DEV Community: Richardson

The Complete 2026 VPS Benchmark Script Collection: One-Click Speed Tests, Return-Route Tracing, and IP Quality Checks

Richardson — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:16:22 +0000

You just spun up a VPS — but how do you actually tell whether it's any good? And when a provider promises "CN2 GIA" routing into China, how do you confirm it's the real deal and not marketing fluff?

This guide rounds up the most complete, current collection of VPS benchmark scripts for 2026 — from raw performance and return-route tracing to IP reputation and streaming-unlock checks. If you're deploying services that need to reach users across borders (China included), this is the toolkit that tells you what the spec sheet won't. One article, everything you need.

Related: My honest comparison after using 8 VPS providers

1. What You'll Get Out of This

Grasp the basics of VPS benchmarking
Know how to use the common speed-test scripts
Read the results and judge a VPS's quality for yourself

2. The Plan / How to Think About It

What should you look at when benchmarking a VPS?

Dimension	Why it matters	Test
Basic performance	CPU/RAM/disk decide what services you can run	bench.sh, YABS
Network quality	The return route decides access speed from China	Return-route tracing
IP quality	Affects whether you can reach certain services	IP quality check
Streaming unlock	Some users need Netflix etc. unlocked	Streaming check
Three-carrier speed	Real-world speed on China Telecom/Unicom/Mobile	Three-carrier speed test

Sorting the scripts

I split the common scripts into 5 buckets, from basic to advanced:

1. Comprehensive performance → learn the hardware basics
2. Return-route tracing       → see if it's CN2 or plain BGP
3. IP quality check           → see whether the IP is clean
4. Streaming unlock           → see which platforms are unlocked
5. Three-carrier speed test   → real upload/download speeds

3. Step-by-Step

3.1 Comprehensive Performance Tests

bench.sh (the classic)

The simplest all-in-one test — one line and you're done:

wget -qO- bench.sh | bash

What it tests:

System info (CPU model, RAM, disk)
I/O speed test
Network speed test (multiple nodes)

Reading the results:

-------------------- A Bench.sh Script By Teddysun -------------------
 Version            : v2025-05-08
 Usage              : wget -qO- bench.sh | bash
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 CPU Model          : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2697 v2 @ 2.70GHz
 CPU Cores          : 1 @ 2699.932 MHz
 CPU Cache          : 30720 KB
 AES-NI             : ✓ Enabled
 VM-x/AMD-V         : ✓ Enabled
 Total Disk         : 14.7 GB (5.3 GB Used)
 Total Mem          : 960.7 MB (458.2 MB Used)
 Total Swap         : 1024.0 MB (227.6 MB Used)
 System uptime      : 334 days, 21 hour 25 min
 Load average       : 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
 OS                 : Debian GNU/Linux 12
 Arch               : x86_64 (64 Bit)
 Kernel             : 6.1.0-30-amd64
 TCP CC             : bbr
 Virtualization     : KVM
 IPv4/IPv6          : ✓ Online / ✓ Online
 Organization       : AS35916 MULTACOM CORPORATION
 Location           : Los Angeles / US
 Region             : California
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I/O Speed(1st run) : 322 MB/s
 I/O Speed(2nd run) : 487 MB/s
 I/O Speed(3rd run) : 532 MB/s
 I/O Speed(average) : 447.0 MB/s
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Node Name        Upload Speed      Download Speed      Latency
 Speedtest.net    699.41 Mbps       461.15 Mbps         36.39 ms
 Paris, FR        594.12 Mbps       644.67 Mbps         136.16 ms
 Hong Kong, CN    3.85 Mbps         1.42 Mbps           167.20 ms
 Singapore, SG    58.95 Mbps        1.60 Mbps           218.86 ms
 Tokyo, JP        736.11 Mbps       889.69 Mbps         108.35 ms
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Finished in        : 2 min 46 sec
 Timestamp          : 2026-01-10 13:34:13 UTC
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Key metric:

Metric	Excellent	Pass	Poor
I/O Speed	>500MB/s	200-500MB/s	<200MB/s

SuperBench.sh (China speed-test edition)

An improved fork of bench.sh that swaps in domestic (China) speed-test nodes, so it's better for measuring speeds back to China:

wget -qO- git.io/superbench.sh | bash
# or
curl -Lso- git.io/superbench.sh | bash

How it differs from bench.sh:

bench.sh tests against global nodes
SuperBench.sh tests against China Telecom / Unicom / Mobile nodes

Best for: when you need the real-world speed from the VPS back to China.

ZBench (the all-in-one, recommended)

Merges bench.sh and SuperBench.sh, adds Ping and route tracing, and can generate a web report you can share:

# Chinese version
wget -N --no-check-certificate https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FunctionClub/ZBench/master/ZBench-CN.sh && bash ZBench-CN.sh

# English version (use this if Chinese characters show as garbage)
wget -N --no-check-certificate https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FunctionClub/ZBench/master/ZBench.sh && bash ZBench.sh

It hung for me here, so I didn't go further.

