What's the Cost of a Server for Small Business?

April 7, 2023
Michel P
Web Development
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Eric Brinkman
February 10, 2023

There comes a time in the life of nearly every small business where setting up your own server makes the most sense.

This could be due to:

a rising number of visitors to your e-commerce site
wanting to run a number of different business applications
Requiring greater uptime and reliability
And a variety of other reasons

As you can see, there are many different reasons why you may be ready to setup your own small business server. But the next question becomes, how much does a small business server cost? The server you select becomes the control centre of your entire business. Selecting the right equipment to support your needs is imperative to your business’s success.

Running your own server dedicated to your business may be more affordable than you think. In this article, we’ll outline some of the cost considerations to help you make the right decision.

Renting vs. Owning A Server

You have three options when setting up your business server. You can either:

Rent the server for one fixed monthly price from a service provider like ServerMania,
Purchase a server from a company like Dell and store it in your office, or
Purchase a server and host it in our data center. This is called colocation.

Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, so we’ll explore each so you know which route may make more sense for your business.

Please Note: ServerMania’s entire business is focused on providing server solutions, which includes dedicated server rental and colocation. While we clearly think renting or colocating a server is the best choice, we are trying to present all the facts to you in an unbiased way so you can make the right choice for your business.

Renting A Server

Advantages

One fixed monthly price which includes hardware, cooling, power, security, and 24×7 support
Access to the latest hardware with the option to migrate to a new server at any time as hardware improves
24×7 onsite support to assist you with any server related issues
No hardware replacement costs. We will quickly replace any failed hardware components.
Redundant power, networking, and security that would not be feasible in an office environment
Reduced hardware costs

Disadvantages

No physical access to stored data, if your business were to close down, you would need to copy the data from the server to local storage
Purchasing hardware may be cheaper for businesses that want to stay on the same hardware for years

Purchasing A Server

Advantages

One large, up-front payment to worry about and the hardware can be used until it is obsolete
Physical access to the hard drives to store the information offline

Disadvantages

Additional expenses for power, cooling, and networking
No redundancy typically available for power and networking
No security or fire suppression in place to protect server data
Hardware repair and replacement costs
Server hardware

See Also: Cheap Cloud Hosting

Colocating A Server

Advantages

Server is securely stored and monitored 24×7
Redundant network, power, and cooling
Precisely climate controlled with fire suppression
24×7 remote hands

Disadvantages

Up-front hardware cost
Responsible for hardware replacement in the event of hardware failure

Small Business Server Pricing Considerations

Now that you are familiar with the three options for setting up a small business server, we will explore some example pricing scenarios depending on your needs.

Every business is unique and we always recommend booking a server consultation so we can customize a solution based on your exact needs and budget. The average cost to rent a small business dedicated server is $100 to $200/month. You can also setup a cloud server starting at $5/month, but most businesses would spend about $40/month to have adequate resources. If you wanted to purchase a server for your office, it may cost between $1000-$3000 for a small business.

The cost of a small business server will depend on how much CPU, bandwidth, disk space, and memory is required. There are other considerations, as well. These include RAID, DDoS protection, and hard drive type used in the cloud server or dedicated server.

We’ve categorized small business servers into three categories based on some typical needs.

Minimal Server Needs

Servers in this category would be perfect for running a small e-commerce or company website, email server, and file storage.

SERVER TYPE	RENTING A CLOUD SERVER	RENTING A DEDICATED SERVER	OWNING	COLOCATION
Server Specs	4 CPU Cores 8GB RAM 160GB Storage 5TB Bandwidth	Intel E3 1240V3 32GB RAM 500GB SSD Setup in 8 Hours	E3-1240 v5 (3.50 GHz) 32GB RAM 500GB SSD	E3-1240 v5 (3.50 GHz) 32GB RAM 500GB SSD
Up Front Cost	$0.00	$0.00	Server: $1476 RAM: $147 HDD: $95 Total: $1718	Server: $1476 RAM: $147 HDD: $95 Total: $1718
Monthly Cost	$40/month	$70/month	Estimated $30.24 for power + cooling and internet expenses.	$79/month
Order:	Order A Cloud Server Now	Order a Dedicated Server Now	Purchase from Newegg	Order Now

Moderate Server Requirements

These servers are ideal for business running a moderately trafficed e-commerce website, more powerful SaaS applications, and server extensive applications like databases.

SERVER TYPE	RENTING	OWNING	COLOCATION
Server Specs	Intel Xeon W-2125 32GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD Setup in 8 Hours	Intel Xeon W-2125 32GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD	Intel Xeon W-2125 32GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD
Up Front Cost	$0.00	Server: $1627 RAM: $213 HDD: $130 Total: $1970 + tax	Server: $1627 RAM: $213 HDD: $130 Total: $1970 + tax
Monthly Cost	$140/month	Estimated $30.24 for power + cooling and internet expenses.	$79/month
ORDER NOW	ORDER	ORDER FROM NEWEGG	ORDER

Extensive Server Requirements

These servers are ideal for business running highly trafficed e-commerce website, powerful SaaS applications, and server extensive applications like databases.

SERVER TYPE	RENTING	OWNING	COLOCATION
Server Specs	Dual Intel Xeon Silver 4114 64GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD	Dual Intel Xeon Silver 4114 64GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD	Intel Xeon W-2125 32GB RAM 2x 500GB SSD
Up Front Cost	$0.00	Server: $3550 RAM: $213 HDD: $130 Total: $3893 + tax	Server: $3550 RAM: $213 HDD: $130 Total: $3893 + tax
Monthly Cost	$295/month	Estimated $60.24 for power monthly. Add cooling and internet expenses.	$79/month
ORDER NOW:	ORDER	ORDER FROM NEWEGG	ORDER

Additional Cost Considerations

The Initial Setup Cost

Another consideration when trying to figure out “how much does a server cost for a small business?” is the setup cost.

For most business owners, this isn’t a job they will want to tackle alone. As a result, hiring the professionals is best.

A typical rate for this job would be between $100 and $150, but this also varies based on what needs to be done. For example, setting up an email host, or a disaster recovery, and advanced backup system are large projects on their own.

The key to an affordable and successful server setup is finding the right team to handle the job.

Maintenance Costs

You will have to have professionals come in and maintain your server and provide troubleshooting tips from time to time. If you choose to rent or colocate a server, you can rely on our 24×7 expert support team for help rather than having to hire a pro.

Servers are complicated pieces of software and hardware, and they have to be maintained to continue working properly. The exact costs of the maintenance depend on what is needed.

How Much Does a Server Cost for a Small Business? Ask a Pro

Unfortunately, there is no “bottom line” sum that can be given regarding how much a server costs for a small business. Every business is unique and so are their server needs.

Your best bet is to work with the professionals who will be able to help you find the right server for your business, that includes all the right features and that fits within your budget.

If you need more information about purchasing a server for your small business, contact our team. We can help ensure your business runs smoothly.