ERPNext hosting cost is three lines, because there is no licence fee: the server, what the provider meters on top of it (storage, backups, data transfer), and the hours someone spends running it. A team of up to 20 concurrent users starts on one server with 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM; the provider and who runs it decide the rest. This guide compares AWS, Hetzner, Frappe Cloud and managed hosting on what each one bills you for, so you can set a budget before you talk to anyone. For a figure that covers hosting alongside implementation, estimate your price, or read the whole picture in our ERPNext cost guide.
Quick answer
Four things decide ERPNext hosting cost: the server size (set by concurrent users and background jobs), the provider (a plain European server such as Hetzner is cheapest for the same compute; AWS Mumbai costs several times more on demand but keeps the data in India), what is billed on top (storage, backups, data transfer, monitoring), and who runs the server (your team's hours, or a managed fee). There is no licence fee. Check each provider's pricing page for current rates before you commit.
ERPNext runs on a standard Linux stack: Nginx, MariaDB, Redis, and a Python and Node application server put together by the Frappe Bench installer. Nothing in it is exotic, so you can run it almost anywhere. The real choice is how much of the running your team can take on.
Why ERPNext hosting cost is not the same as ERP cost
Most commercial ERP vendors bundle licence, hosting and support into one monthly fee per user. ERPNext separates the three:
- Licence: no fee. ERPNext is GPL-3.0 open source.
- Hosting: you pay the cloud or server provider directly, or a managed host who charges for the infrastructure plus their service.
- Support and implementation: optional. You can run ERPNext with no vendor at all, or bring in a specialist such as MithTech to implement, integrate and support it.
The catch is that someone has to own the operations, and that cost stays invisible until something breaks the night before month-end. That is the job managed ERPNext hosting takes off you.
How do you size the server by user count?
The server size matters more than which cloud you pick. An undersized server causes slow queries, background-job queues and timeouts, and those usually get blamed on ERPNext rather than the small instance it was installed on. The sizes below are starting points; watch CPU, memory and queue length in the first month and resize.
Small: 1–20 concurrent users
Most small manufacturers, distributors and trading companies running ERPNext for core operations.
- CPU: 4 vCPU
- RAM: 8 GB (16 GB if you run heavy print jobs or scheduled reports)
- Storage: 50–100 GB SSD, on block storage so it can grow without a reinstall
- Bandwidth: moderate; ERPNext traffic is mostly JSON and PDFs
Medium: 20–75 concurrent users
A manufacturer with several departments, or a distributor with field teams syncing data.
- CPU: 8 vCPU
- RAM: 16–32 GB
- Storage: 150–300 GB SSD
- Also: a separate database server starts to make sense, Redis gets more memory, and backups go to object storage automatically
Large: 75+ concurrent users
A multi-node setup: a separate database server, one or more application servers, Redis, and a load balancer in front. This is where managed cloud services earn their premium, because running it yourself needs a dedicated DevOps person.
- CPU: 16+ vCPU across nodes
- RAM: 64 GB+ in total
- Storage: a managed database (such as RDS) with a read replica for reporting
- Operations: heavy; consider managed hosting or a support contract
How do AWS, Hetzner, Frappe Cloud and managed hosting compare?
Prices change often and vary by region, currency and commitment, so this table compares what each option includes rather than quoting monthly figures. Check current rates on the AWS EC2 pricing page (choose ap-south-1, Mumbai), Hetzner Cloud and Frappe Cloud pricing.
9 rows · click a column to sort
| AWS (Mumbai) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compute price | Highest on demand for the same spec; lower with 1- or 3-year commitments | Lowest | Between the two; billed by plan | Infrastructure plus a service fee |
| Billed on top | Storage (EBS), snapshots, data transfer out, CloudWatch | Backup storage; a traffic allowance is included | Mostly in the plan | Usually bundled; ask what is excluded |
| Your team's operations work | High | High | Low | Very low |
| Support | Paid AWS support plans | Infrastructure only | Frappe's team | Included |
| Backups | You set them up | You set them up | Included | Included |
| Security patches | You apply | You apply | Included | Included |
| Version upgrades | You run bench update | You run bench update | Run from the dashboard | Run for you |
| Data in India | Yes (ap-south-1) | No India location | Yes, Mumbai region available | Depends on the server you choose |
| Lock-in | None (standard Linux) | None | Low: full backups can be downloaded | Ask for a written exit and data-export clause |
What does Hetzner vs AWS look like line by line?
