Cost Comparison: Self-Hosted PBS vs Managed Hosting

Building vs buying is the classic tech dilemma. When it comes to Proxmox backups, you can run your own PBS server or pay for managed cloud storage. Both work. But which one actually costs less when you factor in everything?

Let's do the math. Real hardware prices, real electricity costs, real time investment. No hand-waving, no "it depends" cop-outs. We'll break down the total cost of ownership over 5 years so you can make an informed decision.

The Scenarios We're Comparing

We'll compare three realistic setups:

Scenario A: Budget DIY PBS Server Used mini PC + external drives, basic setup, good enough for most homelabs

Scenario B: Proper DIY PBS Server Dedicated server hardware, proper redundancy, production-ready

Scenario C: Managed Cloud PBS Remote-Backups.com or similar, zero hardware, pay per TB

Each scenario is designed to support 2TB of backup storage. We'll track costs over 5 years because that's a realistic lifecycle for backup infrastructure.

Scenario A: Budget DIY PBS Server

This is the homelab special. Cobbled together from used parts and external drives. Works surprisingly well for non-critical use.

Hardware Shopping List

Let's price this out with real options as of late 2024:

Let's use the used pricing:

• Mini PC (4 cores, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD): $125
• 2× 2TB external USB drives: $80
• Miscellaneous: $20
• Total initial investment: $225

Electricity Costs

A mini PC sipping 15-25W is typical. Let's use 20W average for a conservative estimate.

20W × 24 hours × 365 days = 175.2 kWh/year

Electricity costs vary wildly by location. Let's use $0.15/kWh (roughly US average):

175.2 kWh × $0.15 = $26.28/year

For EU (using €0.30/kWh average):

175.2 kWh × €0.30 = €52.56/year ($57.82 at $1.10 exchange)

We'll use the US rate for our calculations, but factor your local rate.

Maintenance and Replacement Costs

Over 5 years, you'll likely need:

• One drive replacement (drives fail): $40
• Minor upgrades/repairs (RAM, fan, etc.): $30

Total maintenance over 5 years: $70

Time Investment

This matters. Your time has value, even if you're not billing yourself.

Initial setup:

• Research and buy hardware: 2 hours
• Install PBS: 1 hour
• Configure and test: 2 hours
• Total: 5 hours

Ongoing maintenance:

• Updates and patches: 30 minutes/quarter = 2 hours/year
• Monitoring and issue resolution: 1 hour/year
• Total: 3 hours/year × 5 years = 15 hours

Total time over 5 years: 20 hours

What's your time worth? Let's use $50/hour as a reasonable estimate for someone technical enough to run a homelab.

20 hours × $50/hour = $1,000

Even if you value your time at just $25/hour, that's $500.

Five-Year TCO for Budget DIY

Per TB per month:

$1,426 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $11.88/TB/month

But wait, let's see what happens if you don't count your time:

$226 + $131 + $70 = $426
$426 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $3.55/TB/month

Big difference. Whether you count time depends on your situation.

Scenario B: Proper DIY PBS Server

This is the "I'm serious about backups" option. Dedicated hardware, proper drives, room to grow.

Hardware Shopping List

New build total: $800Refurbished server total: $380

Let's use $600 as a middle ground (mix of new and used parts).

Electricity Costs

A proper server pulls more power. Let's estimate 80W average:

80W × 24 hours × 365 days = 700.8 kWh/year
700.8 kWh × $0.15 = $105/year

Significantly more than the mini PC.

Maintenance and Replacement

Over 5 years:

• Two drive replacements (plan for one per drive): $240
• One PSU replacement or major repair: $100
• Minor upgrades, fans, etc: $60

Total maintenance: $400

Time Investment

Initial setup:

• Research and plan: 4 hours
• Assembly or server prep: 3 hours
• Install and configure PBS: 2 hours
• Testing and documentation: 3 hours
• Total: 12 hours

Ongoing:

• Updates and patches: 30 min/quarter = 2 hours/year
• Monitoring, issue resolution: 2 hours/year
• Total: 4 hours/year × 5 years = 20 hours

Total time: 32 hours × $50/hour = $1,600

Five-Year TCO for Proper DIY

Per TB per month:

$3,125 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $26.04/TB/month

Without counting time:

$600 + $525 + $400 = $1,525
$1,525 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $12.71/TB/month

Scenario C: Managed Cloud PBS

Now let's look at Remote-Backups.com at €5/TB/month.

Direct Costs

Storage pricing:

• 2TB × €5/TB = €10/month
• €10 × $1.10 (USD conversion) = $11/month
• $11 × 60 months = $660 over 5 years

That's it. No hardware, no electricity, no maintenance.

Time Investment

Initial setup:

• Sign up and create datastore: 10 minutes
• Add to Proxmox: 5 minutes
• Configure backup job: 10 minutes
• Test backup and restore: 15 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes = 0.67 hours

Ongoing:

• Monitoring: Built into dashboard (maybe 5 min/month checking)
• No updates needed (managed service)
• Total: ~1 hour/year × 5 years = 5 hours

Total time: 5.67 hours × $50 = $283.50

Or realistically, if you're just checking the dashboard occasionally, maybe 2 total hours = $100.

Five-Year TCO for Managed Cloud

Per TB per month:

$944 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $7.87/TB/month

Or without counting minimal time:

$660 ÷ 2TB ÷ 60 months = $5.50/TB/month

The Comparison Table

But What About Scaling?

