Cost of running a mastodon instance
from sartaj@lemmy.world to fediverse@lemmy.world on 19 May 15:46
https://lemmy.world/post/29904768

how much does running a mastodon instance of 1000 users costs? Disabling Images and allowing only text is one of my condition. So if I do that, will that change cost? I am thinking of a VPS so that i can have greater control over instance functionality

How much Storage and RAM will be required roughly?

#fediverse

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roofuskit@lemmy.world on 19 May 15:52 next collapse

Storage costs should be pretty low for an instance very few would want to use.

sartaj@lemmy.world on 19 May 15:55 collapse

suppose I kidnap 1000 people and force them to use mastodon without images, how much will it cost then? jk

roofuskit@lemmy.world on 19 May 16:06 collapse

In all seriousness, we can’t really give a cost estimate because you haven’t given us your hosting scenario. Are you hosting on your own hardware, on a VPS, or using a provider that specializes in hosting Mastodon servers?

sartaj@lemmy.world on 19 May 16:08 collapse

I am thinking of a VPS so that i can have greater control over instance functionality

roofuskit@lemmy.world on 19 May 16:12 collapse

https://paulstamatiou.com/hosting-your-own-mastodon-server#choose-how-youd-like-to-host

Digital Ocean is used as an example because they have a quick setup Mastodon option. It looks like $14/mo minimum if you’re going to run Elastisearch. Without that tool in memory you might get away with 1GB of memory which is $7/mo. But the author also notes that with Elastisearch his VPS uses about 2GB of ram so he’s actually running the 4GB $21/mo plan.

sartaj@lemmy.world on 19 May 16:16 next collapse

Thanks!!

roofuskit@lemmy.world on 19 May 16:19 collapse

He also explains how to offload storage to another service for $5 a month if you want to add images back in.

Die4Ever@retrolemmy.com on 19 May 16:18 collapse

Even without images, you’ll still need quite a bit of space. I’m not sure 50GB would cut it for 1000 semi-active users. Also you’ll need to pay for the domain name.

roofuskit@lemmy.world on 19 May 18:33 collapse

@sartaj@lemmy.world important information above.

poVoq@slrpnk.net on 19 May 17:01 next collapse

masto.host

To give you ballpark figures. Self-hosting will not save you much compared to that.

Software like Akkoma or GoToSocial will save you some CPU and RAM costs, but are more optimized for smaller instances.

rglullis@communick.news on 19 May 18:18 next collapse

Why do you want to run an instance for that many people? Do you have 1000 people already, or is that just a number that you decided to work with? Why would people be interested in joining an instance with less functionality than the bigger ones?

Also: does it have to be Mastodon, or would you consider other alternatives? Pleroma and GoToSocial would be a lot easier to manage.

sartaj@lemmy.world on 20 May 04:52 collapse

It is number of people necessary for instance to be functional as intended. I am trying to run an instance where only people verified using legal Documents should be able to post, comment, vote. That is to increase transparency and keep spammers away. I Intend it to be a political website I will read about GoToSocial and Pleroma

rglullis@communick.news on 20 May 09:51 collapse

I’d guess that whoever would be willing to give you copies of legal documents just to join an “exclusive” instance would also be okay with contributing a few bucks per month to pay for its costs.

MITM0@lemmy.world on 20 May 17:25 next collapse

Speaking of mastodon, any recommendations on lightweight & featureful Android apps for Mastodon ?? (I understand that this may not be the right post to ask, but still…)

OmegaLemmy@discuss.online on 21 May 03:45 collapse

10 to 50 dollars, 400 GB, upgrade later if need be with other services, I think 4gb of ram is enough

OmegaLemmy@discuss.online on 21 May 03:46 collapse

Oh no images? 4 dollars, maybe 2 with no space 2 or 4 cores and 1 or 2gb ram