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A dedicated hosting solution is an ideal choice for larger sites with higher traffic volumes or those with specific resource requirements.
A shared web hosting solution can only take you so far with your website before you need to upgrade.
With a shared solution, you’re sharing server resources with other websites on the server.
If the hosting company doesn’t have excellent server management practices, it results in inefficiencies and possible downtime if one of the sites on the server crashes it.
It’s for this reason that larger authority sites prefer using dedicated hosting solutions.
Dedicated hosting allows you to remove the limitations imposed on your site by shared server resources with other clients.
If you don’t think dedicated hosting is right for you, navigate to our web hosting category page for our other recommendations.
Here are the 3 best dedicated hosting options for Canadians.
Table of Contents
1. Liquid Web
Highlights
- 45,000 customers in over 150 countries
- 500,000 sites under management
- Over 500 team members on-site
- 10 Global Data Centers
- 24 x 7 x 365 Support – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- Privately held US company founded in 1997 based in Michigan
Liquid Web Reviews and Rating
Liquid Web focuses on and tracks their Net Promoter Score (NPS) which was last known to be 64.
This score is a customer loyalty metric with a focus on how likely customers are to recommend Liquid Web to their friends, family and colleagues.
A score of 64 is seen as Excellent and higher than the industry average of 56.
From TrustPilot, Liquid Web has a ranking of 4.5 out of 5, based on over 400 reviews.
Liquid Web Dedicated Hosting Features
Liquid Web offers a tailored solution to help you get the right dedicated hosting solution for your needs.
- Fully customizable dedicated servers including Storage, Security, Performance, Software and more
- Standard secondary backup drive on all servers
- 30 minute faulty hardware replacement SLA
- 100% Network and Power Uptime SLAs
- Level 3 Support technicians on site
Liquid Web has 3 different dedicated hosting servers available:
- Intel Xeon 1230v6
- Intel Xeon Gold 6226R – Single
- Intel Xeon Gold 6226R – Dual
| Liquid Web Intel Xeon 1230v6 | Liquid Web Intel Xeon Gold 6226R - Single | Liquid Web Intel Xeon Gold 6226R - Dual |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores | 4 | 16 | 32 |
| Memory (RAM) | 16 | 32 | 64 |
| Storage | Primary: 2 x 240GB SSD Backup: 1 x 1TB SATA | Primary: 2 x 480GB SSD Backup: 1 x 2TB SATA | Primary: 2 x 480GB SSD Backup: 1 x 2TB SATA |
| Bandwidth | 5TB | 8TB | 8TB |
Liquid Web Dedicated Hosting Prices in USD
Intel Xeon 1230v6:
$155.79 per month – Annual payment
Sale: $123.99 per month (Regularly $163.99 per month) – No commitment
Intel Xeon Gold 6226R – Single:
$250.79 per month – Annual payment
Sale: $163.99 per month (Regularly $263.99 per month) – No commitment
Intel Xeon Gold 6226R – Dual:
$469.29 per month – Annual payment
Sale: $353.99 per month (Regularly $493.99 per month) – No commitment
Renewal prices may vary.
See Full Plan and Price List
Liquid Web Data Centers
Liquid Web has 10 data centers strategically placed around the world.
From what’s officially published, Liquid Web has data centers in locations noted below, there may be multiple data centers in each city or other locations that are not published.
Customers can choose which data center they would like to host in at time of purchase, with prices slightly higher if hosting in Netherlands.
- Lansing, Michigan – Main data center with a capacity of 33,000 servers
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
Summary
With a strong focus on small and medium sized businesses as well as their designers, developers and agencies, Liquid Web is a very strong player in the dedicated hosting market.
With privately owned and operated core data centers, with their main data center in Lansing, Michigan having a whopping capacity of 33,000 servers and level 3 technicians on-site 24 x 7 x 365, Liquid Web is as concerned with your success as you are, which is not something you get from budget hosting providers.
The meticulous focus on Support has also led them to coin the term Most Helpful Humans in Hosting® which largely comes from their unwavering support of their customers and dedication to serving you:
Phone Support: 59 second initial response guarantee
Chat Support: 59 second initial response guarantee
Helpdesk: 59 minute initial response guarantee
It’s clear how they value your time and business.
Current Promos: Introductory Offer on Intel Xeon 1230v6 and 25% off 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Gold 6226R Processors
Learn more at LiquidWeb.com
2. DreamHost
Highlights
- Over 1.5 million websites hosted
- Over 400,000 customers across 100+ countries
- Over 200 team members
- 24 x 7 x 365 Support – Email / Live Chat
- Privately held US company founded in 1997 based in California
DreamHost Reviews and Rating
DreamHost uses TrustPilot to track their reviews; they have a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from over 1,400 reviews.
