Best VPS for self-hosting: plan specs vs official app requirements
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There is no single “best” VPS — there is the cheapest plan that meets the requirements of the apps you actually want to run. This page lines up published plan specs against the minimums each project publishes, with a source for every number.
Step 1: add up what your apps need
Official minimums for popular self-hosted apps, from each project's own documentation:
| App | RAM (min) | CPU cores (min) | Disk (min) | Containers / services | GitHub stars | License | Spec source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immich | 6 GB (rec. 8 GB) | 2 (rec. 4) | — | 4 services in the official compose file (immich-server, immich-machine-learning, redis/valkey, database) | 116,780[1] | AGPL-3.0 | [2][3] |
| PhotoPrism | 3 GB | 2 | — | 2 default services (photoprism, mariadb) plus optional profiles (ollama, open-webui, watchtower) in the official compose file | 40,332[1] | AGPL-3.0 | [4][5] |
| Seafile CE | 2 GB | 2 | 10 GB | Docker deployment integrates Seafile, Redis, MariaDB, SeaDoc and Caddy (5 services) | 15,353[1] | GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0, Apache-2.0 | [6] |
| Jellyfin | 4 GB (rec. 8 GB) | not published | 100 GB | Single application container (media and config mounted as volumes) | 58,304[1] | GPL-2.0 | [7] |
| n8n | 320 MB (rec. 2 GB) | not published | — | Default Docker install: 1 container with SQLite. Official withPostgres compose: 3 services (postgres, n8n, n8n-runner) | 208,160[1] | Apache-2.0, Commons-Clause | [8][9][10][11] |
| OpenClaw Gateway | 1 GB (rec. 2 GB) | 1 (rec. 2) | 0.5 GB | Runs as a Node.js service (systemd unit) rather than a compose stack by default | 392,683[12] | MIT | [13][14] |
| AFFiNE | 2 GB (rec. 4 GB) | rec. 4 | 1.5 GB | 4 services in the official compose file (affine, affine_migration [one-time job], redis, postgres) | 73,732[15] | custom (GitHub reports NOASSERTION) | [16][17] |
| Coolify | 2 GB | 2 | 10 GB | 4 services in the production compose file (coolify, postgres, redis, soketi) | 63,367[18] | Apache-2.0 | [19][20] |
| Dokploy | 2 GB | not published | 30 GB | Installer creates dokploy and dokploy-postgres Swarm services plus a dokploy-traefik container (3) | 37,913[21] | custom (GitHub reports NOASSERTION) | [22][23] |
Nextcloud is not in the table because it publishes memory per PHP process (128 MB minimum, 512 MB recommended) rather than a total figure[24] — see the Nextcloud VPS requirements page.
Running several apps on one server? Their memory needs add up. If you also install a deployment panel such as Coolify (2 GB RAM minimum[19]) or Dokploy (2 GB RAM minimum[22]), budget for the panel plus your apps.
Step 2: compare plans
Entry and mid-range plans from four providers, copied from their public pricing pages in October 2026 (prices exclude VAT). The last column lists which apps from the table above have their published minimum met by that plan's listed vCPU/RAM/disk.
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Disk | Price (checked October 2026) | Meets published minimum of… | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger — KVM 1 | 1 | 4 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $6.49/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $11.99/mo[25] | n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Dokploy | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 2 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $8.79/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $14.99/mo[25] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 4 | 4 | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | $12.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $28.99/mo[25] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 8 | 8 | 32 GB | 400 GB NVMe | $25.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $49.99/mo[25] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Hetzner — CX23 (Cost-Optimized) | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB NVMe | from €5.99/mo excl. VAT; hourly billing with monthly cap; listed as not available in some locations at check time[26] | PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute Regular 1 vCPU / 1 GB | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB SSD | $5.00/mo[27] | n8n, OpenClaw Gateway | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 1 vCPU / 2 GB | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $12.00/mo[27] | n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Dokploy | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute Regular 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $20.00/mo[27] | PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $24.00/mo[27] | PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 4 vCPU / 8 GB | 4 | 8 GB | 180 GB NVMe | $48.00/mo[27] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 1 GiB | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB SSD | $6.00/mo GiB as listed[28] | n8n, OpenClaw Gateway | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 2 GiB / 1 vCPU | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB SSD | $12.00/mo GiB as listed[28] | n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Dokploy | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 4 GiB / 2 vCPU | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $24.00/mo GiB as listed[28] | PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 8 GiB / 4 vCPU | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB SSD | $48.00/mo GiB as listed[28] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 16 GiB / 8 vCPU | 8 | 16 GB | 320 GB SSD | $96.00/mo GiB as listed[28] | Immich, PhotoPrism, Seafile CE, Jellyfin, n8n, OpenClaw Gateway, AFFiNE, Coolify, Dokploy | View plan |
This is a spec comparison, not a benchmark: we have not run performance tests on these providers. CPU performance, network and disk speed differ between providers even at equal vCPU counts.
