What is the difference between a Cloud and a VPS?

Sometimes it is thought that Cloud servers and VPS, Virtual Private Servers, are one and the same thing, but that’s not true. There are a few differences between the two which are a huge thing for businesses that go in for either of the two.

Location of the hardware is a key differentiator between the two. While a cloud server is situated either on-site or at a data center the client owns, a VPS server is generally hosted off-site, at a third party web hosting provider.

Cost is another differing factor between the two. A VPS is definitely a much cheaper option of the two. Cloud is expensive because of hardware issues. The client has to bear the cost of hardware, installation, set-up and maintenance.

The third point of difference is scalability. A cloud server is built keeping in mind quick deployment and provisioning. A few clicks of the administrative panel and the client gets a new virtual server, database, or any other resource up and running. In the case of VPS, the client has to upgrade the service manually by sending a support ticket to the provider or calling for technical support to get the needed resources.

The last is server setup. A VPS is a single physical server split amongst a limited number of users while a cloud uses resources that are distributed between multiple physical servers.