{"id":398773,"date":"2023-06-07T08:21:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T15:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/?p=398773"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T20:02:16","slug":"cloud-based-virtual-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/cloud-based-virtual-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloud-based Virtual Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have been looking into having a cloud-based Windows virtual machine for a few weeks now, and in looking at the alternatives and possibilities, I was surprised how expensive they can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My need is simple. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I need a stable and reliable machine, with good bandwidth, which is outsized my home \/office, that I can access anytime \/ from anywhere that I can use to test some of the apps and sites I create and manage.
I will not use it to stream movies, watch YouTube or do development but instead it is mostly for web surfing, testing and such. So I am looking for an inexpensive persistent machine. It does not have to be on all of the time, but that would be nice. I think I would prefer Windows, but not opposed to a Linux-based machines especially when they have such great GUI interfaces now. Looking for a minimum configuration of 2 CPUs, 2Gb RAM and 50Gb of disk space. but ideally 2 CPU, 4Gb RAM and 100Gb disk space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I started by looking at Desktop-as-a Service (DaaS) options, then looked at VMs inside the major cloud compute providers, did a couple of spreadsheets of cost based on per-hour cost, and then landed on my result.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the items I looked into follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windows 365<\/a><\/td><\/td>2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB Storage \/\/ $31\/month<\/td><\/tr>
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine<\/a><\/td><\/td>Azure Compute
A similar setup ( 2vCPUS, 4G RAM ) North America Data Cernter
$85.00 ( Additional price for persistent storage)
<\/td><\/tr>
Amazon Lightsail<\/a><\/td><\/td>Starts at $8\/month for low-end Windows.
$40.00 ( w\/80G SSD)<\/td><\/tr>
AWS Compute<\/a><\/td><\/td>Hourly rate inexpensive
additional price for persistent storage to attached to compute.<\/td><\/tr>
Google Cloud<\/a><\/td><\/td>VM instance pricing  |  Compute Engine: Virtual Machines (VMs)  | <\/a>
Difficult to get an accurate price per month. Too many options!<\/td><\/tr>
Kamatera Express \u2013<\/a><\/td><\/td>Good pricing on Linux servers but Windows goes up to $36.00.<\/td><\/tr>
Infosaic Technologies, LLC from Columbus Ohio<\/a><\/td><\/td>Virtual Desktops | Affordable High Performance Cloud Desktop as a Service (DaaS) with Windows 11, Windows10, Microsoft Office, Open Office.

GOOD OPTION: at $11.95 for 2 CPUS $17.95 for 4 CPUS
<\/td><\/tr>
dinCloud<\/a><\/td><\/td>price unknown<\/td><\/tr>
deskMate<\/a><\/td><\/td>The easiest Windows home office desktops for your employees
Starting at $19\/month.<\/td><\/tr>
Cloudalize<\/a><\/td><\/td>DaaS is expensive. They have great services on VPS.<\/td><\/tr>
Citrix DaaS<\/a><\/td><\/td>only available to Business ( starting at 500 users)<\/td><\/tr>
Shells.com<\/a><\/td><\/td>Desktop as a Service is the future of computing! (shells.com)<\/a> ( starting at $11\/95)<\/td><\/tr>
Neverinstall<\/a><\/td><\/td>Good Concept but could not find if company is currently still in business.
<\/td><\/tr>
Kasm Cloud Personal<\/a><\/td><\/td>Cloud Browser | Desktop | OSINT (kasmweb.com)<\/a>
** No Persistence!<\/strong> — Bummer!<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Botom line: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I could not believe that DaaS is still at the range of $35+ per month depending on the configuration, even for Unix machines. After looking for a while I decided to look at Virtual Private Servers instead and was able to find one for $9.95\/month (discounted to $8 \/ month if paid for a year) from a hosting company called Cloudzy<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a persistent (VPS all are) 2 CPU, 2GB RAM and 50Gb machine with Windows 2022 Server Standard which I can update at any time if needed (I do not expect to for my use), Been using it for a month now and it has been a great addition to my tool bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resources:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Compare Amazon EC2 and Amazon Lightsail | AWS re:Post (repost.aws)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important items: <\/p>\n\n\n\n