They are very similar, but an “instance” is generally the more modern, cloud-native version of a VPS. While a traditional VPS is often a fixed slice of a server, a cloud instance is built to be much more fluid and scalable.
An instance runs in a virtualized environment where you can easily change the CPU, RAM, or storage on the fly without needing to migrate to a new physical machine. It’s basically a virtual server that is “aware” of the cloud infrastructure around it.
On a managed cloud platform like AccuWeb.Cloud, these instances are designed to be highly customizable. You can start, stop, or reconfigure them whenever you need, which gives you a lot more control than a static VPS plan.