A PikaPods alternative, compared fairly

The main differences are where the servers are, how backups work, which currencies you can pay in and whether the apps themselves are supported. Every PikaPods fact on this page comes from PikaPods' own website and documentation, listed under Sources at the end, as we read them on 23 October 2026. If something here is out of date, email support@corehost.io and we will correct it.

Where CoreHost may suit you better

• You are in Australia or New Zealand. CoreHost runs apps in Sydney, so they sit close to you and your users. PikaPods lists locations in the EU and the US.
• You want backups without extra setup. Every CoreHost app is backed up daily, and you restore a backup yourself from the panel with one click. On PikaPods, self-serve backups go to S3-compatible storage you provide and are restored with the Restic tool.
• You want to pay in AUD or EUR. CoreHost bills in USD, AUD or EUR. PikaPods prices in USD.
• You want help with the app, not just the server. CoreHost support covers installing, configuring and fixing the apps themselves. PikaPods says it does not support individual apps or their features.
• You want the lowest price for a small app. CoreHost's Lite plan is US$1.10 a month in Poland and US$1.50 in Sydney. Plans are sized differently on each service, so check the plan your app needs.

Where PikaPods may suit you better

• You need servers in Germany or Finland, or a specific US city. PikaPods lists data centres in Falkenstein and Finland for the EU, and Boston and Atlanta for the US. CoreHost's EU region is in Poland, and its US region is a single location.
• You want an app CoreHost does not host. PikaPods documents apps that are not in the CoreHost catalog, such as Nextcloud, Ghost and Mattermost.
• You want to hold the only copy of your backups. PikaPods' backups go to storage you own. CoreHost keeps encrypted backups for you in the EU, and you can add backups to your own S3-compatible storage as well.
• You want more of your money to reach the projects. PikaPods says it shares 20% of revenue with project authors where possible. CoreHost offers maintainers who opt in 15% of what their app earns.

Comparing prices properly

Both services draw from a prepaid balance by the hour, so you can try an app for a few days and pay only for those days. The headline prices are not directly comparable, because each service sizes its plans differently. Compare the plan each app actually needs.

On CoreHost each app has a minimum plan, shown on its page, and the price for a plan is the same for every app. Lite is US$1.10 a month in Poland and US$1.50 in Sydney, Standard is US$1.70 and US$2.30, and extra storage comes in 25 GB blocks at US$0.90 a month in Poland. There is no charge for bandwidth in normal use, and new accounts start with $5 of credit and no card. The full price list is on the pricing page.

What every CoreHost app includes

• One private instance per app, with its own CPU, memory and storage
• Daily backups with one-click restore; encrypted backups are stored in the EU
• SFTP access and a file manager in the browser
• Updates tested on a copy first, with an automatic rollback if the app fails its checks
• Your own domain with automatic TLS, and a per-app firewall
• AI support around the clock, with people behind it during Australian hours

Moving from PikaPods

PikaPods documents a manual one-time backup for migrations: stop the pod, copy its files over SFTP and export its database. On CoreHost, deploy the same app, let it start once, stop it, upload your files over SFTP from the Files tab and start it again. Our guide to moving from PikaPods has the steps, and moving your apps to CoreHost has the notes for particular apps. If you would rather not do the copying, open a ticket and we will move it with you. We never log in to your PikaPods account.

Popular apps to start with: Uptime Kuma, Actual Budget, linkding, Paperless-ngx, ntfy and ByteStash, or browse the whole catalog.