Let's see how costs change at different capacities:

500GB Backup Needs

Cloud wins massively at small scale.

5TB Backup Needs

Cloud still competitive at medium scale.

20TB Backup Needs

DIY starts winning at very large scale.

Hidden Costs of DIY

The spreadsheet doesn't capture everything:

Opportunity Cost

That mini PC or server could run other services. By dedicating it to backups, you're foregoing other uses. Maybe you need to buy another system for those services.

Space and Noise

A server takes up physical space and makes noise. If you're in an apartment, that matters. Have you factored in the cost of rack space or the annoyance value of fan noise?

Internet Bandwidth

If you're using DIY PBS for offsite backups, you need to account for:

• Upload bandwidth to remote location
• Possibly a second internet connection
• VPN costs if securing the connection

Risk of Failure

With DIY, if your PBS server dies, you scramble to restore service. With managed cloud:

• Infrastructure redundancy is built in
• No single point of failure
• Someone else handles hardware failures

What's the cost of downtime or unavailable backups?

Upgrade Cycle

After 5 years, your DIY hardware is obsolete. You need to:

• Buy new hardware
• Migrate data
• Spend time on setup again

Managed cloud? Just keeps working. No hardware refresh cycle.

Hidden Benefits of DIY

Fair is fair. DIY has advantages too:

Full Control

You own the hardware, you control the software, you make all decisions. No vendor lock-in, no surprise price changes, no service shutdowns.

No Bandwidth Limits

Local PBS means backups are limited by your LAN speed, not internet upload. For very large or frequent backups, this matters.

Privacy

Your data never leaves your control. For paranoid security requirements or regulatory constraints, this might be non-negotiable.

Learning Experience

Building and maintaining infrastructure has educational value. If you're a sysadmin or aspiring to be one, the experience is worth something.

The Real Decision Matrix

Choose managed cloud PBS when:

✅ You have less than 5TB of backups ✅ Time and simplicity matter ✅ You don't want to manage hardware ✅ Offsite backups are primary goal ✅ You value reliability over control ✅ You want predictable monthly costs

Choose DIY PBS when:

✅ You have 10TB+ of backups ✅ You enjoy managing infrastructure ✅ You have fast local network and want fastest restores ✅ You have strict data sovereignty requirements ✅ You already have spare hardware ✅ You value control over convenience

Consider hybrid (local PBS + cloud sync) when:

✅ You want best of both worlds ✅ Fast local recovery AND offsite protection ✅ You have the technical skills ✅ Budget allows for both

Real-World Example: My Homelab

Let me share my actual setup and costs:

Infrastructure:

• 6 Proxmox VMs (web servers, databases, Docker hosts)
• Total backup size: ~1.2TB
• Daily backups with 30-day retention

What I chose: Managed cloud PBS (Remote-Backups.com)

Monthly cost:

• 1.2TB rounded to 1.5TB for safety = €7.50/month (~$8.25)

Why I chose managed:

1. Time: I work full-time. I don't want to babysit backup infrastructure.
2. Reliability: If my house burns down, my backups survive.
3. Cost: Cheaper than building and running PBS server for my scale.
4. Simplicity: Set it up once in 2023, hasn't required attention since.

What it would cost DIY:

• Used mini PC + drives: ~$200 upfront
• Electricity: ~$30/year in my area
• Time: 5 hours setup + 2 hours/year = $400 value
• Total 1-year cost: ~$630
• Managed cloud 1-year cost: ~$100

For my use case, managed is a no-brainer.

What About Your Situation?

Let's help you decide. Answer these questions:

1. How much backup storage do you need?

• Under 2TB → Managed likely cheaper
• 2-10TB → About even, consider other factors
• Over 10TB → DIY might be cheaper

2. What's your technical comfort level?

• Love tinkering → DIY is fun
• Just want it to work → Managed
• Somewhere in between → Either works

3. How much is your time worth?

• Time is precious → Managed
• Time is free/you enjoy it → DIY
• Neutral → Consider other factors

4. Do you need offsite protection?

• Yes, and internet is slow → Managed cloud optimized for this
• Yes, but have fast connection → Either works
• No, local only → DIY might be better

5. Do you already have spare hardware?

• Yes, collecting dust → DIY cost drops significantly
• No, need to buy → Factor full hardware costs
• Not sure → Check your closet

Conclusion: What's Actually Cheaper?

The honest answer: It depends, but for most people, managed cloud is cheaper.

If you're a typical homelab user with 1-3TB of backups:

• Managed cloud: ~$5-15/month all-in
• DIY: ~$10-20/month when you count everything

If you're a small business with 3-5TB of backups:

• Managed cloud: ~$15-30/month
• DIY: ~$15-30/month depending on setup

If you're running serious infrastructure with 10TB+ backups:

• DIY starts making more economic sense
• But factor in your time and reliability needs

The real question isn't "which is cheaper" but "which fits your situation better."

For me and most people I know running homelabs or small businesses, managed cloud PBS wins on total cost of ownership once you factor in time, electricity, and peace of mind.

But if you're cost-sensitive, have spare hardware, enjoy the tinkering, and need 10TB+ of backup storage, DIY can save money.

Run the numbers for your specific situation. Be honest about your time value and technical interest. Make the decision that works for you.

And whatever you choose, just make sure you're actually doing backups. A backup strategy you don't implement is worth exactly zero dollars.