Unlimited vs Metered vs Unmetered Bandwidth: What’s Best for Dedicated Server Hosting?

Metered vs. Unmetered vs. Unlimited Bandwidth Plans:

Before diving into the details, it’s important to know that not all bandwidth plans are created equal. Each option, metered, unmetered, or unlimited, comes with its own trade-offs in performance, cost, and flexibility, so knowing the difference helps you choose the best fit for your business or project.

Metered Bandwidth

At ServerMania, our metered dedicated servers come with a 1Gbps port, and our metered bandwidth options range from 20 TB to 100 TB a month.

This means that your server will be capable of transferring information at the speed of 1Gbps until you reach your bandwidth limit of 20TB to 100 TB, depending on the bandwidth restrictions on the metered server package.

Need faster port speed?

We have 10Gbps, 25Gbps, and even 100Gbps unmetered servers, and unmetered dedicated server port options as well. Book a free consultation, and we’ll help you get exactly what you need for your business or next project.

Unmetered Bandwidth

With our unmetered dedicated servers network, you can choose between 10Gbps, up to 4x10Gbps port speeds, and you will not be hampered by bandwidth limits. This means you pay one monthly price for unlimited data transfer in and out at a speed of either 10Gbps or 2x10Gbps, depending on your package’s bandwidth limitations.

With our unmetered dedicated servers, you can use as much bandwidth as the purchased server port can handle.

See Also: How Dedicated Server Hosting Works

Unlimited Bandwidth

Contrasting unmetered dedicated servers, allowing you to acquire as much data as the port’s capability, the unlimited bandwidth is more of a marketing term.

An unlimited bandwidth plan is designed to provide flawless performance even for the most demanding tasks, though it often comes with a fair usage policy. This ensures that other users on the network also receive reliable service.

So, if your project relies on reliability, low latency, and excellent performance, whether you’re running high-traffic websites or managing unlimited MySQL databases, choosing a provider that advertises unlimited bandwidth is a smart approach.

What Infinite Bandwidth Really Means?

In most cases, hosting companies provide plans that are limited by bandwidth speed rather than by traffic, typically called unmetered hosting services, and do not have an upper bandwidth limit on the amount of data they can transfer in a given period.

However, with these ‘unmetered’ packages, there is still a physical limit to how much data you can consume in any given month. Although these packages are marketed as unmetered plans, they will be limited by the hardware capacity and speed of the port. For instance, a 1 Gbps connection can really only transfer about 324TB in a month, running at full capacity.

Many hosting companies hide these details in the fine print, whereas ServerMania provides you with an expert consultant who will walk you through your bandwidth requirements and offer transparent advice to get you exactly what you need.

Bandwidth Capacity Worldwide

According to the Global Interconnection Index, interconnection bandwidth will reach around 33,578 Tbps by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of ~34% from 2022 to 2026.

Without an unmetered hosting plan, clients can use up to their traffic allocation, which limits a website’s bandwidth and the amount of data they can consume at a single point. Therefore, if they consume more bandwidth, they can expect additional costs at a set rate for each added gigabyte or terabyte.

Most business owners prefer physical servers with consistent, high-performing operating systems and plenty of runway for their business plans. An unmetered hosting plan is often an attractive feature for dedicated servers.

Standard ServerMania dedicated server plans range from 20TB to 100TB of monthly traffic, with most packages including a 1Gbps port speed.

That’s more than enough for most business websites, publishing sites, web hosting providers with dedicated servers, and small eCommerce stores.

But what happens when 100TB isn’t enough?

When To Choose Unmetered Bandwidth?

For server hosting clients that frequently need to transfer large amounts of data or frequently have spikes in traffic, unmetered plans can be more cost-effective and allow for predictable and secure monthly billing. They can move as much data as needed without worrying about their server incurring additional overage charges, fees, or penalties.

The only limit is the bandwidth capability of their server specification, their network connection, and port speed.

Consider media businesses that serve videos or large game hosting providers that cater to a large subscriber base. With a metered plan, they would burn through 20TB of bandwidth very quickly and start racking up additional costs for the excess data they use. For businesses like these, unmetered bandwidth would be the way to go.

Metered connections may be the right choice for moderately sized eCommerce businesses, publishers, users, and web applications that do not have to scale but require disk space and processing of a set amount of data over the Internet each month.

Bandwidth usage cannot be underestimated when it comes to hosting. To avoid poor site performance and visitor experience, you may want to consider unmetered dedicated servers. This will allow your business to scale seamlessly and without interruption.

So, most websites do not require unlimited data from the outset. However, an unmetered plan becomes beneficial as traffic to your website grows. Hence, with an unmetered dedicated server, you don’t have to worry about the unpredictable extra fees at the end of each month.

Here’s a quick breakdown of with versus without unmetered bandwidth:

Bandwidth Costs Breakdown: When Unmetered Saves Money?

When it comes to bandwidth, the choice ultimately comes down to metered vs unmetered bandwidth. For many low-traffic websites, a metered hosting plan makes all the sense in the world, but when your business starts getting traction, the metered connections can be a major drawback to your customers.

So, let’s explore a few example scenarios and discover the best choice:

As shown in the table, once the data starts climbing up, unmetered dedicated services start to become the most cost-effective option (long-term).