What it tests:

System info + I/O test
Domestic + international speed tests
Ping test
Route tracing
Generates a web report (shareable)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The standout feature: it spits out a web link, which makes sharing your results easy.

YABS (with GeekBench scores)

A more detailed test that includes GeekBench scores and an fio disk test:

curl -sL yabs.sh | bash

What it tests:

System info
fio disk test (4K random R/W)
GeekBench 6 score
iperf3 network speed test

Note: the GeekBench test takes a while (around 5–10 min) and hogs resources.

Reading the results:

Geekbench 6 Benchmark Test:
---------------------------------
Single Core    : 1200
Multi Core     : 4500

GeekBench 6 reference:

Score	Level	Typical config
Single-core >1500	Excellent	High-frequency CPU
Single-core 1000-1500	Good	Mainstream config
Single-core <1000	Mediocre	Heavily oversold or old CPU

LemonBench

A comprehensive all-in-one test with a friendly UI, originally built by a Chinese developer:

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LemonBench/LemonBench/main/LemonBench.sh | bash -s -- --full

# Fast test (skips some time-consuming items)
wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LemonBench/LemonBench/main/LemonBench.sh | bash -s -- --fast

What it tests:

System info
Network info
Streaming unlock
CPU performance test
Memory performance test
Disk performance test

UnixBench (CPU-only)

A veteran script dedicated to CPU performance; its scores are widely recognized:

wget --no-check-certificate https://github.com/teddysun/across/raw/master/unixbench.sh
chmod +x unixbench.sh
./unixbench.sh

Note: this one runs long (30+ minutes), and it only tests the CPU — no network.

Best for: when you need a detailed read on CPU performance to compare compute across VPS providers.

The Fusion benchmark (spiritLHLS/ecs)

An absurdly complete script (Chinese-built) that bundles in just about every test there is:

curl -L https://gitlab.com/spiritysdx/za/-/raw/main/ecs.sh -o ecs.sh && chmod +x ecs.sh && bash ecs.sh

Or use the mirror:

bash <(wget -qO- bash.spiritlhl.net/ecs)

What it tests:

Basic system info
CPU/RAM/disk tests
Streaming-unlock check
IP quality check
Return-route tracing
Three-carrier speed test
...

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It does so much that if you only run one script, run this one.

Menu options: When you launch it you get a menu; the ones you'll use most:

0 - Full test (takes a while)
1 - Basic system info
4 - Three-carrier speed test + return route
7 - IP quality check
8 - Streaming unlock

3.2 Return-Route Tracing

Return routing decides the network quality from the VPS back to China.

Why the return route matters more than the outbound

Outbound: the route from you to the VPS (small amount of data)
Return: the route the VPS uses to send data back to you (large amount of data)

When we browse, we download far more than we upload — so the return route is what really counts.

Common routes compared

Route	AS number	IP signature	Notes	Latency	Price
CN2 GIA	AS4809	59.43.x.x (end-to-end)	China Telecom's best route	Low	Pricey
CN2 GT	AS4809	59.43 (intl leg) + 202.97 (domestic leg)	Telecom's runner-up	Lower	Mid-high
163 backbone	AS4134	202.97.x.x	Telecom's ordinary route	High	Cheap
9929/CUPM	AS9929	218.105.x.x	Unicom optimized route	Low	Pricey
4837	AS4837	219.158.x.x	Unicom ordinary route	Higher	Cheap
CMIN2	AS58807	223.120.x.x	Mobile optimized route	Lower	Mid-high
CMI	AS58453	223.118/119.x.x	Mobile ordinary route	Average	Cheap

How to tell which route you're on (important)

Look at the IP signatures in the route:

59.43.x.x  → CN2 line (China Telecom premium)
202.97.x.x → 163 backbone (China Telecom ordinary)
218.105.x.x → Unicom 9929 (Unicom premium)
219.158.x.x → Unicom 4837 (Unicom ordinary)
223.120.x.x → Mobile CMIN2 (Mobile premium)

Telling CN2 GIA apart from CN2 GT:

CN2 GIA: 59.43.x.x the whole way, no 202.97
CN2 GT: 59.43 on the international leg, switching to 202.97 once inside China

backtrace (quick verdict, recommended)

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghanyun/backtrace/main/install.sh -sSf | sh

Reading the results:

Beijing Telecom    219.141.147.210  testing  Telecom CN2 GIA
Beijing Unicom     202.106.50.1     testing  Unicom 4837
Beijing Mobile     221.179.155.161  testing  Mobile CMI
Shanghai Telecom   202.96.209.133   testing  Telecom CN2 GIA

Read the route type in the last column:

Telecom CN2 GIA → best
Unicom 9929 → Unicom's best
Mobile CMIN2 → Mobile optimized
Telecom 163 / Unicom 4837 → ordinary routes

mtr_trace (three-carrier return-route test)

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhucaidan/mtr_trace/main/mtr_trace.sh | bash

This script traces the return route to multiple cities across China Telecom, Unicom, and Mobile.

testrace.sh (detailed route tracing)

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nanqinlang-script/testrace/master/testrace.sh
bash testrace.sh

After launching, you can pick which city to trace to.

