posted in Selfhosted

Selfhosting as a Linux newbie - Ubuntu Server LTS or Debian 13?

I use Debian as my daily driver, but I’m still a newbie. I would like to selfhost a few apps, initially on a VPS, but I will probably move to a local PC once I diagnose what is broken with my old computer.

The guides at https://selfhosting.sh/ always recommend Ubuntu Server LTS for newbies, but Ubuntu seems to have bad PR and I already run Debian on my home PC. On one hand, I am a newbie and I guess Ubuntu might be easier to set up and maintain. Though, I don’t HOW exactly? On the other hand, if I have Debian on my home PC and on my server, they are the same system, so I’d be learning the same system at two places and with two usage scenarios. But it might be easier to make mistakes on Debian..?

What is your opinion/recommendation?

EDIT: thank you everyone! My gut feeling was Debian and your responses were overwhelmingly in favor of Debian, so Debian it is :)

selfhosting.shselfhosting.shReplace your cloud subscriptions with stuff you run yourself. Self-hosting guides, comparisons, and setup tutorials.

Replying to @⁨steel_for_humans@piefed.social⁩

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters More Letters IoT Internet of Things for device controllers LTS Long Term Support software version LXC Linux Containers NAS Network-Attached Storage PSU Power Supply Unit SSD Solid State Drive mass storage VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)

[Thread #65 for this comm, first seen 27th Jul 2026, 18:10] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

Hachyderm.ioImran Nazar ~ عمران نزر (@Two9A@hachyderm.io)2.8K Posts, 301 Following, 262 Followers · Front-end #typescript developer and general keyboard tapper; author of Internet RFC 7168 (Hypertext Coffeepot Control Protocol for teapots); occasional plumber, more than occasional #c64 #retrocomputing enthusiast, terrible at classical #piano. Header photo is a verdant scene looking over the landscape near Buxton, England, taken from a single-track country road.
Edited ⁨⁨Jul⁩ ⁨29⁩, ⁨2026⁩, ⁨00:40⁩⁩en