Understanding Bandwidth and Traffic on Overseas VPS

The most easily confused terms when buying a VPS are bandwidth and traffic. They are completely different, and mixing them up can lead to overage charges or disappointing speed.

Bandwidth: the speed ceiling

Bandwidth is how much data can be transferred per unit of time, measured in Mbps. A 100 Mbps link tops out around 12.5 MB/s download. Bandwidth decides how fast.

Traffic: total usage

Traffic is the total volume transferred over a period, measured in GB/TB. Traffic decides how much.

Common billing models

• By bandwidth: fixed bandwidth, unlimited traffic, ideal for sustained high-traffic;
• By traffic: higher bandwidth but a monthly traffic quota, throttled or charged after the cap, ideal for bursty traffic;
• "Unlimited traffic": usually fixed bandwidth with no total cap, but watch for hidden throttling or fair-use policies.

Recommendation

Before ordering, confirm: peak bandwidth, whether there is a monthly traffic cap, and how overage is handled. Questions about bandwidth or traffic? Ask 00Shark support.