TL;DR: For just R599 per month on Axxess VPS Pro, you can run your own private AI API capable of reasoning for personal or business projects. While big-name AI APIs lure you in with “pay-per-use” pricing, costs can spiral unpredictably as usage grows. With a self-hosted AI setup, you get unlimited usage at a fixed monthly cost. The tradeoff? Running on CPU only (no GPU) means slower response times — about 1–2 minutes per request.
Why Self-Host an AI API?
Commercial AI APIs like OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google Cloud look affordable at first glance. A $5 credit might get you started, but as soon as traffic or project usage increases, costs escalate quickly. Unlike these unpredictable bills, a fixed R599 monthly budget gives you peace of mind:
- ✅ Unlimited use without per-token billing
- ✅ Control over your infrastructure
- ✅ No vendor lock-in
- ✅ Private, secure deployment
The Models: Google Gemma & Qwen
This setup runs two lightweight but powerful open-source reasoning models:
Both models are optimized for smaller servers without GPUs, making them ideal for cost-conscious deployments.
About the App
At its core, this is a simple Python backend with a React frontend. It includes practical features like:
- 🔑 API keys for secure access
- 🌍 IP restrictions to control usage
- 📦 Open-source code — available on GitHub
Live demo: self-hosted-budget-ai-api.eshaam.co.za
Performance Expectations
Let’s be honest — without a GPU, performance won’t be instant. On a budget CPU-only server, responses take about 60–120 seconds.
For many side projects, prototypes, or internal tools, this tradeoff is worth it: predictable, fixed costs and unlimited usage vs. fast but expensive API calls.
👉 Explore the code on GitHub
👉 Try the demo at self-hosted-budget-ai-api.eshaam.co.za