CMS & Commerce

Umbraco Hosting on Your Own VPS

Q: Do I need a Windows licence?

No. Running on Linux removes it, which is often the largest single saving in moving an Umbraco site.

Q: What VPS size does Umbraco need?

2 vCPU and 4 GB for a typical site. Umbraco caches its content tree in memory, so a large site wants more — and SQL Server on the same box adds its own requirement.

Q: Which database should I use?

SQLite is fine for small sites. SQL Server, which also runs on Linux, is the choice for larger ones.

Q: Why is the site slow to start after a deploy?

The published content cache is rebuilt on startup. On a large content tree that takes a moment — it is expected, not a fault.

Q: Do I get root access?

Yes, including the runtime version and the systemd service definition.

A .NET CMS running on Linux — no Windows Server licence in the price.

Deploy Umbraco Recommended specs

Size a server for Umbraco

Every stop is a real configuration you can deploy. Priced per 30 days, billed by the hour, exclusive of 18% GST.

vCPU 2 vCPU

Memory 4 GB

NVMe disk 40 GB

Bandwidth 5 TB

What Umbraco is

Umbraco is a .NET content management system with a reputation for getting out of editors' way. Since Umbraco 9 it targets ASP.NET Core, which means it runs on Linux — a change that removes the Windows Server licence that used to be an unavoidable part of its cost.

The deployment shape follows ASP.NET Core: Kestrel serving the application, NGINX in front for TLS and static files, and the site running as a systemd service. Database options are SQLite for small sites or SQL Server for larger ones, and SQL Server runs on Linux too.

The characteristic that shapes hosting is that Umbraco caches its content tree in memory. That makes delivery fast and makes memory the resource to watch as the content tree grows — a large site holds a correspondingly large cache, and the published cache is rebuilt on startup, which is why a big site takes a moment to come up after a deploy.

Why run Umbraco on a VPS

Linux hosting, so no Windows Server licence is bundled into the cost.

Root access for the .NET runtime version and systemd configuration.

Memory sized for the published content cache, which grows with the site.

SQL Server on Linux, or SQLite, depending on scale.

Umbraco features

ASP.NET Core with Kestrel behind NGINX

Backoffice with a document type system

Razor views and models builder

SQLite or SQL Server on Linux

Package ecosystem via NuGet

Content versioning and scheduled publishing

Recommended server

A starting point for Umbraco, not a hard floor — size it on the sliders.

Memory	4 GB for a typical site; 8 GB for a large content tree or SQL Server locally
CPU	2 vCPU; 4 with a local database
Storage	40 GB, more with a substantial media library
Operating system	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

How deployment works

The .NET runtime is installed, the site published and run as a systemd service, with NGINX terminating TLS and serving static files. Kestrel binds to localhost only. If SQL Server runs on the same machine, size memory for both — SQL Server on Linux has a meaningful floor of its own.

It is your server. Umbraco is installed directly on your VPS or VDS, not inside a container we manage. You get root over SSH, you can install anything alongside it, change its configuration, or remove it entirely. We do not hold a key to it.

What people run it for

.NET shops

A CMS in the same language and tooling as the rest of the stack.

Leaving Windows hosting

The same application without a Windows Server licence.

Editor-friendly sites

A backoffice that non-technical editors get on with.

Custom applications

Umbraco as a content layer inside a larger .NET application.

Umbraco hosting questions

Can Umbraco run on Linux?

Yes, since Umbraco 9 moved to ASP.NET Core. Only older Umbraco versions on .NET Framework require Windows.

Do I need a Windows licence?

What VPS size does Umbraco need?

Which database should I use?

Why is the site slow to start after a deploy?

Do I get root access?

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Deploy Umbraco on your own server

Root access, your choice of size, and no container between you and the application.

Deploy Umbraco All applications