Self-hosted vs managed AI agents
Running an AI agent comes down to a choice: host it yourself on a machine you control, or let a managed provider run it for you. Both are valid. This page lays out the trade-offs plainly so you can pick with open eyes, not marketing.
Self-hosting means renting a VPS or using a spare Mac mini, installing the runtime, and owning everything after that: uptime, patching, backups and the 3am restart. It is cheaper up front and gives you full control. Managed hosting, like Sokko, trades a monthly fee for handing off that operations work: your agent comes up on its own private machine in about a minute and heals itself when things break. For one hobby agent, self-hosting is fine. For anything people depend on, the operations work is the real cost.
Choose managed if anyone depends on the agent being up, or you are running more than one. Self-host if you have a single low-stakes agent and want full control of the machine for a few dollars a month.
Self-hosted vs managed, side by side
The ✓ marks the stronger option per line; ○ means it is a wash or a matter of taste.
Who each one is for
- People, a team or a channel depend on the agent staying up.
- You would rather not run an operating system or patch a box.
- You are managing two or three agents and want them in one place.
- You have one low-stakes agent that can be down for an hour.
- You want full control of the machine and its configuration.
- Paying a few dollars for a VPS beats a monthly managed fee for you.
What changes when you go managed
Setup shrinks to a minute
No box to rent, no runtime to install, no proxy or certificate to configure. Pick a runtime, name it, and it is live at your-name.sokko.ai.
Uptime is not your job
The agent restarts itself after a crash or reboot. You stop being the on-call engineer for your own tools.
Secrets stay contained
Model keys and tokens go in the Secrets tab and reach the agent securely, instead of sitting in a dotfile on a machine you have to harden.
Updates land without you
Patching the underlying machine is handled for you, so security fixes do not wait for a free weekend on your calendar.
How to move from self-hosted to managed
Pick a plan
Plans start at Cookie, $12 a month, for the always-on machine. Model usage is separate: bring your own key or use Sokko credits, with $100 in trial credits to start.
Create the agent
Choose your runtime in the dashboard and name it. About a minute later it is live at your-name.sokko.ai, private to your team, in a US or EU region.
Bring your setup over
Already self-hosting? Install the CLI with npm i -g sokko and run sokko migrate to carry your files, memory and settings into the hosted agent, then point your channels at it.
Which side fits you
One agent, low stakes
A single hobby agent that can be down for an hour without anyone noticing is a fine fit for a $5 VPS. You keep full control and pay almost nothing.
Something people rely on
The moment a person, a team or a channel depends on the agent, restarts and patching stop being a hobby. Managed hosting that self-heals is the calmer choice.
A growing set of agents
Two or three agents is a small fleet to administer. Managed instances keep secrets, memory and updates in one place instead of spread across machines.
Questions people ask
Is self-hosting an AI agent cheaper than managed?
Up front, yes. A small VPS can cost a few dollars a month. The hidden cost is your time: setup, patching, restarts, backups and keeping keys safe. For one low-stakes agent that can be worth it; for always-on or multi-agent use it usually is not.
What do I give up by going managed?
Some low-level control of the machine. You do not run the operating system or the box yourself. In return you skip the operations work, and your files stay yours, so you can leave whenever you want.
Who is on call when a self-hosted agent goes down?
You are. If the box reboots or the process dies at 3am, it stays down until you fix it. On a managed host the agent restarts itself, so a crash is not an emergency.
How quickly can I start on managed?
About a minute. Pick a plan, choose a runtime, name it, and the agent comes up on its own private machine, ready to use.