What's Included in Fully Managed VPS Hosting?
We have been managing servers since 2001. We know what “managed hosting” means, and we know what it usually delivers. This is an honest comparison of what RemarkableCloud includes versus what you get at comparable prices elsewhere.
Check us against anyone. We welcome it.
The managed hosting market has a language problem. “Managed” means something very specific to us. It means something much narrower at most other providers. Knowing the difference is the only way to compare fairly, so let us start there.
At most managed hosts, “managed” means they handle the server infrastructure: hardware, network, and hypervisor. Some extend that to OS-level updates. Almost none extend it to your application, your email reputation, your backups in multiple independent locations, or the kind of support that helps you solve a problem rather than telling you it’s your problem.
At RemarkableCloud, managed means the server is our problem. All of it. Here is what that looks like in practice.
The 500% SLA: the only one in the industry
1 hour down = 5 hours credited back. From minute one.
No uptime threshold to meet before credits kick in. No 99.9% requirement. No ticket required. Automatic.
RemarkableCloud
- 500% SLA: every minute of downtime = 5 minutes credited
- Credits start from minute one, no threshold
- Applied automatically, no claim required
- No minimum downtime period to qualify
Industry standard
- 99.9% uptime = 8.76 hours of allowed downtime per year
- Credits only after the SLA threshold is breached
- Usually 1x credit: 1 hour down = 1 hour credited
- You file a ticket and prove the downtime
A standard 99.9% SLA means your provider can take your site offline for almost 9 hours a year and owe you nothing. Ours means they owe you 5x compensation from the first minute of any downtime. That is not a minor difference: it is a fundamentally different level of accountability.
Three independent layers of backup
Daily snapshots on every server, plus dual remote offsite backups (PBS and S3) when you add Dual Backups.
Most providers give you one backup method. Some charge for it. We include daily snapshots at no extra cost and offer the two offsite layers as one optional add-on at +20% of the server price.
RemarkableCloud
- Daily automatic snapshots: fast local restore
- Remote offsite backups (Dual Backups): independent of server location
- S3 offsite backups (Dual Backups): a second, fully independent remote destination
- All three run independently, with no single point of failure
- Snapshots included on every plan; Dual Backups +20%, verified weekly
Typical competitors
- Cloudways: automated backups charged at $0.033/GB per server, not free
- Kinsta: daily backups included but only one method
- WP Engine: daily backups included on most plans, one method
- Most VPS providers: no backup at all unless you configure it yourself
Three independent backup systems means a catastrophic failure in one does not wipe your recovery options. A single daily backup to one location means one failure scenario takes everything. We built the three-layer option because it is the right one for production workloads, not because it is the minimum requirement for marketing copy.
Inbound antispam included, outbound relay when you send
Rspamd inbound filtering on every server at no extra cost, plus the MailChannels outbound relay as an optional add-on from $8/mo.
Specialist antispam providers charge by domain or by account. We include inbound protection for every domain hosted on your server, and the relay covers every sending domain on the server once it is active.
RemarkableCloud
- Rspamd inbound gateway: filters spam before it reaches your mailbox, included
- MailChannels outbound relay (add-on, from $8/mo): authenticated delivery, clean IP reputation
- Covers every domain and email account on the server
- No per-domain fees, no per-account fees
- Port 25 closed by default, so a compromised site cannot burn your IP
How the market handles this
- SpamExperts/Hornetsecurity: $1-5/domain/month billed separately
- MailChannels as a standalone: charged per sending domain
- Most managed hosts: no outbound antispam; shared IP, shared reputation
- VPS providers: no mail protection at all, you configure from scratch
Email deliverability is invisible until it breaks. When your shared outbound IP gets blacklisted because another server tenant sent spam, your order confirmations go to spam and your customers think their orders didn’t go through. With the MailChannels relay active, your server sends through an authenticated gateway with a clean reputation instead of a shared IP. It is optional, priced plainly, and there when your server needs to send.
