CloudCone: Budget-Friendly No-Filing VPS for Personal Website Hosting

Looking for an affordable overseas VPS that doesn't require domain filing? CloudCone offers reliable hosting solutions starting from just a few dollars per month—perfect for personal websites, self-hosted services, and lightweight applications. With clean IPs, Alipay payment support, and consistent renewal pricing, it's become the go-to choice for many Chinese developers and content creators.

What Makes CloudCone Stand Out

CloudCone (CC) launched in 2017 as a VPS hosting provider operating primarily out of the Multacom (MC) data center in Los Angeles. While relatively young in the hosting world, they've carved out a solid reputation among users who want straightforward, no-nonsense virtual server solutions.

The Good Stuff:

No filing requirements. Unlike domestic Chinese servers, you can get your website running immediately without dealing with ICP filing bureaucracy. Just purchase, deploy, and go live.

Genuinely affordable pricing. We're talking actual budget-friendly rates here, not the "cheap until renewal" trap many hosts pull. Their entry-level plans make it accessible even if you're just tinkering with ideas.

Clean IP addresses. Their IPs aren't burned or blacklisted, which means you can actually access various streaming services and platforms without constant captcha challenges.

China-friendly payment options. They accept Alipay alongside PayPal and credit cards. No need to fumble with international payment methods if you prefer local options.

Consistent renewal pricing. New customer or long-time user, you pay the same rate. No sudden price jumps when your initial term ends.

Proprietary control panel. They built their own management interface that's surprisingly intuitive. You're not stuck wrestling with outdated cPanel alternatives.

Responsive support. Submit a ticket and you'll typically hear back within a reasonable timeframe. Not instant, but faster than many competitors in this price range.

Now, the reality check: as an overseas server, direct access speeds from mainland China won't blow your mind. But honestly, if you're running any serious web project, you're probably routing through Cloudflare anyway, which largely neutralizes this limitation.

Beyond Just Hosting Websites

Some folks assume servers are only for websites and skip right past them. That's leaving money—and possibilities—on the table. Servers can run all sorts of self-hosted applications that give you more control and privacy than cloud services.

What you can actually do with a VPS:

Set up your own web bookmarks system that syncs across devices without sending your browsing data to third-party servers.

Run Memos, the lightweight note-taking solution that most people actually use as their private "microblog"—think Twitter, but yours alone.

Host your own Bitwarden password manager using the vaultwarden implementation. All your passwords stored on infrastructure you control.

Deploy Umami for website analytics that doesn't phone home to Google or require cookie consent banners.

Install Alist to aggregate multiple cloud storage accounts into one unified interface.

Set up FreshRSS to follow all your favorite blogs and news sources in one place, without algorithms deciding what you see.

Even run your own DeepSeek instance. With the recent open-source release, you can deploy it on your own server and sidestep those "server busy, please try again" messages during peak hours.

If you're curious about having more digital autonomy without relying entirely on mainstream platforms, having your own server opens up these possibilities. What you do with it? That's the fun part to figure out after you've got one running.

👉 Explore CloudCone's VPS plans and see which configuration fits your self-hosting needs

Getting Started: Registration and Payment

Important heads-up: CloudCone currently requires you to have account balance before purchasing services. You can't directly check out with external payment methods during the VPS purchase process. This means registering an account and adding funds upfront.

If their main registration page won't load, try adding .cn to the domain as a backup access method. When filling out registration details, use real information—the closer to accurate, the less likely you'll trigger their fraud detection systems.

Once registered, figure out which VPS plan you need and pre-load that amount into your account. Click your profile avatar, then navigate to the Billing section.

Hit the "Add funds" button where you can top up using Alipay, PayPal, or credit card. After funds appear in your account, browse to their promotional pages and configure your VPS.

Configuration tips: If you're uncertain which operating system to choose, go with the latest version of Debian or Ubuntu. Both are well-documented and widely supported. For the hostname, just use any combination of letters and numbers—there's no strict format required.

After successful deployment, CloudCone emails you the VPS details including IP address, SSH login credentials, and root password.

Even if you're not ready to deploy anything immediately, registering an account means you'll receive email notifications about promotional campaigns. During Black Friday or Christmas, they sometimes offer credit rewards or special deals worth grabbing.

Pro tip: If you provision a VPS and discover the IP address is blocked or inaccessible from your location, you can delete the instance and purchase again. Since they bill by the second, you won't actually be charged if you delete within minutes. Plus, their promotional packages include a 7-day money-back guarantee, so problematic setups can be fully refunded.

Why CloudCone Works for Self-Hosted Projects

For personal websites, development testing, or self-hosted applications, you need something that's affordable, straightforward, and doesn't surprise you with hidden costs. 👉 CloudCone delivers exactly that—consistent pricing, clean infrastructure, and enough flexibility to experiment without breaking the bank. Whether you're hosting a WordPress blog, running a personal knowledge base, or testing out the latest open-source tools, having a reliable VPS that doesn't require domestic filing gives you the freedom to build without bureaucratic delays.