App Hosting vs Cloud VPS: choose the platform boundary
Choose between a managed application control plane and full server ownership. Compare deployment, Docker workflow, scaling, high availability, storage, and operations overhead side by side.
Launch app, DB, cache, and LB from one control plane.
Cloud VPS ships with 3x NVMe + failover on every plan.
Choose managed Docker paths or run your own host on VPS.
Compare usage-based cloudlets with fixed VM resource pricing.
Buyer guide
Feature-by-feature checklist
App Hosting is Togglebox’s managed PaaS for full application topologies. Cloud VPS is VM-first infrastructure with built-in high availability at the VM layer. The deciding question is simpler than it looks: do you want the platform to own the application stack, or do you want your team to own the server and everything above it?
Delivery and day-two operations
How code ships, how fast teams can change things, and how much platform work stays on your side.
Deployment path
How application changes reach production.
App Hosting
Deploy archives, Git/SVN repositories, URL-based packages, or build-node workflows. Pre- and post-deploy hooks can run smoke tests, migrations, and cache warming.
Cloud VPS
Provision the VM, then use your own SSH, Git, CI/CD, or configuration-management workflow. The platform gives you the server; your team owns the release process.
Docker workflow
How containerized apps are run and managed.
App Hosting
Run custom Docker images from public or private registries, or use Docker Engine CE when you want native Docker commands. The platform manages networking, SSL, and restarts around the container layer.
Cloud VPS
Run Docker however you want on the VM, including custom daemon settings and host-level tooling. You manage the OS, networking, certificates, storage layout, and upgrades yourself.
Runtime and stack updates
How versions are changed later.
App Hosting
Change supported runtime versions through controlled redeploy workflows. Persistent data survives the update.
Cloud VPS
Patch the OS, runtimes, packages, and supporting services yourself. You control patch timing, rollback method, and maintenance discipline.
Clone and staging workflow
How quickly teams can duplicate environments.
App Hosting
Clone full environments in minutes for staging or testing. Topology, config, and lifecycle controls stay inside one platform.
Cloud VPS
Clone VMs or save them as reusable templates. That handles the VM side; you still design multi-VM staging patterns yourself.
Monitoring and post-launch controls
What is built into the control plane after launch.
App Hosting
The platform includes built-in logs, monitoring, environment variables, configuration tools, ports, links, and SSH access.
Cloud VPS
Usage graphs, activity logs, console access, API tokens, and resource controls are built in. Application-level observability is yours to configure.
Billing model
How cost tracks usage and growth.
App Hosting
App Hosting bills cloudlets (hourly resource units) against a prepaid balance. Set Reserved and Dynamic limits; the platform charges the higher of peak RAM or average CPU per hour.
Cloud VPS
You size VM resources directly; billing views break out instance, volume, and base-fee components. Metered history helps you resize based on observed usage instead of guesswork.
Scaling, availability, and recovery
Where each platform reduces operational work, and where your team still has to design the workload layer.
Vertical scaling
Adding CPU and RAM to a running workload.
App Hosting
Resources scale automatically within your cloudlet limits, absorbing bursts without topology changes.
Cloud VPS
Resize CPU and RAM as a post-launch action when measured usage justifies it. The platform supports the resize; your team chooses the timing and maintenance plan.
Horizontal scaling
Adding more nodes under load.
App Hosting
Add or remove nodes manually or with trigger rules. When scale-out needs request distribution, the platform adds the load-balancer layer automatically.
Cloud VPS
Launch more VMs when the workload needs them, then wire load balancing, health checks, traffic policy, and automation yourself.
High availability and failover
What happens when hardware or host conditions change.
App Hosting
The platform distributes same-role containers across hosts; multi-node topologies keep traffic flowing when a node fails. HA patterns are part of the managed application stack.
Cloud VPS
Every plan includes 3x-replicated NVMe storage, automatic failover, and Performance Guard cluster rebalancing. If a host fails or gets congested, the platform protects the VM layer.
Database HA and failover
How much database clustering is pre-wired.
App Hosting
One-click database clusters cover replication modes, read/write routing (ProxySQL), automatic node registration during scale-out, and failover. No manual cluster wiring.
Cloud VPS
You can run databases with custom tuning, but replication, failover policy, read/write routing, and cluster operations above the VM are still your architecture.
Backup and restore model
How recovery points are created and reused.
App Hosting
App Hosting includes 14 daily backups, environment cloning, and transfer planning.
Cloud VPS
Cloud VPS supports manual and scheduled backups, VM restore, volume backup revert, and save-as-volume workflows to turn backups and snapshots into reusable volumes.
SSL and certificate handling
How HTTPS is maintained over time.
