MacStadium vs Halfpenny Mac
Same concept, different approach.
MacStadium
- US-based (Atlanta, Las Vegas, Frankfurt)
- Starts at ~$99/mo for Mac mini
- Enterprise-focused with Orka virtualisation
- Support via ticket system
- Annual contracts on most plans
- Established since 2012
Halfpenny Mac
- UK-based (Cotswolds)
- Starts at £39/mo (~$49)
- Developer-focused, no virtualisation overhead
- Direct support from the engineers who manage your machine
- Cancel anytime, no notice period
- Built for indie devs and small teams
MacStadium's Orka platform is powerful if you need Kubernetes-style orchestration for macOS VMs. But if you just want a Mac you can SSH into and use, that's a lot of abstraction you're paying for and don't need.
Why UK hosting matters
Data sovereignty and lower latency.
If you're a UK or European developer, hosting your build infrastructure in the US means:
- Higher latency — SSH sessions feel sluggish, file transfers take longer, VNC is noticeably delayed
- Data jurisdiction — your source code and build artifacts sit under US law. Post-Brexit, that's a consideration for some teams
- US pricing — prices are set for the US market. The exchange rate adds 10–15% on top
- US business hours — support is available on US time, which means waiting until the afternoon for responses
Halfpenny Mac is UK-hosted, UK-priced, and UK-supported. SSH latency is typically under 15ms from anywhere in the UK.
Ready to get started?
Sign up and we'll have your Mac mini provisioned and online within 24 hours. No contracts, cancel anytime.