# How do I start my own VPN service on rented servers?

> Start your own VPN service on rented servers: one exit per city, WireGuard or OpenVPN, user terms, abuse desk. No KYC, crypto, from $72.62.

- URL: https://ravenquay.com/start-your-own-vpn-service/
- Last updated: 2026-11-02
- Publisher: Ravenquay (https://ravenquay.com)

The operator's side of a VPN: servers in several countries, protocols, keys, complaints and logging, and where the host's rules end and yours begin.

**Quick answer — How do I start my own VPN service on rented servers?**

To start your own VPN service on rented servers, put one server in each country you offer and run WireGuard or OpenVPN on it. Then add key management, user terms and an abuse desk. **Ravenquay** rents whole machines with unmetered ports in Reykjavik, Zurich, Bucharest and Amsterdam, from $72.62 per 30 days. You pay in crypto with no KYC, and each berth costs the same in every city.

## What Ravenquay provides, and what you build yourself

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Machine | Offshore dedicated servers with unmetered bandwidth: one physical machine per customer, rented whole, with root access and a port that carries traffic without a monthly quota |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered means no monthly traffic quota and no overage bill: the port speed of your plan, 1 or 10 Gbit/s, is the only limit. Each server has one dedicated IPv4 address and an IPv6 /64 |
| Exit cities | Reykjavik (Iceland), Zurich (Switzerland), Bucharest (Romania) and Amsterdam (Netherlands): every berth in every port of call, at one price |
| Systems | Choose Debian, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, or Proxmox VE to host your own virtual machines. Windows is not available |
| Outgoing mail | Port 25 is closed for outgoing mail on every server, permanently, to keep spam off the network; ports 465 and 587 toward mail providers stay open |
| Logs on our side | We keep no logs at all: no connection records, no traffic records and no IP addresses of visitors or customers, whether on the website, in the dashboard or on the servers |
| Banned uses | Forbidden: spam or bulk email, phishing, malware or botnet command, DDoS or other attacks, scanning or brute-forcing other people’s systems, booter or stresser services, carding or fraud, child sexual abuse material, cryptocurrency mining, and any service to sanctioned people or companies |
| Identity | No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents, no card and no phone number, ever |
| Setup | Once the network has confirmed your coins, expect your server within minutes; one hour is the ceiling. The dashboard tracks its status until the IP address appears |
| Price per 30 days | Harbor 8 $72.62, Harbor 16 $205.27, Harbor 10G $356.25 |
| Your part | Client configs, key issue and revocation, billing, support, user terms, an abuse address and your own logging policy |

## What does running a VPN for other people involve?

Running a VPN for other people means their traffic reaches the internet under your IP addresses. Every site they visit sees your server, not them. The service is three jobs at once: a network, a small business and a complaints desk.

- **Exit servers:** one machine per city you sell, running WireGuard, OpenVPN or both.
- **Keys:** one key per device, issued, rotated and revoked without touching other users.
- **Billing and support:** your prices, your refund rules, your help pages.
- **User terms:** rules your customers accept, at least as strict as your host's.
- **Abuse desk:** a working complaints address and a fast way to close one account.
- **Logging policy:** a written decision on what you record, checked against your own country's law.

**A VPN service sells a promise about other people's traffic, so its rules matter as much as its servers.**

## How many servers do I need, and where should they go?

Start with one server per city you want to offer. Reykjavik (Iceland), Zurich (Switzerland), Bucharest (Romania) and Amsterdam (Netherlands): every berth in every port of call, at one price. A customer who wants an exit outside the EU picks Reykjavik or Zurich; one who wants an EU address picks Amsterdam or Bucharest. The page on [the best country for hosting a VPN server](https://ravenquay.com/best-country-for-vpn-server/ "Data retention, EU status and distance, compared for VPN operators") compares the four from the operator's side.

### Four ports of call for a multi-server VPN

| City | Status | Law over the server |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reykjavik | Iceland: EEA, outside the EU | Icelandic law |
| Zurich | Switzerland: outside the EU and the EEA | Swiss law |
| Bucharest | Romania: EU member | Romanian law and EU law |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands: EU member | Dutch law and EU law |

The company is separate from the server country: Ravenquay belongs to DomaineGoat LLC, a company incorporated in Panama that answers to Panamanian law alone. The datacenter holding each server operates under the law of its own country.

All users on a server share that IPv4 address, as on any VPN exit, so one abusive user can get it listed for everyone. Extra IPv4 addresses are not part of the published berths.

## How much traffic can one VPN server carry?

The port speed sets the ceiling, and on Ravenquay nothing else does: no quota, no overage bill. A 1 Gbit/s port running flat out moves at most 324 TB in 30 days, and a 10 Gbit/s port 3,240 TB.

Each user's share depends on how many are active at once. A saturated 1 Gbit/s port shared by 100 active users gives each about 10 Mbit/s; shared by 20, about 50 Mbit/s.

