Cutter 4
$ 19 /month
- vCPU
- 2 × dedicated
- RAM
- 4 GB
- Storage
- 80 GB NVMe SSD
- Transfer
- 6 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Solution
VPS for WordPress: self-managed hosting without the shared-host limits
Cutter 4 · $19/moCutter 8 · $34/mo
Short answer
A WordPress site with moderate traffic runs comfortably on two dedicated cores and 4 GB of RAM with PHP 8.3, OPcache and Redis object caching. WooCommerce needs more, because cart and checkout pages cannot be page-cached: budget 4 cores and 8 GB. NVMe matters more than core count — most WordPress slowness is database IO wearing a CPU costume.
What you need
| Resource | What you actually need |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 cores for a content site, 4 for WooCommerce |
| RAM | 4 GB with Redis; 8 GB for a shop with a large catalogue |
| Disk | NVMe, 80 GB and up depending on media |
| Stack | PHP 8.3 with OPcache, MariaDB, Redis, nginx |
Recommended plans
Cutter 8
$ 34 /month
- vCPU
- 4 × dedicated
- RAM
- 8 GB
- Storage
- 160 GB NVMe SSD
- Transfer
- 10 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Cutter 16
$ 62 /month
- vCPU
- 6 × dedicated
- RAM
- 16 GB
- Storage
- 320 GB NVMe SSD
- Transfer
- 15 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Recommended locations
Location is usually the decision that matters most for this workload — either because latency dominates, or because jurisdiction does.
Why OnionVPS for this
- No shared-hosting entry-process limits, no inode caps and no "your account used too much CPU" emails.
- You choose the PHP version and the extensions, and you keep them until you decide otherwise.
- Crypto billing keeps the site's ownership trail separate from your identity documents.
- Offshore locations for publications that would rather not be one complaint away from deplatforming.
How to set it up
-
Deploy a Cutter 8 with Ubuntu 24.04
Four cores and 8 GB leaves headroom for growth.
-
Install nginx, PHP-FPM 8.3, MariaDB and Redis
Or use a stack installer if you would rather not hand-configure.
-
Enable OPcache and Redis object caching
These two changes account for most of the achievable speedup.
-
Put full-page caching in front
nginx FastCGI cache, or a plugin that writes static HTML.
-
Automate certificates and backups
Certbot for TLS, nightly encrypted backups for the database and uploads.
Frequently asked questions
How much RAM does WordPress need on a VPS?
2 GB is workable for a small site, 4 GB is comfortable with Redis object caching, and WooCommerce with a real catalogue wants 8 GB. Database memory, not PHP, is usually what runs out first.
Is a VPS better than shared hosting for WordPress?
Materially, yes. You get guaranteed resources, root access, your own PHP version, and no arbitrary process limits. The trade is that you are responsible for updates and security.
Can I host WordPress anonymously?
Yes. We require only an email address you control, and checkout is crypto-only, so there is no payment-card trail linking you to the site.