Server Sizing Calculator

The Goldilocks Problem

Too small: Your site crashes during peak traffic Too big: You waste thousands on unused capacity Just right: You pay for what you need, scale when required

Most businesses guess. This calculator does the math.

How It Works

Answer 5 simple questions:

1. Daily visitors: How much traffic do you get?
2. Peak multiplier: How much higher is peak vs average?
3. Database needs: Do you need a separate database server?
4. CDN needs: Will you use a content delivery network?
5. Monthly budget: What can you afford?

Get instant recommendations for:

• Web server size (CPU/RAM)
• Database server size (if needed)
• Total monthly cost
• Within/over budget indicator

Real Examples

Example 1: Small Blog

• 1,000 daily visitors
• 2x peak traffic
• No separate database
• No CDN
• Recommendation: Small (2 vCPU / 4GB) = €85/month

Example 2: Growing E-commerce

• 10,000 daily visitors
• 3x peak traffic (sales/promotions)
• Separate database needed
• CDN for images/static content
• Recommendation: Medium Web (4 vCPU / 8GB) + Medium DB (4 vCPU / 8GB) = €235/month

Example 3: High-Traffic SaaS

• 50,000 daily visitors
• 4x peak traffic
• Separate database required
• CDN essential
• Recommendation: Large Web (8 vCPU / 16GB) + Large DB (8 vCPU / 16GB) = €425/month

What’s Included in Pricing

Our recommendations include:

• Web Server: Application hosting
• Database Server: Dedicated DB (if needed)
• CDN: Content delivery network (€20/month)
• Backups: Daily automated backups (€45/month)
• Monitoring: 24/7 system monitoring (included)

Common Sizing Mistakes

Mistake 1: Sizing for Average Load

• Your site works fine normally
• Crashes during peak times
• Lost revenue when you need it most
• Fix: Use peak multiplier correctly

Mistake 2: Massive Over-Provisioning

• “We might need it someday”
• Paying for 90% idle capacity
• Wasting €1,000s/month
• Fix: Right-size now, scale later

Mistake 3: Ignoring Database Load

• Running DB on same server as web app
• DB queries slow down everything
• Can’t scale independently
• Fix: Separate DB server at scale

Mistake 4: No CDN for Static Content

• Serving images/CSS from your server
• Slow load times worldwide
• Wasting server resources on static files
• Fix: Use CDN for static assets

When to Upgrade

Start with the recommended size, then upgrade when:

1. CPU consistently >70%: Need more processing power
2. RAM consistently >80%: Running out of memory
3. Response times >2 seconds: Users getting frustrated
4. Traffic doubled: Your peak multiplier changed

Budget Constraints?

If the recommendation is over budget, optimize by:

1. Add a CDN: Reduces web server load by 40-60%
2. Optimize images: Reduce bandwidth and storage
3. Add caching: Redis/Memcached reduces DB load
4. Consider serverless: For spiky, unpredictable traffic

Who This Is For

• Founders launching a new product
• CTOs planning infrastructure capacity
• Finance teams budgeting infrastructure costs
• Anyone who wants to stop guessing about server sizing

The Formula

We calculate concurrent users like this:

Peak Visitors = Daily Visitors × Peak Multiplier
Concurrent Users = Peak Visitors ÷ 24 hours

Then apply industry-standard sizing rules:

• 0-100 concurrent: Small (2 vCPU / 4GB)
• 100-500 concurrent: Medium (4 vCPU / 8GB)
• 500+ concurrent: Large (8 vCPU / 16GB)

Database servers sized slightly higher for query complexity.

Start Right, Scale Smart

The best infrastructure strategy:

1. Start right-sized (this calculator)
2. Monitor constantly (CPU, RAM, response times)
3. Scale proactively (before performance degrades)
4. Optimize continuously (caching, CDN, code)

Use this calculator as your starting point, not your ending point.