For the same 4 vCPU / 16 GB RAM / 160 GB SSD server running ERPNext for 20–25 users:
| Compute | Hourly EC2 rate | Flat monthly price |
| Block storage (160 GB SSD) | Billed per GB-month (EBS) | Included |
| Snapshots and backups | Billed per GB-month | Small add-on (snapshots or a Storage Box) |
| Data transfer out | Billed per GB | Inside the included allowance (check it for your location) |
| Monitoring | CloudWatch, billed beyond the free tier | Self-run (for example Netdata) |
| What drives the bill | Several separate meters | Mostly one fixed price |
On demand, the AWS total is several times Hetzner's for this footprint. Three-year commitments narrow the gap but do not close it. A t3 instance is burstable; a server that is busy all day may need a non-burstable class, which costs more again. Price both on the providers' own pages for your spec and month.
What AWS's premium buys is data in India, the shortest path for users in India, managed services (RDS, ElastiCache, S3, SES) and a wide set of audit reports for enterprise customers. Whether you need those is a technical question, covered in AWS vs Hetzner for ERPNext.
Are there cheaper options with servers in India?
If Hetzner's price appeals but the data must stay in India, several providers sit in between:
- Frappe Cloud Mumbai: Frappe's own managed platform, with a Mumbai region.
- DigitalOcean Bangalore: Indian data centre, simpler pricing than AWS.
- Linode (Akamai) Mumbai: comparable to DigitalOcean.
- E2E Networks: an Indian cloud provider, useful when procurement asks for Indian-owned infrastructure.
None matches Hetzner's EU price, but they usually come in under AWS Mumbai on demand while keeping the data in India. Compare them on their own pricing pages for your spec.
What does self-hosting actually require?
"Self-hosting" sounds simple until you list what it means every month.
Day-one setup
Provision the server, install Ubuntu LTS, harden SSH, install Frappe Bench, run bench init and bench new-site, set up Nginx with Let's Encrypt SSL and the production Supervisor configuration, then test the first backup and restore. It is a day's work for someone who has done it before, and much longer the first time.
Every month
- Backups:
bench backupexists, but you must schedule it and push the files to S3 or Backblaze B2. Out of the box, nothing is copied off the server. - Security patches: Ubuntu updates, MariaDB and Nginx fixes.
- ERPNext updates: minor releases via
bench updateare usually safe. A major upgrade (v15 to v16, for example) needs a staging copy and testing first. - Monitoring: uptime checks, disk-space alerts and slow-query alerts are yours to set up. CloudWatch, Uptime Robot and Netdata are common choices; none come configured.
- SSL renewal: Let's Encrypt renews itself, but if the job breaks the site goes down. Check it monthly.
What is Frappe Cloud, and who is it for?
Frappe Cloud is the managed hosting platform run by Frappe Technologies, the company behind ERPNext. It sits between running your own server and a fully managed service:
- What you get: deployments, backups, upgrades run from a dashboard, SSL, and a choice of regions including Mumbai.
- What you still own: deploying your custom apps, tuning heavy workloads, data exports and integration settings.
- Pricing: plans by resource tier, from a small shared plan up to dedicated servers. See frappecloud.com/pricing for current rates.
- Fits: businesses that want to skip server administration and stay close to Frappe's release cycle.
When does self-hosting make sense, and when should you go managed?
The decision is about risk and where your team's time goes, not only money.
Self-host if:
- You have a Linux or DevOps person who will own the server.
- Your budget is tight and a small Hetzner server fits it.
- You must run on a specific private or government cloud.
- You are a Frappe developer and need full access to the bench layer.
Go managed if:
- Your team is business users, not IT, and nobody wants to log in to a server at midnight.
- ERPNext runs several departments or locations and downtime is not acceptable.
- Your last major upgrade broke something and nobody knew how to fix it.
- You want one party accountable for uptime, backups and patching.
Both lists are fair answers; neither is the cheap one by default. If you run it yourself, the bill is the server plus those hours. If you have it run for you, MithTech's managed hosting runs ERPNext on one named server in your cloud account or ours: monitored and patched, nightly backups copied off it with one restored on a schedule, every upgrade tried on a copy first, and a response time written into the agreement. It is a monthly fee for running it plus the server, quoted in writing after a call. In your account the server is already yours if you leave; on ours you get a full backup, the code and the settings, restored once with you on the server you choose. For the support layer on top, see support and AMC; for who does each job on each path, including Frappe Cloud, see who runs ERPNext after go-live.
