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Cloud Hosting vs VPS: What's the Difference?

Cloud hosting and VPS hosting are not strict opposites. A VPS can run on cloud infrastructure, and cloud hosting can be sold with very different management layers.

Updated September 9, 2026

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Infrastructure model

VPS traditionally means a virtual server carved from a physical host. Cloud platforms can place virtual compute within a larger pool of infrastructure and make provisioning or replacement easier.

Management is separate

Neither “cloud” nor “VPS” tells you who patches the system, configures the web server or restores backups. Always separate the infrastructure model from the management model.

What website owners should ask

Focus on guaranteed resources, scaling procedure, high-availability design, backup policy, support scope and your required level of administrative access.

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