Introduction

Welcome to part one of my series on deploying Dockerized Dart containers on Ubuntu VPS. This series is designed to guide you through every step of the process, from selecting the most cost-effective infrastructure to creating Docker images and setting up your server for deployment. By the end of it, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to deploy robust Dart & Flutter applications in a production environment.

In this article, I’ll focus on choosing the right VPS provider and Domain Registrar for your use case.

So, what is a VPS anyway?

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a virtual machine sold as a service by internet hosting providers. It functions much like a dedicated physical server, but it's more affordable and flexible.

This brings me to the next question, why would you want to use a VPS?

A VPS offers cost-effectiveness, full control, and consistent performance, making it ideal for straightforward applications, but it lacks the scalability, redundancy, and advanced services provided by managed cloud platforms like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

While GCP/AWS offer near-infinite scalability, high availability, and a vast array of services, they come with higher costs and complexity, which are not always needed. The price tag is almost always the reason for choosing the VPS.

I did all the research for you. All you have to is pick one according to the price, location, and power of the machine you need.

In addition, I’ll share the most affordable domain registers. Domains are needed to assign a readable address to your VPS. You can use a single domain, subdomains, or even multiple domains with a single VPS.

Let’s dive in.

Choosing a VPS

The most popular VPS providers are probably Digital Ocean, Vultr, and Linode. Digital Ocean Droplets are the gold standard when it comes to choosing your first VPS.

Although they are super popular, the raw power you get from these providers is not the greatest. I want to focus on more affordable options which is especially helpful for smaller to medium size projects and indie devs.

Hetzner

Hetzner is well-regarded for its cost-effective cloud services and high-performance hardware. They operate under German law and require a verification process (KYC) to begin using their service. They offer servers in Germany, Finland, and the USA.

Their most well-known package in Europe is CAX11, based on AMD Ampere CPUs:

• Specs:

  • 2 vCPU (Ampere)

  • 4 GB RAM

  • 40 GB Disk space

  • 20 TB Traffic

  • IPv4

• Price: €4.51/mo

• Locations: Germany, Finland

For their US customers, the cheapest option is CPX11:

• Specs:

  • 2 vCPU (AMD)

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 40 GB Disk space

  • 20 TB Traffic

  • IPv4

• Price: €5.18/mo

• Locations: United States

RackNerd

RackNerd is known for its extensive range of budget-friendly VPS options and excellent seasonal deals, particularly around Black Friday (see last year’s deal). They provide a variety of configurations to suit different hosting needs and budgets.

Here are the most affordable options from their New Years deal (still active at the moment of writing):

Each offer includes:

• 1 Gbps Network Port

• Full Root Admin Access

• 1 Dedicated IPv4 Address

• KVM / SolusVM Control Panel

• Free Clientexec License

Netcup

Netcup is a German provider known for its high-quality VPS hosting at very competitive prices. Their services are particularly praised for reliability, strong performance, and the inclusion of ECC RAM, which is rare in budget VPS plans.

My favorite feature is that they have a mobile app that allows you to access your server’s control panel from a mobile phone.

After not being accept by Hetzner, I’ve chosen to go with Netcup. The service is phenomenal. If you are considering them and want to support me, use this affiliate link to purchase your product.

They offer a variety of choices, but the smallest package is VPS piko G11s 12M which costs only 1€/month!!

• Specs:

  • 1 vCore (x86)

  • 1 GB ECC RAM

  • 30 GB SSD

  • Traffic included

• Price: 1€/month

• Location: Germany

I’m currently using VPS 200 G10, which is rotated out. If you want to grab the supply while it lasts, click here. It’s been replaced by VPS 250 G11s.

• Specs:

  • 2 vCore (x86)

  • 2 GB ECC RAM

  • 64 GB SSD

  • Traffic included

• Price: 4€/month

• Location: Germany

BuyVM

BuyVM is celebrated for its low-cost VPS plans that still offer good performance. They are particularly popular among developers and small businesses looking for affordable hosting solutions. However, their plans can sometimes be in high demand and unavailable.

