Many teams that need a whole server now rent one instead of buying it. They rent a dedicated server by the month: the provider supplies the hardware, power, network and data-centre space, and the customer gets exclusive use of the machine and root access to it. That model is simple to describe and easy to misjudge, because the monthly price covers some things you would otherwise pay for and leaves out others. This guide sets out what you are actually paying for, how the contract works, and when renting stops being the right answer.
What you rent when you rent a dedicated server
A rented dedicated server is a physical machine that is yours alone for the term. Nobody else's workload runs on its processors, memory or disks. The Terms of Service describe it plainly: physical servers allocated exclusively to one customer, with configurable hardware, operating system installation and remote management access where available.
The monthly price covers most of what you would otherwise run as separate projects, but not all of it:
| Part of the bill | If you rent | If you own the hardware |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Provider-owned, no upfront cost | You buy it up front and depreciate it |
| Failed parts | Provider-owned; you report faults to 24/7 support | Your spares, your trip to the rack |
| Power and cooling | Included | Metered per kWh or per circuit |
| Network | A 1 Gbps unmetered port on every build, priced as its own line | Transit contract, cross-connects, your own router |
| IPv4 addresses | One included, extras by the month | Bought or leased on the open market |
| Data and backups | Yours to protect; backup storage is an add-on | Yours to protect |
The last line deserves attention. The RIPE NCC, which allocates addresses in Europe, ran out of IPv4 in November 2019. Addresses now trade on a market, and renting them with the server is usually the simplest way to get a few.
How the contract works
Rental terms vary a lot between providers, so read them before price. NexonHost's Terms of Service and store set out the model used here:
- Billing periods. The terms allow subscriptions of 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 months, always paid in advance, and reselling the service needs NexonHost's prior approval (sections 6.1 and 6.5). In the store, seven of the eight builds are billed monthly; the EPYC 7702 also offers 3-, 6- and 12-month terms at 5 to 15% off.
- Price changes. Website prices can change without notice, but an existing subscription keeps its price while it is valid (section 6.2). NexonHost can also change prices and specifications with 30 days' notice (section 17.2).
- Ending the contract. Send a written termination request at least 14 days before the current period ends; money already paid is not refunded (section 10.1). A service that is not renewed ends on its expiry date, and its data can be deleted without further notice (section 10.2), so copy it off first.
- Refunds. First-time customers of a service can ask in writing for a full refund within 7 days of activation, but DDoS-protected services lose it after 3 days of use or after excessive bandwidth use (section 11.1). Every dedicated build includes DDoS mitigation, so plan on 3 days. No refund is due if the terms were breached or a significant share of the resources was used.
- Setup and identity. There is no setup fee on the dedicated builds. NexonHost may ask a new account for identity documents before it activates a service (section 8).
The practical result is that a monthly rental commits you one month at a time. That is the main thing renting buys you: if you size the machine wrong, you can change it at the next renewal, as long as you give notice 14 days before it.
What renting costs, line by line
The entry build is a fair benchmark because every line is visible in the store:
| Line | Monthly |
|---|---|
| 2× Intel Xeon E5-2630 v4, 20 cores, 128 GB RAM, 240 GB SSD | €79 |
| 1 Gbps unmetered, guaranteed port | €50 |
| DDoS mitigation, 40 Gbps / 4 Mpps at layer 4 | Included |
| One IPv4 address | Included |
| 24/7 support by ticket and email | Included |
| Total | €129 |
One thing to watch: the store preselects 1 TB of backup storage at €5 a month. Set Backup Storage to None for the €129 total, or keep it, because backups are not otherwise included.
The add-ons people most often need are extra IPv4 addresses at €3 each, up to five (a /24 is €250 a month plus €100 setup); two 500 GB SSDs in place of the single 240 GB drive, to mirror in RAID 1, for €10; and help inside the operating system. Troubleshooting, software installation and monitoring for two hours a month is €99, and fully managed with live support, capped at 12 hours a month per account, is €599. What €129 a month actually buys prices the common add-ons.
Renting compared with owning
Owning a server looks cheaper when you compare the purchase price with a year of rent. Whether it really is depends on the other lines. A useful exercise is to write down your own numbers for:
- Purchase price, divided by the years you will really keep it. Three to five is typical.
- Spare parts, or a second machine to fail over to.
- Power. A server drawing 300 W uses 216 kWh in a 30-day month. Multiply by your price per kWh, then add cooling.
- Space and network. Rack space, a transit contract and the router in front of it.
- Your time. Every disk swap and every 3 a.m. power alarm.
Ownership tends to win when you run many servers in one place for many years and already have staff on site. For a small fleet, renting usually costs less in total and much less in attention.
Renting compared with a VPS
A VPS is a virtual slice of a physical server that other customers share. It costs less, but its performance depends partly on its neighbours. Rent a whole server when you need consistent CPU and disk performance, large amounts of memory, or isolation for compliance. VPS vs Dedicated Server sets out where the line sits.
How fast you get the server
Delivery depends on the build. The three Intel Xeon configurations provision automatically, in minutes after payment and any identity check on a new account. The AMD EPYC configurations carry an estimated delivery of about two weeks. If you are replacing a server under pressure, that difference matters more than any benchmark. How to migrate a server without downtime covers the move itself.
Where you can rent a dedicated server
Seven of the eight builds can be rented in all twelve cities: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Marseille, Milan, Madrid, Vienna, Warsaw, Sofia, Bucharest, Dublin and Ashburn. The eighth, the AMD EPYC 7702, is available only in Bucharest. Choose the city closest to the largest group of your users. For Poland and Central Europe, the Poland dedicated server page lists the seven builds sold in Warsaw, with Warsaw preselected; Choosing a European Server Location covers the rest.
A checklist before you sign
- Is the network port guaranteed or shared, and is traffic metered?
- How many IPv4 addresses are included, and what do extras cost?
- How much DDoS mitigation is included, in Gbps and packets per second?
- What is the billing period, and how much notice ends it?
- Is there a refund window, and what are its conditions?
- What does included support cover, and what does it not?
- Who is responsible for backups, and what do they cost?
- How long does delivery take for the build you want?
Where to start
You can rent a dedicated server from NexonHost from €129 a month, billed monthly, with no setup fee, an unmetered 1 Gbps port, DDoS mitigation and one IPv4 address included. Every build is listed on the dedicated servers page. Once the server is live, work through the new server security checklist before you put anything on it.
Prices and terms are as of 2 October 2026. Check the product pages and the Terms of Service for current figures.
Sources
- Terms of Services, NexonHost: sections 6.1, 6.2 and 6.5 (billing periods, prices, advance payment), 7 (description of dedicated servers), 8 (identity verification), 10.1 and 10.2 (termination and expiry), 11.1 (money-back guarantee), 17.2 (price changes). Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- The RIPE NCC has run out of IPv4 Addresses, RIPE NCC, 25 November 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- NexonHost store configurator: base price, port options, disks, IP options, the preselected backup option, support tiers and locations for the 2× Xeon E5-2630 v4 build, and billing cycles for the EPYC 7702. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- Computed: 300 W × 720 hours = 216 kWh per 30-day month.
