VPS vs Self-Hosting: A Framework for Decision Making

In my homelab journey post, I mentioned how my self-hosted adventure began with solving a simple problem. Since then, I’ve zigzagged between hosting services at home and using VPS providers. This has given me a nuanced perspective on the eternal homelab question: should you self-host at home or rent a VPS? Learning Objectives Uber Alles Before we dive into comparison metrics, there’s an important personal bias I have: if your primary goal is to learn a specific technology, that objective trumps all other considerations. ...

March 24, 2025 · 8 min · Josh J