Offshore hosting does not have to be expensive. A small VPS is enough for a lot of work, such as a personal VPN, a bot, a blog or a node that is pruned. But the cheapest listing is rarely the best value. Here is how to judge a low price.
What a small server can do
- A WordPress site with moderate traffic, with enough RAM. See VPS specs for WordPress.
- A WireGuard VPN for a household.
- A Telegram or Discord bot.
- A small self-hosted app such as Vaultwarden.
For a quick sizing guide, see the best VPS size for common workloads.
Specs that matter at a low price
- KVM virtualisation: a real kernel, so Docker and custom setups work. See KVM versus OpenVZ.
- NVMe or SSD storage: spinning disks make everything feel slow.
- Honest bandwidth: check the allowance and the port speed, not just "unlimited".
- Full root access: you should be able to install what you need.
- RAM: 1 GB is tight for modern software, so 2 GB is the practical minimum for most uses.
Location changes the price
Prices differ by country because data centre and bandwidth costs differ. A cheaper country is fine if it is close enough to your users. Compare latency first. Read how to choose a VPS location.
Long terms save more than hunting for deals
Many providers cut the monthly price for a longer term. Start with one month to test the server and the network, then move to a longer term once you are sure.
Warning signs of a bad cheap host
- No terms of service, or terms you cannot find.
- Prices far below everyone else, with "unlimited" everything.
- No way to reach support before you pay.
- Overselling language such as "burst" resources with no guaranteed minimum.
- No real company information or status page.
How to test a cheap VPS in the first hour
curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/masonr/yet-another-bench-script/master/yabs.sh | bashRun a benchmark you trust, check disk speed and network throughput, and check that the CPU does not throttle under load. If the results are far below the advertised specs, ask for a refund while you still can. Then harden it with the 15-minute checklist.
For current plans and prices in each country, see our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How cheap can an offshore VPS be?
Small plans start at a few dollars a month. Price depends on CPU, RAM, disk, bandwidth and the country.
What is the minimum RAM for a VPS?
1 GB runs light tasks, but 2 GB is the practical minimum for most modern software.
How do I check a cheap VPS is not oversold?
Run a benchmark in the first hour and compare disk speed, network throughput and CPU under load with the advertised specs.