. We weigh their features and performance against our well-calculated specifications. The choice hosting platforms are indexed according to their overall scores and specific ratings. In this light, we will discuss the top 6 dedicated server hosting platforms in the UK in 2024 and the key factors you should consider when making your choice.
Key Points to Consider When Choosing Dedicated Server Hosting Mediums in the UK
- Choose a dedicated server hosting provider with useful, user-friendly features.
- Confirm that the hosting provider offers full control over the server and hardware and operating system preference.
- Pay proper attention to the CPU model performance. You should be able to differentiate and choose between AMD, Intel, Atom, Opteron, and Xeon processors.
- Choose an affordable dedicated server hosting platform with favorable pricing. However, you should not prioritize price over features and performance.
- Evaluate the bandwidth, RAM, and data center and ensure they suit your needs.
- Assess the disk drive storage and choose according to your requirements. HDD is great if you prefer substantial storage capacity, while SSD is ideal if you desire speedy storage performance.
- Make sure the dedicated hosting medium has a responsive and reliable customer support team that is fluent in English.
- Choose a web host that possesses solid in-built security features and permits you to install security add-ons.
The Best UK Dedicated Server Hosting Services of 2024 (Bought and Tested)
UltaHost is a versatile web host that provides dedicated server hosting for businesses of all sizes, allowing you to add custom configurations and make your server your own. Also, all of its dedicated servers come with superb security, as they’re equipped with features like built-in security updates, free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and more.
- Overall Score: 4.9
- Pricing: 4.9
- Features: 4.8
- Performance: 4.9
- Support: 4.9
- User Friendly: 4.9
Pricing: You can purchase UltaHost’s dedicated server hosting on a monthly or yearly basis. You can choose your plan based on the control panel you want to use, and the cheapest ones are Hestia & CyberPanel. The entry-level plan costs $90.93/month (on a monthly billing period) and includes a 6C/12T, 2.80-3.20GHz CPU, 2x 960GB SSD storage, 64GB of RAM, 1 IPv4 address, and managed services.
Features: Some of the features you’ll get with UltaHost include DDoS protection, built-in security updates, free SSL certificates, unlimited bandwidth, BitNinja security, free backups, dedicated firewalls, auto-healing, regular security patching, automated backups, SSH and SFTP access, IPMI and KVM access, and more.
Performance: UltaHost comes with top-notch performance and speeds backed by fast-paced NVMe storage, powerful AMD EPYC/Intel Xeon Gold processors, a 99.99% uptime guarantee, advanced caches, a CDN add-on, and HTTP/2-enabled servers. Also, this provider has a data center in London, United Kingdom, making it excellent for UK websites and users.
Support: UltaHost offers round-the-clock customer support via live chat, phone, email, and a ticketing system. In addition, it has an extensive Knowledge Base filled with guides, tutorials, and articles.
User Friendly: This web host is compatible with a wide range of beginner-friendly control panels such as Hestia, CyberPanel, Plesk, and cPanel. Also, all of its dedicated hosting plans are managed, which means that UltaHost will take care of updates, maintenance, and other similar technical tasks.
Pros & Cons
- Enterprise-grade security features are included in all dedicated hosting plans.
- It provides blazing-fast speeds with a 99.99% uptime guarantee.
- It has a powerful data center in the UK that uses premium-grade hardware.
- It’s more expensive compared to other providers (but it comes with excellent services to make up for it).
If you’re looking for something more affordable that also gives you full control over your dedicated server, then KnownHost’s unmanaged UK dedicated hosting is for you. This provider offers 17 different unmanaged dedicated hosting plans while also giving you access to managed, high-performance, and budget dedicated server options.
- Overall Score: 4.9
- Pricing: 4.8
- Features: 4.9
- Performance: 4.9
- Support: 5.0
- User Friendly: 4.9
Pricing: KnownHost offers 17 unmanaged dedicated server hosting plans. The entry-level option costs $49/month and includes the Intel Xeon E3-1270v2 3.5GHz processor with four cores and eight threads, 32GB of DDR3 RAM, 240GB of SSD/HDD storage, and 10TB of bandwidth.
Features: Some of the features that you’ll get from this provider include /29 block for all servers, IPMI access, full root access, multiple OS options, backend dedicated panel, white label, network & hardware SLA, automated OS reloads, remote reboots, power management controls, IPv4 and IPv6, and more.
