Bare Metal Servers provide the raw resources of a physical server along with sophisticated tools and features for enhanced performance and server configuration. They are ideal for mission-critical projects, international eCommerce websites, and other resource-hungry applications.
Bare Metal Servers are often used interchangeably with dedicated servers, but they are not the same. Dedicated servers simply allocate their entire resources to a single server. Bare Metal Servers have all the features of dedicated servers and full add-on features for raw performance.
Here Are The Top Bare Metal Servers Hosting Providers
The Best Bare Metal Servers Hosting Providers of 2023 (Bought and Tested)
Ultahost offers Bare Metal Servers (advertised as dedicated servers) powered by industry-leading hardware at affordable prices. These servers come with unmetered bandwidth, abundant features, root access, a 99% uptime guarantee, and real-time 24/7 security monitoring. These plans are great for developers, collaborative teams, and video streaming platforms.
- Overall score – 4.7
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.8
- User-Friendly – 4.8
- Pricing – 4.3
- Reliability – 4.8
Features: Ultahost dedicated server hosting comes with many tools and features. These include unlimited bandwidth, full root access, a 99% uptime guarantee, customer security solutions, SSD NVMe storage disks, daily backups, free website migration, and full server management.
Support: You get expert support 24/7 via the ticketing system and live chat. Ultahost also has an active community of expert users willing to help new users. DIY users can get help from the knowledge base, while those needing hands-on support can opt for an Advanced or Premium support add-on.
User-friendly: Ultahost has many user-friendly features to make your hosting experience as stress-free as possible. These features include multiple programming language support for developers, multiple OS choices, instant vertical scalability, multiple data center locations, and support for unlimited website hosting on a single dedicated server plan.
Pricing: The entry dedicated plan costs $129.90/mo. It offers CPU – Intel® Xeon® E-2276G Hexa-Core, 2x 960 GB SSD, 64 GB RAM, IP Addresses – 1 IPv4, and complete server management. You renew the plan at the same rates and get a 30-day money-back on all plans. You also get freebies such as website migration, unlimited bandwidth, domain transfer, and SSL certificate on all plans.
Reliability: You get maximum speed and reliability thanks to the NVMe SSD and built-in cache mechanism. Ultahost also offers an optimized developer stack that includes Apache, NGINX, PHP-FPM, and MySQL/MariaDB. The servers are designed to have no single point of failure, so you can exert your website to stay online.
Additional Parameter: Developer–Friendly: Ultahost dedicated servers have built-in features for enhanced workflow. These include their built-in team collaboration feature for better productivity, multiple programming language support, vertical scaling, optimized stack, and support for the latest versions of PHP 5.6.x and PHP 8.x. These features make Ultahost an excellent choice for developers and collaborative projects.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Built for collaborative projects
- Provides enough resources for high-resource projects like streaming platforms
- Built-in server security systems
- Fully-managed dedicated servers
- 24/7 live chat and ticketing support
- Powered by ultra-optimized 14th-generation Dell servers
Cons
- Slightly pricey plans
InterServer is one of the leading brands in web hosting solutions. Their Bare Metal Server plans (advertised as Dedicated Servers) offer state-of-the-art server components with top-tier networking technology to provide the IT infrastructure to power your websites and applications. The company delivers on its promises of power, flexibility, and raw performance.
- Overall score – 5
- Features – 5
- Support – 5
- User-Friendly – 5
- Pricing – 5
- Reliability – 5
Features: InterServer provides many features for free that you would have to pay for if you are using other hosting companies. These features include anti-DDoS protection, 150 TB transfer, remote reboots, 24/7 uptime monitoring, remote KVM, 1 GB or 10 GB port, remote OS reinstalls, IPMI or iLo access, and data migration service. You can choose between HDD, SSD, and NVMe storage at checkout.
Support: The web company offers free managed support for all dedicated servers. The company offers support for all hardware issues, including parts, labor, and system reinstalls for servers with or without a control panel. Dedicated servers with control panels also support repair services such as web, mail, DNS, SQL, and FTP. Any other issues fall under paid support tasks.
