Best VPS for PostgreSQL in 2026

PostgreSQL is the world's most advanced open-source database. Self-host it on a VPS and skip the $50-500/month managed database fees.

Why Self-Host PostgreSQL?

Factor	Managed (AWS RDS)	Self-Hosted VPS
2 vCPU, 4GB RAM	$100+/mo	~$7/mo
4 vCPU, 8GB RAM	$200+/mo	~$15/mo
Control	Limited	Full
Extensions	Some	All
Maintenance	Automatic	Manual

Self-hosting costs 90% less for equivalent specs.

VPS Requirements

PostgreSQL performance depends on:

RAM (Most Important)

• More RAM = more data cached
• Rule: Cache your hot data
• 4GB handles most small-medium apps

Storage (Second Most Important)

• NVMe SSD required — HDDs are too slow
• Provision 2-3x your data size for WAL/indexes
• IOPS matter more than raw size

CPU

• More cores = more concurrent queries
• 2 vCPU is fine for most workloads
• Scale up for complex analytical queries

Network

• Low latency to app servers
• Same datacenter as your application

Best VPS for PostgreSQL

1. Hetzner CX21 (Best Value)

€5.39/mo | 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe

AMD EPYC CPUs have excellent per-core performance. NVMe storage handles database I/O well.

Best for: Small to medium applications

2. Hostinger KVM2 (Best RAM/Dollar)

$5.99/mo | 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 100GB NVMe

8GB RAM means more data in memory. Great for caching-heavy workloads.

3. Hetzner CX31 (Best for Growth)

€10.49/mo | 2 vCPU, 8GB RAM, 80GB NVMe

8GB RAM with fast NVMe. Hetzner's network handles replication traffic well.

4. Vultr High Frequency (Best Performance)

$48/mo | 4 vCPU (3GHz+), 16GB RAM, 256GB NVMe

High clock speed = faster single-query performance. Worth it for latency-sensitive apps.

PostgreSQL Setup Guide

Step 1: Create VPS

Ubuntu 22.04, 4GB+ RAM. SSH in:

ssh root@your-vps-ip

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL

# Add PostgreSQL repository
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt $(lsb_release -cs)-pgdg main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list'
wget --quiet -O - https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc | sudo apt-key add -

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y postgresql-16

# Start service
sudo systemctl enable postgresql
sudo systemctl start postgresql

Step 3: Create Database and User

sudo -u postgres psql

CREATE USER myapp WITH PASSWORD 'secure-password';
CREATE DATABASE myapp_production OWNER myapp;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE myapp_production TO myapp;
\q

Step 4: Configure for Remote Access

Edit /etc/postgresql/16/main/postgresql.conf:

listen_addresses = '*'

Edit /etc/postgresql/16/main/pg_hba.conf:

# Allow connections from app servers
host    myapp_production    myapp    10.0.0.0/8    scram-sha-256
# Or specific IP
host    myapp_production    myapp    1.2.3.4/32    scram-sha-256

Restart:

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

Step 5: Firewall

ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/8 to any port 5432
# Or specific IP
ufw allow from 1.2.3.4 to any port 5432

Performance Tuning

Memory Configuration

Edit /etc/postgresql/16/main/postgresql.conf:

# For 4GB RAM VPS
shared_buffers = 1GB                 # 25% of RAM
effective_cache_size = 3GB           # 75% of RAM
maintenance_work_mem = 256MB
work_mem = 16MB                      # Per-operation

# For 8GB RAM VPS
shared_buffers = 2GB
effective_cache_size = 6GB
maintenance_work_mem = 512MB
work_mem = 32MB

Write Performance

wal_buffers = 64MB
checkpoint_completion_target = 0.9
checkpoint_timeout = 15min
max_wal_size = 4GB
min_wal_size = 1GB

Query Performance

random_page_cost = 1.1              # For SSD
effective_io_concurrency = 200       # For SSD
default_statistics_target = 100

Connection Pooling

Use PgBouncer for many connections:

apt install pgbouncer

# /etc/pgbouncer/pgbouncer.ini
[databases]
myapp = host=127.0.0.1 dbname=myapp_production

[pgbouncer]
listen_addr = *
listen_port = 6432
auth_type = scram-sha-256
auth_file = /etc/pgbouncer/userlist.txt
pool_mode = transaction
max_client_conn = 1000
default_pool_size = 20

Your app connects to port 6432 instead of 5432.

