Choosing a VPS for iPhone-Only Development — Why Hetzner CX43 is the Best Pick

Introduction: Developing from an iPhone Is Real Now

I’ve been using the Claush app to connect from my iPhone to a VPS and run Claude Code sessions remotely. Working from the couch, a café, or anywhere without opening a laptop — it’s more practical than it sounds.

But the setup only works well if you pick the right VPS. After trying several providers, I’ve settled on Hetzner CX43, and the reason is simple: nothing else comes close for the price.

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series. Part 2 covers home server + VPN setups, and Part 3 compares VPS vs. home server for Claude Code workflows.

What Does Claude Code Actually Need from a VPS?

Claude Code is an LLM-based CLI tool. The heavy lifting — inference — happens on Anthropic’s servers, not yours. Your VPS just needs to:

• Run the Claude Code CLI
• Handle SSH connections
• Manage files and run supporting processes

You don’t need a monster machine. But you do need enough RAM and a stable connection.

What Claude Code Itself Actually Needs

Claude Code is just a CLI tool that calls Anthropic’s API externally — it exchanges text and barely uses any server resources on its own. What actually determines your spec requirements is what work you do on the server.

Recommended Specs by Use Case

For website-level development, CX22 or CX32 is plenty. CX43 becomes worthwhile when running Docker or multiple services in parallel.

VPS Provider Comparison

Hetzner is 2–3x cheaper than comparable plans elsewhere, with no meaningful performance difference for Claude Code workloads.

Why Helsinki Latency Is Not a Problem

“Isn’t a server in Finland going to be slow from Japan?” — Fair question. In practice, it’s not an issue.

SSH Is Text-Based

SSH terminal interactions are just text. Even with 100–150ms round-trip latency to Helsinki, you won’t notice it in normal use. This isn’t a real-time game — it’s a text terminal.

Claude Code API Calls Go to Anthropic

The actual “thinking” Claude Code does happens on Anthropic’s infrastructure, not your VPS. The geographic location of your VPS has almost no effect on response speed.

I use my Helsinki VPS daily from Japan, and the experience is indistinguishable from a local machine for this kind of workflow.

Getting Started with Hetzner

Step 1: Create an Account

Sign up at hetzner.com. A credit card is required.

Step 2: Create a Project

In the dashboard, click “New Project.” The name doesn’t matter.

Step 3: Add a Server

Click “Add Server” and configure:

• Location: Helsinki or Falkenstein
• Image: Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04
• Type: Shared vCPU → CX43
• SSH Key: Add one before launching

Step 4: Register an SSH Key

Generate a key pair locally with ssh-keygen and upload the public key to Hetzner.

Step 5: Launch and Connect via Claush

Once the server is up, add the IP address to Claush and connect via SSH. Then install Claude Code:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/claude-code/main/install.sh | bash

Summary

• Claude Code itself barely uses server resources — it just calls an external API. Your workload determines the specs
• For website-level work, CX22 (~$4/mo) is enough; for Docker-based development, CX43 (~$10/mo) is the sweet spot
• Hetzner CX43 (8vCPU/16GB/$10/mo) is 2–3x cheaper than competitors with equivalent performance
• Helsinki latency from Japan is negligible for SSH-based Claude Code workflows
• Pair it with Claush on iPhone and you have a full development environment in your pocket

If you’re on the fence about which VPS to pick, start with Hetzner.

Next up: Building a zero-fixed-cost dev environment with a home server + VPN

Claush official site — turn your iPhone into a development machine.