How much RAM and CPU does a Linux VPS actually need?

Buying too small a VPS means a slow, crashing site; too big means wasted money. Here's how to right-size for common workloads.

Rough starting points

• Small site / blog / low-traffic app: 1–2 GB RAM, 1–2 vCPU.
• WordPress with moderate traffic: 2–4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU.
• Web app + database on one box: 4–8 GB RAM, 2–4 vCPU.
• Multiple sites / containers: 8 GB+ RAM, 4 vCPU.

RAM is usually the constraint

Databases and application runtimes are memory-hungry. When a server runs out of RAM it starts swapping to disk, and everything slows to a crawl. Watch memory with free -h; if you're consistently near the limit and swapping, add RAM.

When to add CPU

Add vCPUs when load average consistently exceeds your core count, or when CPU-bound tasks (image processing, compilation, heavy PHP) queue up.

Start small and scale

Because a VPS scales easily, start with a sensible size and upgrade when monitoring shows you need it. On OneHost you can move to a larger plan as your workload grows, with minimal disruption.