DreamHost Dedicated Hosting Features
- Custom DreamHost control panel allows access to all features such as full root and shell access, ability to reboot/powercycle as needed, domain and email management
- RAID 1 Storage
- 100% Network uptime guarantee
- 24 x 7 support and server monitoring
- Unlimited free IPv6 addresses
- DDoS Protection
DreamHost offers 2 tiers of Dedicated hosting servers, Standard and Enhanced.
We’ll take a look at the first offer in each of these tiers, Standard 4 and Enhanced 16
| DreamHost Standard 4 | DreamHost Enhanced 16 |
|
|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores | 4 | 12 |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 | 16 |
| Storage | 1 TB HDD | 2 TB HDD |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Their highest tier dedicated server is the Enhanced SSD 64 which offers 12 cores, 64GB of memory, and 240GB of SSD storage.
DreamHost Dedicated Hosting Prices in USD
Standard 4
$149 per month – 12 month term
$169 per month – No commitment
Enhanced 16
$279 per month – 12 month term
$299 per month – No commitment
Renewal prices may vary.
See Full Plan and Price List
DreamHost Data Centers
DreamHost has 2 large data centers, one on each coast. While DreamHost used to originally own and operate their data centers, the moved to a collocated model several years ago, becoming the anchor tenant in 2 very large facilities[1].
- Ashburn, Virginia
- Hillsboro, Oregon
Summary
When it comes time to start leveraging the power of a dedicated server, DreamHost is a strong contender.
With over 20 years in the industry, and 1.5 million websites hosted, DreamHost provides a competitive offering, allowing you to secure a well-spec’d dedicated server for as low as $149 USD a month.
DreamHost ensures that their dedicated servers provide the best in power, security and control.
With a 100% network uptime guarantee and strong power redundancy protocols in place, downtime should be a thing of the past.
One differentiator with DreamHost is the custom control panel they’ve built to help you manage your hosting account and dedicated server, the DreamHost Web Panel.
Their proprietary Web Panel allows you to manage multiple aspects of your hosting from one place, including gaining full root and shell access, the ability to reboot or powercycle your server as necessary as well as the ability to manage all of the domains, websites and emails that are leveraging the server.
It’s been built in a much more intuitive way to better interface with the DreamHost setup and for that reason, they do not offer cPanel or WHM.
If you are used to using cPanel and need some help getting around Web Panel, the 24 x 7 x 365 Support team is always happy to assist with anything, minor or major.
Learn more at DreamHost.com
3. WHC
Highlights
- Canadian business privately owned and operated
- Canadian data centers
- 130,000+ websites hosted
- 24 x 7 Support in English and French – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- In business since 2003
- Based in Montreal, Quebec
WHC Reviews and Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 by over 2,000 customers on Google.
WHC Dedicated Hosting Features
- Standard server management included in monthly fee, option to upgrade to ProActive Management or Advanced Management
- cPanel or WHM solo license included, easily add-on more accounts
- Linux CentOS, with the option to upgrade to CloudLinux or Windows Server
- Various configurable add-ons such as number of dedicated IPs and external backups
- 60 minute or less first response time 24 x 7
- Guaranteed hardware replacement within 4 hours if there is a failure
WHC offers 3 different tiers of dedicated hosting service, Dedi Pro, Dedi Enterprise and Dedi Beast.
| WHC Dedi Pro | WHC Dedi Enterprise | WHC Dedi Beast |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Memory (RAM) | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
| Storage | 2 x 2TB SATA OR 2 x 480GB SSD (+$15) | 2 x 2TB SATA OR 2 x 480GB SSD (+$15) | 2 x 4TB SATA OR 2 x 500GB SSD NVMe |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Network Speed | 250Mbps | 500Mbps | 500Mbps |
WHC Dedicated Hosting Prices in CAD
Dedi Pro:
$155.79 per month – 12 month term
$163.99 per month – No commitment – Sale first month 123.99
Dedi Enterpise:
$250.79 per month – 12 month term
$263.99 per month – No commitment – Sale first month 163.99
Dedi Beast:
$469.29 per month – 12 month term
$493.99 per month – No commitment – Sale first month 353.99
Renewal prices may vary.
See Full Plan and Price List
WHC Data Centers
With multiple data centers located on both Canadian coasts, rest assured that Web Hosting Canada provides great coverage as well as redundancy.
- Montreal, Quebec
- Vancouver, British Columbia
Summary
Web Hosting Canada offers a strong dedicated hosting service to the market.
Being in business for close to 20 years, this Canadian based company understands what you need to succeed.
Standard Management is included with every dedicated hosting package, where the WHC team ensures that there is power to your server, that it has network connectivity and that it responds to pings.
cPanel with Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP will also be pre-installed and configured for you and the server will be optimized for Performance and Security.
You can expect a first response in under 60 minutes 24 x 7 to any Support tickets you raise. And in the event that their is a hardware failure, WHC has a 4 hour SLA to get your hardware replaced.