Managed firewall and IDS: active protection, not passive infrastructure
Active threat monitoring and intrusion detection on every server, managed proactively.
Most providers offer a firewall in the sense that one exists. We manage it.
RemarkableCloud
- Managed firewall: rules reviewed and updated proactively
- Intrusion Detection System: active threat monitoring
- Centralized log analysis: alerts before issues become incidents
- DDoS protection: 50 Gbps protected network infrastructure
- We respond to threats, not just report them
Typical approach
- Cloudways: basic firewall, you configure rules yourself
- Standard VPS: you set up UFW or iptables from scratch
- Most managed hosts: network firewall at datacenter level, nothing more
- IDS: rarely included, usually an expensive add-on
What “fully managed” actually means here
This is the area where the marketing copy diverges most sharply from the reality. Most providers use “managed” to mean they handle the hardware and network layer. Ask them for help with a WordPress plugin conflict or a PHP configuration issue and the answer is typically: “That’s your application. Contact your developer.”
We don’t operate that way. We have been helping customers solve problems that technically fall outside the server layer since 2001, because it’s the right thing to do, and because customers who feel genuinely supported don’t leave.
We help where others say it’s not their problem.
Server issue, application issue, email deliverability issue, performance issue: if it’s affecting your site and you’re a RemarkableCloud customer, it’s our concern. We don’t draw the line at the OS and tell you the rest is yours.
This is not a promise we make lightly. It is a commitment we have sustained for 25 years. The hosting industry has a long tradition of providing exactly the infrastructure specified in the contract and nothing more. We have built our business on the opposite approach.
The price comparison that makes it concrete
The claims above only matter if the price is fair. Here is what you get from the major managed hosting providers in the $6 to $40/month range, for a comparable workload:
RemarkableCloud
$5
1 GiB RAM, 25 GB NVMe, 2.5 TB transfer
Monthly rate, management included
- ✓ Fully managed: OS, security, monitoring
- ✓ 500% SLA from minute one
- ✓ Daily snapshots; PBS + S3 via Dual Backups (+20%)
- ✓ Inbound antispam; MailChannels relay from $8/mo
- ✓ Managed firewall + IDS
- ✓ RemarkablePanel free
- ✓ Free migration
- ✓ 24/7 human support
- ✓ DDoS protection 50 Gbps
Cloudways
$11
1 GiB RAM, 25 GB storage, DO infra
- ~ Managed: server layer only
- ✗ Standard SLA, no multiplier
- ✗ Backups charged at $0.033/GB
- ✗ No antispam included
- ✗ Basic firewall, self-configured
- ✗ No control panel (custom panel)
- ~ 1 free migration, then $25+
- ~ 24/7 support (ticket + chat)
- ~ Cloudflare DDoS via add-on
Kinsta
$35
WordPress only, 1 site, 25K visits/mo
- ~ Managed: WordPress-specific only
- ✗ Standard 99.9% SLA
- ~ Daily backups, 1 method
- ✗ No antispam included
- ~ Cloudflare Enterprise CDN
- ✗ WordPress only, no general VPS
- ✓ Free migration
- ✓ 24/7 support
- ~ Visit caps: pay more if exceeded
Unmanaged VPS
$6
2 GiB RAM, comparable specs, DO/Vultr
- ✗ Not managed: you do everything
- ✗ No SLA credits
- ✗ No backups included
- ✗ No antispam
- ✗ No firewall management
- ✗ No control panel
- ✗ No migration help
- ✗ Ticket support only
- ✗ Basic network protection only
RC’s smallest server at $5/mo costs less than a typical ~$6/mo unmanaged VPS and still comes with the full management on the RC list. The $30 difference between Kinsta and RC buys you a narrower product (WordPress only, with visit caps) that still doesn’t include antispam or a meaningful SLA.
