VPN has become so mainstream a lot of people don’t even known what “VPN” stands for, but know they need one.  From streamers looking to bypass regional restrictions to security-conscious netizens evading trackers to people looking to get around the recent craze of laws requiring registration to view porn, everyone is using VPNs in 2025.  The market is saturated with commercial VPN providers promising anonymity, speed, and security.  So if you need a VPN, it’s just a question of searching for the right coupons to sign up, right?

Not so fast.

If you’re technically inclined and want full control over your internet privacy, a self-hosted VPN on a lowend server offers a range of benefits commercial services simply can’t match. In this article, we’ll walk through the key advantages of self-hosting your VPN and show how it aligns with the ethos of LowEndBox users — affordability, control, and DIY spirit.  And then give you the simple recipe to make it happen!

Full Control Over Privacy and Security

Perhaps the biggest draw of a self-hosted VPN is that you are the one in charge. With commercial VPNs, you’re trusting a third party to:

• Not log your traffic.  They all claim not to do this…until a warrant arrives. Even VPNs with no-log policies have been caught handing over user information.

• Not sell or misuse your data.  Again, all claim to hold your data like precious jewels.  But jewels are valuable, and what happens a couple years down the road when the firm is sold and the new owners decide they want to cash in?

• Properly secure their infrastructure.  This is a double-edged sword.  In theory, more customers = larger team = more eyes for security.  But in reality, theory is not the same as reality, which means more customers = larger attack surface and more attention since it’s a more valuable target.

Self-hosting eliminates the middleman. You control the operating system, logging policies, firewall rules, and VPN configuration. You can disable logs entirely, use strong encryption, and ensure no one else has access to your VPN instance.

Avoid the Shared-IP Problem

Commercial VPNs often use shared IPs, meaning dozens or even hundreds of users might be connected from the same IP address. This can lead to:

• Captchas galore.

• Streaming services blocking the IP range

• Websites denying access outright

With your own self-hosted VPN, you get a clean, dedicated IP (unless you choose to rotate or mask it otherwise), and you won’t be lumped in with spammy users or blacklisted IP ranges.

Lower Cost (Especially Long-Term)

Many VPN providers charge monthly fees ranging from $5 to $15 or more. Over time, that adds up.

In contrast, you can get a cheap VPS for $2–$5/month (or even $1 per month) on LowEndBox with enough resources to host a VPN server.  Or if you already have a VPS (for a personal website, Nextcloud, game server, whatever), you can easily host a VPN on the same system.  So if it’s a cheap VPN you’re after, self-hosting is the way to go.

Customizable

With a DIY VPN setup, you can:

• Choose your VPN software (OpenVPN, WireGuard, IPsec)

• Set custom firewall rules (iptables, nftables)

• Run traffic through DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS

• Create your own logging – or eliminate it altogether

It’s a hands-on, modular experience — the kind LowEndBox users love.

Caveats: Self-Hosting Isn’t for Everyone

While there are major advantages, it’s worth noting the challenges:

• No built-in obfuscation: Your VPS IP is tied to your account. You can be identified by your hosting provider.

• Not anonymous: If you’re trying to hide from governments or corporations, self-hosting won’t anonymize you.

• Requires technical knowledge, albeit minimal: Setting up and maintaining your own VPN takes effort and Linux skills, though as we’ll show below, it’s pretty one-click to get going.

• Single point of failure: No multi-location fallbacks unless you build your own network of servers.  But since spinning up a VM and setting up a VPN on it only takes a minutes (and could be fully automated), I’d argue that redundancy is not needed.

For many LowEndBox readers, these are manageable — or even desirable — trade-offs.

Getting Started

There are a couple major options:

• WireGuard: Lightweight, fast, and modern. Ideal for most users.

• OpenVPN: More mature and flexible but more complex.

What I have used for years is LowEndTalk member @Nyr‘s Road Warrior scripts, which support either.  To use these, the process is very simple:

1. Sign up for a VM anywhere.  I like to use Debian for the distro.
2. Download and install the Road Warrior script, which is a single command – see the article.
3. Personally I still use OpenVPN because it’s worked for a decade+ and my favorite VPN client (Viscosity for MacOS) supports OpenVPN.  The Road Warrior script will generate a .ovpn file.  Just download this to your PC and import it into whatever your VPN software of choice is.

And don’t forget: always keep your server updated, disable root login over SSH, and consider using fail2ban or ufw for added protection.

Self-hosting your VPN on a budget VPS is a powerful, private, and cost-effective alternative to commercial services. While it does require some technical know-how, it puts you back in control of your digital privacy and security.

At LowEndBox, we’re all about doing more with less — and self-hosting a VPN is a perfect example. If you’re tired of shady VPN companies, overcrowded servers, and unclear policies, maybe it’s time to take the reins and roll your own.

Have you set up your own VPN? What stack or VPS provider do you use? Share your tips in the comments below!

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.