How to choose a VPS size

Rules of thumb to start from, not guarantees. Your own code, plugins and traffic decide the real numbers, so measure after launch.

1. 1

   Write down what will run on it

   List every application, database, worker and container, and roughly how many visitors or jobs per day you expect. Memory is usually the first limit you hit, so start there.

2. 2

   Estimate memory

   Add up the operating system, the web server, each application and the database. A database is fastest when its working data fits in memory, so give it room.

3. 3

   Estimate CPU

   Steady traffic and background jobs need cores; occasional bursts are handled well by modern vCPUs. Add a core for every busy worker or build job that runs at the same time.

4. 4

   Estimate storage

   Add the size of your files, databases, logs and local backups, then leave at least a quarter free for growth and updates.

5. 5

   Start a size smaller, then measure

   Pick the smallest plan that fits your estimate, run real traffic for a week and measure:

   free -h        # memory and swap use
   uptime         # load average vs number of vCPUs
   df -h          # disk space
   htop           # live view per process

   Upgrade when memory is regularly full and swap is in use, the load average stays above the number of vCPUs, or the disk is more than about 80% full.

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