There’s no shortage of container platforms these days. Kubernetes, ECS, Cloud Run, fully managed CI pipelines. Everything sounds good on paper. But sometimes, you don’t want layers of automation. You want control.
Docker on a VPS is still the fastest, cleanest way to deploy your apps when you care about simplicity, performance, and predictability.
And no, this isn’t nostalgia for the “just SSH into the box” era. It’s about having a setup that works, stays out of your way, and doesn’t turn every deployment into a new abstraction to learn.
What makes a Docker VPS different?
On shared hosting? You’re lucky if you can even install Docker.
On managed platforms? You’ll get automation and guardrails…. but also restrictions, limits, and the creeping realization that debugging production might require a support ticket.
With a VPS, it’s just your stack, your containers, and your control. At LumaDock, we built our Docker VPS plans to be developer-first, not enterprise-bloated. No bloated panels, no lock-in, no surprise bills.
You get:
- Pre-installed Docker with full root access and IPv4
- Fast NVMe storage (triple replicated)
- A 1Gbps port
- KVM isolation, not container-on-container hacks
- Optional private networking between VPSes
- Backups, firewall & DDoS protection
So you can see it’s not a “developer playground” platform. It’s the real thing, built for production.
Local Docker is fast. But it won’t scale.
Most developers start with Docker on their laptop. That’s fine, until you hit real-world limits.
You can’t keep your dev machine running 24/7. You can’t reliably host a staging API from your coffee shop Wi-Fi. And no one wants to reboot their laptop mid-deploy because Chrome ate 12GB of RAM.
A Docker VPS gives you a stable, always-on environment where you can run services like:
- Self-hosted monitoring (Prometheus, Uptime Kuma, etc.)
- CI runners or Git hooks
- Web apps with real domain routing
- Background workers or schedulers
- Staging or demo environments with HTTPS and DNS
Basically: the things you’d rather not lose just because your laptop went to sleep.
VPS is the bridge between dev and prod
Let’s say you’re working on a new SaaS product. You’ve got a Compose stack with a Node app, a Redis cache, a Postgres DB, and maybe a queue or two. In dev, it’s a single command.
On a LumaDock Docker VPS? Same thing.
There’s no orchestration layer to re-learn. No vendor-specific YAML to rewrite. You just SSH in, clone your repo, and run the same command you’ve been using locally.
It works because you control the environment end to end. Want to tweak sysctl settings? Install WireGuard? Run a private registry? No problem. It’s your VPS.
And yes… it’s fast!
We don’t throw buzzwords around. Our Docker VPS plans are backed by real hardware: AMD EPYC CPUs, pure NVMe storage (triple replicated), and KVM virtualization for actual isolation. You’re not fighting noisy neighbors or sharing I/O with someone’s crypto miner.
Most containers start up in milliseconds. Pulls are fast. Snapshots are available. And with data centers in Bucharest and London (and Frankfurt coming soon) your apps aren’t bouncing halfway around the globe before rendering a page.
So who is this really for?
If you’re building fast and want full-stack flexibility, this is for you.
Whether you’re a solo dev spinning up projects or a team running CI pipelines, a Docker VPS gives you more breathing room than most “developer platforms” ever will.
It’s ideal for:
- Web apps and SaaS projects
- Internal tools and APIs
- Background processing and cron-heavy workloads
- Custom CI/CD jobs
- Hosting self-managed open-source apps
- Developers who like Docker but don’t want Kubernetes
Basically, anyone who wants modern infrastructure without handing over all control to some black-box platform.
Common questions we hear
Do I need to install Docker myself?
Nope. We pre-install it. You can start deploying containers as soon as the VPS is online.
Can I use Docker Compose or Swarm?
Yes, both are fully supported. Compose is already installed in most OS templates.
Does it come with root access?
Absolutely. Full SSH and root control from day one. We don’t restrict what you do.
What OS can I choose?
Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, AlmaLinux, Arch, openSUSE – take your pick. Or bring your own ISO.
Can I connect multiple VPSes privately?
Yes. Our private networking lets your containers talk internally without touching the public web.
What’s the smallest plan I can start with?
$1.49/month. Yes, really. You can scale up later when things grow.