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The hosting question often comes at the end of a project, as a technical detail. Yet it decides part of the cost, what can be customised, and who gets up at night if the database stops responding.
In short
Publisher hosting: nothing to operate, limited customisation, data at the publisher.
Rented server: control and freedom, operations to plan.
On-premises: rarely justified today, except under strong constraints.
Tested backups and updates are the real cost of self-hosting.
A European host settles most data location questions.
The three options
At the publisher
Backups, security and updates included
Custom modules limited or forbidden
Cost included in the subscription
Rented server
Any module possible, Community included
Operations handled by you or a provider
Modest server cost, operating time to count
The third option, a server on your premises, remains possible but rarely pays off: power, connectivity, hardware and off-site backup add up. It is mostly justified by a regulatory constraint or an isolated site.
What the publisher says for Odoo
According to Odoo’s pricing page, the Standard plan runs on Odoo Online, the publisher’s hosting, designed for databases without custom modules. The Custom plan leaves the choice: Odoo Online, Odoo.sh for custom modules, or your own server. Community is always hosted by you or a host of your choice. The details of the editions are in Odoo Community or Enterprise.
Dolibarr is also available hosted by several providers, and installs easily on a standard web server.
What your own server requires
- Backups
Daily, off the server, and a restore tested every quarter.
- Security updates
For the system and software, on a fixed schedule.
- Monitoring
An alert if the service stops responding or the disk fills up.
- Protected access
HTTPS, strong passwords, two-factor authentication, limited admin access.
The untested backup is the classic trap: it exists until the day you need it and it does not restore. The Infrastructure and cloud cluster details these practices for any self-hosted software.
Data and its location
For a European company, hosting in the European Union simplifies GDPR compliance. Most hosts offer data centres in Europe, and Odoo Online also lets you choose a region. Beyond location, what matters is the contract: who accesses the data, where backups go, how you get the database back if you leave. See also Access rights in an ERP.
How to decide
Ask three questions. Do you need custom modules or Community? Then a server, rented or with a provider. Do you have someone, in-house or outside, to run that server? If not, publisher hosting or managed hosting. Is data location a strong constraint? Then a European host, with a clear contract.
Reversibility
Whatever the option, check that you can retrieve your full database, with its attachments, in a format that can be restored elsewhere. Do it once, as a dry run, before you need it. An ERP you cannot easily leave gives the host bargaining power you would rather not hand over when renegotiating the contract or prices.
What we most often recommend
For a team of 20 to 500 people that wants to keep control of its data, a server rented from a European host, run by a provider with tested backups and monitoring, is often the best balance. For a team that wants no technical topic and whose scope stays standard, publisher hosting does the job very well. The complete ERP guide places this choice among the project’s other decisions, and our CRM and ERP offer prices hosting with the rest, over three years.
Frequently asked questions
Is a rented server cheaper than publisher hosting?
The server itself costs little for a few dozen users. The real cost is operating time: backups, updates, monitoring, upgrades. Handed to a provider, it becomes a monthly subscription to compare with the licence difference between the formulas.
Can you change hosting after go-live?
Yes. An Odoo or Dolibarr database exports and restores elsewhere, with its attached files. For Odoo Online, check the conditions for retrieving the database, and for a move to publisher hosting, that custom modules are accepted there.
What is managed hosting?
A rented server whose operations a provider handles: backups, updates, monitoring and intervention in case of failure. It combines the freedom of your own server with the peace of mind of a managed service, for a monthly subscription whose content must be written down.
Sources
Jim · founder of Brain Plus AI
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