Private Cloud vs. Flexible VPS: dedicated resources vs. shared infrastructure
Quick answer
Choose Flexible VPS for fast, flexible, cost-efficient hosting on shared Worldstream hardware. Choose Private Cloud if you need dedicated, non-shared infrastructure, tighter data-sovereignty alignment for GDPR or NIS2, or more predictable pricing than variable resource billing.
Two different infrastructure models
Flexible VPS and Private Cloud both put you on a cloud-style platform rather than a single physical machine, but the underlying infrastructure model is different.
Flexible VPS runs your virtual machine on shared physical hosts alongside other customers' VMs, with your own allocated slice of resources. It's the fast, flexible option covered in Choosing between a VPS and a dedicated server and Deploying your first Flexible VPS.
Private Cloud is your own dedicated cloud environment on Worldstream's own network infrastructure: no shared infrastructure. It's positioned at organisations that want cloud-style flexibility with the isolation and control of dedicated hardware.
Comparison
| Flexible VPS | Private Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Shared physical hosts, allocated slice per VPS | Dedicated, non-shared environment on Worldstream's own infrastructure |
| Network | Standard VPS networking | Worldstream's Elastic Network, built on EVPN and VxLAN |
| Pricing model | Pay for the plan and resources you select | Positioned around predictable pricing rather than variable resource billing, and you avoid the upfront cost of buying hardware |
| Data sovereignty and compliance | Standard Worldstream hosting terms apply | Positioned around data sovereignty, full control over storage and access management, and easier alignment with GDPR and NIS2 |
| Typical fit | Web apps, dev/test, variable workloads that don't need physical isolation | Mission-critical workloads, regulated data, organisations that want predictable cost and full infrastructure control without owning hardware |
Questions worth asking yourself
- Does your data need to stay demonstrably isolated from other tenants? Private Cloud's non-shared infrastructure removes that question; Flexible VPS shares physical hosts.
- Are GDPR or NIS2 obligations part of your decision? Private Cloud is positioned around data sovereignty and full control over storage and access management.
- Do you want predictable pricing, or resource-based billing? Private Cloud is positioned around predictable pricing; Flexible VPS billing follows the plan and resources you choose.