**These figures are arithmetic, not measurements: Ravenquay publishes no speed tests of its own.** Encryption also costs CPU. That is why [how fast WireGuard is on a 10 Gbps server](https://ravenquay.com/wireguard-10gbps-throughput/ "What WireGuard's own benchmark says, and what limits a 10G tunnel") depends on the processor.

### Port speed and the most a server can move in 30 days

| Berth | Port | Most data in 30 days | Share each, 100 active users |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Harbor 8 | 1 Gbit/s | 324 TB | about 10 Mbit/s |
| Harbor 16 | 1 Gbit/s | 324 TB | about 10 Mbit/s |
| Harbor 10G | 10 Gbit/s | 3,240 TB | about 100 Mbit/s |

Data = rate × 2,592,000 seconds ÷ 8, with 1 TB = 10^12 bytes. A ceiling, not a speed promise.

## Which VPN protocols should the service offer?

Offer WireGuard as the default and OpenVPN as the fallback. They solve different problems, and both run on the Linux systems we install.

- **WireGuard** has shipped in the Linux kernel since version 5.6, announced on 30 March 2020. It carries IP packets over UDP only. Its documentation says it does not tunnel over TCP and does not focus on obfuscation.
- **OpenVPN** runs over TCP or UDP. Its `--tls-crypt` option encrypts the control channel, hides the certificate and makes the traffic harder to identify. With `--tls-crypt-v2`, each client gets its own key.

Key handling decides your daily work. In WireGuard, `wg set wg0 peer <key> remove` drops one device and leaves every other peer connected. Client-specific tls-crypt-v2 keys let OpenVPN retire one customer alone. Users behind national blocks need more: see [how to host a VPN that works in censored countries](https://ravenquay.com/self-hosted-vpn-censored-countries/ "Obfuscated transports and Tor bridges for blocked networks").

## How do abuse complaints work when users share your IP?

Complaints about your users' traffic come to you, because the far side sees only your server. Our rules, listed in the table above, cover everything that leaves the machine, and a breach by your user is a breach on your server.

One rule already removes the commonest VPN abuse. Port 25 is closed for outgoing mail on every server, permanently, to keep spam off the network; ports 465 and 587 toward mail providers stay open.

The [acceptable use policy](https://ravenquay.com/acceptable-use/ "What may and may not run on a Ravenquay berth") says you answer for the logins you hand to others. Build the desk before the first customer:

- **Publish an abuse address** and read it every day.
- **Copy our banned uses into your user terms**, so you can close an account on the same grounds.
- **Tie each key to one account**, so one key can go without a restart.
- **Decide how you answer a complaint you cannot trace.** A report names your shared IP and a time, not a person. Without connection logs, it points to nobody, so write your response into your terms.

## Who keeps logs: you or Ravenquay?

Logging happens on two layers, each with its own owner.

**Our layer:** We keep no logs at all: no connection records, no traffic records and no IP addresses of visitors or customers, whether on the website, in the dashboard or on the servers.

**Your layer:** the VPN software is yours, and so is its logging. What you record is your choice and, where a law requires it, your legal duty. That duty comes from the law of your company's country and of each server country. Even with logging off, WireGuard keeps each peer's latest endpoint, last handshake and transfer counters in memory; `wg show` prints them.

The EU Court of Justice ruled on such rules on 6 October 2020. National law may require general retention of the IP addresses assigned to the source of a connection. The Court allowed it to fight serious crime, for a period limited to what is strictly necessary. Whether a national rule reaches your service is a question of that country's law. Our overview of [which European countries still have data retention laws](https://ravenquay.com/data-retention-laws-europe/ "Data retention rules in Iceland, Switzerland, Romania and the Netherlands") gives the country rules. This page explains rules; it is not legal advice.

## Can I build a VPN service on servers rented without KYC?

Yes, on our side. No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents, no card and no phone number, ever. You top up a balance with BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, XMR, from $1, and pay each berth from it.

**According to Ravenquay's survey of 30 October 2026, 11 of 18 crypto-paid, no-ID hosts with a comparable dedicated plan sold any unmetered server, and only 4 an unmetered 10 Gbit/s port.** On a VPN, every download crosses your port twice, so a traffic quota is the cost that grows with success.

Service is not open everywhere. Service is not available to residents or companies of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, China, Yemen or Western Sahara, nor in the occupied regions of Ukraine.

## What a comparable unmetered server costs elsewhere

The named reference and the median price we recorded at no-ID hosts that accept crypto, for servers at least as large as each berth.

| Berth | Ravenquay, 30 days | Named reference (30 October 2026) | Median of comparable hosts |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Harbor 8, 1 Gbit/s | $72.62/30 days | Zomro: €83.18/month + €41.99 setup ($96.84 a month over a year) | $294.97 (8 hosts) |
| Harbor 16, 1 Gbit/s | $205.27/30 days | AbeloHost: €244.99 ($273.70) | $470.70 (6 hosts) |
| Harbor 10G, 10 Gbit/s | $356.25/30 days | KoDDoS: $475.00 | $1130.66 (4 hosts) |

*Prices checked on October 30, 2026.*

Prices read on public pages on 30 October 2026; euro prices converted at 1 EUR = 1.1172 USD (ECB, 30 October 2026).

