The core difference: on shared hosting you split a server's resources with hundreds of sites and the provider administers it; on a VPS a fixed slice is reserved for you and you administer it. The first is cheaper and easier, the second more powerful and heavier in responsibility — and not necessarily faster.
The common mistake is asking "which is better?". The right question is: have I hit the ceiling of shared hosting? If you have not, shared is better for you — cheaper and less burden.
The table
| Shared | VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Split, vary with load | Reserved, fixed |
| Per month | From EGP 79 | From EGP 319 |
| Renewal | EGP 239 | EGP 529 |
| Root access | No | Yes |
| Control panel | Included | Usually bought |
| Who patches and secures | The provider | You |
| IP address | Shared | Usually dedicated |
| Setup time | Minutes | Hours |
| When it breaks | You open a ticket | You fix it |
Prices come from our table as you open the page.
The difference nobody mentions: who carries the responsibility
Every comparison talks about resources. The practical difference you will live with is this one:
On shared, if your site goes down you open a ticket and go to sleep. The provider owns the server, its OS, its patches and its security.
On a VPS, if your site goes down it is yours. The provider is responsible only for the server being powered on. Whether your site runs on it is your problem — unless you buy a managed plan, which costs visibly more.
For many people, that alone settles the choice.
Five signs it is time
Move if any one of these appears:
1. A resource-limit email. "You exceeded your CPU allowance", or a temporary suspension. That is not a warning; it is a ceiling you reached.
2. Slowness that tracks traffic. Test your site at peak and at quiet hours. A large gap means resources — we cover how to measure it in hosting and site speed.
3. You need forbidden software. A specific PHP build, Node, or a background service. Shared hosting blocks these to protect the neighbours.
4. Your store actually sells. WooCommerce with hundreds of products and a live cart outgrows shared hosting.
5. You manage client sites. One server holding ten sites costs less than ten plans and gives you full control.
If none applies, stay where you are. Upgrading "just in case" is paying for nothing.
Prices on this page are read from our table the moment you open it, not typed into the text. Check the comparison page for the latest figures before buying.
"But a VPS is faster"
Not by nature. Speed comes from three things: enough resources, correct configuration, and proximity to your visitors.
A small VPS with a default configuration is slower than a good shared plan with caching set up properly. We have seen it repeatedly: someone moves to a server, never installs caching, and ends up with a slower site and a bigger bill.
The right order: fix the theme, the images and the caching first. If slowness survives that, resources are the cause and the upgrade has earned itself.
The real cost
Look at three numbers, not one:
The promo price: EGP 319 a month for KVM 1 on a 24-month term.
The renewal price: EGP 529 a month after that term. This is what you will actually pay for most of your life with the plan — see hosting contract terms.
Your admin cost. Hours of your time, the price of a panel, or the premium for a managed plan. That is a real number even though no invoice shows it.
The full server table:
| Term | Per month | You pay today |
|---|---|---|
| 2 years | EGP 319 | EGP 7,656 |
See KVM 1 · or stay on a shared plan
What about cloud in between?
At most providers it is the middle ground: wider resources than shared, administered by the provider like shared, and no root access.
It suits you if you have hit the shared ceiling and do not want to become a sysadmin. It starts at EGP 319 a month — see the Cloud Startup review.
| Shared | Cloud | VPS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who administers | Provider | Provider | You |
| Root access | No | No | Yes |
| From EGP 79 | From EGP 319 | From EGP 319 |
Moving without downtime
In short: build the new one before you touch the old one.
- Buy the server and set it up while the old site keeps running.
- Copy the files and the database.
- Test on the new server using a hosts file entry or a subdomain.
- Only once everything works, change the nameservers.
- Do not cancel the old plan for a week.
We detail the steps in moving your hosting to another provider.
The short answer
Stay on shared if your site works, loads fast, and no resource email has arrived. Keep the difference.
Move to cloud if you hit the ceiling and do not want to run a server.
Move to a VPS if you hit the ceiling and need control — or you are comfortable at a command line and want the most machine per dollar.
If you are a developer and your question is specifically "do I get SSH and WP-CLI on shared?", the answer is on the developers page.
Undecided? Read what a VPS is first, then compare plans on the comparison page.
Read next: What is web hosting? · The best hosting company · Cheapest web hosting · Hosting contract terms · Compare plans
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. They cost you nothing extra, and nobody buys a ranking here with them — how we work.