Building a Cheap, Simple Service on the Cloud

Cloud Hosting Forum
1

I’m looking for the best hosting services for my needs: a web server accessible through a domain and a storage bucket for static content like images and videos. I want to make the content private and create temporary access links. This will be a hobby server, so I expect very little traffic.

Here are some options I’ve considered:

  • AWS: EC2 provides a dedicated server, and with an elastic IP, the cost is around $20 USD per month.
  • Google Cloud: Although I’m not as familiar with Google Cloud, it seems to cost around $1 USD per month for a basic server and elastic IP.

My main requirements:

  • I don’t want a shared server that limits my control; I need the ability to SSH in and configure everything as I would in a regular Linux terminal.
  • By “cheap” hosting, I’m aiming for something under $10 a month and want to minimize costs without adding too much complexity to development.

Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated!

2

Avoid the major cloud platforms—they can be confusing and don’t offer great value for your specific needs. Instead, consider Linode, Vultr, DigitalOcean, or Hetzner Cloud. These options typically provide better value for your money and often deliver superior performance.

3

With such minimal and inconsistent traffic, would a serverless option be better than purchasing a provisioned server? I’m quite new to many cloud services and have heard some things about Vercel, which I’ve also been considering.

4

In very small instances, AWS Lightsail can be cheaper than DigitalOcean and Vultr. However, as mentioned earlier, it has a bit of a learning curve. Also, as your server needs grow, Lightsail can become more expensive quickly. That’s why I carefully choose where to deploy each service.

Best of luck!