Performance: KnownHost uses premium hardware on all its servers, including powerful Intel and AMD processors. Also, it utilizes fast-paced NVMe storage and DDR3, DDR4, and DDR5 RAM, and it comes with a 99.99+% uptime guarantee.
Support: Since this is an unmanaged service, you’ll have to set up and manage your dedicated server yourself. However, you’ll still get 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email. Also, it has a vast Knowledge Base filled with tutorials and guides.
User Friendly: Unmanaged services are typically harder to use for beginners, as the server owner has to set up, update, and maintain everything. However, since KnownHost’s dedicated servers are fully customizable, you can install the OS and control panel you like best and make things easier.
Pros & Cons
- Superb performance and speeds with a 99.99+% uptime guarantee.
- 17 fully customizable dedicated server hosting plans.
- Complete server control and a wide range of features.
- There’s no data center in the UK (but the US one is still suitable for UK websites and users).
Kamatera is one of the best web hosts money can buy, especially for those who want to scale their resources whenever the need arises. This web host allows you to create and run custom dedicated servers and has a data center in London, United Kingdom, making it perfect for UK-based users.
- Overall Score: 4.8
- Pricing: 4.7
- Features: 4.8
- Performance: 5.0
- Support: 4.9
- User Friendly: 4.9
Pricing: Kamatera allows you to create a custom dedicated server hosting plan, and you can pay for it on a monthly or hourly basis. The cheapest UK dedicated server hosting plan you can get costs $19/month or $0.026/hour and includes one dedicated vCPU, 1GB of RAM, 20GB of SSD storage, and 5,000GB/month of 10Gbit/s Internet traffic.
Features: With Kamatera, you’ll get access to a wide range of features, including compatibility with Ubuntu, Windows, RockyLinux, AlmaLinux, CentOS, Debian, CloudLinux, FreeBSD, cPanel, Kubernetes, Plesk, Nginx, Node.js, and more. It also offers unlimited scaling, cloud firewalls, block storage, and more.
Performance: This web host comes with a 99.95% uptime guarantee and uses premium hardware, such as Ice Lake Processors and fast-paced NVMe SSD storage, to boost your speed. Also, it has a powerful data center in London, United Kingdom.
Support: Kamatera offers fast and responsive 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email. Also, there’s a managed option that you can get, where Kamatera’s team will handle all the technical aspects of your dedicated hosting service.
User Friendly: Kamatera is compatible with cPanel, a beginner-friendly control panel via which you can manage everything in one place. In addition, it comes with a simple user interface and fast server deployment.
Pros & Cons
- A 30-day free trial on all hosting services.
- Unlimited scaling opportunities.
- Cutting-edge hardware and a 99.95% uptime guarantee.
- It can be challenging for first-time users (but the managed service option can help a lot in this case).
HostArmada is a privately owned and independently funded web hosting platform launched in the United States in 2019. Although it is headquartered in Delaware, US, the provider has quickly become a household name in other countries, including the UK. It is best known for its scalable and cost-effective Cloud SSD-powered web hosting services. These benefits along with its speedy, secure, reliable, and optimally operative managed dedicated servers make it the most excellent dedicated server hosting provider in the UK overall.
- Overall Score: 4.9
- Features: 4.8
- Support: 4.9
- User Friendly: 4.9
- Pricing: 4.7
- Reliability: 4.9
HostArmada grants access to the operating system’s root user, which gives you complete control over the dedicated server. The web host also offers free regular (daily, weekly, or monthly) backups of your valuable data and comes with effective server monitoring tools. Furthermore, it possesses a firm security system comprising SSL, WAF, IP firewall, Imunify360, malware scan, and malware removal which forestalls hacks, malware, and other threats. The hosting provider operates with CloudLinux OS, NGINX web server cache, and Cloudflare to enable optimum website performance.
Features: The platform is loaded with various functional hardware and software components that make it ideal for managed dedicated CPU server hosting.
Support: A web host designed to provide excellent customer assistance with its 24/7 technical support service. The support team receives and responds to comments and questions via email, live chat, and support tickets.
User Friendly: An easy-to-navigate web hosting medium with the traditional cPanel control panel and straightforward interface.
Pricing: It offers three feature-packed dedicated CPU server hosting plans at reasonable prices. Additionally, you can enjoy a 25% discount on your first purchase and 7 days money-back guarantee.
