Compare · Operating system
Linux or Windows VPS?
Linux runs most of the internet and starts at $6.90 a month here. Windows Server is what you need for desktop programs like MetaTrader, from $13.90 a month. Below, the price difference on the same machine, how you connect, and which workloads belong where.
Side by side
What changes when you pick the other one.
Prices are read from our catalogue, the same figures the cart charges.
Entry price
- Linux VPS
- $6.90 a month (1 vCPU, 1 GB)
- Windows VPS
- $13.90 a month (2 vCPU, 4 GB, Helsinki, 180-day evaluation for your own key)
Operating systems
- Linux VPS
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9, Ubuntu 24.04 + Docker
- Windows VPS
- Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019
License
- Linux VPS
- None needed
- Windows VPS
- Included on some platforms; a 180-day evaluation for your own key on others
How you connect
- Linux VPS
- SSH as root, with a password and your own keys
- Windows VPS
- Remote Desktop as Administrator
Browser console
- Linux VPS
- Yes, from the panel
- Windows VPS
- No
Comfortable minimum
- Linux VPS
- 1 to 2 GB for a site or a bot
- Windows VPS
- 2 vCPU and 4 GB
Typical uses
- Linux VPS
- Websites, Docker, databases, VPNs, bots, game servers
- Windows VPS
- MetaTrader and broker terminals, Windows desktop programs, .NET apps, a remote workstation
The license, in one number. On our cheapest licensed Windows machine (4 vCPU, 8 GB in Lauterbourg), Windows adds $19.00 a month to the Linux price of the same machine: $12.90 with Linux, $31.90 with Windows.
Questions
Before you choose.
Is Windows more expensive than Linux on a VPS?
On the same machine, yes, because of the license. Our cheapest licensed Windows machine, 4 vCPU and 8 GB in Lauterbourg, is $31.90 a month; the same machine with Linux is $12.90. Windows also needs more memory to be comfortable, which pushes the size up.
How do I connect to each one?
Linux over SSH, with a root password and, from our panel, a browser console. Windows over Remote Desktop as Administrator, from the first boot. There is no browser console for Windows, because it works over our SSH key, which a Windows machine does not carry.
How much memory does a Windows VPS need?
Start at 2 vCPU and 4 GB for Windows Server with one application on it. A Linux server running a website or a bot is often fine with 1 to 2 GB.
Is the Windows license included?
It depends on the city. On some platforms the image carries its own license and the price includes it. On others the machine boots Windows Server as a 180-day evaluation, which works fully and asks to be activated with your own key. Each city's Windows page says which.
Which should I choose for MetaTrader or a trading bot?
MT4, MT5 and most broker terminals are Windows programs, so a Windows VPS. A bot written in Python or Node.js runs on Linux for less.