## Which berths fit a VPN service?

Harbor 8 suits a first exit city; Harbor 10G suits the city where most users connect. Terms of 6 and 12 months are on [how much a Ravenquay unmetered server costs](https://ravenquay.com/pricing/ "Ravenquay berth prices for 30 days, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months").

| Plan | Quantity | 30 days | 3 months | 6 months | 1 year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Harbor 8 | 8 cores · unmetered 1 Gbit/s | $72.62 | $196.07 (−10%) | $348.57 (−20%) | $610 (−30%) |
| Harbor 16 | 16 cores · unmetered 1 Gbit/s | $205.27 | $554.22 (−10%) | $985.29 (−20%) | $1,724.26 (−30%) |
| Harbor 10G | 24 cores · unmetered 10 Gbit/s | $356.25 | $961.87 (−10%) | $1,710 (−20%) | $2,992.50 (−30%) |

In every plan: Unmetered port · Tor exits allowed · RAID 1 · Dedicated IPv4 · No logs · No KYC

**Before you pay**

- Minimum top-up $1. Top up once in crypto, then buy any plan from your balance.
- Credit on your balance does not expire and renews any of your servers. When a top-up is only made to reach the minimum, the unspent part comes back on request within 30 days of payment, in USDT or USDC. The rest of a balance is not paid out unless the law requires it.
- Credited once your payment is checked on the blockchain. Typical network confirmation time: BTC ≈ 20 min · USDT TRC-20 ≈ 1 min · USDT ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · USDC ERC-20 ≈ 5 min · ETH ≈ 5 min · SOL ≈ 1 min · LTC ≈ 15 min · XMR ≈ 20 min

## Starting a VPN service: common questions

### Can I sell VPN access from a Ravenquay server?

Yes. A VPN you run for paying users is allowed, as long as nothing on it breaks our rules. You answer for what your users do through your exits, and the banned uses apply to their traffic too.

### How many users can one VPN server handle?

There is no single number: it depends on how many are active at once and what they do. A saturated 1 Gbit/s port gives 100 active users about 10 Mbit/s each. Ravenquay publishes no measurements of its own.

### Does Ravenquay log my VPN users' traffic?

No. We record no connections, no traffic and no visitor IP addresses. What your own VPN software records is your decision, and the law of your country may set a duty.

### Can my VPN users send email?

Through a mail provider, yes. Outgoing port 25 is closed on every server, while ports 465 and 587 toward mail providers stay open, so mail apps keep working.

**Open your first exit city** Harbor 8: Intel Xeon E-2388G (8 cores / 16 threads), 64 GB DDR4 ECC, 2 × 960 GB NVMe in RAID 1, unmetered 1 Gbit/s port, 1 IPv4 and an IPv6 /64, for $72.62/30 days. Same price in all four cities; crypto, no KYC. [Order Harbor 8 in Reykjavik](https://ravenquay.com/app/checkout/?plan=harbor-8&location=is-rkv&lang=en) · [Order Harbor 10G in Amsterdam](https://ravenquay.com/app/checkout/?plan=harbor-10g&location=nl-ams&lang=en)

## Sources

1. [WireGuard: fast, modern, secure VPN tunnel (roaming and endpoints)](https://www.wireguard.com/) — WireGuard (read 2026-11-01)
2. [Known Limitations (Deep Packet Inspection, TCP Mode)](https://www.wireguard.com/known-limitations/) — WireGuard (read 2026-11-01)
3. [[ANNOUNCE] WireGuard 1.0.0 for Linux 5.6 Released (30 March 2020)](https://lists.zx2c4.com/pipermail/wireguard/2020-March/005206.html) — WireGuard mailing list, Jason A. Donenfeld (read 2026-11-01)
4. [wg(8) manual: set, peer remove, show endpoints](https://git.zx2c4.com/wireguard-tools/plain/src/man/wg.8) — wireguard-tools (read 2026-11-01)
5. [OpenVPN 2.6 reference manual: --proto, --tls-crypt, --tls-crypt-v2](https://openvpn.net/community-docs/community-articles/openvpn-2-6-manual.html) — OpenVPN (read 2026-11-01)
6. [Judgment of 6 October 2020, La Quadrature du Net and Others, Joined Cases C-511/18, C-512/18 and C-520/18](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62018CJ0511) — Court of Justice of the European Union (EUR-Lex) (read 2026-11-01)

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Ravenquay: Ravenquay rents offshore dedicated servers with unmetered 1 and 10 Gbit/s ports in Reykjavik, Zurich, Bucharest and Amsterdam: each one a whole physical machine with root access and no monthly traffic quota, paid in crypto with no KYC (no ID, no selfie, no documents). It is run by DomaineGoat LLC, a company registered in Panama, and each server also falls under the data-protection law of its datacenter's country. On the 30-day term, each berth is priced at least 25% under a named comparable unmetered server from 10 no-KYC crypto hosts, read on 30 October 2026.