Top 10 Bare Metal Cloud Providers Compared

Driven by the growth of AI/ML applications and the manufacturing industry’s digital transformation, the bare metal cloud market is expected to increase from $8.5 billion in 2023 to $19.1 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 17.4%. Bare metal cloud servers offer a secure and reliable high-performance hosting solution that continues to attract strong demand.

This guide highlights the top 10 bare metal cloud providers based on the Research and Markets bare metal cloud report. We cover the services, pros and cons, and pricing of the 5 providers in the SMB section and the 5 enterprise bare metal cloud providers.

#What is a Bare Metal server?

A bare metal server is a physical server utilized by one consumer or a tenant without sharing it with anyone else and managed on-site. A bare metal server offers direct access to hardware without a virtualization layer in between.

#What is a bare metal cloud?

A bare metal cloud is a cloud computing service offered by a third-party provider. It enables customers to access dedicated physical servers remotely, with servers managed by the provider. Bare metal cloud hosting allows users to rent a physical server without maintaining it on-site, benefiting from instant provisioning.

Bare metal cloud differs from other cloud services like virtual servers (VPS) or cloud hosting because server hardware doesn't come with a pre-installed hypervisor. Instead, the virtualization software is installed directly onto the server hardware, giving tenants complete control over its resources, not shared with other users.

Bare metal enables faster processing times, lower latency, higher flexibility, scalability, security, and control over your infrastructure, ideal for demanding latency-sensitive workloads such as in data science, IoT, blockchain applications, financial services, or manufacturing/logistics.

Also read: When to use bare metal servers?

#Bare metal cloud providers

Bare Metal Cloud Providers are particularly attractive to a growing number of industries, like AI/ML, manufacturing, and mobile app development.

Below, we list the top 10 bare metal cloud providers highlighted in the Research and Markets bare metal cloud report. The report utilized both primary (in-depth interviews with industry experts, surveying the end users) and secondary sources (exploring the company's websites, services, and financial reports) to define these key players.

The bare metal cloud providers listed in the report were evaluated based on several criteria to ascertain their positions as leaders of the industry:

• Size and scale - indicative of infrastructure robustness;
• The breadth of service offerings to cater to diverse needs;
• Technological capabilities, including automation, orchestration, and networking prowess;
• Market share and revenue metrics reflecting industry standing;
• Global customer presence indicating reach and reliability;
• Innovation fostering competitive edge;
• Pricing models offer flexibility through subscription or fixed options.

We have divided the bare metal cloud providers into two distinct groups - large-scale enterprises seeking more robust infrastructure solutions and small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) seeking more cost-effective options.

#Bare metal cloud providers to consider: SMBs

Bare metal is a practical step up when a VPS cannot keep up, and you want a dedicated machine without a long procurement process. The providers below are great for SMBs. Here is a list of top bare metal cloud providers in the SMB category, in no particular order.

#1. Cherry Servers

Cherry Servers is a Lithuania-based bare metal cloud provider with data centers in several regions, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Chicago, and Singapore. It provides single-tenant dedicated servers (including GPU options), alongside its cloud offerings.

Support is available 24/7, and plans include a personal account manager. Each server includes up to 100 TB of monthly egress traffic and built-in DDoS protection. Billing starts with hourly pricing, and there are also fixed-term and spot options, with spot pricing offering up to 70% lower rates for interruption-tolerant workloads.

The platform also accepts cryptocurrency payments and is a participant in the Cloudflare Bandwidth Alliance, which eliminates origin egress charges for traffic routed through Cloudflare.

Pros

• 15-minute deployment for prebuilt servers
• Prebuilt, custom, and GPU-accelerated server options
• API, CLI, Terraform, Ansible, and SDK support
• DDoS protection, free traffic, and scalable backup storage

Cons

• Custom server deployment can take 24 to 72 hours
• GPU bare metal availability is more limited by region

Best for

Developers, DevOps teams, SMBs, and businesses running performance-heavy workloads such as AI/ML, gaming, Web3, and high-traffic applications.

#2. Vultr

Vultr is a US-based cloud provider that offers single-tenant bare metal servers across 32 data center regions. This makes it practical for teams deploying closer to end users in multiple markets. Provisioning is API-driven, with Terraform support and hourly billing on all bare metal plans.

Vultr also offers CPU and GPU-based bare-metal options. This includes VX1 compute and AMD Instinct MI355X instances for AI workloads. VPC networking is available on bare metal, and teams can bring their own IP ranges with BGP announcements.