NextTrace (even more detail)

# Install
curl nxtrace.org/nt | bash

# Trace to a specific IP
nexttrace 219.141.147.210

Strength: shows latency and AS number for every hop, so you can see the full path.

BestTrace (GUI)

Great for Windows users — it has a GUI and lets you trace the route from your own machine to the VPS.

Download: https://www.ipip.net/product/client.html

3.3 IP Quality Checks

IP quality affects:

Whether you can reach services like Google and ChatGPT
Whether mail you send gets flagged as spam
Whether the IP is flagged as high-risk by security services

IP.Check.Place (recommended)

bash <(curl -Ls IP.Check.Place)

Reading the results:

-------------------------------
IP Quality Score
-------------------------------
Scamalytics:        Score 15 (Low Risk)
IP2Location:        Proxy/Hosting
IP-API:             Hosting
-------------------------------
Blacklist Check
-------------------------------
Spamhaus:           Not Listed
SORBS:              Not Listed
-------------------------------

Key metrics:

Metric	Notes
Scamalytics Score	<30 excellent, 30-50 average, >50 poor
Blacklist	Ideally all "Not Listed"

ipcheck.ing

bash <(curl -sL ipcheck.ing)

Friendlier interface, more intuitive results.

3.4 Streaming-Unlock Checks

Checks whether Netflix, Disney+, ChatGPT and similar services work from your VPS:

RegionRestrictionCheck (recommended)

bash <(curl -L -s check.unlock.media)

Sample output:

============[ Multination ]============
 Netflix:              Yes (Region: US)
 Disney+:              Yes (Region: US)
 YouTube Premium:      Yes (Region: US)
 ChatGPT:              Yes
 Spotify:              Yes
=======================================

Common results:

Yes (Region: XX) — unlocked, region XX
No — locked
Originals Only — only original content unlocked

MediaUnlockTest

bash <(curl -Ls unlock.moe)

Same idea, but it checks more platforms.

3.6 Pre-Purchase Testing (no VPS required)

Haven't bought a VPS yet? Here's how to test in advance.

Method 1: Ping the test IP

Providers usually publish a test IP — ping it first to check latency and packet loss:

# Windows
ping -n 100 TEST_IP

# Mac/Linux
ping -c 100 TEST_IP

Key metrics:

Latency: US West <200ms, Japan <100ms, Hong Kong <50ms counts as normal
Packet loss: <5% acceptable, >10% a problem

Method 2: Outbound route tracing

Trace the route from your own machine to the VPS (the outbound path):

Windows: download BestTrace — GUI, very intuitive.

Mac/Linux:

# Install mtr
brew install mtr  # Mac
apt install mtr   # Linux

# Run it
mtr TEST_IP

Method 3: Looking Glass

A lot of VPS providers offer a Looking Glass page where you can:

Ping from the VPS to you
See the return route
Download test files

How to find a Looking Glass:

Look for "Looking Glass" or "Network Test" on the provider's site
Google " Looking Glass"

Method 4: Download a test file

Providers usually host test files — just download one in your browser and watch the speed:

Common test-file paths:
http://TEST_IP/100MB.test
http://TEST_IP/1GB.test

Tip: testing during peak hours (8–10 PM) is more telling.

3.5 Three-Carrier Speed Test

Measures real-world speeds across China's three carriers (Telecom, Unicom, Mobile):

AutoSpeed three-carrier speed test

bash <(curl -sL bash.icu/speedtest)

Speedtest CLI (official)

# Install
curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/ookla/speedtest-cli/script.deb.sh | sudo bash
sudo apt install speedtest

# Run
speedtest

Reading the results:

Download:   940.22 Mbps
Upload:     102.55 Mbps
Latency:     45.12 ms

Metric	1Gbps reference	100Mbps reference
Download	>800Mbps	>80Mbps
Upload	>100Mbps	>10Mbps
Latency	<50ms excellent	<100ms acceptable

4. Wrap-Up

My benchmarking workflow

Before you buy:
  ├── Ping the test IP — check latency and loss
  ├── Trace the outbound route with BestTrace
  └── Find a Looking Glass to test the return route

After you buy:
  Step 1: Run the Fusion script (ecs.sh) or ZBench
     ↓  One script covers most of the testing
  Step 2: If the return route is unclear, run backtrace
     ↓  Confirm which line you're on
  Step 3: If you care about IP quality, run IP.Check.Place
     ↓  Check for risk flags
  Step 4: Log the results and compare against the provider's claims

Route quality cheat sheet

Route	Telecom	Unicom	Mobile	Price
CN2 GIA	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	$$$
CN2 GT	⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐	$$
9929/CUPM	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	$$$
CMIN2	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	$$
163/4837/CMI	⭐	⭐	⭐	$

