Provider comparison & setup guides — self-hosted AI

Your AI.
Your server.
Your rules.

Compare 5 VPS providers and Mac Mini for running Ollama. Real benchmarks, current prices, honest verdicts.

5 providers tested 20+ plans compared Updated April 2026

What are you building?

Replace ChatGPT with a private model on your own hardware — no data leaves your server.
Top pick #1

Mac Mini M4

$599 one-time
16 GB unified memory ⚡ 22 tok/s Llama 3.3 70B Q4

Pays for itself in 8 months vs a VPS. Runs 70B comfortably, always on, zero cloud access.

Best value VPS #2

Contabo VPS L

$7.99/mo
12 GB RAM ⚡ 14 tok/s Qwen 2.5 14B Q4

Most RAM per dollar of any VPS. 14B models with zero memory pressure at the lowest monthly cost.

EU pick #3

Hetzner CX32

€12.49/mo
8 GB RAM ⚡ 14 tok/s Qwen 2.5 14B Q4

EU-based, fast NVMe, rock-solid uptime. Best choice if your data must stay in Europe.