Pros

• Broad global reach across 32 cloud data center regions
• Single-tenant bare metal with a more cloud-like, self-serve experience
• VPC networking support for bare metal instances
• Bring-your-own-IP support with BGP announcements

Cons

• No native snapshots for bare metal instances
• Block Storage volumes cannot be attached to bare metal servers

Best for

Developers, SaaS teams, and performance-heavy workloads that need globally distributed bare metal with a fast self-serve experience.

#3. Hetzner

Hetzner is a German hosting provider that has operated its own data centers since 1997. It offers dedicated root servers, cloud instances, and colocation across facilities in Germany, Finland, and the US. Hetzner also offers flexible billing on many server lines, with no minimum contract term and hourly pricing up to a monthly cap.

Hetzner manages dedicated servers through its Robot panel, which includes tools for resets, rescue mode, OS installation, monitoring, and private network connections through vSwitch.

Pros

• Hourly billing with a monthly price cap on many server lines
• Competitive price-to-performance on dedicated root servers
• Robot panel with Rescue System, resets, and OS reinstall tools
• Server Auction options for lower-cost dedicated servers with no setup fees

Cons

• Setup fees still apply to many newer dedicated root servers
• No annual or semi-annual billing options

Best for

Startups, developers, and SMBs that want cost-effective dedicated hosting with a more self-managed setup.

#4. OVHcloud

OVHcloud operates its own servers in-house. It runs 44 data centers across 4 continents, connected through a private fiber network that the company owns and manages end-to-end. This gives OVHcloud more direct control over hardware quality and supply.

Beyond dedicated servers, OVHcloud offers public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid options. That way, teams can mix approaches as needs change instead of switching providers.

Pros

• Large global footprint with self-owned data centers
• Self-manufactured servers and owned fiber network
• Dedicated servers, public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid options under one provider
• Game DDoS protection on the Game range

Cons

• Dedicated servers follow monthly commitment billing, not a cloud-style hourly model
• Limited vRack availability on some ranges and regions

Best for

SMBs and larger organizations that want dedicated servers from a provider with a broad infrastructure portfolio, especially for business-critical workloads, research, AI, and private cloud expansion.

#5. IONOS

IONOS takes a more cloud-like approach to bare metal. Its servers come with full API control, 8-minute deployment, and pay-as-you-go billing, which makes the platform easier to work with than a more traditional dedicated server setup.

It is a practical option for growing businesses that want dedicated hardware without giving up flexibility. IONOS also lets users connect bare metal servers with virtual machines and includes unlimited traffic with standard 1 Gbit/s bandwidth.

Pros

• Pay-as-you-go billing with no minimum contract term
• 8-minute deployment
• API control with cloud integration for mixed environments
• Unlimited traffic with standard 1 Gbit/s bandwidth

Cons

• No WHM support at the moment
• Hyper-V cannot be used on IONOS bare metal plans

Best for

Growing businesses, developers, and hybrid environments that want dedicated hardware with fast deployment, pay-as-you-go billing, and easier integration with cloud services.

#5 Largest bare metal cloud providers: Enterprises

We reviewed enterprise bare metal cloud providers based on factors like infrastructure scale, service depth, global reach, and support for complex workloads. The five providers below are known for their broader cloud ecosystems, enterprise-focused features, and established market presence. They are listed in no particular order.

#1. AWS

For teams already deep into the AWS ecosystem, EC2 bare metal offers a way to use dedicated hardware without leaving the platform. AWS exposes these as bare metal instance types built on the Nitro system, so the operating system runs directly on the machine for cases that need hardware-level access or want to avoid a virtualized layer.

Teams can pair bare metal with the services they already use, such as VPC networking, IAM, and monitoring.

Pros

• EC2 bare metal built on the AWS Nitro System
• Wide range of bare metal instance families
• Direct access to physical hardware
• Integration with services like VPC and EBS

Cons

• Longer bare metal launch times
• More complex pricing models

Best for

Enterprises running licensing-sensitive software, legacy systems, HPC workloads, and other specialized applications that need bare metal inside the wider AWS environment.

#2. Oracle

Oracle builds its bare metal offering around high-end OCI compute. These instances give users dedicated hardware with no preinstalled hypervisor or agents, which makes them a strong fit for workloads that need more control over the full software stack. Oracle also offers very large bare metal instance types with high core counts, large memory capacity, and high-bandwidth networking.

