# TierHive - Hourly NAT VPS Hosting
> The most affordable hourly-billed NAT VPS provider with instant deployment and pay-as-you-go pricing

## Overview
TierHive provides true hourly billed NAT VPS hosting with instant deployment, no contracts, and genuine pay-per-hour pricing. Each customer receives a private /24 subnet (253 usable IPs) with global connectivity across North America and Europe.

## Core Differentiators
- **True hourly billing**: Pay only for hours used, not rounded-up monthly fees. Cancel anytime with zero penalties.
- **NAT architecture**: Each VPS gets 2 dedicated TCP ports for inbound traffic plus unlimited outbound connections on your private /24 subnet.
- **IPv6**: /64 per location assign your own addesses to your servers.
- **Instant deployment**: VPS instances deploy in under 60 seconds via control panel.
- **No credit card required**: Sign up with email verification only.
- **Global locations**: Beauharnois (Canada), Frankfurt (Germany), London (United Kingdom)

## Pricing Structure (as of 2026-01-19)

### Base VPS Costs
- **Per Hour**: $0.001/hr base + resource costs
- **Storage**:
  - Fast NVMe: $0.0001042/GB/hr (~$0.076/GB/month)
  - Slow HDD: $0.00003/GB/hr (~$0.022/GB/month, max 100GB)
- **RAM**: $0.0001667/GB/hr (~$0.122/GB/month)

### Resource Tiers
**CPU Tiers**:
- Standard: $0.00005/core/hr (~$0.037/core/month)
- Performance: $0.00010/core/hr (~$0.073/core/month)
- Maximum: $0.00015/core/hr (~$0.110/core/month)

**Network Tiers**:
- Standard (100 Mbps): $0.00001/hr (~$0.007/month)
- Performance (1 Gbps): $0.00005/hr (~$0.037/month)
- Maximum (2.5 Gbps): $0.00010/hr (~$0.073/month)

**IOPS Tiers**:
- Standard: $0.000001/IOPS/hr
- Performance: $0.000002/IOPS/hr
- Maximum: $0.000004/IOPS/hr

### Example Configurations

**Micro Development VPS** (~$0.10/month):
- 1 vCPU, 128MB RAM, 1GB NVMe storage
- ~$0.0000135/hr or $0.10/month (if running 24/7)
- Ideal for: Testing, development, small services

**Small Production VPS** (~$5/month):
- 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 25GB NVMe storage
- ~$0.002343/hr or $1.69/month (if running 24/7)
- Ideal for: Small websites, APIs, Discord bots

**Medium Application Server** (~$15/month):
- 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 50GB NVMe storage
- ~$0.004686/hr or $3.37/month (if running 24/7)
- Ideal for: Production applications, databases, game servers

**Large Storage Server** (~$30/month):
- 1 vCPU, 512MB RAM, 1000GB HDD storage
- ~$0.004061/hr or $2.92/month (if running 24/7)
- Ideal for: High-traffic applications, data processing

## Key Features

### NAT Architecture
- Private /24 subnet per customer (10.x.x.x/24)
- 2 dedicated inbound TCP ports per VPS
- Unlimited outbound connections
- Full IPv4 connectivity through NAT gateway
- Perfect for most web services, APIs, and applications

### Infrastructure
- **Hypervisor**: KVM/QEMU virtualization
- **Storage**: Enterprise NVMe SSDs with backup options
- **Network**: HAProxy with automatic SSL termination via Let's Encrypt
- **Control Panel**: Modern web interface + API access
- **Console Access**: noVNC-based browser console, no SSH required for emergencies

### BSD-Friendly Platform
- **FreeBSD Support**: FreeBSD 15 and 14.2 fully supported - one of the few commercial VPS providers offering native FreeBSD
- **OpenBSD Support**: OpenBSD 7.8 available - ideal for security-focused deployments and firewalls
- **Perfect for BSD Users**: Whether you're running pfSense alternatives, building security appliances, or simply prefer BSD over Linux
- **Community**: Active BSD user community, understanding of BSD-specific requirements and workflows