The full feature comparison
| Feature | RemarkableCloud | Cloudways | Kinsta | Unmanaged VPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $5/mo | $11/mo | $35/mo | ~$6/mo |
| SLA | 500% from minute one | 99.99% standard credits | 99.9% | None |
| Backup layers | Daily snapshots; 3 with Dual Backups | 1, charged extra | 1 daily | None included |
| Dual offsite backups (PBS + S3) | Optional add-on, +20% | No | No | No |
| Outbound antispam | MailChannels relay add-on, from $8/mo | No | No | No |
| Inbound antispam | Yes: Rspamd, all domains | No | No | No |
| Managed firewall + IDS | Yes | Basic firewall | Cloudflare WAF | No |
| DDoS protection | 50 Gbps network | Via Cloudflare add-on | Cloudflare Enterprise | Basic / none |
| Control panel | RemarkablePanel free | Custom panel (no cPanel) | MyKinsta (WP only) | None |
| Free migration | Yes, always | 1 free, then $25+ | Yes | No |
| Help beyond server layer | Yes | No | WordPress-specific | No |
| Operating since | 2001 | 2011 | 2013 | N/A |
| WordPress-only restriction | No restriction: any stack | No | Yes | No |
| Visit/bandwidth caps | No caps: use what you pay for | No | Yes, overage charges apply | No |
Why we can offer this from $5/month
The honest answer is that we have been doing this for 25 years. Our operational processes are efficient because we built and refined them over a long time, not because we cut corners on management. We run on enterprise dedicated infrastructure with 100% NVMe, non-oversold. We don’t use resold cloud slices or shared hypervisors.
We also don’t have a venture-backed marketing budget or hundreds of millions in raised capital to subsidize artificially low introductory pricing. What we have is a sustainable business that has been profitable and operational since 2001. Our prices are what we charge because they’re fair, not because we’re burning investor money to acquire customers and will raise prices later.
See what’s included in every managed VPS. From $5/mo. No contracts, free migration.
Managed hosting since 2001. 500% SLA. Management included.
Daily snapshots, inbound antispam, managed firewall, RemarkablePanel, free migration, 24/7 human support. From $5/month.
No contracts · No visit caps · No surprise add-ons · Since 2001
FAQ
How does the 500% SLA actually work?
If your server experiences downtime, you receive 5x the downtime value in service credits, applied from the first minute. No ticket required, no threshold to hit, no minimum downtime period. If your server is down for 1 hour, you receive 5 hours of credit automatically. The standard industry SLA credits you 1x after your provider’s uptime guarantee has been breached, which may require accumulating hours of downtime first.
Is the antispam really free for all domains?
Inbound, yes. Rspamd inbound filtering is included on every managed VPS at no extra cost, and it covers every domain and email account hosted on the server. Specialist antispam providers typically charge per domain or per account per month. Outbound delivery runs through the MailChannels relay, an optional add-on from $8/mo that covers the server, not per domain.
What do the three backup layers include?
Every managed VPS runs daily automatic snapshots for fast local restores, included in the plan price. The optional Dual Backups add-on (+20% of the server price) adds dual remote offsite backups to two independent destinations: a Proxmox Backup Server and S3 storage, verified weekly, with human-assisted restores. All three layers run separately; a failure in one doesn’t affect the others.
What does “fully managed” include beyond the server?
OS updates, security patching, proactive monitoring, incident response, snapshot and restore management, firewall and IDS management, inbound antispam, and centralized log analysis are all included. Beyond the server layer, our support team helps with application-level issues where we can, and we don’t draw a hard line at the OS and tell you the rest is your problem. We’ve been doing this since 2001 and we know that genuinely useful support is what keeps customers.
Why is the price so low compared to competitors with similar claims?
We have been running these operations for 25 years and our processes are efficient as a result. We don’t have a venture-backed marketing budget subsidizing artificially low introductory prices. We run on enterprise dedicated infrastructure, non-oversold. Our pricing is sustainable for a sustainable business. We have no plans to raise prices after an introductory period: this is what we charge.