So you're looking for a VPS that won't empty your wallet but also won't leave you stranded with terrible support and questionable uptime. Fair enough. RackNerd has been around since 2019, and yeah, they're one of those providers that makes you wonder "how is this price even real?" But here's the thing—they've stuck around, their support actually responds to tickets, and people keep coming back.
They've got data centers scattered across the US (Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas, Chicago) plus a couple in Europe (Amsterdam, Strasbourg). The network is standard BGP direct connection to mainland China, nothing fancy, but it works surprisingly well. And those promotional deals? Once they're gone, they're gone. No restocking. Which is why some folks treat these like collectibles.
Let's just say if you need something cheap that won't randomly disappear on you, this is worth a look.
The honest answer is the price-to-specs ratio. We're talking VPS plans with generous RAM, storage, and bandwidth at yearly prices that some providers charge monthly. They support Alipay (nice if you're in Asia), PayPal, credit cards, even crypto if that's your thing.
But it's not just about being cheap. The support team actually gets back to you. The uptime is solid. And while the network isn't premium CN2 or anything exotic, it's reliable enough for most use cases—whether you're running a personal project, testing something out, or need a stable node for your applications.
The catch? Popular configurations sell out fast and don't come back. So when you see something that fits your needs at a ridiculous price, don't spend three days thinking about it.
They ran a Chinese New Year sale with some decent options. The 1.5GB and up configs let you pick the Los Angeles DC-02 datacenter, which is one of the better locations if you need IPv6 addresses.
1GB RAM / 1 Core / 15GB SSD / 2TB Transfer — $10.99/year
1.5GB RAM / 1 Core / 25GB SSD / 4TB Transfer — $16.88/year
2.5GB RAM / 2 Cores / 38GB SSD / 6TB Transfer — $23.88/year
Two series here: standard Intel and the beefier AMD Ryzen options.
Intel Series (multiple US locations, 2GB+ can pick LA DC-02):
1GB RAM / 1 Core / 21GB SSD / 1.5TB Transfer — $11.49/year
2GB RAM / 1 Core / 35GB SSD / 2.5TB Transfer — $17.38/year
3GB RAM / 2 Cores / 45GB SSD / 5TB Transfer — $27.98/year
4GB RAM / 2 Cores / 60GB SSD / 8TB Transfer — $37.38/year
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Series (San Jose, Ashburn available—these use DDR5 RAM and NVMe Gen4 drives, so they're noticeably faster):
1.2GB RAM / 1 Core / 25GB NVMe / 2.5TB Transfer — $18.88/year
2.5GB RAM / 2 Cores / 38GB NVMe / 4TB Transfer — $32.98/year
4GB RAM / 2 Cores / 65GB NVMe / 6TB Transfer — $55.88/year
1.25GB RAM / 1 Core / 20GB SSD / 2TB Transfer — $12.88/year
2GB RAM / 2 Cores / 30GB SSD / 4TB Transfer — $19.88/year
3GB RAM / 2 Cores / 45GB SSD / 5TB Transfer — $26.88/year
If you're setting up a VPN or proxy for accessing content, go with San Jose, Los Angeles, or Seattle. They're all West Coast US, closer to Asia, lower latency. Makes a difference.
Running a website? Pick based on where your visitors are. If your audience is in Europe, don't stick your server in LA just because it's popular.
And look, if you've got the budget, grab a couple different locations. One as your main, another as backup. Network routing can be weird depending on your ISP and time of day. I've got servers in most of the locations they offer because, well, redundancy is nice.
A couple things to keep in mind: if you get an IP that's blocked by China's firewall, you can swap it for free within 72 hours of purchase (there's a "Change IP" button, super easy). After that, IP changes cost $3 each. The LA DC-02 datacenter will give you multiple IPv6 addresses if you ask via support ticket—just say you need them and they'll set you up.
I went through all their recent promotions and pulled out the best value plans that still have stock. Some of these are hidden deals with limited inventory, so if something catches your eye, grab it.
Quick note: With AI tools like ChatGPT blowing up demand for self-hosted proxies and projects, VPS sales have gone through the roof. A lot of older promotional plans are sold out. Hardware costs are up, IPv4 addresses are getting pricier, so these configs at these prices probably won't come around again. What's available now is basically the last batch at these rates.
Available locations: Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, Ashburn, New York, Dallas. When ordering, check the Location dropdown—if a datacenter is grayed out, that configuration is out of stock there. Try another config or location.
Some standout options that are still in stock:
768MB RAM / 1 Core / 15GB SSD / 1TB Transfer — $10.18/year
1GB RAM / 1 Core / 25GB SSD / 4TB Transfer — $12.98/year
2GB RAM / 1 Core / 35GB SSD / 2.5TB Transfer — $17.38/year
2.5GB RAM / 2 Cores / 38GB SSD / 6TB Transfer — $23.88/year
3GB RAM / 2 Cores / 55GB SSD / 5TB Transfer — $28.99/year
4GB RAM / 3 Cores / 70GB SSD / 10TB Transfer — $46.68/year
For anything serious—running a database, compiling code, hosting a website with decent traffic—don't go below 2GB RAM. You'll thank yourself later. For websites specifically, 2GB dual-core is minimum, 4GB+ is better. And if performance really matters, the AMD high-performance series is absolutely worth the extra cost.
If you need actual horsepower—maybe you're running databases, doing compilation work, hosting something with real traffic—the AMD series is where it's at. Performance is roughly 4-6x the standard Intel Xeon offerings.
Ryzen 9 7950X Series (San Jose, New York—latest gen with DDR5 and NVMe Gen4):
1.2GB RAM / 1 Core / 25GB NVMe / 2.5TB Transfer — $18.88/year
2GB RAM / 2 Cores / 40GB NVMe / 4TB Transfer — $29/year
3GB RAM / 2 Cores / 55GB NVMe / 6TB Transfer — $45/year
4GB RAM / 2 Cores / 65GB NVMe / 6TB Transfer — $55.88/year
The performance difference is noticeable. If your project needs it, spend the extra few bucks.
Need Windows? They've got AMD Ryzen 3900X Windows Server VPS with NVMe storage. Available in Windows Server 2012/2016, including Chinese language versions.
Locations: New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Ashburn
2GB RAM / 1 Core / 35GB NVMe / 2TB Transfer — $60/year
2.5GB RAM / 1 Core / 40GB NVMe / 3.5TB Transfer — $69/year
4GB RAM / 3 Cores / 60GB NVMe / 6TB Transfer — $115/year
RackNerd has a standing promo code 15OFFDEDI that gives you 15% off all dedicated servers. The VPS deals above don't need codes—those prices are already promotional.
Other codes:
HYBRID10OFF — 10% off hybrid dedicated server products
RN-2022 — 25% off regular (non-promotional) shared hosting and VPS
So there you have it. RackNerd isn't going to blow your mind with cutting-edge features or make you feel like you're using the Rolls Royce of VPS providers. But for the price, the specs, the reliability, and the support that actually responds? It's honestly one of the better deals in the budget VPS space right now.
The promotional configs sell out and don't restock, so these are essentially limited editions. If you see something that fits what you need at a price that makes sense, just grab it. Overthinking it for a week means it'll probably be gone. And with how hardware and IP costs are trending, similar deals are only going to get more expensive from here.
👉 Ready to get started? Check out RackNerd's current inventory while these promotional rates last