Cloud for Cheap: What It Actually Costs to Run Your Own

Pragmatic Sysadmin — Tue, 10 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I did the arithmetic on a Google One bill last month, then did the same arithmetic on the server sitting under my desk. The cloud won. Not narrowly — by enough that I closed the tab and went to make coffee.

That’s the answer most self-hosting guides won’t give you, because “run your own cloud” is a hobby that sells a feeling, and the feeling is free while the electricity isn’t.

Here’s the real arithmetic, with every price checked on 10 November 2026: what Google One actually charges, what a cheap VPS actually costs, what a home server burns in electricity, and the one rule that tells you which of the three to pick.

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Cloud for Cheap: What It Actually Costs to Run Your Own