Telegram Bot Hosting: Self-Hosting vs Managed (Real Costs)
You want to run an AI-powered Telegram bot. But should you spin up your own VPS or use a managed service? Let's break down the real costs.
The Appeal of Self-Hosting
Self-hosting seems attractive at first glance. A basic VPS costs $5-10/month. You have full control. No vendor lock-in. What's not to love?
The truth is more nuanced. Let's look at what self-hosting a Telegram bot actually involves.
Self-Hosting: The True Cost Breakdown
1. Server Costs ($5-20/month)
Basic VPS providers like DigitalOcean, Hetzner, or Linode charge $5-20/month for a small instance. For a simple bot, $5/month works. For an AI bot running Claude, you'll need more RAM and CPU—expect $10-20/month.
2. Initial Setup Time (4-8 hours)
Even experienced developers need time to:
- Provision and configure the VPS
- Set up SSH keys and secure access
- Install dependencies (Node.js, Python, etc.)
- Configure the bot application
- Set up process management (PM2, systemd)
- Configure firewall rules
- Set up domain and SSL (optional)
At $50/hour (a conservative rate for a developer), that's $200-400 in time cost for initial setup alone.
3. Ongoing Maintenance (2-4 hours/month)
Monthly tasks include:
- Security updates and patches
- Monitoring uptime and performance
- Debugging crashes and issues
- Updating bot dependencies
- Managing logs and disk space
- Backup verification
That's another $100-200/month in time cost.
4. Hidden Costs
- Downtime recovery: When things break at 2 AM, you're the on-call engineer
- Security incidents: One breach can cost days of recovery time
- Learning curve: If you're not a DevOps person, expect 2-3x the time estimates
- Opportunity cost: Time spent on infrastructure is time not spent on your actual goals
Self-Hosting Total Cost (First Year)
- Server: $60-240/year
- Setup time: $200-400 (one-time)
- Maintenance: $1,200-2,400/year
- Total: $1,460 - $3,040/year
Managed Hosting: What You Get
Managed hosting services like Clawdhost charge a flat monthly fee and handle everything else. Here's what that typically includes:
- Zero setup time: Provide your bot token, done in 5 minutes
- Automatic updates: Security patches and bot updates handled for you
- 24/7 monitoring: Issues detected and resolved before you notice
- Guaranteed uptime: SLA-backed availability (99.9% typical)
- Support: Someone to help when things go wrong
Managed Hosting Total Cost (First Year)
- Monthly fee: $120/year (at $10/month)
- Setup time: $0
- Maintenance: $0
- Total: $120/year
When Self-Hosting Makes Sense
Self-hosting is the right choice when:
- You're a DevOps professional and this is your job
- You have specific compliance requirements (data residency, etc.)
- You're running many bots and need economies of scale
- You enjoy server administration and want the learning experience
- You have existing infrastructure you can leverage
When Managed Hosting Makes Sense
Managed hosting is the right choice when:
- Your time is worth more than $10/month
- You want your bot running in minutes, not hours
- Server administration isn't your thing
- You need reliable uptime without 2 AM wake-up calls
- You'd rather focus on using your bot than hosting it
The Comparison Table
| Factor | Self-Hosted | Managed |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $5-20 | $10 |
| Setup Time | 4-8 hours | 5 minutes |
| Monthly Maintenance | 2-4 hours | 0 hours |
| Technical Skill | Required | Not needed |
| Uptime | Depends on you | 99.9% SLA |
| Updates | Manual | Automatic |
| Support | Stack Overflow | Email support |
The Bottom Line
If you value the raw server cost number on your invoice, self-hosting looks cheaper. If you value your time and peace of mind, managed hosting is almost always the better deal.
For most people running AI-powered Telegram bots, the math is clear: spending $10/month to save 4+ hours of work is a no-brainer.
Ready to skip the DevOps?
Get your Claude-powered Telegram bot running in 5 minutes with Clawdhost. No VPS, no SSH, no hassle.
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