RackNerd data centre locations: which one to pick

RackNerd lists 20 locations: twelve in the United States, two in Canada, five in Europe and one in Singapore. Picking the right one makes your server feel faster, and it is one of the few choices that is hard to change after you order, because moving usually means a new server.

This guide lists every location, says who each one suits, explains how to test them from your own computer before buying, and covers what to do when your first choice is out of stock. For the general idea of why location matters, see choosing a VPS location.

What is in this guide

• Every location at a glance
• The simple rule
• United States
• Canada
• Europe
• Asia and Singapore
• If you live somewhere else
• How to test locations before buying
• Not every plan is in every location
• Location by job
• Limits
• When to step up

Every location at a glance

As listed on RackNerd's datacenters page in late 2026. RackNerd says it runs 21 data centres across these 20 locations.

Region	Locations
US west	Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Utah
US central	Chicago, Dallas
US east	New York, New Jersey, Ashburn, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa
Canada	Toronto, Montreal
Europe	London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Strasbourg
Asia	Singapore

The location filter on this site may differ slightly from RackNerd's list, for example when no plans are currently listed for a location. A location can be on RackNerd's list without plans in stock at a given moment.

The simple rule

Pick the location closest to whoever uses the server most:

• You, for a VPN, a personal cloud or a learning server.
• Your visitors, for a website.
• Your players, for a game server.
• The other services it talks to, for bots and automation.

Then test, because network routes do not always follow the map.

United States

Location	Often a good fit for
Los Angeles	US west coast users, and a common choice from Asia and Oceania when Singapore is not available. RackNerd has offered DDoS-protected plans here in the past
San Jose	US west coast, especially northern California, and another option towards Asia
Seattle	The Pacific Northwest and western Canada
Utah	The western and mountain states
Chicago	The Midwest, and a fair middle ground for the whole US
Dallas	Texas and the south, and another central option
New York and New Jersey	The north-east, and a common middle ground between the US and Europe
Ashburn	The east coast. Ashburn is one of the world's busiest data centre hubs, with many networks connected there
Atlanta	The south-east
Miami	Florida, the Caribbean, and the closest RackNerd location to Latin America
Tampa	Florida and the south-east

For a site with visitors across the whole US, a central location such as Chicago or Dallas keeps the distance to both coasts reasonable. For users on one coast, pick that coast.

Canada

• Toronto suits Ontario and eastern Canada, and is close to the US north-east.
• Montreal suits Quebec and eastern Canada, and is a good choice for French-language sites in Canada.

For western Canada, Seattle is often closer than either Canadian location.

Europe

Location	Often a good fit for
London	The UK
Dublin	Ireland, and a UK alternative
Amsterdam	Western Europe in general. Amsterdam is a major internet hub with good connections across the continent
Frankfurt	Germany, central and eastern Europe. Another major hub
Strasbourg	France, Germany and Switzerland

If your users are spread across Europe, Amsterdam or Frankfurt are usually the safest middle choices. For a site with both European and US visitors, the US east coast, such as New York or Ashburn, can be a fair compromise.

Asia and Singapore

Singapore is RackNerd's only location in Asia. It is often the best choice for South-East Asia, and for many users in Australia, New Zealand, India and East Asia, though routes vary.

Singapore usually has fewer plan types and less stock than the big US locations. If it is not available, the US west coast, Los Angeles or San Jose, is the usual fallback for Asia and Oceania. It will feel slower for interactive use such as SSH and gaming, but works well for VPNs used occasionally, backups, bots and websites behind a content delivery network.

If you live somewhere else

Where you are	Usually closest	Notes
Australia and New Zealand	Singapore, then Los Angeles or San Jose	RackNerd has no Australian location. If low latency in Australia matters most, compare providers with a location there. See RackNerd vs Hetzner, Contabo and DigitalOcean
Japan, Korea and China	Singapore or the US west coast	Test both. Routes into China in particular vary a lot
India	Singapore	Europe can also be reasonable for some routes
Middle East	Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Strasbourg	Test, as routes vary by country
Africa	London, Amsterdam or Frankfurt for most of the continent	Test from where you are
Latin America	Miami	Then Dallas or Atlanta

How to test locations before buying

RackNerd runs looking glass pages for many of its locations. Each one shows a test IP address you can measure from your own computer. Find them by searching for "RackNerd looking glass" with the city name, or through RackNerd's own website and support pages.

1. Open a terminal on your computer: PowerShell or Terminal on Windows, Terminal on macOS and Linux.
2. Ping each location's test IP:

   ping -c 10 TEST_IP_ADDRESS

   On Windows, use -n 10 instead of -c 10.
3. Compare the average times in milliseconds. Lower feels faster.
4. Test at the time you will use the server, such as evenings for gaming.
5. Try the test download on the looking glass page if offered, for a rough idea of speed.

As a rough feel, which varies by person: a few tens of milliseconds feels instant, around 100 to 150 is fine for websites and most remote work, and much more than that is noticeable for gaming and typing over SSH.

Not every plan is in every location

• Specials list their own locations. RackNerd's VPS specials page lists locations such as Los Angeles, San Jose, Utah, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Ashburn and Toronto for its special plans. Sale plans may have a different set.
• Europe and Singapore often have fewer plan types or less stock than the large US locations.
• The order page decides. The location menu on the order page shows where that plan can be deployed today.
• Have a second choice. If your first location sells out, a nearby one with similar test results is usually fine.
• Set an alert. The email alerts on the home page can be filtered by location, so you hear when a plan appears where you want it.

Location by job

Job	How much location matters	Pick
Game server	A lot	Nearest to most players. See VPS for game servers
VPN	A lot	Nearest to you. See best RackNerd VPS for a VPN
SSH and remote work	Quite a lot	Nearest to you
Website	Some	Nearest to most visitors, less important behind a CDN. See VPS for websites
Backups	Little	A different location from your main server
Bots and automation	Little	Near the services they use, or anywhere

Limits

• Locations change. Providers add and sometimes close locations. Check RackNerd's datacenters page and the order page.
• Network routes vary. The map is a guide, but your own tests are what count.
• Moving is not automatic. Changing location usually means a new server and moving your data yourself. See moving to a new VPS.
• Local laws apply. The country of the data centre affects which laws cover your data.
• Rules are the same everywhere. RackNerd's acceptable use policy applies in every location, and unmetered does not mean unlimited.

When to step up

Location and plan size are separate choices. Pick the location first, then the size that fits your job. If the location you want only has larger plans in stock, it can be worth stepping up rather than settling for a distant location, especially for VPNs, gaming and remote work.

Ready to order? How to order a RackNerd VPS walks through it. To compare what is available now, start with the cheapest RackNerd VPS guide and check the sales page.