Buying advice

Know your use case first: dev environments want low latency, production wants stability
Test during peak hours: 8–10 PM results are more representative
Verify the provider's claims: if they say CN2 GIA, run a return-route trace and check
Run it more than once: a single run can mislead — average several runs

Benchmark script cheat sheet

Comprehensive performance

Script	Strength	Command
bench.sh	Classic, global speed test	`wget -qO- bench.sh \
SuperBench	China-node speed test	{% raw %}`wget -qO- git.io/superbench.sh \
ZBench ⭐	All-in-one, generates a report	{% raw %}`wget -N --no-check-certificate https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FunctionClub/ZBench/master/ZBench-CN.sh && bash ZBench-CN.sh`
YABS	GeekBench scores included	`curl -sL yabs.sh \
LemonBench	Friendly UI, Chinese-built	{% raw %}`wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LemonBench/LemonBench/main/LemonBench.sh \
Fusion ecs ⭐⭐	Most complete	{% raw %}`bash <(wget -qO- bash.spiritlhl.net/ecs)`
UnixBench	CPU-only	`wget --no-check-certificate https://github.com/teddysun/across/raw/master/unixbench.sh && bash unixbench.sh`

Return-route tracing

Script	Strength	Command
backtrace ⭐	Quick route verdict	`curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghanyun/backtrace/main/install.sh -sSf \
mtr_trace	Multi-city, three carriers	{% raw %}`curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhucaidan/mtr_trace/main/mtr_trace.sh \
testrace	Detailed route tracing	{% raw %}`wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nanqinlang-script/testrace/master/testrace.sh && bash testrace.sh`
NextTrace	Visual route tracing	`curl nxtrace.org/nt \

Other tests

Script	Strength	Command
IP quality	IP risk scoring	{% raw %}`bash <(curl -Ls IP.Check.Place)`
Streaming unlock	Netflix / Disney+ etc.	`bash <(curl -L -s check.unlock.media)`
Three-carrier speed test	Telecom / Unicom / Mobile	`bash <(curl -sL bash.icu/speedtest)`

Route quality cheat sheet

Route	Telecom	Unicom	Mobile
CN2 GIA	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐
CN2 GT	⭐⭐⭐	⭐	⭐
9929/CUPM	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐
CMIN2	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Plain BGP	⭐	⭐	⭐

Pre-purchase advice

Most VPS providers offer a Looking Glass or a test IP. Before you buy:

Ping test: ping TEST_IP to check latency
Route test: use BestTrace to trace from your machine to the target IP
Download test: pull a test file from the Looking Glass to gauge speed

5. Troubleshooting Log

Scripts won't run

Problem: some scripts need root.

Fix:

sudo bash <(curl -sL SCRIPT_URL)

Speed-test results vary wildly

Problem: the same VPS gives very different numbers across runs.

Cause:

Network fluctuation
The VPS is oversold, so resources are unstable
The speed-test node is congested

Tip: run it several times and average the results; test at different times of day.

GeekBench won't run

Problem: on a small-RAM VPS, GeekBench runs out of memory (OOM).

Fix:

# Create swap (temporary)
sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

# Then run the test again
curl -sL yabs.sh | bash

# Remove swap when done
sudo swapoff /swapfile
sudo rm /swapfile

Return-route test fails

Problem: backtrace or another routing script won't run.

Fix:

# Install dependencies
apt update && apt install -y curl wget mtr traceroute

# Re-run
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghanyun/backtrace/main/install.sh -sSf | sh

6. FAQ

Q: Will these benchmark scripts leak my info?

A: These scripts are all open source — you can read the code. They only test VPS performance and don't upload anything sensitive. Still, I'd recommend:

Get them from trusted sources like GitHub
If you're unsure, download and read the code before running

Q: Why are my speed-test results so different from someone else's?

A: A lot of things affect it:

Time of day (peak vs off-peak)
Your local network (which carrier you're on)
The VPS's current load
The state of the speed-test node

Test during the evening peak (8–10 PM) for numbers that actually mean something.

Q: The provider claims CN2 GIA — how do I verify it?

A: Run a return-route trace (backtrace) and read the output:

Real CN2 GIA: 59.43.x.x the whole way, no 202.97
Fake CN2 GIA (actually GT): 59.43 on the international leg, 202.97 on the domestic leg
Not CN2 at all: 202.97 the whole way

Q: What I/O speed counts as normal?

A: Reference values:

SSD: 500MB/s and up
Ordinary cloud disk: 200–500MB/s
HDD or heavily oversold: <200MB/s

Q: Do I need to run every single script?

A: Nope. Recommended flow:

Start with the Fusion script (ecs.sh) or ZBench — one script covers most of it
If you want to dig into the route, run backtrace
If you care about IP quality, run IP.Check.Place

Q: How long does testing take?

