HostStack Compare is a practical VPS comparison hub for indie hackers and CN-remote founders — dated price bands, promo→renew traps, and who each host is actually for.
Live matrix (MVP)#
Head-to-head snapshot refreshed 2026-11-02 Asia/Shanghai from public pricing pages (money numbers unchanged on re-check):
| Provider | Entry public band | Specs (entry card) | Watch-out |
|---|
| DigitalOcean | $4.00/mo Basic | 1 vCPU / 512 MiB / 10 GiB / 500 GiB transfer | Tiny RAM; overage math |
| Hostinger | $6.49/mo intro (24-mo) · renew $11.99 | KVM 1: 1 vCPU / 4 GB / 50 GB NVMe / 4 TB | Promo → renew jump |
| Contabo | €4.40/mo incl. VAT (en-us) | Cloud VPS 4: 4 vCPU / 8 GB / 100 GB SSD / 200 Mbit/s | Fair-use + port caps |
Full tables, Hostinger KVM ladder, DO Basic band, and Contabo Core rows: DigitalOcean vs Hostinger vs Contabo.
Open compare matrix
Cloudways managed plans
Cloudways deep-dive
Want managed WordPress/app hosting instead of raw VPS? Soft CTA above uses Cloudways affiliate id 2053209 · deep-dive /providers/cloudways/. Seasonal checkout code BFCM802: Cloudways publishes 80% off for 2 months plus unlimited free migrations (new customers; enter at checkout; verify).
Provider deep-dives (live)#
Indie-founder reviews with dated prices, billing traps, locations, and bandwidth caveats. Contabo outbound CTAs use CJ Affiliate links; Cloudways uses direct Affiliate id 2053209; DigitalOcean/Hostinger pages stay official-only for now:
Polish, docs, tear-down billing — entry from $4.00/mo.
Promo→renew prepaid KVM — intro from $6.49/mo.
Specs per euro + fair-use traffic — from €4.40/mo incl. VAT.
Managed stack on DO/Vultr/Linode/AWS/GCP — Flexible from $11/mo.
EU price/performance Regular Performance — from €6.49/mo excl. VAT.
All providers: /providers/.
Guides#
All guides: /guides/.
Methodology (teaser)#
We only publish as-of dated snapshots from public pricing pages, call out billing traps, and keep counseling brands firewalled. Full rules: How we compare.
Disclosure#
Contabo (CJ) and Cloudways (direct affiliate id 2053209) links on this site may be affiliate. Commissions do not change the price you pay. Details: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure.
Status#
- Working title: HostStack Compare · soft digest brand Dealwright (separate)
- Live site (temporary):
https://hoststack.benhu.ggff.net (canonical later: hoststack.vps.vc) - Affiliate: Contabo CJ live · Cloudways direct live (id
2053209) · Hostinger still reviewing · Awin/DO archived - Spend gate: $0 content / research only
Practical VPS snapshots for indie hackers and CN-remote founders — price bands, bandwidth gotchas, and who each host is actually for. Soft digest brand: Dealwright (separate). Contabo affiliate CTAs live via CJ; other programs still pending.
Price-check as-of: 2026-11-06 Asia/Shanghai Affiliate CTAs: official URLs only · no Hetzner affiliate live Sources: Cloud pricing hub · Regular Performance Disclosure · Methodology · Providers Disclosure (short): We may earn a commission if you buy through affiliate links elsewhere on HostStack (Contabo CJ · Cloudways direct). This Hetzner page uses official non-affiliate URLs only until a Hetzner program is approved and disclosure is updated. Commissions do not change the price you pay. Always verify on the provider’s site. Full policy: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure.
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As-of 2026-11-05 Asia/Shanghai (public Flexible widget) Affiliate direct id 2053209 live Promo BFCM802 · 80% off 2 months + free migrations Sources Pricing · Promo codes · Home · Support Browse Cloudways plans Official pricing Cloudways Affiliate · disclosure applies · we may earn a commission; price unchanged. Seasonal checkout code BFCM802 — 80% off for 2 months + unlimited free migrations (enter at checkout; verify).
Disclosure (short): We may earn a commission if you buy through Cloudways links on this page (direct Affiliate id 2053209). It does not change the price you pay. Always verify on the provider’s site. Full policy: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure. Cloudways sells a managed stack on top of cloud VMs (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Google Cloud). You get panel/ops helpers aimed at WordPress and apps — fewer DIY ops than raw Contabo or a bare DigitalOcean Droplet. Money numbers below come from Cloudways’ public pricing page Flexible plan widget (as-of stamp above); always re-check before buying.
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As-of 2026-11-02 Asia/Shanghai (public pricing + VPS · unchanged) Affiliate CJ Contabo COM live (CID 8114732) Sources Contabo pricing · Contabo VPS Browse Contabo VPS plans Cloud VPS 4 configurator Contabo home CJ Affiliate links · disclosure applies · we may earn a fixed commission; price unchanged.
Disclosure (short): We may earn a commission if you buy through Contabo links on this page (CJ Affiliate). It does not change the price you pay. Always verify on the provider’s site. Full policy: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure. Contabo sells specs per euro: more vCPU/RAM/disk on the sticker than DO’s entry band, with a fair-use traffic story and plan port caps. UX/docs are less “cloud polish” than DigitalOcean — tradeoffs are the point of this page.
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As-of 2026-11-02 Asia/Shanghai (public pricing · unchanged) Affiliate official URLs only · pending approval Sources Droplet pricing Disclosure (short): We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page later. It does not change the price you pay. Always verify on the provider’s site. Full policy: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure. DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux VMs with a polished control panel, strong docs, and marketplace 1-clicks. This page is a procurement snapshot for indie hackers and CN-remote founders — not a forever ranking.
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As-of 2026-11-02 Asia/Shanghai (public VPS pricing · unchanged) Affiliate official URLs only · still reviewing Sources Hostinger VPS pricing Disclosure (short): We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page later. It does not change the price you pay. Always verify on the provider’s site. Full policy: Affiliate & Advertising Disclosure. Hostinger VPS is a price-led KVM option with hPanel, prepaid terms, and fat intro RAM/disk. The headline $/mo only makes sense when you also read renew and term length.
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