Choosing a server for your business suite

Your business suite runs on a server that you choose, rent and pay for yourself, so the apps and the data are yours. You need a small Linux server (a "VPS") with at least 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 40 GB of SSD storage. That size is enough for up to 50 people.

What to look for

• Size. At least 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 40 GB of SSD. More storage helps if you keep many files.
• A "user data" or "cloud-init" box when you create the server. This is the few-clicks way: you paste the suite's setup file into that box, and the server sets itself up. Without it, your intern connects to the server once and runs the installer. Both work.
• A region near your team. Pick a data centre in your country or close to it. A server far away works, but pages feel slower. If your customers' data must stay in your country, check before picking a region abroad.
• Backups. The suite backs itself up every night, but onto the same server, so a lost server takes those backups with it. Your intern also sends a copy to a storage bucket you rent elsewhere (see "First day with your intern" in Your own business suite). A provider backup or snapshot on top is a cheap extra copy; turn it on if you can.
• The real monthly price. Some prices leave out tax, the IP address or the disk. Some need you to pay 12 or 24 months up front and renew at a higher price. The total on the order page is the one that counts.
• How you will pay. A credit card in your or your business's name is the safest choice. Some providers refuse prepaid or virtual cards, and some may ask for more proof before your first server.

Best value when we checked

We read each provider's own pages on 7 October 2026. Prices change often, so check the order page before you buy. These are the smallest plans that fit, at the price the page showed that day.

If you are in the US

1. Vultr. 2 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB for USD 20.00 a month, US regions, user data box. Backups add 20%.
2. DigitalOcean. The same size for USD 24.00 a month, US regions, user data box, clear payment rules. Backups add 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily).
3. Akamai (Linode). The same size for USD 24.00 a month, user data box, backups USD 5.00 a month.
4. Hetzner Cloud, with the server in Europe. The cheapest with a user data box: EUR 5.49 a month plus EUR 0.50 for the IP address, before VAT. Its US servers cost far more (USD 37.49 a month for the smallest), so only choose Hetzner if a server in Europe suits you.
5. Contabo. More memory and storage for the money and US regions, but the advertised EUR 5.50 a month assumes a 24-month term. Read the total on the order form.

If you are in India

1. Vultr. Mumbai and Bangalore regions, USD 20.00 a month, user data box.
2. DigitalOcean. Bangalore region, USD 24.00 a month, user data box. Your card must be enabled for international transactions; prepaid and virtual cards are not accepted.
3. Akamai (Linode). Mumbai and Chennai regions, USD 24.00 a month, user data box.
4. Contabo. Has an India region and a user data box, at a low price if a long term suits you. Read the order total.
5. OVHcloud. From ₹420 a month before GST, but you pay 12 months up front. Check that a Mumbai server is offered when you order.

Hostinger (from ₹799 a month in India, USD 8.99 in the US) is cheap only when you pay 2 years up front, and it renews at a higher price. Netcup, Scaleway and IONOS have no India region.

Before you buy

1. Ask your intern which provider they are most used to. A provider your intern knows well is worth a little more each month.
2. Create the account in your business's name, with your own card and email address, so you always own the server.
3. Turn on the provider's backups or snapshots if they are offered.
4. Give your intern access to set the suite up. Do not share your provider password: invite them as a team member if the provider allows it, and remove them when the work is done.

Install it

1. Create the server at your provider: Ubuntu 24.04, the size above, in the region nearest your team.
2. Download cloud-init.yaml from the latest release of the suite. The release address and its SHA-256 checksum are already filled in.
3. Open the file in a text editor and change one line, SUITE_SETUP_CODE, to a code only you know, at least 8 characters. Write the code down. (If you leave the example there, the server makes a random code instead, and your intern has to read it from the install log.)
4. Paste the whole file into the provider's "User data" or "Cloud config" box (often under "Advanced"), then create the server.
5. Wait about ten minutes, then open the address. With no domain it is the server's IP with dashes and .sslip.io after it, for example https://203-0-113-7.sslip.io. Enter your setup code and create your owner account.

The full steps, updates and backups are in the suite's install guide. What the suite is: Your own business suite.

If something on a provider's page does not match this guide, trust the provider's page. Prices and plans change.