Buying a RackNerd deal: the complete series

The hub for the buyer's series on getting a good RackNerd deal through the sale season.

This series walks you through buying a cheap RackNerd plan, from preparing for a sale to securing the server once it arrives. It is written for beginners, and each part stands on its own. Read them in order if you are new, or jump to the part you need.

None of the guides list prices or say what will be on sale. Plans change daily. The lists on these pages are live and show only what is in stock when you load them.

What is in this guide

• The five parts
• Where to start
• Which plan for which job
• Five rules for sale season
• What this series does not cover
• When to step up

The five parts

Part	Guide	What it covers
1	How to get a RackNerd Black Friday deal	Preparing before the day, what to check before you pay, and what to do if a plan sells out.
2	RackNerd 11.11 and flash sales explained	How shorter sales work, writing a buying rule, and using alerts.
3	Is a yearly VPS deal worth it?	Yearly against monthly billing, renewal, hidden costs and why not to stockpile.
4	Choosing a VPS location	What location changes, how to test latency, and choosing a second location.
5	Your first hour on a new RackNerd VPS	Logging in, updates, a user account, SSH keys, a firewall and backups.

Where to start

• You have never had a server. Start with getting started, then read part 3 to decide whether a yearly deal suits you.
• You want a Black Friday deal. Read part 1, then part 4 to pick your locations before the sale starts.
• A sale is happening now. Read the two-minute check in part 2 and go.
• You are not sure what size to buy. Use the table below and the size guides: 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 6 GB and 8 GB.
• You just bought a server. Go straight to part 5.

Which plan for which job

A rough starting point, not a promise. Memory use varies with the software, the settings and how busy the server is. Test your own workload in the first few days.

Job	A sensible starting plan	More reading
One or two simple websites, no server work	Shared hosting	Shared vs reseller
Hosting websites for clients	Reseller hosting	Shared vs reseller
Personal VPN	1 GB VPS	VPS for a VPN
Learning Linux	1 GB or 2 GB VPS	Linux server tools
WordPress or a small dynamic site	2 GB VPS	WordPress on a VPS
A few self-hosted apps in Docker	2 GB to 4 GB VPS	VPS for self-hosting
A small game server	4 GB VPS or more	VPS for game servers
Small self-hosted AI models	4 GB to 8 GB VPS	Self-hosted AI series
Windows-only software	Windows VPS	Windows VPS plans
Heavy load all day, every day	Dedicated server	What can you do with a dedicated server

Five rules for sale season

1. Buy one plan per job you run today. Not one per job you might run someday.
2. Decide size, location and budget before the sale. Then compare deals with your decision, not with each other.
3. Check renewal and terms on the order page. Do not rely on forum posts or screenshots.
4. Have a second location ready. Sale plans often sell out in one city and stay in stock in another.
5. Secure the server on day one. Follow part 5 before you install anything.

To hear about deals as they appear, sign up for email alerts on the home page.

What this series does not cover

• Predictions. The series cannot tell you what will be on sale, at what price or when.
• Managed hosting. A RackNerd VPS is unmanaged. If you do not want to look after a server, shared hosting is often a better fit.
• Every distribution. Part 5 uses Ubuntu and Debian. Other systems need their own documentation for some steps.
• Everything about security. Part 5 is a first step. See securing your VPS for more.
• Choosing a provider. The series is about buying RackNerd plans well. If a pay-per-use service or a different product suits your job better, that is the right choice.

A few cautions apply to every plan: swap is a safety net and not extra RAM, unmetered does not mean unlimited, fair-use limits apply to bandwidth and CPU, and RackNerd's acceptable use policy covers what you run.

When to step up

If you plan to run several apps, a game server for a group, or small AI models, one larger VPS is often better value than several small ones. If your workload is heavy all day, look at a dedicated server.

To compare what is available now, start with the cheapest RackNerd VPS guide and check the sales page for current sale plans.