Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “How does vertical scaling differ from horizontal scaling?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)Vertical and horizontal scaling differ in how the system gets extra resources as load grows: vertical strengthens a single server (more RAM, a more powerful CPU), while horizontal adds new servers to the system and splits data and load between them. **Key point:** vertical is simpler to set up but has a physical ceiling, while horizontal scales better and further, though its infrastructure is more complex - in one sentence: vertical makes one machine stronger, horizontal adds many machines and splits the load between them.Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)ImageVertical and horizontal scaling differ in **how the system gets extra resources as load grows**. ### Vertical scaling (Scale-Up) Strengthening **a single server**: - adding more RAM - installing a more powerful CPU - speeding up the disk **Upsides:** simple to set up. **Downsides:** there's a physical ceiling, you can't "pump up" one server indefinitely. ### Horizontal scaling (Scale-Out) Adding **new servers to the system**, to split data and load between them. - several machines work together as a single store - the cluster can be expanded almost indefinitely **Upsides:** scales better and further. **Downsides:** the infrastructure is more complex. ### The difference, in one sentence - **vertical**, making *one machine stronger* - **horizontal**, adding *many machines and splitting the load between them*For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.