{"id":"cheap-vms","slug":"cheap-vms","name":"Cheap always-on VMs","shortName":"Cheap always-on VMs","problemStatement":"Minimize cost for 24/7 CPU boxes (bots, queues, reverse proxies).","whenNotTopPick":"Need many global regions or enterprise IAM — hyperscalers.","categoryIds":["cat-cpu-compute","cat-object-storage"],"depotPickProviderId":"hetzner","depotPickRationale":"pricePerf + maturity; dx less critical.","runnersUpIds":["digitalocean","oracle-gpu","aws-ec2"],"weights":{"capabilityFit":0.25,"pricePerformance":0.18,"latencyReliability":0.15,"developerDx":0.15,"privacyPosture":0.1,"lockInRisk":0.07,"maturity":0.1},"methodologyNotes":"pricePerf + maturity; dx less critical.","tags":["cheap"],"depth":{"whenNotToUse":{"text":"Need many global regions or enterprise IAM — hyperscalers.","source":"editorial `whenNotTopPick` (data/jtbds.json)"},"whenNotToUseReason":null,"runnerUp":{"providerId":"digitalocean","name":"DigitalOcean","overallForJob":8.15,"pickOverallForJob":8.2,"beatsPickOn":["capabilityFit","latencyReliability","developerDx","maturity"],"source":"first resolvable entry of the job's editorially ranked `runnersUpIds`; scores are stored job-weighted scores"},"runnerUpReason":null,"lockIn":{"pickLockInRisk":2.5,"runnerUpLockInRisk":3.5,"scale":"0–10 stored curated estimate; higher = more lock-in (worse)","pickExitSignals":[],"runnerUpExitSignals":[],"pickNotes":[],"selfHostFallback":[],"migration":"The pick has lower stored lock-in risk than runner-up DigitalOcean (2.5 vs 3.5).","migrationReason":null,"derivedFrom":"stored lockInRisk scores, provider tags (oss, self-host, openai-compat, open-models), free rows that list this job, and verbatim provider notes. No migration guide was invented."}},"freshness":{"pick":{"score":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"lastReviewed":{"asOf":"2026-09-14","ageDays":43,"stale":true,"staleAfterDays":30,"reason":null},"sourceCheck":{"checkedAt":"2026-10-27","sourceUrls":2,"sourcesReachable":2,"pricingRows":0,"pricingRowsReconfirmed":0,"note":"A source re-check confirms the page is reachable and, for pricing rows, that the stored amount and SKU name appear on it. It does not re-derive or change the score.","reason":null}}}}