A: Rough timings:

bench.sh: 2–3 minutes
SuperBench / ZBench: 5–10 minutes
YABS (with GeekBench): 10–15 minutes
Fusion full test: 15–30 minutes
UnixBench: 30+ minutes

What's Next

Common VPS traps and how to dodge them — the pitfalls I've hit, including bad IPs, fake route labels, hidden fees, and more.

Last updated: January 2026

Real Comparison of 8 VPS Providers: A Guide for Independent Developers

Richardson — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:16:21 +0000

My Real-World Experience with 8 VPS Providers

As an independent developer, I have used RackNerd, CloudCone, GreenVPS, ClawCloud, Contabo, ZgoCloud, Sunshine Cloud, and Hostinger for the past two years. This article is a record of my real-world experience, helping you avoid pitfalls.

1. Expectations

To help independent developers quickly choose a VPS that suits their needs
To record my real-world experiences, not just promotional content
To continuously update my experience

2. Planning and Thinking

My Usage Scenarios

Scenario	Requirements	Priority
Development Environment	Low latency, stability, and ability to install a graphical interface	⭐⭐⭐
Deployment Environment	Stability, sufficient traffic, and reasonable prices	⭐⭐⭐
Monitoring Service	Affordable, stable, and sufficient	⭐⭐

What I Look for When Choosing a VPS

Network Quality: Return route (CN2/9929/ordinary BGP), latency, and packet loss rate
Value for Money: Price for the same configuration
Stability: Whether the server frequently crashes and whether the IP is easily blocked
Purchase Threshold: Whether real-name verification, passport, etc. are required

3. Detailed Comparison of 8 VPS Providers

Quick Overview Table

Comparison of Cloud Services

Provider	Price	Configuration	Bandwidth	Location	My Purpose	Recommendation
RackNerd	$62.49/year	6C8G150G	20T	New York, USA	Deploy Dokploy	⭐⭐⭐
CloudCone	$20/year	1C1G14G	1T	Maine, USA	Idle	⭐⭐
GreenVPS	$88/year	4C8G88G	2.2T	Singapore (Uncertain)	Abandoned	❌
ClawCloud	$25.2/year	2C2G40G	1T	California, USA (Aliyun)	Monitor Server	⭐⭐⭐
Contabo	$12.45/month	6C12G100G	-	Japan	Spare Development Machine	⭐⭐
[ZgoCloud](https://clients.zgovps.com/?affid=1315	$40/season	4C6G100G	2T	Hong Kong	Main Development Machine	⭐⭐⭐⭐
阳光云	¥29.29/month	4C4G50G	Unlimited	Domestic	Abandoned	❌
Hostinger	$230.17/2 years	4C16G200G	16T	Vietnam	Production Environment	⭐⭐⭐

Detailed Review

RackNerd (RN) 👉 Purchase Link

Price: $62.49/year (approximately 450 CNY/year)

Configuration: 6 cores / 8G memory / 150G hard drive / 20T traffic / New York data center

Actual Experience:

High cost-performance, initially shocked by the price (compared to Aliyun, same configuration is 10 times more expensive)
Stable operation, deployed Dokploy for half a year without any issues
High latency for direct connection to China (200ms+), poor development environment experience
Obvious packet loss during peak hours on normal lines

Suitable Scenarios: Deploying services that do not require frequent access, such as API backend, scheduled tasks

Purchase Suggestion: Wait for Black Friday promotion, the price will be lower

Speed Test Screenshot:

CloudCone (CC) 👉 Purchase Link

Price: $20/year

Configuration: 1 core / 1G memory / 14G hard drive / 1T traffic / 1 IPv4 + 3 IPv6 / Maine, USA

Actual Experience:

Cheap
Low configuration, can only run lightweight services
Currently idle

Suitable Scenarios: Special purposes that require multiple IPs

GreenVPS ❌ Not Recommended

Price：$88/year

Configuration：4 cores / 8GB RAM / 88GB hard drive / 2222GB traffic / claimed Singapore

Actual Experience：

❌ The biggest pitfall：Before buying, I thought the Singapore line would be good, but the IP is actually not from Singapore
❌ Network quality is very poor, high latency and unstable
❌ Control panel and RackNerd are very similar (may be the same system)

Suitable Scenario：Not recommended, abandoned

Lesson：Don't just look at the machine room location, actually test the IP ownership and network quality

ClawCloud 👉 Official Website

Price：$25.2/year

Configuration：2 cores / 2GB RAM / 40GB hard drive / 1TB traffic / California, USA (Aliyun data center)

Actual Experience：

✅ Reasonable price
✅ Stable, suitable for running monitoring services
⚠️ Low configuration, not suitable for heavy use

Suitable Scenario：Lightweight services, monitoring, scheduled tasks

Speed Test Screenshot：

Contabo 👉 Official Website

Price：$12.45/month (approximately 150 CNY/month)

Configuration: 6-core / 12GB RAM / 100GB HDD / Japan data center

Actual Experience:

