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VPS vs PaaS: The True Cost

It's not just about the monthly bill. Let's calculate what you're really paying.

Total Cost of Ownership Formula

TCO = Monthly Cost + (Setup Hours × Your Rate) + (Monthly Maintenance × Your Rate)

Real-World Scenario: Side Project

Let's compare hosting a Next.js app with moderate traffic (50k visits/month).

PaaS (Vercel Pro)

Monthly subscription$20/mo
Bandwidth overage$20/mo avg
Setup time30 min
Monthly maintenance~0 hours
Year 1 Total$480+

VPS (Hetzner CX22)

Monthly VPS$4.15/mo
Bandwidth included20TB/mo
Setup time4-8 hours
Monthly maintenance1-2 hours
Year 1 Total$50 + time

The Time Factor

Here's where it gets interesting. What's your time worth?

Your Hourly RateVPS Setup CostYear 1 MaintenanceVPS Break-Even
$25/hr (learning)$150$300Month 1 ✓
$50/hr (junior dev)$300$600Month 3
$100/hr (senior dev)$600$1,200Never*
$150/hr (consultant)$900$1,800Never*

*For a single project. VPS becomes profitable when hosting multiple projects or with reduced maintenance time.

The Verdict

VPS Wins When...

  • • You host 3+ projects (cost per project drops)
  • • You value learning DevOps skills
  • • You're bootstrapped and cash-conscious
  • • You use a tool like ServerCompass to reduce maintenance

PaaS Wins When...

  • • You bill $100+/hr and time is scarce
  • • You need to ship fast (funded startup)
  • • You need global edge deployment
  • • DevOps isn't a skill you want to develop

Cut Your VPS Maintenance Time by 80%

ServerCompass gives you a visual deployment UI without a server-side dashboard. Same VPS savings, less time investment.

Learn More About ServerCompass