Where to host your agents: free and cheap servers

What you'll see in this lesson

1. What an agent needs to live on a server

   If the model runs behind an API, the agent barely uses anything: a small server running day and night is enough.

2. Oracle Always Free: what's left after the cut

   Since June 15, 2026, the free Arm tier drops from 4 cores and 24 GB to 2 cores and 12 GB of RAM.

3. AWS, Google and Azure: credits to try things

   The three big clouds give you credits when you sign up, but they expire soon: they're for experimenting, not forever.

4. Hetzner after the 2026 price hikes

   After the April and June 2026 increases, its cheapest 4 GB server costs about €6 a month plus VAT.

5. Contabo and other VPSs: compare carefully first

   Contabo gives lots of RAM and disk for little money; to choose between providers, always compare the full bill.

6. Your computer as a server with Cloudflare Tunnel

   With cloudflared, your home mini PC serves the agent to the Internet without opening router ports or a fixed IP.

7. First steps on a new server

   Before installing the agent, lock the doors: SSH key access, a firewall and automatic updates.

8. What to choose for your case

   There's no single best place: it depends on whether you're testing, what data the agent handles and what a failure would cost you.

9. Summary: where to host your agents

   An agent using API models fits almost anywhere; choose by stability, privacy and total cost.