So You Start vs Hivelocity
A detailed comparison to help you choose between So You Start and Hivelocity.
Quick Verdict
3.6/5
So You Start
0 reviews
3.9/5
Hivelocity
0 reviews
Hivelocity is rated higher (3.9 vs 3.6). So You Start is OVH's mid-tier dedicated server brand — between Kimsufi budget and OVHcloud premium. Faster hardware, more RAM, anti-DDoS. Datacenters in France and Canada. Hivelocity provides dedicated servers with configurable hardware, DDoS protection, and 24/7 support. Built for applications requiring guaranteed performance and resource isolation.
So You Start OVH mid-range dedicated from €26.99 | Hivelocity Bare metal servers with direct hardware control and low latency | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.6 (0 reviews) | 3.9 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | From $33.2/mo✓ | From $65/mo |
| Best for | Developers, homelabbers, and small businesses wanting dedicated servers with large RAM and disk at mid-range prices, who are comfortable managing Linux themselves | Ops-capable teams needing bare metal in specific US, European, or Asia-Pacific locations with responsive human support and an SLA with teeth — game servers, latency-sensitive apps, and colocation customers. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 6 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 16 GB |
| Storage | — | 480 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | 20 TB/mo |
| SLA uptime | 99.9% | 99.99%✓ |
| Data-center count | 5 | 40✓ |
| €/vCPU/mo | — | €10.83 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €4.06 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Tampa, FL (TPA1/TPA2)Miami, FL (MIA1)Atlanta, GA (ATL2)Jacksonville, FL (JAX1)Chicago, IL (ORD1)Dallas, TX (DAL1)+21 |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | nvme storageipv6ddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenter | nvme storageipv6ddos protectionbackups includedus datacenter |
| Visit So You Start → | Visit Hivelocity → | |
So You Start
Pros
- + Dedicated metal with 32 GB ECC from around the price of a small VPS elsewhere
- + Anti-DDoS (VAC), backup storage slot, and 16 included IPs on every server
- + Wide configuration ladder: Xeon D/E3 up to 24-core EPYC with 256 GB RAM
- + OVH backbone network with multiple Tier 1 carriers and a 99.9% SLA
- + Game line with latency-tolerant anti-DDoS for game hosting
Cons
- - Previous-generation hardware by design (DDR3-heavy entry line, modest single-thread speed)
- - Unmanaged: business-hours email/phone support, you run the OS and RAID yourself
- - France and Canada only — no US or APAC datacenter for this brand
- - OVH single-operator risk (2021 SBG fire) — take off-site backups despite the included slot
- - Pricing is currency-dependent across storefronts; setup fees on some configurations
Hivelocity
Pros
- + Real single-tenant hardware with IPMI/KVM, private management LAN, IPv6, and server hardening included
- + Wide footprint: 40+ advertised data centers on six continents with 28 named instant-deploy locations including Asia-Pacific and Australia
- + Strong support reputation: 24/7 human support, NPS 79 claimed, consistently high third-party review scores
- + Contractual 99.99% uptime SLA with service credits plus a 4-hour hardware replacement guarantee on colocation listings
- + No setup fees on dedicated servers; instant-deploy in minutes and custom builds to exact spec
Cons
- - Mid-market pricing: $97 promo / $129 regular entry config is roughly double European value providers, with 20 TB metered transfer
- - Promo-versus-regular pricing and rotating inventory (the cheapest config changed between August and September 2026)
- - Unmanaged by default: backups, security, and managed services are paid add-ons despite our database's backups-included tag
- - Reported location-based price surcharges ($20–75/month depending on city) and no free migrations
- - SLA figures published inconsistently across the site (99.99%, 99.999%, and 100% appear on different pages)
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