Cloud pricing term
What is a dedicated vCPU?
A dedicated vCPU is processor capacity allocated for the sustained use of one customer's virtual machine rather than shared as a general-purpose time slice.
The expensive mistake
Buying dedicated CPU for an idle workload, or assuming a cheaper shared plan with the same vCPU count is equivalent under sustained load. Dedicated changes the contention promise, not just the number next to vCPU.
Where it appears on your bill
It is normally included in a dedicated or CPU-optimized instance plan line.
Worked example
The dated example uses DigitalOcean c-2 at $42/month for 2 dedicated vCPUs, which is $21 per vCPU-month. Its $4 Basic plan has 1 burstable vCPU. The $38 monthly difference buys a different CPU guarantee and more resources, not a defensible 10.5x performance multiplier.
Example prices checked: