Is VPS still considered self-hosting?

The services are maybe hosted by myself, but the servers aren't mine. I'm only borrowing a small chunk of resources from some company, so can it still be considered self-hosting?

17 comments

I’d say it’s not but there isn’t a good label for what it is.

I run a hybrid: 3 VPS and a rack in the closet. I don't get hung up about labels. I leave that to others who obsess about that sort of stuff.

Self-hosting is just a generalized term for running your own stacks instead of just using the standard corpo stuff. It's not a regimen or lifestyle or anything like that. Don't worry about the terminology.
- Agreed! I feel like there is an underlying question here. Like, did the OP get called out for not-really-selfhosting-because-VPS?
  You do not need to define the word just because you want to host your own server for product X.

It’s self hosting. Is it home lab? Nope. Though plenty of people use VPS as a way to terminate their VPN connections and such.
- That's a good distinction, thanks

i'd argue yes. if it's just a plain linux vps without any additional services, you're still doing plenty of setup yourself.

If you're not cycling a pedal-powered generator to run your system then is it really self-hosted? My servers only use organic transistors grown in my zen garden.

Self-hosting isn't only just about owning the metal, but it's also the freedom to configure things the way you want, and to be sovereign of your data.

I would say that the software side all qualifies. You're setting up the full software stack; that's definitely self-"something".
I, personally, would only consider it "self hosting" if I can take a sledge hammer to the bare metal without getting arrested.
But, I acknowledge that is an arbitrary, puritanical distinction. I don't look down on VPS; they have specific pros and cons, and I use them myself. I just think that "self hosting" includes hardware factors, not just the software.
- You sound like someone who has used a printer, and likely has seen a PC Load Letter error. Ha!
  
  Real printers used real paper...

I think it counts. You always have the option of taking your data with you and go elsewhere which is one of the main points of self-hosting, being in control of your data. If they jack up the prices or whatever, you just pack up, you never have to pay or else.
Also hosting an email server at home would be an absolute nightmare, took me 10+ years to get that IP rep and I'm holding on to it as long as I can.
I have a mix of it: private services run at home, public ones run on a bare metal server I rent. I still get the full benefits of having my own NextCloud and all. Ultimately even at home, I'd still be renting an Internet connection, unless you have a local only server.