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A VPS for Nextcloud

Nextcloud All-in-One is the project's own Docker install: one mastercontainer that sets up Nextcloud, its database, Redis, Office, Talk and backups behind a web wizard. What it wants from a server is disk for your files, memory for PHP and previews, and a domain for the certificate. BD-12 at $17.90 has 200 GB and 12 GB of RAM; C4-8-160 at $72.90 arrives with AIO started.

Deploy BD-12Deploy C4-8-160 with Nextcloud AIO installed

What it needs

Software from the docs, sizes labelled by source

The software and the security posture come from the project's own documentation. Where the project publishes no hardware figure, the sizes say whose they are.

From the Nextcloud AIO README

  • Docker, then the mastercontainer with --publish 80:80 --publish 8080:8080 --publish 8443:8443 and the Docker socket read-only.
  • A domain pointing at the server, with ports 80 and 8443 reachable, so AIO can fetch a Let's Encrypt certificate.
  • First visit: https://your-ip:8080 by IP (self-signed), password from configuration.json inside the container.
  • PHP defaults to 512 MB per process; Office (Collabora) and Talk each want memory of their own. Backups are built in (Borg).

Sizes (ours: AIO publishes no hardware figure)

Sizing by workload
WorkloadvCPURAM
Files and calendar for one to three peopleNextcloud, database, Redis. Previews and uploads are the load.24 GB
A family or a small team, with OfficeCollabora is a browser-based office suite running on your server.48 GB
Talk video calls, many users, full-text searchThe high-performance backend and search index want RAM.612 GB

The plans that fit

4 machines, priced live

Ordered by disk, which is what Nextcloud fills. Prices are today's, per month, read from the catalogue.

  • BD-8$12.90/mo

    4 vCPU · 8 GB · 100 GB disk · 32 TB

    100 GB, 8 GB: files for a few people. 4 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB and 32 TB of transfer. Paste the docker command yourself.

    Deploy
  • BD-12$17.90/mo

    6 vCPU · 12 GB · 200 GB disk · 32 TB

    200 GB, 12 GB: with Office and Talk. 6 vCPU and 12 GB for Collabora and Talk beside Nextcloud, 200 GB for the files. The pick below.

    Deploy
  • BD-24$31.90/mo

    8 vCPU · 24 GB · 300 GB disk · 32 TB

    300 GB, 24 GB: a team. 8 vCPU, 24 GB, 300 GB. Full-text search, previews for large photo libraries, many concurrent users.

    Deploy
  • C4-8-160$72.90/mo

    4 vCPU · 8 GB · 160 GB disk · 4 TB

    160 GB, arrives with AIO started. The preset installs Docker and starts the mastercontainer on a supplier that runs start-up scripts; you finish on port 8080.

    Deploy installed

“Deploy installed” opens the configurator with our Nextcloud AIO start-up script already in the start-up box, in full, before you buy. It runs once, as root, while the server is built, and only on suppliers whose platform runs start-up scripts; on the other rows the install is the same commands, pasted by you.

The install

Five steps, from the AIO README

With the preset, steps 1 and 2 are done when the server arrives. Have the domain ready before step 3.

  1. Docker. curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
  2. Start the mastercontainer exactly as the README shows: docker run --init --sig-proxy=false --name nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer --restart always --publish 80:80 --publish 8080:8080 --publish 8443:8443 --volume nextcloud_aio_mastercontainer:/mnt/docker-aio-config --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro ghcr.io/nextcloud-releases/all-in-one:latest
  3. Point a domain at the server. An A record such as cloud.example.com; AIO checks it and fetches the certificate itself.
  4. Open the AIO interface by IP. https://your-ip:8080, accept the self-signed certificate, and log in with the password from docker exec nextcloud-aio-mastercontainer grep password /mnt/docker-aio-config/data/configuration.json.
  5. Enter the domain, pick the containers, start. Office, Talk, Imaginary, full-text search — each is a checkbox and a chunk of RAM. Set a Borg backup target before you invite anyone.

Honestly

What we would actually buy

Nextcloud fills disk and eats RAM in the optional containers. Buy for both.

For a household or a small team, with Office

BD-12 · $17.90/mo

6 vCPU, 12 GB and 200 GB at $17.90: Nextcloud with Collabora and Talk switched on, 200 GB for the files, and 32 TB of transfer so syncing a photo library is not a bill. It is cheaper than the 160 GB machine that carries our preset, and the preset is two commands anyway. If you will not use Office or Talk, BD-8 at $12.90 with 100 GB is enough.

Deploy BD-12C4-8-160 with AIO started

Questions

What people ask before they buy one.

How much RAM and disk does Nextcloud need?
The AIO project publishes no hardware minimum. What it does say: PHP defaults to 512 MB per process, and every optional container — Collabora Office, Talk's high-performance backend, Imaginary for previews, full-text search — is its own service with its own memory. Files and calendar for a few people run in 4 GB; with Office and Talk plan on 8–12 GB. Disk is simply the size of what you will store plus the backups, which is why the rows above are ordered by disk.
Do I need a domain?
Yes. AIO validates that a domain points at the server before it starts Nextcloud, and it uses that domain to fetch a Let's Encrypt certificate, which needs ports 80 and 8443 reachable. Without a domain you can start the mastercontainer but not finish the wizard. Register one first, or use the deSEC option the README describes.
What does the start-up preset do?
It installs Docker with Docker's own script and starts the AIO mastercontainer with exactly the docker run command from the README (ports 80, 8080, 8443; Docker socket read-only; the mastercontainer volume), opens those ports plus 443 on the firewall, and leaves /root/NEXTCLOUD-NEXT-STEPS.txt with the command that prints the AIO password and the steps that follow. It does not enter a domain or start Nextcloud itself: that is the wizard, with your domain.
Is port 8080 public? Is that safe?
It is how AIO is designed: the interface on 8080 is protected by the long random password stored inside the container, which only root on the machine can read, and it speaks HTTPS with a self-signed certificate. Once Nextcloud is running you use it on your domain over 443; 8080 and 8443 are the management interface.
How are backups done?
AIO includes BorgBackup: you set a target (a mounted disk, or a remote Borg repository) in the interface and a schedule, and it snapshots the whole installation consistently. Do it before you invite anyone; a Nextcloud without backups is a shared folder with extra steps.
Nextcloud AIO or a manual install?
AIO is the project's recommended way to self-host and the one this page describes: one command, a wizard, updates and backups handled. A manual install gives you every knob and every chore. Unless you know why you need the knobs, take AIO.

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