What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?
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High agreement — the answer is well-supported across models.
Models agree on
- ✓WireGuard/Tailscale VPN is the most useful service
- ✓Pi-hole/AdGuard Home for ad-blocking
- ✓Caddy/Nginx as a reverse proxy
- ✓Uptime Kuma for monitoring
- ✓Vaultwarden as a password manager
- ✓Use Docker for deployment
- ✓Avoid resource-heavy services like Plex
Points of disagreement
- ~Hermes suggested email servers and Tor relays — not mentioned by GLM due to complexity/risk
- ~GLM prioritized Tailscale over plain WireGuard for ease of use
- ~Hermes included Minecraft servers — GLM explicitly warned against most game servers
A $5 VPS (typically 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 20-25GB storage) can be surprisingly capable for lightweight and personally useful services. Here's a curated list of the most worthwhile applications to run 24/7, organized by utility and resource efficiency.
Core Services (High Utility, Low Resource)
- ·
WireGuard/Tailscale VPN
- ·The single most useful setup: secures public WiFi traffic, bypasses network restrictions, and provides a stable IP.
- ·WireGuard is extremely lightweight; Tailscale simplifies setup with no open ports.
- ·
DNS Sinkhole (Pi-hole or AdGuard Home)
- ·Blocks ads/trackers network-wide (~50-100MB RAM).
- ·Works globally when paired with your VPN.
- ·
Reverse Proxy with Automated TLS (Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager)
- ·Essential gateway for managing other services.
- ·Caddy excels with automatic HTTPS and minimal config.
- ·
Uptime Monitoring (Uptime Kuma)
- ·Self-hosted dashboard for service health checks (~minimal RAM).
- ·Sends alerts via Discord/Telegram/email.
- ·
Password Manager (Vaultwarden)
- ·Bitwarden-compatible server in Rust (<100MB RAM).
- ·Full-featured with sync across devices.
Strong Secondary Options
- ·
Git Server (Gitea/Forgejo)
- ·Lightweight alternative to GitHub for private projects.
- ·
Static Site/Blog (Hugo + Caddy)
- ·Near-zero resource usage for personal sites.
- ·
RSS Reader (FreshRSS/Miniflux)
- ·Curated content without algorithmic feeds.
- ·
Nextcloud (With Caution)
- ·Possible but sluggish on 1GB RAM — best for committed users.
Stack Recommendations
- ·
Lean & Useful (~400MB RAM):
WireGuard + Pi-hole + Caddy + Uptime Kuma
- ·
Expanded Self-Hosting (~700MB-1GB RAM):
Tailscale + Caddy + Vaultwarden + Gitea
Key Advice
- ·Use Docker + docker-compose for easy management.
- ·Enable automated backups to S3-compatible storage.
- ·Prioritize security: SSH keys only, fail2ban, strict firewall.
- ·Avoid overloading — databases and transcoding (e.g., Plex) crush 1 vCPU.
What Not to Run
- ·Media servers with transcoding
- ·Heavy databases/analytics
- ·Most game servers (except very lightweight Minecraft)
- ·Anything you won't actively maintain
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