✅ High configuration, good value for money
❌ High purchase threshold: requires uploading passport and income proof
❌ Additional fee for IP, $3+ per IP per month
❌ Although it's a Japan data center, direct connection to China requires a VPN
❌ Return traffic quality is average

Current Use: Backup development machine

Complaints: Verification process is too complicated, buying a VPS is like applying for a visa

Speed Test Screenshot:

ZgoCloud ⭐ Current Main Purchase Link

Price: $40/quarter (approximately CNY 960/year)

Configuration: 4-core / 6GB RAM / 100GB HDD / 2TB traffic / Hong Kong

Actual Experience:

✅ 9929 return route, low delay for domestic access
✅ Suitable for development machine, with Chrome and other GUI installed
✅ Currently running stably
⚠️ Initially unstable, but improved later
⚠️ More expensive than RN, but network quality is much better

Suitable Scenarios: Requires low-latency development environment, remote desktop

Why Choose It as the Main Machine: As a development machine, network latency is the top priority. The 9929 line route performs significantly better in China than the ordinary BGP.

Speed Test Screenshots:

Sunshine Cloud ❌ Not Recommended 👉 Official Website

Price: ¥29.29/month

Configuration: 4 cores / 4G memory / 50G hard drive / unlimited traffic / 9929 return route

Actual Experience:

❌ Failed to Receive SMS Verification Codes, resulting in inability to complete registration/login
❌ Requires real-name authentication
❌ Network is unstable
❌ Customer service response is slow

Suitable Scenarios: Except for the SMS issue, the price-performance ratio is still acceptable

Reason for Giving Up: The repeated SMS verification code issue is unbearable

Hostinger 👉 Purchase Link

Price: $230.17/2 years (approximately $115/year)

Configuration: 4 cores / 16G memory / 200G hard drive / 16T traffic / Vietnam

Actual Experience:

✅ High configuration, 16G memory can run production services smoothly
✅ Stable, used to deploy Dokploy for formal environment
⚠️ Vietnam data center, domestic access needs to consider the route

Suitable Scenarios: Production Environment, Services Requiring Large Memory

Benchmark Screenshot:

4. Conclusion

Recommended Scenarios

Scenario	Recommendation	Reason
Development Environment (Domestic Access)	ZgoCloud	9929 Route, Low Latency
Deployment Environment (Infrequent Access)	RackNerd	High Cost-Performance Ratio, Stable
Production Environment (High-Configured)	Hostinger	Large Memory, Ample Traffic
Lightweight Service/Monitoring	ClawCloud	Affordable, Sufficient
Backup Development Machine	Contabo	High Configuration, Verification Can Be Troublesome
Not Recommended	GreenVPS, Yangguang Cloud	Too Many Pitfalls

My Final Choice

主力开发机：ZgoCloud（低延迟优先，9929线路）
    ↓
备用开发机：Contabo（配置高，验证麻烦但能用）
    ↓
部署测试：RackNerd（性价比优先）
    ↓
生产环境：Hostinger（稳定性优先，大内存）
    ↓
监控服务：ClawCloud（便宜够用）

Purchase Suggestions

Determine the Purpose: Development Environment Requires Low Latency, Deployment Environment Requires Stability, Monitoring Service Requires Affordability
Don't Just Look at Server Location: GreenVPS's Singapore Pitfalls Taught Me to Test IP and Route in Reality
Wait for Promotions: VPS Prices Will Be Lower During Black Friday, Double 11, etc.
Try with Small Configuration: Buy the Cheapest Configuration to Test Network First, Upgrade Later If Needed

5、Error Records

GreenVPS IP Issue

Problem: The IP of the newly purchased Singapore server does not belong to Singapore.

Discovery Process: Use IP query tools to detect the issue.

Lesson Learned: Before purchasing, ask the customer service about the IP ownership or check other users' evaluations.

Sunshine Cloud SMS Issue

Problem: Verification SMS cannot be received repeatedly.

Solutions Tried:

Change phone number ❌
Change time period ❌
Contact customer service (slow response) ❌

Final Solution: Give up.

Contabo Verification Process

Problem: Requires passport + income proof.

Complaint: Buying a VPS is like applying for a visa, but the configuration is indeed good, so I endured it.

Appendix: Speed Test Script

If you want to evaluate a VPS yourself, you can use the following scripts:

# 综合性能测试（基本信息+IO+测速） 普通用户就行
wget -qO- bench.sh | bash

# 回程路由测试（看是什么线路） 可能需要root
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhanghanyun/backtrace/main/install.sh -sSf | sh

# IP质量检测（看IP纯净度）
bash <(curl -Ls IP.Check.Place)

The next article will introduce the usage method and result interpretation of these tools in detail.

Next Article Preview

《How to Scientifically Evaluate a VPS》— Introduction to commonly used speed test scripts, backhaul route detection, and IP quality detection tools, and teach you how to understand the evaluation results.