Pros

• No preinstalled hypervisor or agents
• Very large bare metal configurations
• High memory and high-bandwidth networking
• Support for your own type 2 hypervisor

Cons

• No built-in migration to a different bare metal type or VM shape
• Importing your own ISO image is not supported

Best for

Teams running database-heavy or performance-sensitive workloads that want dedicated hardware inside Oracle Cloud, with more control over the software stack.

#3. Microsoft Azure

Azure takes a more specialized approach to bare metal. Its BareMetal Infrastructure is designed for certified enterprise workloads that need dedicated, non-virtualized hardware inside the wider Azure environment. It also includes isolated deployment, root access, and low-latency links between Azure VMs and BareMetal instances.

Pros

• Certified hardware for specialized workloads
• Low-latency links between Azure VMs and BareMetal instances
• Application-aware snapshots, mirroring, and cloning
• Customer-coordinated maintenance windows

Cons

• Limited regional availability
• More complex deployment topologies

Best for

Enterprises running certified, performance-sensitive workloads that need dedicated bare metal inside the Azure ecosystem, especially in tightly controlled or low-latency environments.

#4. IBM

IBM splits its bare metal offering into two paths. Classic infrastructure focuses on deep hardware customization, while VPC bare metal is built for faster provisioning inside a software-defined environment. That gives IBM a more flexible enterprise profile than providers that offer only one deployment model.

It also has a broad location footprint, with more than 60 data centers across fault-tolerant availability zones. IBM is especially relevant for enterprises that want dedicated servers for steady workloads, SAP environments, VMware deployments, or other infrastructure that benefits from long-term configuration control.

Pros

• Classic and VPC bare metal deployment options
• 11M+ configuration combinations on Classic infrastructure
• SAP- and VMware-certified bare metal support
• 20 TB of cost-free bandwidth on Classic servers

Cons

• Monthly bare metal deployment can take up to 4 hours
• VPC bare metal uses preset profiles instead of full custom builds

Best for

Enterprises that need highly customizable bare metal for steady workloads, SAP environments, VMware deployments, and other infrastructure that benefits from long-term configuration control.

#5. Rackspace (US)

Rackspace Technology specializes in fully managed dedicated servers with professional support offerings. Its bare metal service is built around single-tenant infrastructure, managed service tiers, and support for more complex environments.

Pros

• Fully managed dedicated infrastructure
• Managed and Intensive service levels
• Direct interconnection with AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure
• Broad vendor ecosystem across Dell, HPE, NetApp, Pure Storage, Cisco, Palo Alto, F5, Microsoft, and VMware

Cons

• Higher monthly cost than leaner self-serve providers
• Limited public pricing transparency

Best for

Businesses that want fully managed bare metal, hybrid cloud connectivity, and ongoing operational support without building everything in-house.

#How to choose a bare metal cloud provider

Choosing a bare metal cloud provider starts with the workload. A database server that runs all day has different needs than a short-lived CI/CD job or a bursty AI workload. Start with what the server needs to do, then compare providers against a few practical factors.

• Hardware flexibility

  Providers package hardware in different ways. Some stick to fixed server sizes, while others allow more control over CPU, RAM, storage, or GPU options. If your workload depends on specific hardware, check that first.

• Deployment speed and automation

  Provisioning time can vary a lot. Prebuilt servers are usually faster, while custom configurations can take longer. If your team relies on infrastructure automation, check for API, Terraform, or Ansible support.

• Network and bandwidth terms

  Bare metal costs are not only about the server itself. Look at port speed, included traffic, private networking options, and any overage charges that could affect long-term cost.

• Support model

  Some providers are mostly self-managed, while others offer deeper operational support. Choose based on how much server management your team can realistically handle.

• Billing and commitment

  Monthly billing is still common, but hourly and pay-as-you-go models are becoming easier to find. The right option depends on whether the workload is steady, temporary, or likely to change over time.

#Conclusion

Bare metal cloud gives teams dedicated hardware with the provisioning speed and automation of a cloud platform. The 10 providers in this guide cover a wide range of needs, from self-managed budget servers to fully managed enterprise infrastructure.

The right pick depends on the workload, the level of support your team needs, and how you want to handle billing and scaling. For AI/ML, blockchain, gaming, or teams moving workloads off public cloud through cloud repatriation, bare metal remains the most cost-effective way to get predictable performance on single-tenant hardware.

Cherry Servers offers dedicated bare metal servers with 15-minute deployment, hourly billing, up to 100 TB of free egress, and 24/7 human support on every plan.