- LIFT OFF!– $149/month – 160 GB SSD Storage / 4 CPU Cores / 8 GB RAM / 5 TB Bandwidth / 40 Gbps Speed in / 2000 Mbps Speed Out / Unlimited Sites
- Low Orbit– $209/month – 320 GB SSD Storage / 8 CPU Cores / 16 GB RAM / 6 TB Bandwidth / 40 Gbps Speed In / 2000 Mbps Speed Out / Unlimited Sites
- High Orbit– $329/month – 640 GB SSD Storage / 16 CPU Cores / 32 GB RAM / 7 TB Bandwidth / 40 Gbps Speed in / 2000 Mbps Speed Out / Unlimited Sites
Reliability: A super-fast and stable dedicated server host with a 40 Gbps speed in, 2000 Mbps speed out, and a 99.9% uptime.
Server Performance and Resources – 4.8/5:
HostArmada boasts an ideal environment for dedicated server hosting with its ample server resources. It has an SSD storage space ranging from 160 GB to 640 GB, depending on the dedicated server hosting plan. Additionally, the dedicated server possesses 4-16 CPU cores, 8-32 GB of RAM, and a bandwidth of 5-7 TB.
Management and control features – 4.9/5:
To enable adequate management of the dedicated server and server resources, HostArmada features root access for users, cPanel, KVM virtualization, MySQL, PHP, and WHM.
Pros & Cons
- Scalable SSD-based web host
- Grants clients full control over the server
- Rapid and stable servers
- Iron-clad security
- Reliable technical support
- Relatively cost-effective
- Feature-rich
- Easy to use
- Fully sufficient server resources
- Practical management and control tools
- Relatively new web host
- Doesn’t provide remote assistance in line with US law.
FastComet is a multi-purpose global web hosting solution established in San Francisco, USA in 2013. The platform is widely acclaimed for its numerous hosting plans and remarkable features. However, it is its employment of highly efficient AMD EPYC CPU cores and ultra-fast Cloud SSD technology that earns it its spot on this list. We like that this web host offers a scalable, fully managed dedicated CPU server hosting service.
- Overall Score: 4.8
- Features: 4.8
- Support: 4.9
- User Friendly: 4.7
- Pricing: 4.7
- Reliability: 4.8
Effective security is one of the main characteristics of proper dedicated server hosting. Accordingly, FastComet provides solid security features, such as WAF, DDoS detection & mitigation, SSL encryption, malware detection & removal, and botnet attacks filter, all summed up as “FastGuard Security.†It also presents automatic daily and weekly backups and offers free complete data snapshots upon your request. Again, the provider utilizes Cloudflare CDN and Softaculous one-click installer for smooth website performance and application installation, respectively.
Features: The platform comes with various useful features, including those conventional and unique. It also provides room for add-ons.
Support: One of its most functional services, FastComet has a responsive, dependable, and thoughtful support team. The customer service department is available 24/7/365 and can be reached via email, live chat, phone, and support tickets.
User Friendly: Generally, the web host and its dedicated server hosting features are not complicated to use and understand. It employs a cPanel control panel and has a promising interface. However, the user experience (UX) aspect is not reliable.
Pricing: It is not the cheapest dedicated server hosting provider out there. Yet, it offers four high-quality dedicated server hosting plans at nice rates. You can also benefit from a 20% discount on your initial purchase and 7 days money-back guarantee.
- DS 1– $139/month – 80 GB SSD Storage / 2 CPU Cores / 4 GB RAM / 4 TB Bandwidth / 4000 Mbps Speed Out
- DS 2– $169/month – 160 GB SSD Storage / 4 CPU Cores / 8 GB RAM / 5 TB Bandwidth / 5000 Mbps Speed Out
- DS 3– $229/month – 320 GB SSD Storage / 8 CPU Cores / 16 GB RAM / 6 TB Bandwidth / 6000 Mbps Speed Out
- DS 4– $349/month – 640 GB SSD Storage / 16 CPU Cores / 32 GB RAM / 7 TB Bandwidth / 7000 Mbps Speed Out
Reliability: This web hosting medium performs at a satisfactory speed and has an adequate uptime of 99.9%. Its most commendable reliability feature is its maintenance of numerous data centers, even in remote areas. Consequently, your website will be available no matter your visitors’ location.
Server Performance and Resources – 4.8/5:
FastComet has great server resources that make it suitable for dedicated CPU server hosting. Its dedicated server has an SSD disk space ranging from 80 GB to 640 GB SD, hinging on the plan. Furthermore, it possesses 2-4 AMD EPYC 7501 CPU cores, 4-7 TB bandwidth, and 4-32 GB of RAM, thereby enhancing its performance.