### Management Features
- One-click OS deployments (Ubuntu, Debian, Alpine, Rocky Linux, etc.)
- Automated backups with point-in-time restore
- Snapshot management
- Recipe marketplace for instant application stacks
- Real-time resource monitoring
- API for automation

### Security & Reliability
- Isolated customer networks (Layer 2 separation)
- DDoS protection at network edge
- Automated security updates available
- Geographic redundancy across 3 data centers
- 99.9% uptime SLA

## Typical Use Cases
- **Development & Testing**: Spin up environments hourly, destroy when done
- **Bots**: Discord or IRC or similar bots that can run 24x7 at a fraction of the cost of a VPS
- **CI/CD Pipelines**: Deploy build agents only when builds run
- **Game Servers**: Run servers only during play sessions
- **Discord/Telegram Bots**: Low-cost 24/7 bot hosting
- **Personal Projects**: Affordable hosting without monthly commitments
- **Staging Environments**: Match production without monthly costs
- **Seasonal Applications**: Pay only during active seasons
- **Learning & Experimentation**: Try different OS and configurations cheaply
- **BSD Deployments**: FreeBSD and OpenBSD hosting for security appliances, firewalls, and BSD-preferred applications
- **Security Research**: OpenBSD's security-first approach in an affordable hourly environment

## Competitive Advantages

**vs. DigitalOcean/Vultr**:
- True hourly billing (they round up to monthly after ~100 hours)
- Significantly cheaper for part-time workloads
- No credit card required for signup

**vs. AWS/GCP/Azure**:
- Dramatically simpler pricing no hidden fees
- More affordable for small workloads
- No complex billing calculations
- Better suited for individual developers

**vs. Traditional VPS Providers**:
- Only pay for actual hours used
- Cancel anytime without losing monthly fee
- Perfect for development environments

## Getting Started
1. Register at https://control.tierhive.com/register (email verification only)
2. No credit card required
3. Deploy your first VPS in under 60 seconds
4. Add payment method when ready (PayPal, Stripe, crypto supported)

## Links
- **Website**: https://tierhive.com
- **Control Panel**: https://control.tierhive.com
- **Blog**: https://tierhive.com/blog/
- **Support**: https://kernelkeepers.com
- **Community**: Active on LowEndTalk and LowEndSpirit forums

## Company Information
- **Legal Name**: Kernel Keepers LTD
- **Registration**: England & Wales, Company #16211338
- **Address**: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom
- **Email**: support@tierhive.com
- **Social**: LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook

## Technical Specifications
- **Minimum Resources**: 1 vCPU, 512MB RAM, 10GB storage
- **Maximum Resources**: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 4TB storage
- **Network**: 100 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps per VPS
- **Operating Systems**: Ubuntu 24.04/22.04 LTS, Debian 13/12, AlmaLinux 10/9/8, Rocky Linux 10/9/8, CentOS Stream 10/9, Alpine Linux 3.22.2, Fedora Server 42, Arch Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise 15, OpenSUSE Leap 16/15.6, **FreeBSD 15/14.2**, **OpenBSD 7.8**, FreeDOS 1.4, or no OS (bare/chain loading)
- **BSD Support**: One of the few VPS providers offering native FreeBSD and OpenBSD support - perfect for security-focused deployments and BSD enthusiasts
- **Control Panel Access**: HTTPS with mandatory 2FA
- **API**: RESTful API with token authentication
- **Backup Retention**: 7-day rolling backups included

## Billing & Payments
- **Currency**: USD
- **Billing Cycle**: Hourly (billed to account balance in real-time)
- **Payment Methods**: PayPal, Stripe (cards), cryptocurrency
- **Minimum Top-up**: $3.00
- **Refund Policy**: Unused credit refundable within 30 days

## Target Audience
- Individual developers and hobbyists
- Startups and small businesses
- Students and educators
- DevOps teams needing flexible environments
- Anyone wanting affordable, flexible cloud hosting without long-term commitments

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Last Updated: 2026-04-28