nekotopia.io

a community for home labbers and retro geeks

Account Tiers

Welcome to the Grid, Cadet.

At Nekotopia, level isn't bought: it's forged in 1.21-gigawatt bursts of effort. Every guide written, artifact added, and pixel placed builds the platform. Level up your access by sharing your knowledge and homelab.

Use It, Share It, Then Ask

Nothing on this page is for sale. Basic is free. Plus and Pro get switched on by hand after a conversation with the maintainer, and it is a short one if you have been using the network. The live ledger further down shows what the network really costs to run. Three things matter:

  • What you share: wiki write-ups, gallery entries, forum answers, machines listed on Neko Pages.
  • Time on Torus: machines that stay connected day to day.
  • Allowance used: how much of your monthly data actually goes through the tunnel, since a bigger tier only makes sense once the current one is doing work.
1.21GW

Plus

Headroom for active projects with public internet egress.

Earned / members only
25 Mbps peak · 200 GB/mo · 256 kbps throttle
  • Everything in Basic
  • Internet outbound via shared IPv4 egress
  • Priority hub selection & gallery eligibility
  • nSolo eligible (dedicated public IPv4)
Join, Use, Then Ask
WOPR

Pro

Full routed prefixes, BYOIP, and advanced L3 networking.

Earned / members only
100 Mbps peak · 1 TB/mo · 1 Mbps throttle
  • Everything in Plus
  • nSolo included (dedicated public IPv4)
  • nColo: BGP routed prefix (up to 2^4=16)
  • nSolo Inbound + hosted service routes
  • LAN Extension networks & L2 bridging
Join, Use, Then Ask

Live Cost Ledger

What it actually costs every month to run multi-region WireGuard hubs, RIPE NCC allocations, BGP transit, and core services. Metered, not estimated.

Loading live cost telemetry...

Ground Rules

1. Use Comes Before Headroom

A quiet account needs nothing. Machines connected day to day, an allowance that is actually being used, a build written up on the wiki or a service listed on Neko Pages make the whole case for a bigger tier. Once that is true, ask.

2. The Books Stay Open

Hub capacity in the live AWS regions (London and Ohio today) plus RIPE IP block upkeep, metered live in the ledger. If contributions ever open up, every unit goes here and nowhere else.

3. Zero VC or Corporate Control

One self-funded maintainer who likes networking and old hardware. Basic access stays free so old gear can always come online.

Compare Network Features

Capabilities by tier. Readings in mono are limits; the rest is yes or no.

Capability Basic Plus Pro
Encrypted WireGuard Mesh YesYesYes
Jumphost Reverse Tunnel YesYesYes
Internet Outbound Egress Yes (Proxied)Yes (Shared IPv4)Yes (Shared/Dedicated)
Peak Bandwidth 10 Mbps25 Mbps100 Mbps
Monthly Data Cap 50 GB200 GB1 TB
Dedicated Public IPv4 (nSolo) Add-on (2^0=1)Included (2^0=1)
BGP Routed Prefix (nColo) Up to 2^4=16
Cost Today FreeFree, just askFree, just ask

Public-IP Add-Ons

Real public IPv4 allocations from the network's own RIPE NCC address blocks.

Early Access · Free Allocation

nSolo: Dedicated Public IPv4

Allocates a dedicated public IPv4 address with 1:1 bidirectional NAT. Allows your internal retro box or homelab server to accept incoming connections from the global internet without exposing your home IP.

Early Access · BGP Peering

nColo: BGP Routed Prefixes

Peer via BGP over encrypted WireGuard with regional hubs. Advertise your assigned IPv4 prefix (/32 to /28) directly from your own edge router with custom routing policies and pure L3 connectivity.