Colo is a lot more expensive than some dedi or VM somewhere. Can you provide me with a 12 core 32gb ecc 2TB ssd for 33eur/m? I doubt it.

You have to compare the actually performance of the dedi or VM. Cheap dedis and VMs are usually old, cheap hardware with relatively bad performance. I'm running a 20 core, 96 GB ram, 8TB colocated server for $55/month.

Where are you getting colo space that cheap? I'm moving a non-profit off OVH and onto dedicated and I'm looking at $150/month Canadian for 2u + 400w.

Also, don't forget about hardware acquisition costs, upgrades over time, replacement hardware and downtime due to outages, etc.

https://microtronixdc.com/ https://www.fiberstate.com/colocation

What if you don't want to host your stuff in the same jurisdiction where you live because you don't trust your government?

There are colocation datacenters all over the world.

Sure, but if something goes wrong with your colocated server, you're supposed to fix it yourself, aren't you? So it feels kinda important that the datacenter is close enough so you could get there quickly on a short notice. I'm imagining having to fly several hours and cross borders just to replace a failed hard drive, all while your server is down.

You can use "remote hands" service to some extent. For example: http://www.he.net/tour/Fremont_2_220_Remote_Hands_Service.ht...

You could leave a stack of HDDs and other consumables in your server cabinet for them.