Debian VPS Debian 13, 12 and 11 on KVM
VMHeaven's Debian VPS is a KVM server running Debian 13, 12 or 11 with root over SSH, from €4.99 a month in Amsterdam and typically online about a minute after you pay. Choose the release at checkout and reinstall from the panel whenever you want a clean system; card, PayPal and crypto are accepted, with no ID check.
- Debian 13 · 12 · 11
- Root over SSH
- Online in about a minute
- Always-on DDoS protection
Debian VPS
KVM server with root access
- Releases
- 13 (Trixie) · 12 (Bookworm) · 11 (Bullseye)
- Login
- root over SSH
- Setup
- about a minute
- Packages
- apt
- Reinstall
- from the panel
- Locations
- Amsterdam · Frankfurt
01Releases
Which Debian release should I pick?
Debian 13 for anything new. The other two are there for software certified on them — this is where each one stands in Debian's support cycle.
Debian 13 (Trixie)
Current stable · recommendedReleased in August 2025. Debian's security team supports it until about August 2028, and LTS is planned to run until June 2030. The release to pick for every new server.
Debian 12 (Bookworm)
LTS until June 2028Regular security support ended in June 2026; Debian LTS keeps patching it until 30 June 2028. A sound choice when your stack is certified on Bookworm — plan the move to 13 before then.
Debian 11 (Bullseye)
LTS ended August 2026Bullseye's LTS ended on 31 August 2026, so it gets no more free security updates. Only for legacy software that cannot move yet — keep public-facing services off it.
Upgrading from Debian 12 to 13
An in-place upgrade keeps your data and configuration. Debian supports it one release at a time.
- 01
Backup first
Create a backup of the server in the panel. If the upgrade goes wrong, you restore it instead of rebuilding.
- 02
Point apt at Trixie
Replace
bookwormwithtrixiein/etc/apt/sources.listand in every file under/etc/apt/sources.list.d/. Switch third-party repositories off until you are done. - 03
Upgrade in two passes
Run
apt update, thenapt upgrade --without-new-pkgs, thenapt full-upgrade. When apt asks about a changed configuration file, read the diff before you answer. - 04
Reboot and check
Reboot into the new kernel and confirm with
cat /etc/debian_version. If SSH does not come back, the panel's VNC console shows where the boot stopped.
# as root, after taking a snapshot in the panel
grep -rl bookworm /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ 2>/dev/null | xargs -r sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g'
apt update
apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs
apt full-upgrade
rebootRather start clean? Reinstall Debian 13 from the panel instead — it wipes the disk, so copy your data off first; backups taken before the reinstall are kept. The same dialog installs Ubuntu or Windows Server, too.
02Why Debian
Why run Debian on a server?
What Debian does differently from most other distributions.
Stable means frozen
A Debian release is frozen before it ships and afterwards gets security and bug fixes only. Nothing changes under your services by surprise; a new major version arrives roughly every two years.
No snap by default
Software comes as .deb packages from Debian's own archive. No snapd runs in the background unless you install it yourself.
The same apt as Ubuntu
apt, dpkg and most package names match, so most tutorials written for Ubuntu work here too. The exceptions are Ubuntu extras such as PPAs.
The base of many Docker images
Docker's official debian image comes in slim variants such as debian:trixie-slim, and many other official images are built on Debian. Host and containers then share one package family.
03First steps
What is different on a fresh Debian VPS?
Debian installs less than Ubuntu does. Four things to sort out in the first ten minutes.
sudo may be missing
Debian installs sudo only when no root password is set during installation, so a server you log in to as root may not have it. Install it as root with apt install sudo and put your user in the sudo group.sudo: command not found
ufw is not installed
Debian ships no firewall front-end. Run apt install ufw, allow SSH with ufw allow ssh and only then ufw enable — in that order, or you lock yourself out.UFW firewall setup
Automatic security updates
Check whether unattended-upgrades is installed and enabled. If not, install it and run dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades; security fixes then land without you logging in.
Keys instead of passwords
Paste your SSH key at checkout or add it to /root/.ssh/authorized_keys later, then switch off password logins in sshd_config.Secure SSH access
apt says it could not get the lock right after the first boot? The daily apt job is usually running. Wait it out rather than deleting the lock file.
04Plans
Which plan does a Debian server need?
