Amnezia VPN: how to set it up and when a ready service is simpler
What Amnezia VPN is, what you need to run it, what it really costs and when a ready subscription beats your own server.
Amnezia VPN is an open-source client that sets up a VPN on your own server. The idea is elegant: nobody but you knows the server address, so it is hard to block. Here is what that means in practice.
How Amnezia works
You rent a virtual server abroad, enter its address and root password into the app, and Amnezia installs the protocols itself: AmneziaWG (a modified WireGuard), Xray with Reality, OpenVPN over Cloak and others. The app then produces configs for phones and computers.
What you need
- A server. Any VPS with Ubuntu and a public address. Check that the provider does not block traffic from Russia: some European hosts drop TLS connections from Russian networks, and you find out only after paying.
- A way to pay for hosting. Foreign VPS providers take foreign cards or crypto; Russian cards are usually not accepted.
- Half an hour for the first setup and ten minutes every time the server changes address or a protocol stops working.
What it costs
The cheapest usable VPS is about $4–5 a month, roughly the price of a commercial VPN subscription. The difference: one server gives you one exit country. Want the Netherlands for one service and the USA for another? That is two servers.
Where it breaks
- Address blocks. If your address falls under a block of the host's whole subnet, the server has to be moved.
- Updates. Circumvention protocols race with censorship, and Amnezia needs regular updates on the server, not just on the phone.
- Mobile carriers. Whitelists on mobile networks let through only some traffic, and picking a working protocol for a given carrier is manual work.
When Amnezia is the right choice
If you enjoy administering things, want full control and are not afraid of a terminal, Amnezia is an excellent tool. It is free, open and depends on nobody.
When a ready subscription is simpler
If you need a VPN so that sites just open, not as a hobby, a ready service wins on time. Surok has the entry in Moscow, nine exit countries, Russian sites direct, and protocol updates on our side. It costs 220 ₽ a month for one device, and connecting takes a minute: the subscription link goes into Happ, v2RayTun or our own app.
Amnezia can also import Xray configs, so if you like it you can use it as a client for our subscription rather than as a server.