The two most popular options are SLICE 512 and SLICE 1024,

SLICE 512

• Specs:

  • 1 Core @ 3.50+ GHz (Fair Share CPU Usage)

  • 512 MB Memory

  • 10 GB SSD Storage

  • Unmetered Bandwidth

  • 1 IPv4 Address

• Price: $24.00/year

• Locations: Las Vegas, New York, Luxembourg, Miami

SLICE 1024

• Specs:

  • 1 Core @ 3.50+ GHz (Fair Share CPU Usage)

  • 1024 MB Memory

  • 20 GB SSD Storage

  • Unmetered Bandwidth

  • 1 IPv4 Address

• Price: $3.50/month

• Locations: Las Vegas, New York, Luxembourg, Miami

Oracle Cloud Free Tier

Oracle Cloud is known for its generous free tier, which provides significant resources at no cost. This makes it an excellent option for developers, students, and small businesses who need reliable cloud services without a financial commitment.

There is one caveat here: after you sign up, you have to sign up for a pay-as-you-go account because they can and do terminate trial accounts regularly. This requires a credit card.

They will put a $100 hold on the card to verify it but you will not actually be charged. Your monthly invoice will be $0 if you stick to the free tier resources.

Another option is to have some sort of minimal usage like CRON jobs to keep the machines running.

• Specs:

  • Arm-based Ampere A1 cores

  • Up to 24 GB memory

  • 2 Block Volumes Storage, 200 GB total

  • Usable as 1 VM or up to 4 VMs

  • 3,000 OCPU hours and 18,000 GB hours per month

• Price: Free (within limits)

• Location: Various global locations

VPS Comparison Table

Other options

Apart from the previously mentioned options, there are a lot of other providers which you can consider. I’ve scoured Reddit for you and found some gems you might want to consider:

• https://webdock.io/en/pricing?variant=intel_vps

• https://www.ionos.com/servers/vps

• https://www.cloud.it/vps.aspx

• https://cloudfanatic.net/pricing/

AWS also offers a service called Lightsail, which enables you to start slow and scale into their ecosystem later. If you are an AWS fan, you will love it.

The last options are dirt cheap deals you can find at https://lowendbox.com/ and https://lowendstock.com/. Beware that they feature of lot of small and new providers that might go out of business, taking your code and infrastructure with them.

Domain Registrars

There are too many domain registrars to choose from, so I’ll list the cheapest and most reliable ones that have stood the test of time and have low markup and awesome customer support.

Namecheap

Namecheap is renowned for its affordable domain registration services and excellent customer support. User-friendly interface and competitive pricing make it a popular choice among individuals and businesses.

Prices:

• .com: $10.28/year ($5.98 first year)

• .io: $48.98/year

• .dev: $14.98/year

For more details, visit Namecheap.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare is primarily known for its security features and content delivery network (CDN) services. However, they also offer domain registration services with a focus on enhanced security. Cloudflare provides domain privacy protection for free and does not charge any markup on domain prices.

Prices:

• .com: $9.77/year

• .io: $45.00/year

• .dev: $10.18/year

For more details, visit Cloudflare.

Porkbun

Porkbun is known for its low-cost domains and transparent pricing. They offer a straightforward registration process and competitive prices for a wide range of domain extensions. Porkbun is appreciated for its simplicity and no-nonsense approach to domain registration.

Prices:

• .com: $10.37/year ($6.99 first year)

• .io: $40.47/year ($37.38 first year)

• .dev: $10.79/year ($8.73 first year)

For more details, visit Porkbun.

Comparison Table

Conclusion

Selecting the right VPS provider and domain registrar is crucial for establishing a reliable online presence. Netcup offers a cost-effective VPS with strong performance, while Hetzner provides flexible and affordable plans suitable for various needs. RackNerd is known for its budget-friendly options and excellent seasonal deals. BuyVM is ideal for ultra-low-cost VPS, and Oracle Cloud offers a generous free tier perfect for developers and small businesses.

For domain registration, I would recommend combining all 3 providers, depending on the extensions available and the current deals at the moment.

By evaluating your specific needs and budget, you can choose the best VPS provider and domain registrar to support your online endeavors effectively.

The next article in the series will cover how to create Docker images for your Dart and Flutter codebases so they can be deployed to the VPS.

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