What about hidden charges?

Note: All pricing in these examples is for illustrative purposes only, and actual providers, dedicated hosting solutions, and real-world server hosting orders will vary significantly.

How Bandwidth is Measured, Billed, and Monitored?

If you are running a dedicated server or virtual private server, whether it’s a high-traffic website or another high-performance demand, understanding how bandwidth is billed is crucial.

There are several different methods that the server provides to use to calculate and measure data usage, so here’s an in-depth, technical breakdown:

Bandwidth Measurement Methods

95th Percentile Billing

The “95th Percentile Billing” is one of the most popular bandwidth measurement methods that is used in data centers, seen with most large network infrastructure providers.

Traffic levels are sampled over a billing cycle, and the top 5% of spikes are discarded. You’re billed on the highest sustained usage below that threshold. The advantage is that sudden traffic spikes (let’s say, during a product launch or a viral post) won’t inflate your costs.

Monthly Transfer

One of the simplest methods, monthly transfer billing, tracks the total data moved in and out of your server during a cycle. A metered plan might cap you at 20TB or 100TB, after which overage fees apply. This is most common in dedicated server hosting packages and is easy for customers to understand.

Burstable Billing

Here, you pay for a committed rate, for example, 1Gbps, but you can exceed it temporarily. Hence, any sustained overage, however, leads to extra charges. This option works for many businesses that usually operate within predictable limits but occasionally need more power for seasonally demanding projects.

Real-Time Monitoring

Some managed server solutions and advanced hosting services integrate real-time monitoring into their control panels. This helps all users catch unusual patterns early, avoiding downtime or unexpected bills.

Network Infrastructure Considerations

If we go beyond billing models, your connection speed and physical server setup determine how much bandwidth you can realistically use.

Port Speeds vs. Bandwidth Allocation

A port rated for 1Gbps has a theoretical ceiling of about 324TB per month if used at the maximum rate nonstop. Upgrading to 10Gbps or higher ports is essential for streaming or media delivery businesses.

Committed Information Rate (CIR)

CIR guarantees a baseline level of network performance. Think of it as a contract between the hosting provider and the customer, ensuring a minimum speed, even during peak traffic.

Burst Capability

Many unmetered dedicated packages let you burst beyond CIR for short periods. This is invaluable for high-availability setups where short-term spikes can’t be allowed to drag down performance.

Quality of Service (QoS)

QoS (Quality of Service) settings within the network prioritize critical types of traffic (e.g., video calls or payment transactions) over less urgent flows. So, this guarantees consistent performance and network security even under heavy loads.

See Also: ServerMania Launches 25, 50 & 100 Gbps Unmetered Dedicated Servers

Bandwidth Requirements by Industry: The Best Solution for You

As we’ve already mentioned, not every project requires the same bandwidth type; hence, for different industries, there are tailored solutions.

To better grasp which solution could be the perfect choice for your business project, we’ll break down how different industries approach server hosting and provide specific examples, needs, and solutions.

Content Delivery & Media

For companies running streaming platforms, online games, or large-scale media delivery, unmetered dedicated servers are the gold standard. These projects benefit from high performance, low latency, and the ability to move as many packets as possible without worrying about potential overcharges.

E-Commerce & Retail

Online stores juggle thousands of daily visitors, multiple domains, and often image-heavy catalogs. They need a balance of predictable speed and the flexibility to handle traffic spikes during sales or seasonal peaks.

SaaS & Technology

From API-heavy applications to backup services, SaaS companies depend on reliability and high availability. Predictable, unmetered access ensures smooth scaling without constant monitoring.

Enterprise & Corporate

Enterprises running a remote workforce, video conferencing, or global data synchronization rely on network infrastructure that guarantees both speed and security. Here, committed rates combined with burst capability give stability with flexibility.

Choosing a Server Provider | Bandwidth Management

Selecting the correct server provider for your business and workload is about matching the needs you have with your hosting plan. You need to consider factors surrounding your traffic demands, workload, future intentions, and seasonal surges before selecting a metered or an unmetered bandwidth offer.

When choosing a server provider, you need to look for several aspects:

1. Tailored hosting plan, according to your needs.
2. The possibility for dynamic or managed scaling.
3. Reliability and the best performance possible.
4. Easy-to-reach customer service and guidance.

The ServerMania Advantage

As a leader in cloud and dedicated server hosting, ServerMania stands out for delivering all of the aforementioned key aspects. With a focus on reliability and dedicated customer support, we focus on ensuring consistent performance and providing solutions that tackle common web hosting challenges.

Here’s how ServerMania helps you manage and optimize bandwidth more effectively:

• Smart load balancing to ensure consistent performance and smoother traffic handling
• Detailed bandwidth and resource monitoring for complete visibility into usage
• Flexible hosting packages built to handle any level of traffic demand
• Unmetered bandwidth options that deliver predictable costs and scalable performance
• Adaptive traffic management with flexible scaling to support growing projects

Choosing ServerMania means your server, network, and bandwidth work together seamlessly, giving you total control and consistent performance for your organization.

🗨️ Ready to optimize your bandwidth and get the most from your dedicated hosting? Contact our experts directly, explore our services, or book a free consultation today!