Backups vs snapshots: what we offer and when to use each
Automated nightly backups, manual snapshots, and how to restore either one.
The difference
| Automated backups | Snapshots | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Nightly, automatic | On demand |
| Retention | 7 rolling restore points | Until you delete them |
| Stored | Separate storage cluster, same region | Same node as the instance |
| Survives node loss | Yes | No |
| Price | 20% of the plan, min $2/mo | $4/mo for 5 slots |
| Best for | Disaster recovery | "I am about to do something risky" |
Restore a backup
Services → your server → Backups, pick a restore point, confirm. The instance is stopped, the image is written and it boots back up — typically 4-8 minutes depending on disk size. The IP does not change.
Take a snapshot
Services → your server → Snapshots → Take snapshot. Takes 30-90 seconds and the instance keeps running. Roll back in about the same time.
Your own backups
We encourage off-site copies you control. restic or borg to an object store, or rsync to a second VPS in another region. Egress is included in your bandwidth allowance, and the smallest Nano plan makes a perfectly good backup target for $5/month.
Did this solve your problem?
If not, open a ticket and paste the command output you got. Support is 24/7 with a 12-minute median first reply, and the same engineers maintain these pages.