What is being compared
1984 Hosting is an Icelandic company that has been around since 2006 and sells web hosting, VPS, domains and a free DNS service, with a stated focus on privacy and free speech. BitVPS sells Linux KVM servers with no account and no KYC. Both accept Bitcoin and Monero, which is usually why they end up in the same search. The differences are in the account model, the billing model, the locations and the jurisdiction. Facts about 1984 below were checked against 1984.hosting in October 2026 and describe mechanics only; nothing here is a judgement of either service’s quality.
1984 Hosting (as of October 2026)
- Company and jurisdiction: 1984 ehf, with a Reykjavík postal address, operating under Icelandic law.
- Locations: the VPS product page describes Icelandic datacenters running on renewable energy. Iceland is the only location offered.
- Account model: an account is required. The VPS page says you must register before ordering, and the signup page describes an email confirmation step. Support requests must come from the email address registered on the account.
- Verification: the FAQ and signup pages we read describe an email confirmation and no ID or phone step. This is what the published pages say, not a guarantee about every order.
- Payment: the FAQ lists payment cards, PayPal, Bitcoin and Monero, all paid from within the account dashboard. It also states that the crypto option is not offered to users who appear to be located in Iceland, because of Icelandic tax regulation, and suggests disconnecting from a VPN that shows an Icelandic location to see it.
- Billing: the FAQ describes web hosting as paid one or three years in advance with automatic renewal that can be switched off in the dashboard, and says the remaining months can be refunded on request if you cancel early. Check the order form for the VPS billing cycle specifically.
- VPS features described on the product page: root access over SSH or web VNC, NVMe storage, preconfigured WireGuard, OpenVPN, LEMP and Nextcloud images, and always-on DDoS mitigation included.
BitVPS
- Company and jurisdiction: operates under US law. Datacenters in Falkenstein and Nuremberg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Ashburn and Hillsboro (US) and Singapore, chosen per server.
- Account model: none. Plan, location, OS, email, payment. Management is through a magic link emailed to that address; the "Already purchased?" box on the homepage re-sends it.
- Verification: none. There are no name, address or phone fields and no review step.
- Payment: Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum, Solana and other coins via the crypto checkout; cards via Stripe. Same USD price for every method. Small per-coin minimum at checkout; cards from $0.50.
- Billing: prepaid in days, 1 day to years, at the monthly price divided by 30. Monthly recurring subscriptions are card-only. Deleted at expiry unless extended; reminder email first.
- VPS features: Linux KVM, NVMe, root access, IPv4 and IPv6, 20 TB/month outbound included, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Rocky, AlmaLinux, openSUSE and Alpine images, console and reinstall from the access page, backups as a paid add-on. No preconfigured VPN images; the WireGuard guide on this site covers the setup. No DDoS-protection claim is made here.
- Tor: onion mirror; order and manage over Tor. Tor relays and bridges are fine on servers; exit nodes are not permitted.
Side by side
| 1984 Hosting | BitVPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Required; email confirmation | None; magic link |
| Identity or phone check | None described on signup or FAQ pages | None |
| Payment methods | Cards, PayPal, BTC, XMR | BTC, XMR, ETH, SOL, other coins, cards |
| Crypto availability | Hidden from visitors who appear to be in Iceland | Available everywhere the site is reachable |
| Billing model | Prepaid terms with auto-renew in the dashboard (hosting: 1 or 3 years) | Prepaid days, 1 day to years; card-only monthly subscriptions |
| Company jurisdiction | Iceland (1984 ehf) | United States |
| Server locations | Iceland | Germany, Finland, US, Singapore |
| Provisioning | Described as instant setup | Instant after the payment confirms |
| Management | Account dashboard, SSH, web VNC | Access page per server, SSH, console |
| Other products | Web hosting, domains, FreeDNS, WordPress packages | VPS only |
| Order history | Invoices in the dashboard | None; keep the emails |
Ordering, renewal and support in practice
At 1984 the flow is the conventional one: register, confirm the email, log in to the dashboard, add a VPS from the store and pay from inside the dashboard with a card, PayPal, Bitcoin or Monero. Renewal is automatic by default and the FAQ explains how to switch auto-renew off per service and how to delete stored payment methods afterwards. Invoices are listed in the account. The FAQ also notes that support requests are only answered when they come from the email address registered on the account, and that a cancelled main hosting package is deleted roughly three months later unless you ask for immediate deletion.
At BitVPS the flow is shorter and the responsibility shifts to you. Pick a plan, location and OS, set the number of days, choose a payment method, enter an email, pay. The access link arrives when the payment confirms and is the only way in; the homepage can re-send it. Extending is done from the access page and can be paid in any supported method, including a different one from the original order. A reminder email precedes expiry, and an unextended server is deleted when its days run out. There is no auto-renew for crypto by design, and no invoice list; each order’s emails are your records.
Support at BitVPS is email only, [email protected], with a PGP key published on the site; there is no live chat and no phone number. 1984 publishes an Icelandic telephone number and an email address on its site alongside the ticket system in the dashboard.
Where each one fits
1984 fits when Iceland is the point. Icelandic jurisdiction, an Icelandic company and an Icelandic datacenter together are a specific legal position that some publishers and projects want, and the account gives you domains, DNS, shared hosting and VPS under one login with invoices you can look back at. Paying in Bitcoin or Monero is supported inside that model rather than replacing it.
BitVPS fits when you want to skip the account entirely, pick a jurisdiction from a short list, and pay for exactly the days you need. The honest downsides compared with 1984: no Iceland, no domains or DNS product, no dashboard of past orders, crypto is prepaid-only with a small minimum and no Lightning, recurring billing is card-only, a server is deleted at expiry if you do not extend it, and the company is under US law rather than Icelandic. If any of those is the deciding factor, the choice is already made.
Which plan to pick
For the workloads 1984 markets its entry VPS for, a personal VPN, a Nextcloud instance or a small LEMP site, the BitVPS equivalents are the BVX11 (2 vCPU, 2 GB, 40 GB NVMe, from $10/mo in Germany or Finland) and the BVCX23 (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 40 GB, $11/mo, EU only); Nextcloud with real data wants the BVX21 (3 vCPU, 4 GB, 80 GB, from $18/mo) or larger. Helsinki is the closest location to Iceland in both latency and legal culture, though it is Finnish law, not Icelandic. Configure a server, choose the number of days, and pay in Bitcoin, Monero or by card.