Mac mini Hosting Prices Compared (October 2026)
Prices checked by the MacHerald team
A dedicated Mac mini in a data center costs about $99 to $249 a month when you rent it by the month. On October 24, 2026, the cheapest M6 was MacHerald at $99, then OakHost at €120 before VAT and Mac Mini Vault at $149.99. MacStadium starts at $149 for an M4. AWS EC2 Mac costs $1.23 an hour, about $898 for a month.
We run MacHerald, so we have a stake in this table. Every number below comes from the pricing page of each provider, and the links are at the bottom so you can check them.
Entry-Level Prices
| Provider | Chip | Memory | Storage | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacHerald Base | Apple M6 | 16 GB | 256 GB SSD | $99/mo | Monthly (sold out, waitlist) |
| Mac Mini Vault | Apple M6 | 16 GB | 256 GB SSD | $149.99/mo | Monthly |
| MacStadium M4.S | Apple M4, 10-core | 16 GB | 256 GB SSD | $149/mo | Monthly, prepaid |
| OakHost M6.S | Apple M6 | 16 GB | 256 GB SSD | €120/mo + VAT | Monthly (unavailable) |
| Scaleway | Apple M4 | Up to 32 GB | Up to 1 TB | €0.22/hr (about €161/mo) | Hourly, 24-hour minimum |
| AWS EC2 mac-m4 | Apple M4, 10-core CPU | 24 GB | 2 TB instance store | $1.23/hr (about $898/mo) | Per second, 24-hour minimum |
Monthly figures for hourly plans assume 730 hours. AWS price is On-Demand in US East (N. Virginia). Scaleway lists only a starting hourly rate.
Mid-Range Prices
The next tier up mostly buys more memory and storage. Large Xcode projects, several simulators, and local AI models all want the extra memory.
| Provider | Chip | Memory | Storage | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacHerald Premium | Apple M6 | 24 GB | 512 GB SSD | $169/mo |
| Mac Mini Vault | Apple M6 | 32 GB | 1 TB SSD | $194.99/mo |
| MacStadium M4.M | Apple M4, 10-core | 24 GB | 512 GB SSD | $249/mo |
What the Price Doesn't Show
A low price doesn't help if the Mac is sold out. On October 24, 2026, MacHerald was sold out, OakHost said every Mac mini was unavailable because of demand, and Mac Mini Vault showed "Notify me" next to its M6 plans. MacStadium said many models were available right away. AWS and Scaleway rent by the hour from cloud regions, and we didn't check live stock there.
Location matters for latency. MacHerald is in the NYC Metro area, Mac Mini Vault has Milwaukee and Phoenix, OakHost is in Germany, and Scaleway is in Paris.
Bandwidth is mostly a non-issue at the monthly hosts. MacHerald, Mac Mini Vault, and MacStadium all include a 1 Gbps port with no transfer cap (MacHerald: 1 Gbps port, unmetered). On AWS, data sent out to the internet is billed on top of the host.
Which One to Pick
For a Mac that runs all month, a monthly host is the cheapest option by a wide margin. If you need it today, pick whoever has stock. That was MacStadium on the day we checked.
AWS makes sense for short jobs that fit in a day or two, or when your build system already lives inside an AWS account. See AWS EC2 Mac alternative for the math.
If you're comparing against MacStadium for an M6, see MacStadium alternative. Or see MacHerald pricing and join the waitlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to rent a Mac mini in the cloud?
As of October 24, 2026, a dedicated Mac mini rented by the month costs about $99 to $249. MacHerald starts at $99 for an M6, Mac Mini Vault at $149.99 for an M6, and MacStadium at $149 for an M4. AWS bills by the hour, which comes to about $898 for a full month on an M4.
What is the cheapest Mac mini hosting?
Of the providers checked on October 24, 2026, MacHerald has the lowest monthly price at $99 for an M6 with 16 GB of memory. It is sold out right now, so new customers join a waitlist. OakHost lists an M6 for €120 before VAT, but it was also unavailable.
Why is AWS EC2 Mac so much more expensive?
AWS rents a whole Mac as a Dedicated Host and bills it by the hour, with a 24-hour minimum. An M4 host costs $1.23 an hour in US East, so leaving it on all month costs about $898. Data sent out to the internet is billed on top. If you keep a Mac running all month, a monthly host costs far less.
Are these prices for a shared or a dedicated Mac?
Every price on this page is for a whole physical Mac that only one customer uses. None of them are virtual machines on a shared Mac.
How often is this page updated?
The prices were last checked on October 24, 2026. We re-check every provider at the same time and change the date when we do.
Sources
- MacStadium pricing
- Mac Mini Vault dedicated Mac mini plans
- OakHost Mac mini hosting plans
- Scaleway Mac mini M4
- Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts pricing
See a price that changed? Email contact@macherald.com and we'll fix it.