What decides your annual hosting cost?
Hosting is one line of the yearly bill. For a 25-user ERPNext deployment, these move the total:
| Why it moves the cost | What to ask | |
|---|---|---|
| Concurrent users and background jobs | Sets the server size and, on multi-node setups, the number of servers | How many people are logged in at month-end, and what runs overnight? |
| Provider and region | A plain European server, an Indian VPS and AWS Mumbai differ several-fold for the same spec | Do we need the data in India for a contract or a regulator? |
| Billed extras | Storage, snapshots, data transfer and monitoring add up on AWS | Which of these are in the quoted price? |
| Your team's hours | Self-hosting means backups, patching and upgrades on your clock | Who owns the server the night before month-end? |
| Managed service scope | Managed hosting trades a service fee for those hours | Are major upgrades, restores and custom-app deployments included? |
| Implementation (one-time) | Usually the largest first-year line, separate from hosting | Is the hosting setup part of the implementation quote? |
Once your team's time is counted, self-hosted and managed totals usually sit closer together than the server bills suggest. Estimate your price to see hosting and implementation together for your scope. To total your own server, support and team hours over three years, use the self-hosting cost comparator. It starts empty and quotes no MithTech price.
Frequently asked questions
+What is the minimum server to run ERPNext in production?
Start at 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM on a dedicated server. A 2 GB server will install ERPNext but time out under real work. Plan for storage to grow with attachments and documents.
+Is ERPNext free to use on AWS or Hetzner?
Yes. ERPNext is GPL-3.0 open source. There are no per-user fees and no licence keys. You pay for the server, bandwidth, and any support or implementation you choose.
+Why is Hetzner so much cheaper than AWS?
Hetzner sells plain servers with simple pricing and no managed-service layer. AWS charges for its managed services, global footprint and audit coverage, and meters storage, snapshots and data transfer separately. For an ERPNext workload that needs none of those, a Hetzner server gives the same compute for much less, though without a location in India.
+Does Frappe Cloud support custom apps?
Yes. Frappe Cloud deploys custom Frappe apps from a Git repository, alongside ERPNext and community apps such as India Compliance. Your apps must be compatible with each ERPNext version you upgrade to, as on any deployment.
+What happens to my data if I leave a managed hosting provider?
Your data is a MariaDB database plus files, and bench backup exports both at any time. A provider should give you a full export on request; get that in the contract. With MithTech's managed hosting the servers are already yours, so the handover is the configuration, an export and the documentation.
+How often does ERPNext release new versions, and do I need to upgrade?
Minor releases come out often, with bug and security fixes; apply them after testing on staging. Major versions come roughly every year or two: v15 in October 2023, v16 in January 2026 (GitHub releases). Older major versions stop getting fixes after a while, so plan major upgrades rather than skipping them. Managed hosts usually apply minor releases and schedule major upgrades with you.
+Which is cheaper for ERPNext, Hetzner or AWS?
Hetzner, by a wide margin. On demand, a 16 GB Hetzner server costs a fraction of an AWS t3.xlarge in Mumbai, and AWS bills storage, snapshots and data transfer on top. Three-year AWS commitments narrow the gap; Hetzner stays cheaper. AWS's premium buys data in India, a shorter path for users in India, and managed services.
+Can I use Hetzner for ERPNext if my users are in India?
Yes. ERPNext runs the same on Hetzner or AWS Mumbai. Users in India have a longer round trip to Hetzner, shortest to its Singapore location. For data entry, reporting and invoicing that is usually not felt; for POS, field apps and live dashboards it is. Data location is the other question: if a contract or sector rule needs the data in India, Hetzner is out. Workload and data sensitivity decide it.
+What is the cheapest way to host ERPNext in 2026?
A small Hetzner server (8–16 GB RAM) for up to 20 users, plus a Backblaze B2 or Cloudflare R2 bucket for backups, if you can run basic Linux administration yourself. If you want someone else to run it, Frappe Cloud's smaller plans are the cheapest managed option. Shared hosting or a 2 GB server ends in performance complaints, and the staff time lost costs more than the saving.
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Manoj · Published on 7 June 2026
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