User-friendly: InterServer seeks to be as user-friendly as it can be. It offers transparent pricing, tells you what features and support you can expect, and provides an easy free setup for your dedicated servers. You also get 24/7 customer support, anti-DDoS protection, and free website migration. They support all valid licensed operating systems and allow you to upload your OS. You can also modify your CPU configuration at setup with a button.
Pricing: All of InterServer’s dedicated server plans are fully customizable. However, with each added component, the price of your plan will increase. The baseline plan is the Xeon E3-1230. It offers a four-core CPU, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SATA storage, 150 TB bandwidth, AlmaLinux, and 1 IP address and sells for $44.00/month. You can configure the storage, bandwidth, OS, and IP options at the checkout.
Reliability: InterServer powers its servers using 10 Gbps ethernet connections and a network of multiple Tier 1 IP backbone providers. They only use the best networking equipment from top-tier manufacturers and intelligent BGPv4 routing protocol to deliver on their 100% power uptime and 99.9% network uptime guarantee.
Additional Parameter: Best Dedicated Servers Provider Overall: InterServer is our top recommendation for dedicated servers because of its dedication to delivering high-performance servers with no downtimes. They maintain connections with multiple Tier 3 and Tier 4 data center facilities and provide 24/7 in-house data center support and around-the-clock server security.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 24/7 managed support on all dedicated server plans
- 100% SLA-backed network uptime guarantee
- Transparent pricing on fully customizable plans
- Free features such as DDoS protection and migration service
- Offers SSD and NVMe storage for fast data transfers
Cons
- Limited free dedicated server support
IONOS offers user-friendly hosting solutions, and their Bare Metal Servers are no exception. They offer easy-to-use, affordable, and reliable dedicated server plans for superb performance for your projects. They offer enterprise-level dedicated hardware powered by Intel® Xeon® or AMD processors.
- Overall score – 4.8
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.7
- User-Friendly – 4.7
- Pricing – 5
- Reliability – 4.8
Features: IONOS offers 100% dedicated enterprise-level hardware with API controls and cloud integration for peak performance. You also get unlimited traffic and 1 Gbit/s bandwidth. Other features include high-speed NVMe SSD storage, the option between Intel and AMD processors, an advanced firewall, and U.S. data centers.
Support: IONOS assigns personal consultants to all customers. The personal consultant provides expert recommendations, resolves web hosting issues, and provides uncomplicated hosting advice. The consultant is reachable 24/7 by email, phone, or chat. You can also request a callback at any time of your choosing.
User-friendly: IONOS offers a simple-to-use dedicated server hosting solution, and the personal consultant makes things easier. You only need to contact the personal consultant for help if you ever encounter issues.
Pricing: You have two options when it comes to dedicated servers: AMD servers and Intel servers. The AMD servers start plan costs $0.0903/hour (max charge of $65/mo) for the basic configuration. This configuration includes AMD Ryzen 5 pro 3600 with 6 cores/12 threads, 32 GB RAM, and 2 x 1,000 GB HDD storage. The starter intel plan costs $0.0972/hour (max charge of $70/mo) for the basic configuration, which includes Intel XEON E3-1230 CPU with 4 cores/8 threads, 16 GB RAM, and 2 x 1,000 GB HDD storage.
Reliability: The dedicated servers come with RAID technology for safe, stable, fast data storage. They provide high-speed VNMe SSD for blazing-fast data access times. For security, you get an advanced firewall and DDoS protection to stop DDoS attacks before they reach the server level.
Additional Parameter: Dedicated Hosting for Small Businesses: IONOS offers dedicated hosting targeted at businesses and individuals who want easy-to-manage and affordable dedicated hosting solutions. While Bare Metal Servers start at $65/mo (for AMD servers), the dedicated hosting plans begin at only $45/month.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Advanced dedicated hosting hardware for enterprise-level performance
- Affordable pricing for all levels
- Full security features, including anti-DDoS protection
- Round-the-clock customer support
- NVMe SSD storage for faster data storage and transfer
Cons
- It is easy to consider the dedicated hosting plans as Bare Metal Server plans
A2 Hosting provides dedicated servers with various configuration options for your specific needs. They also allow you to scale your server configuration based on increasing or decreasing hosting requirements. When you combine this scalability with their super fast servers, you have the ultimate dedicated server for speed and performance.
