Last updated: June 2026

Fider is the open-source feedback board a lot of teams reach for once Canny or UserVoice sends the renewal invoice. Public roadmap, feature voting, status updates, your own subdomain - the stuff you actually need to run "tell us what to build next," without the SaaS price tag.

The reason to self-host it is two things: keeping your customers' feedback on infrastructure you own, and escaping a monthly subscription that climbs every time you add an admin or unlock a feature. Canny starts at $79/mo and jumps to $359/mo on the next tier. UserVoice starts around $899/mo. Fider is the same job - voting, boards, roadmap - for the cost of a small server.

I have run Fider on a few setups. Here is every option I found, ranked by actual monthly cost, plus the one thing that decides it: Fider needs a Postgres database and an SMTP sender, so "static cheap" does not apply the way it does for a notes app.

TLDR: For a managed Fider you never babysit, InstaPods is my pick at $3/mo flat - one-click deploy with SSL, the Postgres it needs already wired up, and SSH to a real server. PikaPods is in the same range (~$2-3/mo metered) but gives you no SSH. The cheapest self-managed route is a $4-5/mo Hetzner VPS with Docker Compose, if you do not mind running the database and mail config yourself. And every one of these beats Canny ($79/mo) or UserVoice ($899/mo) from day one.

Every Way to Host Fider, Ranked by Cost

For contrast, here is what the hosted SaaS versions of "feedback board + roadmap" cost - and the catch is the price climbs as you add admins, boards, and features:

A self-hosted Fider does the core job - voting, public roadmap, status updates - for one flat server cost. That gap is the whole reason this post exists.

Fider needs a database and a mailer (read this first)

This is the part that trips people up, so get it straight before you pick a host:

• Postgres. Fider stores every post, vote, and user in Postgres. There is no SQLite mode. So unlike a static whiteboard or a notes app, "cheapest" here means "cheapest place that also runs a database" - either bundled in the same pod or as a managed add-on.
• SMTP. Fider sends email for sign-in links, notifications, and digests. You point it at any SMTP provider (a free Brevo or Mailgun tier is plenty for a small board). Skip this and logins will not work.

Both are light. Fider itself is a single Go binary that idles at a few dozen MB of RAM, and Postgres for a feedback board is tiny. So even with the database in the same pod, the cheapest plan on any platform handles it. The trade-off is purely how much of that wiring you want to do yourself.

InstaPods ($3/mo)

InstaPods has Fider as a one-click app. Click deploy, get a running board with HTTPS in about 30 seconds, with the Postgres it needs already provisioned in the same pod. $3/mo on the Launch plan.

Full disclosure: I built InstaPods. I am including it because Fider is exactly the kind of light app it is good at, and a "cheapest way to host X" post that left out the thing I built would not be honest. I will be straight about the limits.

Cost: $3/mo flat (Launch plan: 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, 5 GB storage). Fider plus its Postgres fit comfortably, and the price does not climb when your board gets popular or you add admins.

Pros: Fastest setup, and you do not stand up a separate database - it is wired in. SSL and a URL included. SSH access on a real server, so you can edit the env file to point Fider at your SMTP, or pull a backup by hand. Flat price - the per-tier SaaS math that makes Canny expensive does not apply.

Cons: Newer platform (launched 2026). Single region (EU - Nuremberg) for now. You still bring your own SMTP credentials (every self-host option does).

Best for: Most teams. A managed feedback board in under a minute, on a real server you control, at a price that stays flat as the board grows.

PikaPods (~$2-3/mo)

PikaPods offers managed Fider hosting with the database handled for you. Set your resource sliders, deploy, done.

Cost: ~$2-3/mo at minimum resources. Fider is light enough that the floor works. PikaPods shares revenue with the projects it hosts, which is a genuinely good thing.

Pros: Low price. Zero maintenance. Database included. Supports open source financially. The welcome credit covers months of a light app.

Cons: Meters by resource, so the price creeps up if you bump the allocation. No SSH, so you are limited to what the dashboard exposes - editing Fider's env directly is harder.

Best for: People who want a low price and the database handled, and who do not need SSH.

Hetzner VPS + Docker (~$4-5/mo)

The classic DIY route. Rent a Hetzner CX22 (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, ~$4.50/mo), install Docker, and run Fider plus Postgres with a Docker Compose file. Fider's own docs ship one.

Cost: ~$4.50/mo for the server. The board, the database, and the reverse proxy all share it.

Pros: Full control. SSH, obviously. One box can host other side projects too, so the real per-app cost drops if you are already running a VPS.

Cons: You own all of it - the Postgres backups, the SSL renewal, the nginx config, the OS updates, the SMTP wiring. Budget ~30 minutes for the first setup and a few minutes a month forever after. The $4.50 server is cheap; your time is not.

Best for: People who already run a VPS, or who want to learn the Docker Compose plumbing.

Elestio (~$15-19/mo)

Elestio offers fully managed Fider with automated backups and updates.

Cost: ~$15-19/mo at the entry tier.

Pros: Fully managed, backups and updates handled, good support. Still cheaper than Canny.

Cons: Several times the price of InstaPods or PikaPods for the same light app. You pay for the white-glove management.

Best for: Teams that want hands-off managed hosting with formal backups and do not mind paying for it.

So which one?

If you just want a feedback board running today without thinking about a database, InstaPods at $3/mo flat is the fastest path - Postgres wired in, SSL included, SSH on a real server, and a price that does not move as the board grows. If you want rock-bottom and do not need SSH, PikaPods is a dollar or two less. If you already run a VPS and like owning the plumbing, Hetzner + Docker Compose is the cheapest server but the most work.

Whatever you pick, the math against the SaaS tools is not close. Canny's $79/mo is $948 a year. A self-hosted Fider is one flat server and your SMTP, owned end to end - the same voting, the same public roadmap, none of the renewal anxiety.

What are you running your feedback board on - a SaaS tool, or self-hosted? And if you self-host, did the Postgres requirement change which host you picked? Curious what people landed on.