Cloud Servers
Managed Compared With Unmanaged Cloud Servers
Every KapsuleHost Server tier is sold in two forms, unmanaged Cloud VPS and Managed Cloud Servers, and the only difference between them is who does the system administration.
The hardware is the same. The specifications are the same. The panel is the same. What you are buying when you choose managed is our engineers doing the ongoing work of keeping the server healthy, rather than you doing it. This guide sets out exactly what falls on which side of that line, so you can make the call with your eyes open.
The Short Version
- Unmanaged (Cloud VPS) hands you a server with full root access and leaves the running of it to you. It is the lower price, and it suits anyone comfortable on a Linux command line.
- Managed Cloud Servers is the identical machine with our team taking on the operating system, the patching and the monitoring. It costs more, and it suits anyone who would rather not be the system administrator.
There are 16 tiers in each form, four ARM, six Standard x86 and six Dedicated vCPU, so whichever you choose you have the same ladder to move along.
Where the Line Falls
| Unmanaged Cloud VPS | Managed Cloud Servers | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware and specifications | Identical | Identical |
| Region choice | Identical | Identical |
| Root access | Yes | Yes |
| Daily offsite backups | Included | Included |
| Snapshots and rollback | Included | Included |
| Firewall, fail2ban and WAF controls in KPanel | Included | Included |
| Automatic OS patching controls in KPanel | Included | Included |
| Browser console and live metrics | Included | Included |
| Resize up and down the ladder | Included | Included |
| Who applies and watches over updates | You | Our engineers |
| Who investigates when something on the server breaks | You | Our engineers |
| Support scope | Your account, billing and the platform | The above, plus the server itself |
| Price | Lower | Higher |
The thing worth reading twice in that table is how much is on both sides. Choosing unmanaged does not mean going without backups, snapshots, a firewall or automatic patching. All of that is built into the panel for every cloud server. The difference is whether anyone but you is watching it.
Unmanaged Cloud VPS
You get a clean server with root access. You pick the operating system at order time, install and configure your own software, decide what runs and on which ports, and keep an eye on it.
Kapsule keeps the platform underneath healthy: the network, the virtualisation, the backup pipeline, and the panel automation. Everything above the operating system is yours.
Choose unmanaged when:
- You are comfortable administering Linux: SSH, package managers, service configuration, log reading.
- You want the lowest price for a given specification.
- You want complete freedom over the stack, with no guardrails you did not put there yourself.
These three guides will get an unmanaged server into a good state quickly: Connecting to Your Cloud Server With SSH, Cloud Server Firewall and Security Management, and Cloud Server Backups.
If you go unmanaged, spend ten minutes on the Management page before you deploy anything. Leaving automatic patching on, fail2ban on and the firewall at its default-deny policy costs nothing and removes most of the ways an unattended server gets into trouble.
Managed Cloud Servers
You get the same machine, and our engineers take on the operating system and the ongoing upkeep. Patching and monitoring are done for you, and support covers the server itself rather than stopping at your account.
Choose managed when:
- You would rather spend your time on your product or your business than on server administration.
- You want someone whose job it is to notice when something is wrong.
- A quick response matters to you more than the lowest possible price.
Managed tiers cost more than the equivalent unmanaged tier because the price includes that ongoing work. For a business without a system administrator on staff, that is usually the cheaper of the two options once you count your own time.
Root access is not taken away on a managed server. You still have the shell, the panel controls and the browser console. Managed adds people, it does not remove capability.
Comparing the Prices
The two forms sit side by side in the catalogue at the same tier names. For example, the entry ARM tier is US$16.00 per month unmanaged and US$20.00 per month managed. The entry Standard x86 tier is US$20.00 unmanaged and US$36.00 managed.
To compare the whole ladder in your own currency, sign in to KPanel and open Store, then Cloud VPS or Managed Cloud Servers. The full ladder is at /plans/compute, where a single Unmanaged and Managed toggle flips every tier between the two forms.
All prices are shown excluding GST in your billing currency. See Cloud Server Pricing and GST for how GST and any one-time setup fees appear at checkout.
Choosing Between Them
Answer honestly:
- If your server stopped responding at 2am, who would look at it? If the answer is "nobody until the morning", and that is a problem, choose managed.
- Have you administered a Linux server before? If not, managed is a much gentler way to start, and you can learn on it with a safety net.
- Is your time worth more than the price difference? Work out the monthly gap between the two tiers and compare it against a couple of hours of your own time.
- Do you want to control every detail of the stack? Then unmanaged is a better fit, and the panel automation covers the boring parts.
Switching Later
The two forms are separate catalogue products, so moving between them is not a resize. A resize moves you up and down the ladder within the form you are already in.
Because the hardware is identical, moving between unmanaged and managed is straightforward for us to arrange. Email support@kapsulehost.com with the server name and which way you want to go, and we will handle it.
Troubleshooting
I bought unmanaged and I am out of my depth. Say so. Contact us and we will talk through moving the server to a managed tier rather than leaving you stuck.
I bought managed and want to save money. Same route in reverse. Before you switch, make sure you are happy owning patching, monitoring and incident response yourself.
Which one am I on? Managed tiers carry "Managed" in the plan name shown on the server's page and on your invoices. If the plan name is just the tier name, it is unmanaged.
Not sure which is right for you? Ask Kora inside KPanel or reply to any Kapsule email, and our New Zealand team will help you decide.