So You Start vs HostKey
A detailed comparison to help you choose between So You Start and HostKey.
Quick Verdict
3.6/5
So You Start
0 reviews
3.1/5
HostKey
0 reviews
So You Start is rated higher (3.6 vs 3.1). 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. HostKey provides dedicated servers with GPU options in Netherlands and US. RTX and A100 GPU servers available for ML workloads. Custom hardware configurations and anti-DDoS.
So You Start OVH mid-range dedicated from €26.99 | HostKey GPU-enabled dedicated servers in EU and US | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.6 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.1 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | From $33.2/mo✓ | From $40/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 | ML and rendering teams wanting dedicated GPU servers in the EU, and buyers who want bare metal with BYOIP and hourly billing at low cost |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Amsterdam NL, USA, Turkey, Finland (site also shows FR/DE/UK pickers and legacy RU listings) |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | nvme storageipv6ddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenter | nvme storageipv6ddos protectiongpu availableeu datacenterus datacenter |
| Visit So You Start → | Visit HostKey → | |
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
HostKey
Pros
- + GPU pricing is competitive: RTX-class bare metal from €118/mo, GPU VPS from €70/mo, A100/H100 available
- + Cheap bare-metal entry at €40/mo with IPMI/iDRAC and unmetered 1 Gbps on advanced NL servers
- + Hourly and monthly billing on instant servers — rare for dedicated hardware
- + BYOIP/AS announcement free on the instant EPYC line; custom builds up to 190 cores and 4.6TB DDR5
- + Amsterdam base with EU data residency plus US and Turkey options
Cons
- - No published uptime SLA percentage or credit schedule
- - Small provider: thin documentation, sales-led quotes, and listings that mix hardware eras
- - Footprint beyond Amsterdam is thin; no multi-region story
- - Mixed pricing currencies (euro lists, dollar tiers) and 'from' prices that require confirmation
- - Backups and snapshots are add-ons; no free tier
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