Serverspace is a cloud provider that breaks the “cloud is expensive” stereotype. The company is part of ITGLOBAL.COM and holds ISO 27001 certification (information security). This isn’t garage hosting — it’s serious infrastructure. Website: serverspace.com.
The Idea: Pay Only for What You Use
Unlike classic VPS providers where you pay a fixed monthly amount, Serverspace operates on a pay-as-you-go model: per-second billing (not hourly — genuinely per-second). Spin up a server for an hour of testing — pay for an hour. Deploy a staging environment for the weekend — pay for the weekend.
Billing happens once a day. You can top up your balance with any amount via bank card (including Russian cards) or PayPal.
Where the Servers Are
Three data centers: Netherlands (Amsterdam), US (New Jersey), and UK (London). Not the widest coverage, but three key points for the Western market are present.
From Russia, ping to Amsterdam: 45–55 ms. To New Jersey: 120–140 ms. To London: 55–70 ms. Amsterdam is the optimal choice for European and Russian audiences.
Plans
Serverspace doesn’t use fixed plans — you configure your server from building blocks: vCPU, RAM, disk, IP addresses. But for convenience, there are preset configurations:
Minimum (€4.50/month at 24/7 usage):
- 1 vCPU
- 1 GB RAM
- 25 GB NVMe
- 1 IPv4
- 1 Gbps port
Optimal (€18/month at 24/7 usage):
- 2 vCPU
- 4 GB RAM
- 50 GB NVMe
- 1 IPv4
Maximum (can scale up to 16 vCPU, 64 GB RAM, and 1 TB NVMe).
vCPUs here are slices of Intel Xeon Gold processors (various generations). Not AMD EPYC, but still solid.
Traffic is paid. €0.01 per gigabyte outgoing (incoming is free). This is a downside for those pushing lots of traffic — at 1 TB/month, that’s €10 extra. But for a site with up to 50,000 monthly visits, traffic costs will be around €1–2.
Performance
Benchmarks on the minimum configuration (Amsterdam):
- CPU: single-core Geekbench ~900. Honest Intel Xeon, not throttled.
- Disk: NVMe, read ~1.5 GB/s, write ~800 MB/s, IOPS ~150k. Lower than dedicated NVMe because it’s cloud storage, but still fast.
- Network: stable gigabit, speedtest 850–950 Mbps.
Backups are automatic (disk snapshots), schedule can be configured. Stored for free with a quantity limit.
Control Panel
Serverspace has its own panel — clean, modern, available in Russian and English. Key features:
- One-click server creation/deletion
- OS selection from a catalog (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Windows Server, ready-made images with Docker, LAMP, WordPress)
- VNC console
- Cloud-level firewall
- Snapshot management
- API (OpenStack-compatible, documentation available)
A separate plus — a Terraform provider for infrastructure-as-code deployments.
Is ISO 27001 Important?
For most personal projects — no. But if you handle sensitive data, process payments, or want to show clients you take security seriously — the ISO 27001 certificate confirms it. Providers with this certification in the budget segment are few and far between.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Per-second billing — pay only for actual usage
- ISO 27001 — a rare certification in the budget segment
- Terraform and API for automation
- Ready-made images with pre-installed software
- Decent support (10–30 minute response during business hours)
- Russian bank cards accepted
Cons:
- Paid traffic — adds up noticeably at high volumes
- Only three data centers
- No Asian or Russian locations
- Fewer preset configurations than DigitalOcean or Vultr
- No managed services (databases as a service, etc.)
Who Is It For?
Serverspace is ideal for:
- Developers needing a test environment for a few hours
- Startups with variable load (pay less during off-peak hours)
- Projects requiring security standards compliance
- Those automating infrastructure via Terraform
Not suitable for high-traffic projects (paid traffic eats the savings) or those needing a server in Asia or Russia.
Verdict
7.5/10. Serverspace is a smart choice for those who need cloud flexibility without overpaying for unused resources. Per-second billing, a decent panel, certification, and API make it a serious competitor to DigitalOcean and Vultr. Paid traffic and limited geography are the main constraints.