Last Updated: 2026-01

VPS for Beginners: Why Indie Devs Need a VPS? (2026 Deep Dive)

Richardson — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:16:18 +0000

"My laptop is an M3 Pro with 16GB of RAM—why on earth do I still need a server with just 4 cores and 8GB of RAM?"

If you hang out in the r/indiehackers subreddit, you'll see newbies asking this all the time. In an era dominated by Serverless (like Vercel) and PaaS (like Supabase), spinning up a VPS (Virtual Private Server) almost feels a bit "old-school."

But here's the reality: indie devs who actually close the loop and build a profitable long-term business always have a few VPS instances in their back pocket.

Let's break down 7 core pain points of indie development and dive into why getting a VPS is your rite of passage to going pro and leaving your "code toys" behind.

1. End "Local Anxiety": Escaping the Black Holes of `node_modules` and Docker

As an indie dev, your laptop is your most expensive asset, but its hard drive is practically the cheapest real estate you own. Most of this recent AI-assisted coding wave revolves around NextJS, which inevitably brings about the node_modules disaster. Turns out, cc also loves pulling down bb. If you watch cc's execution process, you'll notice it's constantly writing stuff to the /tmp directory.

The Pain: Squeezing Your Disk and Performance Dry
- node_modules Bloat: Juggling 10 projects at once? Your node_modules folders can easily eat up 50GB+ of your SSD.
- Docker Image Pileup: Running containers locally bogs down your system and sends your fans into a screaming fit.
- Compute Hog: Running middleware like PostgreSQL or Redis locally will noticeably drag down your IDE's responsiveness.
The Fix: A VPS as Your "Heavy Compute Hub"
All you need to keep locally is a lightweight VS Code + Cursor setup, connecting to your VPS via Remote SSH. All the heavy dependencies and environments run in the cloud—your laptop is basically just rendering the UI.

2. Say No to "SaaS Bill Extortion": Cost Control from a Business Logic Perspective

The scariest part of being an indie dev isn't having zero users—it's getting hit with a massive SaaS bill before a single customer has even paid you. If you've been building AI apps over the last couple of years, you've inevitably messed around with tools like Supabase, Clerk, and yeah, Vercel too. They're all the same story: it feels amazing at first, but before you know it, the bill explodes.

Vercel has this sneaky little trap with its Image component. During the build, it nags you to use the <Image component, which sounds super helpful, right? But by default, that component routes through Vercel's image optimization service—and they bill you for every single image they optimize. If your site gets serious traffic, your image optimization fees alone can easily end up costing more than your actual hosting.

Vercel's free Hobby tier is super tempting—deployment, CDN, and SSL are all bundled in. But the second your project starts getting real traffic, the nightmare begins.

Here's the lowdown on their overage fees:

Resource	Included in Pro	Overage Pricing
Bandwidth	1 TB/month	$0.15/GB (i.e., $150/TB)
Edge Requests	10 million/month	$2/million
Serverless Execution Time	40 hours/month	$5/hour
Image Optimization	5,000/month	$5/1,000 images

The Pain: Extortionate Scaling Costs
- The PaaS Trap: Firebase's free tier is tempting, but the moment you need complex backups or high concurrency, the price scales exponentially.
- Paying for Auth: Services like Clerk charge per monthly active user (MAU), which is an absolute nightmare for high-traffic, low-LTV apps.
The Solution: Full-Stack Self-Hosting
On a $5/mo VPS, you can max out performance with Docker and run everything simultaneously: your database (PostgreSQL), auth system (PocketBase), and analytics (Umami).

💡 Fair warning: Self-hosting does require some ops chops. But lately, a lot of indie devs overseas have been sharing their experiences maintaining PostgreSQL—and it's way easier than you'd think, especially with Docker and automated backup scripts. I'll walk you through exactly how to set it up later.

3. True CI/CD: Building the Automated Pipeline for Your "One-Person IT Department"

As an indie hacker, your core superpower is iteration speed. Deploying to serverless platforms like Vercel, Cloudflare, and Netlify is fantastic for early idea validation. But here’s the catch: their Node.js implementations aren't fully featured, meaning long-running tasks just won't work. Back in the day, your local machine would sound like a jet engine taking off during builds. Now? Thanks to GitHub Actions, you don't even have to worry about that. It spits out a Docker image, and boom—you're off to the races.

Execution time limits: Serverless functions typically have a 10-60 second timeout, usually defaulting to 10s.
No persistent processes: WebSockets, long-lived connections, and background tasks are a massive pain to deal with.
Cold start delays: The very first request might take several seconds to wake up.
The Pain: Manual Deployments Are Slow and Error-Prone
If you're still manually running git pull, you're not just wasting your life away—you're practically begging for production incidents.
The Fix: Lightweight VPS Automation
Spin up a GitHub Actions Runner on your VPS:
1. Git Push triggers the pipeline.
2. The VPS automatically pulls the code and builds the Docker image.
3. Docker Compose automatically restarts the containers for zero-downtime updates.

