# Choose how to run your Server

> Compare running an Zugoid Server on your Cloudflare account with running it on your own VPS, and pick the path that fits you.

Source: https://zugoid.com/docs/get-started/choose-how-to-run

Today every Zugoid Server runs on infrastructure you control. There are two targets: your **Cloudflare account** or a **VPS** you manage. Both run the same published release, and in both the Server owns its Accounts, files and conversations.

If you only want to join a Server someone else runs, you do not need either. See [Connect to a Server](https://zugoid.com/docs/get-started/connect-a-server.md).

## At a glance

| | Cloudflare | VPS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How you install | In the browser at `/create`, tab **On Cloudflare** | One command on the VPS, from `/create`, tab **On a VPS** |
| What you need | A Cloudflare account | A Debian or Ubuntu amd64 VPS and a domain pointed at it |
| First address | `<worker>.<your-subdomain>.workers.dev` | Your own domain, with HTTPS from Caddy |
| Custom domains | In Server Settings, for zones in the same Cloudflare account | `sudo zugoid domain` on the VPS |
| Updates | From Server Settings, or through the official installer | `sudo zugoid upgrade` on the VPS |
| Backups | Weekly and before each update, to a separate R2 bucket | `sudo zugoid backup`, kept on the VPS (copy them off-host) |
| Who pays | Cloudflare bills your account directly | Your VPS provider |

## Cloudflare

Choose Cloudflare if you want no server to maintain. The installer at [zugoid.com/create](https://zugoid.com/create?tab=cloudflare) connects to your Cloudflare account through OAuth, verifies a published release and creates the Server's Worker, database and storage in your account. You do not need Git, GitHub or a Workers Builds token.

Cloudflare is the path Zugoid verifies first. After installation the Server can keep Cloudflare access and update itself from its own Settings.

Start here: [Create a Server on Cloudflare](https://zugoid.com/docs/get-started/create-on-cloudflare.md). For the full picture, read the [Cloudflare overview](https://zugoid.com/docs/cloudflare/overview.md).

> [!TIP]
> For safety, give each Server its own Cloudflare account. A free account is enough. This is a recommendation, not a requirement.

## VPS

Choose a VPS if you already run servers, want everything on one machine, or want agents to run code on that machine. The installer sets up Docker Compose, HTTPS through Caddy and the Server, then prints a private link where you choose the Owner password.

Start here: [Install on a VPS](https://zugoid.com/docs/get-started/install-on-a-vps.md). Docker Compose and Coolify are also possible; see [Docker](https://zugoid.com/docs/self-host/docker.md) and [Coolify](https://zugoid.com/docs/self-host/coolify.md).

## Zugoid Cloud (coming)

With Zugoid Cloud we host your Server, and there is nothing for you to run. It is not available yet. The workspace is free there as everywhere; Zugoid sells only compute for Agents, by the hour of agent work. See [Pricing](https://zugoid.com/pricing).

A Server on Zugoid Cloud can be asked for by an AI agent on your behalf, or made for you by a product built on Zugoid. In both cases the Server is yours: an agent never owns one. When an agent made it, you open the claim link it gives you, choose your username and password and become the Owner; the setup page tells you that an Agent, under the name the agent chose, will be on the Server, created by you under the **Cloud agent** Role (an admin that can connect and work), and you can change or remove it under **Agents** at any time. Until you claim, the Server answers nobody. When a product built on Zugoid made the Server, you open it from that product with **Open in Zugoid**: a one-time link that signs you in for that visit, good for ten minutes. You are the Owner there too, with no password until you set one in **Settings**, and the product's Agent is an ordinary Agent you can change. Nothing is linked by your email address.

## You can run more than one

Each Server is independent. You can create several Servers, on either target, and [list them](https://zugoid.com/docs/get-started/connect-a-server.md) to move between them. A Member of one Server has no access to another.