The public pool is the right starting point for most users. It's cheap, it's flexible, you can switch nodes freely, and the pool itself is large enough that any one node losing a battle doesn't ruin your day. Most people will never need anything else.
The signals that you've outgrown the pool come in three flavours. First, IP reputation problems: captchas appear constantly, login flows demand extra factors, a specific service starts blocking the pool entirely because some other user got it flagged. The fix is a node nobody else uses.
Second, stable-IP requirements: a partner SaaS allowlists your egress, a self-hosted webhook needs to be told one IP and have that IP not change, an authentication system pins by source IP. The public pool rotates exits over time; for these workflows, that's a feature you don't want.
Third, performance consistency: the pool is shared, which means peak hours dent throughput in ways a dedicated node doesn't. If you're moving large data through the tunnel — backups, transfers, large media — the steady ceiling of a Personal server beats the average-with-spikes of a shared pool.
What Personal server is not: a privacy upgrade in itself. The voucher model and the no-logs architecture are identical between tiers. What Personal server changes is the network properties — IP, throughput, predictability. If your reason for upgrading is "I want more privacy", the upgrade won't deliver that; the privacy story is already as good as it gets at the lower tier.
Cost comparison is on the Pricing page in tokens. The token unit decouples the comparison from fiat volatility — the ratio between Shared pool and Personal server is stable even when local currency moves. The cabinet shows the current rate at the time of purchase, which is also the rate fixed for the voucher's lifetime.
Practical advice: don't pre-commit to Personal server. Try the public pool for a few weeks. The starter balance covers it. If you hit one of the three signals consistently, upgrade then — you'll know exactly what you're paying to fix.