At just over $100 per month, Web Hosting Canada offers you an introductory dedicated solution to scale, with top of the line hardware.
Overall, great value for the money, from a completely Canadian company with only Canadian data centers.
Current Promo: Up to 50% off your first term. See full details on their website.
Learn more at WHC.ca
How Does Dedicated Hosting Work?
With shared hosting, companies place multiple websites on a single server to save on costs.
CPU and Ram for example are shared between all of the different sites on the server.
With a dedicated server, you get the entire server all to yourself.
If you have one site or one hundred sites, you can load them onto the server and manage everything within one central dashboard.
Dedicated hosting provides an efficient, flexible, and safe upgrade for your site’s growing traffic volumes and it comes in two different options, allowing you to tailor your hosting requirements to your business needs.
An unmanaged dedicated hosting solution means that you are responsible for maintaining and updating the server yourself. You’ll also be responsible for tasks like installing security patches and OS upgrades.
Therefore, unless you are technically savvy, you’re probably going to want to go with a managed dedicated hosting solution.
A managed dedicated hosting solution has the hosting company take care of all your server maintenance.
The hosting company includes all those services in your monthly subscription.
When Would I Need Dedicated Hosting?
1. Custom Configuration
With a dedicated solution, you have complete control over the applications used on the server such as the OS and database software.
You can customize the server based on your needs, and continuously tweak the settings to find the optimal set up for your specific application.
2. Reduce Risk
With a dedicated solution, you’re not competing for resources with other sites on the server.
If one of the sites is experiencing higher-traffic flows in a shared hosting solution, the server resources move to support it and prevent it from crashing the server.
However, if things go wrong and the site crashes, it takes the entire server and your site down with it.
With a dedicated solution, you get the entire server working to support your site or sites.
That way, you ensure you have full control over the distribution of the server resources.
3. Privacy and Security
A dedicated solution ensures that only you have access to the server, and no other sites have anything stored on the server.
A dedicated solution enhances your websites’ privacy and security, as you have full control over the server including who accesses it and what their access permissions are.
4. Predictable and Stable Performance
A dedicated hosting solution provides your websites with stability, even when traffic volumes are at all-time highs.
You get high performance in demanding conditions; with the dedicated server resources available 100% for you, you get a higher performance level than a VPS hosting solution.
What Should I Look for in Dedicated Hosting Partners?
1. Look at Downtime
What happens to your business if your hosting server fails? With a dedicated solution, you’re not sharing server resources with other sites.
However, the drawback is that the server acts as a single failure point in the system.
If your websites and hosting solution doesn’t offer the feature of scaling to multiple dedicated server solutions, you need to calculate the risk of potential downtime as you don’t really have a back up.
2. Requirements for your Website
Every company has different hosting requirements – a small businesses’ hosting needs will be significantly different from a large corporation’s needs.
Assess your estimated users, traffic, and think about the essentials you need for hardware options like CPU usage, memory, and disk space based on the functions your website will provide.
3. Anticipate Your Bandwidth Use
Bandwidth requirements correlate with how much traffic you predict you’re going to receive.
You might be planning on consuming large volumes of bandwidth, but your estimate of how much traffic you’re going to receive is not at a high confidence level i.e. you’re not very sure how much traffic you’re going to get.
If that’s the case, choose a dedicated hosting package with large amounts of data traffic or unmetered billing.
Using this strategy, you know what you’re spending on a dedicated server vs being billed for overages or worse, being cut off for exceeding the limit.
4. Test the Network
The quality of the hosting provider’s network and your proximity to the server locations determine your network quality.
The location of the dedicated servers impacts end-users. For instance, if your customers are in Europe, taking an affordable subscription with hosting companies in the APAC region isn’t a good idea.
The connection is slower, and that impacts site performance on the visitor’s end.
While you may be implementing a CDN, you don’t want a server on the other side of the world if most of your users will be from somewhere else.
Your hosting provider’s network quality also determines the speed of data delivery.
Ensure its up to par with your expectations.
Dedicated Hosting vs. Shared Hosting
A shared hosting solution is like a dedicated server shared by one hundred different customers.
Each customer rents out 1% of the server resources, and is allowed to use more resources within a certain limit.
Overall, there is a limit on bandwidth and storage as well as how much of the CPU and Ram you can use.
Dedicated Hosting vs. Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is where your resources are available through multiple servers and resources can be scaled up or down on demand.
Your site gets access to server resources from the entire network, reducing downtime and the risk of site crashes since you’re not only relying on one server.
Cloud hosting solutions are available in managed and unmanaged options for your business preference.
Dedicated Hosting vs. VPS
A Virtual Private Server is a hosting option that’s popular with businesses migrating from a shared hosting solution but don’t need the power of a dedicated server yet.
A VPS acts as a “virtual machine,” on a dedicated server that may be shared with a few different users.
[1] https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2015/08/05/dreamhost-anchor-tenant-in-viawests-oregon-data-center