Not sure if it's just me, but Cloudflare doesn't seem to be pushing Pages as hard lately. They're back to focusing on Workers, which honestly feels pretty clunky to use. What do you guys think?

4. Bypassing Network Barriers: From Silent Scraping to Cross-Border Access

A lot of projects fail to run locally, and it's not a code issue—it's the network. Trying to pull the npm packages and resources we need for development often ends up driving you crazy, wearing you out, and just making you want to pull your hair out.

The Headache: Shifting IPs and Restricted Access
- The Need for a Static IP: When integrating with Stripe, PayPal, or banking APIs, you usually need a fixed public IP for whitelisting. A dynamic home broadband IP just won't cut it.
- Network Environment Woes: A lot of the npm packages, Docker images, and GitHub resources you rely on during development can be a massive pain to fetch due to network hiccups.
- Anti-Scraping Bans: If you're building data-scraping projects, home broadband IPs get blocked by anti-bot policies super easily.
The Fix: Using a VPS as Your Global Network Hub
- A Permanent Identity: It gives your business a permanent public IP, so Stripe Webhooks and OAuth callbacks always work reliably.
- A Reverse Proxy Center: Pair one VPS with Nginx or Caddy, and you can manage 10+ domains and map them to different local ports.
- Dev Environment on Steroids: Run npm install and docker pull right on the VPS. The download speeds are blazing fast, completely bypassing your local network limits.

I've got a bone to pick with Nginx Proxy Manager. Way too many times I've spun up its Docker container only to watch it eat up 10+ GB of space. I just don't get it. Caddy is so much leaner.

5. Guarding Your Passive Income: 24/7 Monitoring & Disaster Recovery

The absolute worst feeling as an indie hacker is waking up to find your service has been down all night, and you had no clue. (Hopefully, this is just a myth—if a project is actually making money, you're definitely keeping a close eye on it!)

The Pain Point: No Sentry

Your local computer goes to sleep, so it can't do continuous monitoring.
Free external monitoring tools check way too infrequently (like once every 5 minutes). By the time they catch an issue, your users are already gone.
A lot of issues are "sporadic"—by the time you manually check, everything looks perfectly fine.

The Fix: Roll Your Own Monitoring Station

Deploy Uptime Kuma (or a similar tool) on your VPS to check your global access status every 30-60 seconds. The moment it goes down, you get an instant ping via Telegram, Discord, or email.

Recommended Monitoring Checklist:

Metric	Check Interval	Alert Method
HTTP Status Code	60s	Instant Telegram alert
SSL Cert Expiry	Daily	14-day advance warning
Server Resources	5 min	Alert if CPU/RAM > 80%
Database Connection	60s	Instant alert on connection failure

Leveling up:

Use Uptime Kuma for uptime monitoring.
Use Bezel or Netdata for server resource monitoring. Bezel is actually pretty slick to use, while Netdata is a bit heavier.
Combine the two, and you've got yourself a complete monitoring loop.

6. Data Sovereignty: The Indie Dev's "Last Line of Defense"

The Pain Point: Platform lock-in risk

If all your data lives in Firebase and your account gets banned over some compliance issue one day, all your hard work goes up in smoke instantly.
The Fix: Local VPS storage + off-site backups
- Data isolation: The database files belong entirely to you.
- Automated backups: Just write a simple Cron job to encrypt your data daily and sync it to S3 or your local storage.

7. Resource Planning for Indie Devs: The "1 + N" Strategy

For a typical indie dev workflow in 2026, here's the setup we recommend rolling with:

Type	Specs	Main Role
1 Main Box	2 vCPU / 4GB or 4 vCPU / 8GB	Runs Nginx, your core database, and your main product.
N Sentinel Boxes	1 vCPU / 1GB or lower	Runs Uptime Kuma monitoring, small scrapers, and your test environments.

Why split them up?

Your monitoring service shouldn't live on the same machine as the stuff it's watching—if that box goes down, you won't even get the alert.
Keep your test and production environments isolated so you don't accidentally nuke prod.
Multiple small boxes give you way more flexibility than putting all your eggs in one big server.

Reddit constantly brings up Hetzner as the king of bang-for-your-buck: for the exact same price, you usually get 2-3x the specs compared to US cloud providers. The catch? Their data centers are mostly in Europe, so latency from Asia can be a bit high.

Honestly, databases are still pretty crucial. If you're short on bandwidth, just stick with managed options like Neon or Supabase.

Wrap-up: Your ticket from "tinkering" to "pro"

The second you get your own VPS, you're no longer just "someone who writes code"—you become the "master of your own system." It hands you:

Certainty: No more getting derailed by local environment quirks.
Continuity: Your product stays alive 24/7, all on its own.
Commercial viability: The lowest possible marginal cost to scale your business.

As a saying goes around the indie hacker scene: "Your first server IP is your product's first business card." (Okay, I totally just made that up.)