Costs that are easy to miss
- Promotional vs renewal price (Hostinger): the listed KVM prices are promotional and paid upfront; for example KVM 2 shows $8.79/mo and renews at $14.99/mo[25].
- IPv4 address (Hetzner): a primary IPv4 is billed separately (€0.50/month at time of checking)[29].
- Backups: Vultr automatic backups add 20% to the plan price[27]; DigitalOcean backups cost 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily) of the Droplet price[28].
- Bandwidth overage: Vultr charges $0.01/GB beyond the included transfer[27] — relevant if you stream media.
Quick picks by use case (spec-based)
- One light app (n8n, OpenClaw): any plan with 2 GB RAM covers n8n's 2 GB upper sizing example[8] and OpenClaw's 2 GB+ recommendation[13]. See best VPS for n8n and best VPS for OpenClaw.
- Photo backup with Immich: you need at least 6 GB RAM and 2 cores (8 GB / 4 cores recommended)[2]. In the table, that means 8 GB-class plans. See Google Photos alternatives.
- A PaaS panel plus several apps: start from the panel's minimum and add each app. See Coolify vs Dokploy.
- Media streaming with Jellyfin: Jellyfin's docs say servers without GPUs are not recommended[7], and none of the plans above include a GPU. Read Jellyfin VPS requirements first.
Browse more apps in the self-hosting solutions category or the full directory.
FAQ
How much RAM do I need for a self-hosting VPS?
It depends on the apps. Published minimums range from about 1 GB (OpenClaw) and 2 GB (Coolify, Dokploy, Seafile CE) to 6 GB for Immich, which recommends 8 GB. Add the figures for every app you plan to run on the same server.
Are the prices on this page current?
They were copied from each provider's pricing page in October 2026 and exclude VAT. Promotional prices (Hostinger) are labelled with their renewal price. Always confirm on the provider page.
Did you benchmark these VPS providers?
No. This page compares listed specs with official app requirements. We do not publish performance claims we have not measured.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- awesome-selfhosted-data (CC BY-SA 3.0) — https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted-data
- Immich docs: Requirements — https://docs.immich.app/install/requirements
- Immich official docker-compose.yml (latest release) — https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml
- PhotoPrism docs: Setup / System Requirements — https://docs.photoprism.app/getting-started/
- PhotoPrism official compose.yaml — https://dl.photoprism.app/docker/compose.yaml
- Seafile Admin Manual: System requirements — https://manual.seafile.com/latest/setup/system_requirements/
- Jellyfin docs: Selecting Appropriate Hardware — https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/administration/hardware-selection/
- n8n docs: Prerequisites (sizing example) — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration/prerequisites
- n8n docs: Fix memory issues — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/scaling/fix-memory-issues
- n8n docs: Choose n8n's database — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/choose-n8ns-database
- n8n-hosting: docker-compose withPostgres — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/n8n-io/n8n-hosting/main/docker-compose/withPostgres/docker-compose.yml
- GitHub: openclaw/openclaw — https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw
- OpenClaw docs: FAQ – providers, hardware, and hosting — https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq-first-run/providers-and-hosting
- OpenClaw docs: Linux server / VPS — https://docs.openclaw.ai/vps
- GitHub API: toeverything/AFFiNE — https://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE
- AFFiNE docs: Self-host requirements — https://docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/requirements
- AFFiNE docs: Docker Compose (recommended) — https://docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/docker-compose-recommended
- GitHub: coollabsio/coolify — https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify
- Coolify docs: Self-hosted installation — https://coolify.io/docs/get-started/installation
- Coolify production docker-compose — https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/docker-compose.prod.yml
- GitHub: Dokploy/dokploy — https://github.com/Dokploy/dokploy
- Dokploy docs: Installation — https://docs.dokploy.com/docs/core/installation
- Dokploy install.sh — https://dokploy.com/install.sh
- Nextcloud Admin Manual: System requirements — https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/admin_manual/installation/system_requirements.html
- Hostinger VPS hosting pricing — https://www.hostinger.com/vps-hosting
- Hetzner Cloud Cost-Optimized plans — https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/cost-optimized
- Vultr pricing — https://www.vultr.com/pricing/
- DigitalOcean Droplet pricing — https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets
- Hetzner docs: Cloud servers overview (IPv4 pricing) — https://docs.hetzner.com/cloud/servers/overview/