Choosing an OS for your VPS.

Your VPS needs an OS. We offer Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky, CentOS Stream, Fedora, and FreeBSD. Here's how to pick.

Ubuntu (LTS)

Pick if: you're new to Linux servers, you want the largest community / most tutorials, you're running Docker / Kubernetes, or you're deploying a Node.js / Python / Ruby app.

Why: biggest ecosystem, best docs, latest mainstream packages, 5-year LTS support.

Versions: 22.04 LTS (proven), 24.04 LTS (latest LTS — recommended).

Debian

Pick if: you want maximum stability, you're running a long-lived server you don't want to update for years, you have philosophical preference for minimal preinstalled packages.

Why: rock-solid, no surprises, conservative package versions, smaller default install than Ubuntu.

Versions: 12 (Bookworm — current).

AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux

Pick if: you specifically need RHEL-compatible (yum/dnf, SELinux defaults, etc.), you're running Plesk / cPanel licensing assumed on RHEL, or you have RHEL-specific scripts.

Why: drop-in CentOS replacement after RedHat ended free CentOS in 2021. AlmaLinux and Rocky are bug-compatible forks.

Versions: 9 (latest, recommended).

CentOS Stream

Pick if: you specifically want to track the upstream RHEL development line.

Don't pick if: you want a stable production OS — Stream is rolling-release ahead of RHEL, not behind it.

Fedora

Pick if: you're developing/testing software that needs the latest kernel/glibc/python, you don't mind upgrading the OS yearly.

Don't pick for production: 13-month support window is too short.

FreeBSD

Pick if: you want jails, ZFS as primary FS, or you're an existing BSD user.

Don't pick if: you want to use any tool that expects Linux paths and behaviors. Most modern devops tooling is Linux-first; BSD requires extra work.

Practical recommendation

For 90% of users:

• Web app deployment → Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• Database server / long-running infrastructure → Debian 12
• Anything with cPanel/Plesk → AlmaLinux 9 (we install cPanel automatically on this)

Changing OS later

You can rebuild your VPS with a different OS at any time:

1. Panel → VPS → [your VPS] → Rebuild
2. Pick the new OS image
3. Confirm — all data on the VPS is wiped
4. New OS is provisioned in 60‑180 seconds

Snapshot first if you have data to preserve.

What we install by default

Plain image, plus:

• SSH server with key-based auth (we add the SSH key you uploaded during VPS creation)
• cloud-init for provisioning
• firewalld or ufw enabled with sensible defaults
• Auto-security updates enabled (you can disable)

No control panel by default. If you want cPanel, pick that variant during VPS creation — adds ~$15/mo licensing.