Best VPS for LobeChat in 2026
LobeChat is the best-looking open-source chat client on the market right now. It is also a Next.js app, which means hosting it cheaply works fine, but building from source on the same cheap box will quietly OOM. Here are the VPS hosts where LobeChat behaves itself.
Hetzner CX22 covers the prebuilt image with room to spare
If you pull the official Docker image and run it, 4 GB RAM and 2 vCPU is more than enough. Hetzner is the cheapest box at this spec that still gives you dedicated bandwidth and snapshots.
Provision Hetzner CX22 →The build trap
The LobeChat source build needs around 6 GB of free RAM at peak. Provision a 2 GB box, run pnpm build, and Node will get killed by the kernel halfway through with a non-obvious error message. Two ways to dodge it:
- Use the prebuilt Docker image. A 4 GB box runs it forever without complaint. This is what we recommend for almost everyone.
- Add a swap file before building. If you must build from source, allocate 4 GB of swap on the NVMe. Slower but reliable.
Server requirements
| Resource | Solo personal use | Family or small team | Building from source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB or 4 GB plus swap |
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 2 vCPU | 2 vCPU |
| Storage | 20 GB NVMe | 40 GB NVMe | 80 GB NVMe |
| Mode | Local storage | Postgres backend | Postgres backend |
Top 5 VPS providers for LobeChat
Pros
- Unbeatable price-to-performance ratio
- European data centers with strong privacy
- NVMe storage on all plans
Cons
- No US data centers
- Control panel less polished than competitors
All Hetzner Plans
| Plan | CPU | RAM | Storage | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CX22 | 2 vCPU | 4 GB | 40 GB NVMe | $4.15/mo | Get Plan → |
| CX32 | 4 vCPU | 8 GB | 80 GB NVMe | $7.49/mo | Get Plan → |
| CX42 | 8 vCPU | 16 GB | 160 GB NVMe | $14.49/mo | Get Plan → |
| CX52 | 16 vCPU | 32 GB | 320 GB NVMe | $28.49/mo | Get Plan → |
Pros
- Very beginner-friendly control panel
- Competitive pricing with frequent deals
- 24/7 customer support
Cons
- Renewal prices are higher
- Limited advanced configuration options
All Hostinger Plans
| Plan | CPU | RAM | Storage | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KVM 1 | 1 vCPU | 4 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $4.99/mo | Get Plan → |
| KVM 2 | 2 vCPU | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $6.99/mo | Get Plan → |
| KVM 4 | 4 vCPU | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | $12.99/mo | Get Plan → |
| KVM 8 | 8 vCPU | 32 GB | 400 GB NVMe | $19.99/mo | Get Plan → |
Pros
- One-click deploys from Git
- Auto-scaling based on usage
- No server management needed
Cons
- Can get expensive at scale
- Less control over infrastructure
All Railway Plans
| Plan | CPU | RAM | Storage | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | Shared 8 vCPU | 8 GB | 100 GB | $5.00/mo | Get Plan → |
| Pro | Shared 32 vCPU | 32 GB | 250 GB | $20.00/mo | Get Plan → |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | Get Plan → |
Pros
- 32 data center locations worldwide
- Hourly billing with no lock-in
- High-performance NVMe storage
Cons
- Interface can be overwhelming for beginners
- Support response times vary
All Vultr Plans
| Plan | CPU | RAM | Storage | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Compute | 1 vCPU | 2 GB | 50 GB SSD | $10.00/mo | Get Plan → |
| Cloud Compute | 2 vCPU | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $20.00/mo | Get Plan → |
| High Frequency | 2 vCPU | 4 GB | 64 GB NVMe | $24.00/mo | Get Plan → |
| Bare Metal | E-2286G | 32 GB | 2x 480GB SSD | $120.00/mo | Get Plan → |
How each provider held up
Hetzner CX22. Cheap, fast, and the snapshots are basically free. The 4 GB tier is sized exactly right for a personal LobeChat install with a couple of family members on it.
Hostinger KVM 2. Marginally cheaper than Hetzner, slightly less responsive console. The hPanel makes domain mapping and SSL a one-click affair, which matters if you want to skip Caddy entirely.
Railway. Not a traditional VPS but it deploys LobeChat from a Dockerfile in under five minutes. Pricing flexes with usage, so a low-activity instance costs less than a fixed VPS. The catch is cold-start latency on idle services.
Contabo VPS S NVMe. Massive disk for the price and 8 GB lets you build from source without the swap dance. The slower provisioning is the only meaningful downside.
Vultr Cloud Compute 4 GB. Premium-feeling control panel, similar performance to Hetzner, twice the price. Pick it for the global region selection if you serve users far from Europe.
Setup that survives an upgrade
1. Pull the official compose file
The lobehub team publishes a compose template that wires up Postgres, MinIO, and the app together. Use it. Hand-rolled compose files miss the SSL cert volume and break upgrades subtly.
2. Pin a release tag, not latest
LobeChat ships multiple releases a week. Running latest means picking up breaking config changes on Friday afternoon. Pin to a specific version and upgrade deliberately.
3. Configure cloud storage early
Uploads and generated images go to the configured object store. Setting it up after users start uploading means migrating files later. Hetzner Object Storage, Cloudflare R2, or Backblaze B2 all work cleanly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the LobeChat Docker image so big?
Because Next.js bakes the entire production build inside it. The published image is around 1.2 GB. Pulling it on a slow connection takes a minute, after that it stays cached and restart times are seconds.
Can I run LobeChat without a database?
Yes. The default mode stores chats in the browser's local storage. Convenient for personal use, lossy if you wipe your browser. For shared or persistent setups, configure the Postgres backend.
Is the official LobeChat marketplace required?
No. Plugins can be loaded from the public marketplace, from a self-hosted marketplace, or disabled completely. Most self-hosters either use the public one read-only or run their own to avoid outbound calls.
Does LobeChat support multi-user auth?
Yes, via the Clerk integration or any OIDC provider. Single-user mode is the default and works without configuration. Add auth before you put it on a public hostname.
How does LobeChat compare to LibreChat?
LobeChat looks better and is built on Next.js with a strong design language. LibreChat is more featureful for power users and team workflows. The choice is largely UX preference once both are configured.