Management and Control Features – 4.8/5:
FastComet features a client control area that enables you to manage your domains, billing, accounts, and orders. It also utilizes a cPanel control panel and WebHost Manager (WHM), thereby facilitating proper control of your dedicated server and website(s).
Pros & Cons
- 24/7/365 available customer support
- Feature-packed
- It offers fully managed dedicated server hosting
- Tight security
- It has numerous data centers, even in hard-to-reach regions.
- Adequate server resources
- Imperfect UX
- The dedicated server hosting plans may be too expensive for some individuals.
- There are faster web hosts.
Ranking comparison between the Top Providers
Best Dedicated Server Hosting Services in the UK: Final Recommendations
With Dedicated server hosting, you need to generate enough revenue from the dedicated server before the lease renews to make optimum profits. When seeking profitable dedicated server hosting platforms in the UK, look out for your performance requirements, your budget, the server’s security features, potential downtime, scalability, technology advancements, management features, and data center quality.
All the reviewed web hosts dominate others in these aspects. This makes them the most suitable providers for dedicated server hosting. Still, a perfect dedicated server host will also be outstanding in technical support, backup services, network quality, and control panel options.
Our recommendation for the Best UK Dedicated Server Hosting Overall that possesses all of these top qualities is HostArmada.
How Do We Rank and How You Should Choose Your Dedicated Server Hosting Provider?
- Server Performance and Resources30%
- Management and control features13%
- User Reviews30%
- Customer Support10%
- Security Features10%
- Pricing7%
This chart shows the specific parameters we assessed . We independently evaluated these components, tested them and surveyed user reviews to formulate our list of dedicated server hosting providers in the UK.
Our professionals analyzed their server performance and resources. We ensured they were up to standard for dedicated server hosting before choosing them. Similarly, we scrutinized their management and control features, making sure they offered the customer full control over the server and administrative advantages.
Then, we rated each essential parameter over five, factored in their respective percentages, and calculated the final result to determine each provider’s overall score.
Here are the fundamental factors you should consider when choosing a dedicated server hosting provider in the United Kingdom:
Server Performance and Resources:
What is a dedicated server without reliable performance? Server performance is one of the most critical factors to consider when choosing a dedicated server hosting platform. Without adequate server speed and stability, you would not make sufficient profits from dedicated server hosting. Meanwhile, server performance depends on the server resources, including storage space, RAM, bandwidth, processors, threads, gigahertz, and CPU cores.
A dedicated server with an SSD storage disk is best for you if you prioritize rapid loading speeds. But, if you prefer a large storage capacity, one with HDD will suit you better.
Management and Control Features:
A decent dedicated server hosting provider comes with a fully managed service and allows complete control over the server and server resources. It is best to choose a platform with user-friendly and functional control tools, such as cPanel and WHM.
User Reviews:
User reviews provide an in-depth insight into a web host’s features, benefits, downfalls, and tendencies. A past customer is usually in a better position to explain their experience with a dedicated server than a random promotional review site. Consequently, 30% of the provider’s overall scores come from honest user reviews we studied.
Customer Support:
A web host’s customer support team is supposed to provide timely and adequate assistance when you incur technical issues or need answers to important questions. Thus, you should opt for a dedicated server hosting platform with easily accessible and dependable customer service personnel.
Security Features:
A good dedicated server host features iron-clad security tools, such as SSL certificates, WAF, IP firewall, DDoS detection & mitigation, and botnet attacks filter. These elements protect your dedicated server from malware, viruses, spam DDos, and other threats. Accordingly, don’t forget to check out the security features when choosing a dedicated server hosting medium.
Pricing:
There is no generally agreed pricing scale for dedicated server hosting plans. Still, it would be helpful to pick a dedicated server hosting platform that is readily affordable for you and can potentially yield decent profits.
What Is Dedicated Server Hosting and Who Is it For?
As its name implies, dedicated server hosting is a web hosting model in which one or more physical servers are dedicated (assigned) to a single customer. It offers you full management of the server, thus enabling you to optimize it for your specific needs, including security and performance.
The hosting platform provides the physical server and setting, server-related services, and technical support. So, you are the sole renter of the server. This internet hosting option is synonymous with managed hosting service, dedicated hosting service, and dedicated server.
Dedicated server hosting is favorable to business owners because it provides top-notch control, performance, security, and flexibility. It is specifically useful to people who work in the banking, education, and finance sectors. Again, businesses that demand private servers can also employ a dedicated hosting service.