App Hosting
The platform issues and renews Let’s Encrypt certificates automatically for custom domains.
Cloud VPS
You install and renew certificates on the server or load-balancer stack you choose. Cloud VPS gives you the infrastructure, not a managed certificate lifecycle.
Network, storage, and control surface
How each model handles persistent data, network policy, and deeper system control.
Persistent storage
How data outlives a single compute node.
App Hosting
Use local filesystem storage for simple nodes or Shared Storage containers when multiple nodes need the same data. NFS prioritizes throughput; Gluster adds replicated shared storage for greater redundancy.
Cloud VPS
Account-level volumes live outside any single VM. Attach, detach, clone, resize, or rebuild them from backups or DR snapshots.
Firewall and traffic policy
How network rules are applied.
App Hosting
The platform manages container firewalls, endpoints, and load-balancer configuration. App, cache, and database tiers stay segmented inside the managed environment.
Cloud VPS
Create, clone, and attach security groups to VM network interfaces. Push the same inbound, outbound, and inter-VM policy across multiple servers from one control surface.
Private networking and service isolation
How internal traffic is kept off the public internet.
App Hosting
Isolated containers and private environment paths keep database and cache traffic inside the topology. The platform pre-wires hostnames, links, and networking around the app stack.
Cloud VPS
Create private networks, define address ranges, tune resolver settings, manage IP aliases, and attach or swap NICs when the layout changes.
Root access and custom services
How much of the OS and supporting stack you own.
App Hosting
No full-root, VM-first operating model by default. App Hosting is the better fit when you want supported runtimes, managed topology, and less infrastructure overhead.
Cloud VPS
You get full root access, any OS, any software, and whatever server roles you need: remote desktops, mail, DNS, VPN, custom daemons.
Best-fit workloads
Where each model wins most clearly.
App Hosting
Web apps, APIs, clustered WordPress, managed Docker workloads, and database-backed services where faster delivery and lower ops overhead matter more than OS-level control.
Cloud VPS
Windows/RDP use cases, custom stacks, custom container hosts, CI/CD runners, mail or DNS services, and database servers that need custom OS or tuning control.
Decision shortcut
Choose the platform that fits your workload
Both are production-ready platforms. The choice is who owns the platform boundary after launch: Togglebox around the app stack, or your team around the server and everything above it.
Choose App Hosting if
- Your team wants Git, archive, or managed Docker deploy paths instead of building the platform first
- You want autoscaling, load balancing, SSL renewal, backups, and runtime management inside one control plane
- You need clustered application or database patterns without wiring every HA layer yourself
- You care more about shipping speed and lower ops overhead than full-root OS control
Choose Cloud VPS if
- You need full root access, custom OS configuration, or server roles outside the managed app stack
- You want Docker, networking, certificates, patching, and orchestration to stay under your team’s control
- You run Windows, RDP, mail, DNS, VPN, or custom-tuned database workloads
- You want VM-level HA included, but still prefer to design the app and database clustering layer yourself
Need a second opinion? Chat with an engineer, compare App Hosting costs, or review Cloud VPS pricing.
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Common Questions
Does Cloud VPS include high availability, or do I still have to build all of it myself?
Cloud VPS now includes platform-level HA through 3x-replicated NVMe storage, automatic failover, and Performance Guard. What you still design yourself on Cloud VPS is the workload layer above the VM, such as multi-VM app clustering, database replication, load-balancer policy, and recovery automation.
When is App Hosting the better Docker option?
Choose App Hosting when you want to run Docker images from public or private registries without maintaining the host OS, certificate lifecycle, networking, and restart logic yourself. It is the faster path when the app matters more than the server.
When is Cloud VPS the better Docker option?
Choose Cloud VPS when your team needs full-root control over the host, custom daemon settings, custom networking, supporting services outside the managed stack, or server roles that don't fit a PaaS platform.
How different are the storage models?
App Hosting storage is topology-aware: local filesystems for simple nodes, or Shared Storage containers with NFS or Gluster patterns when multiple nodes need the same data. Cloud VPS storage is VM-centric: account-level volumes can be created, attached, detached, cloned, and rebuilt from backups or DR snapshots.
Which model is easier to scale safely?
App Hosting is easier when you want trigger-based vertical and horizontal scaling inside one control plane. Cloud VPS is better when you want to decide exactly how many VMs to launch, how they are balanced, and how the workload layer should scale.
How should I compare cost between the two?
Do not compare only the entry price. App Hosting trades fixed overprovisioning for cloudlet-based usage within limits you control, while Cloud VPS exposes direct VM and volume costs with pricing breakdown and metered history. The real comparison is infrastructure cost plus the time your team spends operating the stack.
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