Hold 4
$ 22 /month
- vCPU
- 2 × shared
- RAM
- 4 GB
- Storage
- 2 TB Enterprise HDD
- Transfer
- 20 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Solution
VPS for Jellyfin, Plex and private media streaming
Hold 4 · $22/moHold 8 · $39/mo
Short answer
Direct play needs almost nothing; transcoding needs a great deal. A Jellyfin server that only direct-plays runs on two cores and 4 GB regardless of library size. One 1080p CPU transcode consumes roughly two dedicated cores, and 4K transcoding without a GPU is not realistic. Size storage first, then decide whether you actually need to transcode at all.
What you need
| Resource | What you actually need |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 cores for direct play; 2 dedicated cores per 1080p transcode |
| RAM | 4 GB, 8 GB with a large library and metadata cache |
| Disk | 2–16 TB on the Hold line |
| Transfer | 20 TB and up — video is the heaviest thing you can serve |
Recommended plans
Hold 8
$ 39 /month
- vCPU
- 4 × shared
- RAM
- 8 GB
- Storage
- 4 TB Enterprise HDD
- Transfer
- 30 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Clipper 16
$ 92 /month
- vCPU
- 8 × dedicated
- RAM
- 16 GB
- Storage
- 400 GB NVMe Gen4 SSD
- Transfer
- 30 TB
- IPv4 / IPv6
- 1 / /64 routed
Recommended locations
Location is usually the decision that matters most for this workload — either because latency dominates, or because jurisdiction does.
Why OnionVPS for this
- Terabyte-scale storage at storage prices rather than compute prices.
- Unmetered transfer on the Hold 16 removes the anxiety from sharing with family.
- Jurisdictions where a personal media library is not one automated notice away from suspension.
- Clipper instances when you genuinely need CPU transcoding capacity.
How to set it up
-
Deploy a Hold instance sized to your library
Two terabytes for a starter library, four or eight for a serious one.
-
Install Jellyfin or Plex
Jellyfin if you would rather not depend on a third-party account.
-
Store media in a consistent naming scheme
Metadata matching is what makes the library usable.
-
Avoid transcoding wherever possible
Serve formats your clients play natively; it is the single biggest performance win.
-
Front it with TLS and authentication
Never expose a media server to the internet without both.
Frequently asked questions
How much CPU does Jellyfin transcoding need?
Roughly two dedicated modern cores per simultaneous 1080p transcode. 4K transcoding without hardware acceleration is impractical on any CPU-only VPS.
Can I stream 4K from a VPS?
Yes, if the client direct-plays it. A 4K remux is 40–80 Mbit/s, so the uplink matters more than the processor.
Is hosting a personal media library allowed?
Yes, for material you have the right to hold. We do not scan your storage and we act only on valid legal process.