- Overall score – 4.7
- Features – 4.8
- Support – 4.8
- User-Friendly – 4.8
- Pricing – 4.3
- Reliability – 4.8
Features: For the unmanaged dedicated server plans, you get full root access, multiple OS choices, command line management, Webuzo 1-click software installer, and managed hardware and network. The managed plan adds easy-to-use cPanel and managed server security features to your plan.
Support: A2 Hosting offers 24/7 support on all plans. However, the level of support for unmanaged hosting differs from that of managed hosting. Managed service customers get assistance with server configuration issues and ongoing maintenance. Clients with unmanaged hosting plans only get support for the physical server and network.
User-Friendliness: All A2 Hosting dedicated server plans are user-friendly, even unmanaged. For instance, unmanaged plans come with complete server control and administrative “root” access. The managed plan gets server configuration assistance in addition to full root access.
Pricing: A2 Hosting unmanaged bare metal dedicated hosting plans start at $105.99 (renew at $199.99) for a 24-month contract term. This plan offers Intel Xeon E-2224 CPU, 16 GB RAM, 2 x 1TB SSD storage, 6TB transfer, and root access. The managed option costs $155.99 (renews at $249.99) for the same period. It includes the same configuration with a free SSL certificate and site migration.
Reliability: A2 Hosting offers increased server speed and performance with a 99.9% uptime guarantee. They also offer ultra-fast NVMe storage options for 3x read/write data speeds. You also have the freedom to optimize your server to the fullest for hardened security and improved loading times.
Additional Parameter: Unmanaged Bare Metal Dedicated Hosting: The unmanaged hosting solutions from A2 Hosting offers complete control of your server environment. While this option requires more knowledge, it also allows you to customize your server for performance and speed. With Turbo servers and NVMe storage, you get the highest speed and performance possible.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Offers managed and unmanaged server plan options
- Full root access on all dedicated server plans
- Ultra-fast NVMe storage options
- 24/7/365 guru crew support team
- 99% uptime commitment with 24/7 network monitoring
Cons
- Limited support on the unmanaged dedicated server plans
Ranking comparison between the Top Providers
Best Bare Metal Servers Services: Final Recommendations
The key takeaway from our article is that many great Bare Metal Server providers are in the market. However, when it comes to the overall best, InterServer is our choice. This web host combines impressive server performance with affordable prices and excellent customer support. They also have flexible plans that accommodate both small and enterprise-grade projects. Other equally great web hosting companies for Bare Metal Servers include Inmotion and Liquid Web.
As you may have noticed, many of these hosting providers advertise their Bare Metal Servers as either Dedicated or Bare Metal dedicated servers. It is up to you to read the description to ensure you are getting what you need. That said, you can always trust the services you get from any of the five web hosting providers mentioned in this article. If you have other providers in mind, see our section on choosing the best bare metal server provider.
How do we rank, and how should you choose your Bare Metal Server Hosting?
- Uptime and speed8%
- Ease of Use15%
- Customer Support7%
- Hardware Resources8%
- Security Features5%
- Valuable Extras12%
- Pricing15%
- User Reviews30%
Here are the key factors we used to rank the best Bare Metal Server hosting providers:
- Uptime and speed (8%): While average server performance might be enough for shared hosting or even VPS hosting, Bare Metal Servers have to deliver extremely fast loading speeds. Of course, the minimum benchmark for any provider is 99.9% uptime and milliseconds of web page loading time.
- Ease of Use (15%): Bare Metal Servers are not for beginners, so we award extra points to providers who make their bare metal server plans user-friendly.
- Customer Support (7%): Every customer will require support at some point. When you do, you need the support team to respond swiftly. However, some providers offer tiered support, so make sure your support level is sufficient for your needs and technical skills. If it isn’t, consider getting a paid support plan or switching to another provider.
- Hardware Resources (8%): Your server speed and performance rely on the allocated resources. Ideally, you want high-capacity NVMe drives, powerful processors, ample RAM, and unlimited bandwidth. On the other hand, you want to ensure your provider allows you to scale your plan to meet your growing hosting needs vertically.
