Vultr
Affordable VPS hosting. Good default for a small always-on server.
Use it if
- You need a small Linux server that runs all the time
- You want a predictable monthly bill rather than usage billing
- You want to pick a data centre near you
Skip it if
- You only need something running for an hour a week
- You want managed hosting where somebody else handles the server
- You need heavy GPU capacity, which gets expensive fast
There is nothing exciting about a hosting company, and that is the point. You want a small computer that stays on, costs a predictable amount, and does not require you to think about it again.
What you are actually buying
A slice of a bigger machine, rented monthly. You pick a size, pick a city, pick Linux, and a few seconds later you get an address and a password. From then on it behaves like a computer you can connect to from anywhere.
The cheapest tier is enough to run a personal agent, a few scripts and a small database. It is not enough to run a large AI model locally. That needs a GPU, and GPU hosting costs substantially more.
Why this one
Mostly price and simplicity. The control panel is plain, the small instances are cheap, and there are data centres in enough places that you can pick one close to you, which makes the connection feel quicker.
Competitors are genuinely comparable. If you already have an account somewhere else, use that instead. The guides on this site work the same way on any Linux server.
What to watch
Backups are not automatic on the cheapest plans. Bandwidth is generous but not unlimited. And a server you forget about is a server you keep paying for. Put a reminder somewhere if you are only testing something.
Guides that use this
Setups
My current AI setup
Guides
Run Hermes on a VPS (step-by-step)
Learn
What is a VPS?