SblurpAny VPS
A VPS (virtual private server) is a small Linux machine that you rent by the month. Any VPS with 1 GB of memory and a public IPv4 address can run a community.
Steps
- Rent a VPS with a current Debian or Ubuntu, 1 GB of memory or more, and a public IPv4 address.
- Install Docker and the Compose plugin.
- Add a DNS
Arecord, such aschat.example.com, with the VPS's address. Open ports 80 and 443. - Follow Docker and Compose.
- Join your community first. The first person to join becomes the owner.
On DigitalOcean, use a Droplet with the Docker image from the Marketplace, so Docker and Compose are already installed. Its firewall ufw is on, so open the ports with ufw allow 80,443/tcp. Do not use App Platform. It has no persistent disk, so you lose the community at the next deploy.
You patch the operating system yourself. Set the R2 values in .env so the data is also kept off the VPS. See Backups.
Cost
The cheapest plans, checked on 2026-10-17, before tax:
| Host | Plan | Memory | Price a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | CX23 | 4 GB | about €6 with IPv4 |
| OVHcloud | VPS-1 | 4 GB | $5.35 with IPv4 (€4.49 in the EU) |
| Akamai Linode | Nanode 1 GB | 1 GB | $5 |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute Regular | 1 GB | $5 |
| DigitalOcean | Basic Droplet | 1 GB | $6 |
Hetzner raised its prices in April 2026, and its cheapest types are sometimes sold out. OVHcloud is cheaper if you pay for 12 months: VPS-1 is then $4.54. OVHcloud prices were checked on 2026-10-18. Check each host's site for current prices.
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