Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling
This decision page will help you decide how to scale your application or system as your load grows.
Answer a few questions → Get a clear recommendation.
Options you can choose from:
Horizontal Scaling
Running multiple copies of your application on different servers and sharing the incoming traffic between them. Commonly used by cloud applications that need to handle many users at once.
Vertical Scaling
Upgrading a single server with more CPU power, memory (RAM), or storage so it can handle more work. A simple and fast way to handle higher loads.
Answer a few simple questions below. 👇
Based on your answers, you will receive specific recommendations that you can click on to view in detail.
Decision questions
Answer honestly based on the current needs of the system and expected growth.
1. What is the current size and complexity of the system?
2. How quickly do you expect the workload to grow?
3. Is it critical that your application never goes down?
4. Where will your application be running?
5. How important is ease of management?
6. Does each server in your application store data locally that other servers cannot access?
Result
Based on your answers, see the recommended solution below. 👇
Each option has its own page where you will find:
- when it is appropriate
- when it is not
- typical usage
- most common mistakes
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Important note
⚠️ In practice, these approaches are often combined. Organizations typically begin with vertical scaling as a quick solution and later move to horizontal scaling as a long-term strategy. Please note that this guidance is only a general recommendation, and the right choice always depends on your specific requirements and constraints.
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