Backup Strategy

Continuous Archiving (WAL)

Enable in postgresql.conf:

archive_mode = on
archive_command = 'cp %p /var/lib/postgresql/wal_archive/%f'
wal_level = replica

Daily Backups

#!/bin/bash
# /home/postgres/backup.sh
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_DIR=/var/backups/postgresql

pg_dump -Fc myapp_production > $BACKUP_DIR/myapp-$DATE.dump

# Keep 7 days
find $BACKUP_DIR -mtime +7 -delete

# Upload to S3
aws s3 cp $BACKUP_DIR/myapp-$DATE.dump s3://my-backups/postgres/

Cron:

0 3 * * * /home/postgres/backup.sh

Point-in-Time Recovery

With WAL archiving enabled:

# Restore base backup
pg_restore -d myapp_production backup.dump

# Replay WAL to specific time
recovery_target_time = '2026-02-08 14:30:00'

Monitoring

Built-in Stats

-- Active connections
SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity;

-- Table sizes
SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size('table_name'));

-- Slow queries
SELECT * FROM pg_stat_statements ORDER BY mean_time DESC LIMIT 10;

pgAdmin

docker run -d \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -e PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL=admin@admin.com \
  -e PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=admin \
  dpage/pgadmin4

Prometheus + Grafana

# postgres_exporter
docker run -d \
  -p 9187:9187 \
  -e DATA_SOURCE_NAME="postgresql://postgres:password@localhost:5432/postgres?sslmode=disable" \
  prometheuscommunity/postgres-exporter

Replication Setup

Streaming Replication

On primary, edit postgresql.conf:

wal_level = replica
max_wal_senders = 3
wal_keep_size = 1GB

On replica:

pg_basebackup -h primary-ip -D /var/lib/postgresql/16/main -U replicator -Fp -Xs -P -R

The replica automatically follows the primary.

Logical Replication

For selective table replication:

-- On primary
CREATE PUBLICATION my_pub FOR TABLE users, orders;

-- On replica
CREATE SUBSCRIPTION my_sub
  CONNECTION 'host=primary-ip dbname=myapp user=replicator'
  PUBLICATION my_pub;

Common Extensions

-- Full-text search
CREATE EXTENSION pg_trgm;

-- UUID generation
CREATE EXTENSION "uuid-ossp";

-- JSON operations
-- Built-in, no extension needed

-- Geographic data
CREATE EXTENSION postgis;

-- Query statistics
CREATE EXTENSION pg_stat_statements;

-- Cron jobs
CREATE EXTENSION pg_cron;

Security Hardening

SSL Connections

# Generate certificate
openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -text \
  -out /etc/postgresql/16/main/server.crt \
  -keyout /etc/postgresql/16/main/server.key

In postgresql.conf:

ssl = on
ssl_cert_file = '/etc/postgresql/16/main/server.crt'
ssl_key_file = '/etc/postgresql/16/main/server.key'

In pg_hba.conf:

hostssl all all 0.0.0.0/0 scram-sha-256

Strong Passwords

Use scram-sha-256 (default in PostgreSQL 14+):

SET password_encryption = 'scram-sha-256';
ALTER USER myapp PASSWORD 'new-secure-password';

Limit Connections

# Only allow from app servers
host myapp_production myapp 10.0.0.0/8 scram-sha-256
host all all 0.0.0.0/0 reject

Self-Hosted vs Managed

Factor	Self-Hosted	RDS/Managed
Cost	$5-20/mo	$100-500/mo
Setup	1-2 hours	5 minutes
Backups	Manual setup	Automatic
Updates	Manual	Automatic
Extensions	All	Limited
Tuning	Full control	Limited
Support	Community	Provider

Choose self-hosted if:

• Cost matters
• You need full control
• You can spend 2-4h/month on maintenance

Choose managed if:

• Zero ops capacity
• Need guaranteed uptime SLA
• Budget isn't a concern

Resource Sizing Guide

Users	Data Size	VPS Specs	Provider
<1K	<5GB	2 vCPU, 4GB	Hetzner CX21
1-10K	5-50GB	2 vCPU, 8GB	Hetzner CX31
10-100K	50-200GB	4 vCPU, 16GB	Hetzner CX41
>100K	>200GB	8+ vCPU, 32GB+	Dedicated

FAQ

Is PostgreSQL hard to manage?

Moderately. Initial setup takes 1-2 hours. Ongoing: backups, updates, monitoring. Budget 2-4h/month.

How do I upgrade PostgreSQL?

Use pg_upgrade or pg_dump/restore. Plan for 30-60 min downtime.

Can I run PostgreSQL and my app on the same VPS?

Yes, for small projects. Separate servers for production scale.

What about high availability?

Use streaming replication with automatic failover (Patroni) for HA setups.

Should I use Docker?

For dev: yes. For production: native installation is simpler and performs better.

Recommended Setup

Use Case	VPS	Monthly Cost
Development	Hetzner CX11	€3.79
Small Production	Hetzner CX21	€5.39
Medium Production	Hetzner CX31	€10.49
High Performance	Vultr HF	$48

Start with Hetzner CX21 at €5.39/month — that's 95% cheaper than equivalent RDS.