The smallest useful plans of our two everyday lines, cheapest first. Prices are for Amsterdam; the last column shows whether Frankfurt has the line in stock right now.
| Plan | Line | vCores | RAM | Disk | Amsterdam | Frankfurt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HI-CPU 1 | Hi-CPU KVM | 1 | 2 GB ECC | 20 GB | €4.99/mo | Sold out |
| STANDARD KVM 1 | Standard KVM | 2 | 4 GB DDR4 | 20 GB | €4.99/mo | Sold out |
| HI-CPU 2 | Hi-CPU KVM | 2 | 4 GB ECC | 40 GB | €9.99/mo | Sold out |
| STANDARD KVM 2 | Standard KVM | 4 | 8 GB DDR4 | 40 GB | €9.99/mo | Sold out |
| HI-CPU 3 | Hi-CPU KVM | 3 | 6 GB ECC | 60 GB | €14.99/mo | Sold out |
| STANDARD KVM 3 | Standard KVM | 6 | 12 GB DDR4 | 60 GB | €14.99/mo | Sold out |
Intel, DDR4 ECC. Twice the vCores and RAM of the Hi-CPU plan at the same price — the better fit for a web stack, containers or several services side by side.
All 9 Standard KVM plansAMD EPYC 7443 in Amsterdam, ECC. Fewer vCores at the same price, for software that leans on one or two threads — a bot, a game server, an API.
All 9 Hi-CPU KVM plansDebian itself needs little; what runs on it sizes the plan. As a rule of thumb, 2 GB is enough for a relay, a VPN or a small site, while databases and containers are happier with 4 GB or more. The entry plans have a 200 Mbit/s port and the next size up 1 Gbit/s — worth knowing for a relay or a mirror. You can upgrade from the panel later.
Every KVM line installs Debian. For mirrors and archives there is DMCA Ignored KVM (from €5.99 in Amsterdam, €8.99 in Frankfurt); for scanning and security research, Pentesting KVM (from €6.99 / €8.99). Need the server in Germany? VPS Germany shows what Frankfurt has in stock.
05Use cases
What do people run on a Debian VPS?
Long-running services that should not change under you — the work a slow, steady release cycle suits best.
A web stack
PHP behind nginx or Apache, with MariaDB as the database — Debian packages MariaDB, not Oracle MySQL.Install phpMyAdmin on Debian
A Tor relay
A middle relay or a bridge donates bandwidth to the Tor network. Which relay types our lines allow is settled in the guide — read it before you set one up.Running a Tor relay on a VPS
A Monero node
Your own monerod, so your wallet stops relying on a stranger's node.Monero node, step by step
A WireGuard VPN
WireGuard is built into the Debian kernel; apt install wireguard adds the tools for a VPN endpoint of your own.
Mirrors and archives
Package mirrors, software archives, long-lived download hosts — services that should run for years untouched. Projects that need a relaxed takedown policy belong on DMCA Ignored KVM.DMCA Ignored KVM
A bot fits too: one long-running process on a base that does not move. For Discord bots, the details are on Discord bot hosting.
06FAQ
Debian VPS: questions
Everything you need to know before deploying — and a human if you need more.
07Use cases & related
Related plans and guides
Other servers we run for neighbouring jobs, each with its starting price, and three guides worth reading before you order.
Related plans
- Ubuntu servers
Ubuntu VPS from €4.99/mo
Ubuntu LTS with root over SSH and a kernel of its own, so Docker and WireGuard work without workarounds.
- Any Linux distro
Linux VPS from €4.99/mo
Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky or CentOS Stream on KVM with your own kernel and full root, reinstalled from the panel.
- Websites, apps and game servers
Standard KVM VPS from €4.99/mo
Intel KVM with the most vCores per euro: 2 to 32 vCores in nine sizes, in Amsterdam.
- Bots, game servers and builds
AMD EPYC Hi-CPU VPS from €4.99/mo
1 to 14 AMD EPYC vCores at Standard KVM's nine prices, built for single-thread work.
- Takedown-sensitive projects
Offshore DMCA-ignored VPS from €5.99/mo
US DMCA notices are not acted on; the Acceptable Use Policy still applies. Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
- An Amsterdam location
VPS in the Netherlands from €4.99/mo
All four KVM lines in Amsterdam side by side, behind always-on DDoS protection.
GuidesFrom the VMHeaven blog
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