- Security Features (5%): Bare Metal Server hosting is a serious business, so you need solid security solutions. The web host must apply strong physical and online security to guard their data centers. They should also provide the infrastructure to help you strengthen your server defense. If you are using a managed plan, the web host ideally uses server monitoring software to identify and neutralize threats before they affect your server in any way.
- Valuable Extras (12%): You should also be looking for extra packages that sweeten the deal. These include zero setup fees, instant availability, free migration service, the level of support for all plans, and developer stack. The features that stand out for you should be based on your specific needs rather than because the provider advertises it as one of their starting features.
- Pricing (15%): Bare Metal Servers are not cheap, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend all your budget on features you don’t use. The best Bare Metal Server providers allow you to configure your plans to include the needed features. They also provide a clear breakdown of what these components cost to give you an accurate view of how much you have to spend. It would be best if you were on the watch out for higher renewal prices, server setup fees, and costs of necessary add-ons.
- User Reviews (30%): User reviews help you confirm a provider’s advertised promises and provide an inside look into how well their servers perform. We recommend you compare users’ reviews with expert reviews such as the ones on our site for a balanced view.
Things to Know Before You Purchase Bare Metal Server
Before you sign up for a Bare Metal Plan, you need to pay attention to certain aspects. Here are some critical factors for considering a Bare Metal Server hosting provider in no particular order.
- Bandwidth: Bandwidth refers to the total amount of data you can transfer in a single instance. Its counterpart, data transfer or data transmission, refers to the total amount of data that you can use over a period, usually a month. You should ensure that the bandwidth and data transfer allocations are sufficient for your needs. Some providers may offer unlimited bandwidth with a cap on data transfer. This means you can transport as much data as you like at once, provided it doesn’t go beyond the data transfer limit. Once it does, your server’s data transfer speed will slow down, or you will be charged a penalty for going over your data transfer allocation.
- Storage: Your storage allocation can severely affect your server speed and performance. Ideally, you want SSD NVMe storage as they offer faster read/write speeds. For storage space, you should get 500 GB for regular Hosting and 1TB and beyond for mission-critical hosting solutions.
- Budget: Bare Metal Servers can cost an arm and a leg when you factor in the yearly cost. You can get more value by only going for the features you need. Most providers also offer discounts and waive the one-time setup fee if you go for long-term discounts. However, you should keep an eye on other costs of add-ons you will need and the renewal price if it is higher than the starting price.
- Server speed: There is no trade-off here. You want your servers to run as fast as possible. We recommend running a test or checking out expert reviews to see how fast the servers of a hosting provider are. Choose a provider that consistently delivers fast loading speed across reviews.
- Security: Security is a significant concern with Bare Metal Servers. Unless you use a managed plan, you are responsible for your server security. Many providers provide the necessary infrastructure to secure your business while you secure the server level at your end.
- Customer Support: A word of caution: web hosts are always picky about what assistance they provide for dedicated servers. Typically, you get more assistance for a managed or semi-managed plan than an unmanaged plan. Some providers also offer free and paid hosting support. Read the fine print to know what level of support you are entitled to as a client for your preferred plans.
- Features and Add-ons: You should also check out other features that the web host provides. These include remote KVM, cPanel, CDN, free SSL certificates, full root access, and daily backups.
- Reputation: Invest some time in reading reviews of the Bare Metal Server provider. We recommend you choose a web host with a solid market reputation over one that offers tempting discounts.
What is Bare Metal Server Hosting, and who is it for?
Bare Metal Servers are also called single-tenant physical servers or dedicated servers. They are servers that the web host devotes to the needs of a single client. The user controls the server resources, such as its processors, storage, and RAM. They are typically built to meet a singular or specific purpose. The server might also come with full management service from the web host. The client can also choose to manage the server themselves.
Bare Metal Servers are ideal for businesses in any industry with the highest needs for customization, performance, and security. They are fully configurable to meet specific needs, utilize specific security solutions, and offer mighty computing power. Clients can use Bare Metal Servers to host everything, from large eCommerce websites to running machine learning applications.
Here are some typical uses of Bare Metal Servers:
- Scientific computing
- Big data analysis and machine learning
- Production website hosting
- High traffic databases
- High-demand international eCommerce stores
- Applications that need 100% sustained CPU
- Distributed or replicated file systems