SoloRack vs MacinCloud: full admin on a whole Mac, from one day

MacinCloud offers a wide range of cloud Mac plans, from a user account on a server it manages to a dedicated machine with admin rights. SoloRack offers one thing at three lengths: a whole Mac mini M6, rented to one customer at a time, for a day, a week or a month. Here is how the two compare, using MacinCloud’s own pages.

The short version

Admin rights at every length. Our $19 24-hour pass and $49 7-day pass get the same dedicated Mac mini M6 and full admin rights as the monthly plan. MacinCloud’s day-rate option, pay-as-you-go from $4 a day, is a standard user account without admin access, bought as prepaid credit.
A lower monthly price for a dedicated Mac. $112 a month for a Mac mini M6, against $164 for MacinCloud’s dedicated M4 plan.
A warning before every renewal. We email you 3 days and 1 day before each monthly renewal, and give you 24 hours to fix a failed payment, with your Mac still reachable. MacinCloud’s terms say customers are not notified in advance of renewals.
No copies when the rental ends. Our reminders tell you to save your work, then your files are deleted and we keep no copy. MacinCloud’s terms leave backups to the customer and state no retention period after a cancellation.

Side by side

SoloRack and MacinCloud compared. MacinCloud details come from its own website.

	SoloRack	MacinCloud
Price for a day	$19 (24-hour pass, whole Mac, admin rights)	Pay-as-you-go from $4 a day, sold as prepaid credit starting at 7 days (or 25 hours, from $1 an hour); standard user account, no admin
Price for a week	$49 (7-day pass, same Mac)	Pay-as-you-go 7-day credit, from $4 a day; dedicated plans are priced monthly
Price for a month	$112, VAT included where it applies	Dedicated M4: $164. Managed user account on an M4: from $29
Machine	Mac mini M6: Apple M6, 12-core CPU, 16 GB memory, 256 GB SSD	Dedicated M4 plan: M4, 16 GB, 250 GB SSD. M2, M1 and Intel plans also listed
Dedicated or shared	A physical Mac rented whole to one customer at a time	Dedicated plans: a dedicated macOS instance. Managed and pay-as-you-go: a standard user account on a Mac server MacinCloud manages
Access	Remote desktop from Windows, macOS or Linux, plus SSH	Dedicated: VNC, third-party apps or a browser; RDP as an add-on on M4 and M2 plans; SSH via Remote Login. Managed and pay-as-you-go: RDP or a browser; SSH as an add-on
Admin rights	Full admin rights on every plan	Dedicated: full admin, root and sudo. Managed and pay-as-you-go: none
Where it runs	An EU datacenter	Eight locations: near Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, London, Frankfurt, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney
Minimum rental	24 hours	Pay-as-you-go: prepaid credit from 25 hours or 7 days. Dedicated: billed monthly
Renewal reminders and grace period	Emails 3 days and 1 day before a monthly renewal; 2 hours and again 30 minutes before a pass ends; 24 hours to fix a failed payment, with access open and the Mac untouched	Terms: no advance notice of renewals. No grace period stated
Data at the end	Deleted within minutes of the end, no backup or copy kept; you’re warned first, and the whole Mac is erased before the next customer	Terms: backups are the customer’s job; expired pay-as-you-go accounts can be permanently removed; no retention period stated
Support languages	English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish and Arabic, by email, answered by people	Not stated on its website; support through a ticket system and email

Price: what $19, $49 and $112 buy

For a day, MacinCloud’s headline number is lower: its pay-as-you-go plan starts at $4 a day, and our 24-hour pass costs $19. What each one buys is different. MacinCloud’s pay-as-you-go is prepaid credit, from 25 hours or from 7 days, and its plan page says the purchase is not refundable. You get a standard user account on a Mac mini M1, M2 or M4 that MacinCloud manages, with macOS up to Sequoia; root and admin access are reserved for its dedicated plans. Our pass is a whole Mac mini M6 with full admin rights for 24 consecutive hours, and one day is all you buy.

For a week, our 7-day pass is $49 for the same dedicated Mac. Seven days at MacinCloud’s lowest advertised day rate come to less, $28, but as a standard user account on a Mac that MacinCloud manages. Ours is a whole Mac with admin rights for the full week.

For a month, the fair comparison is dedicated against dedicated. Ours is $112 for a Mac mini M6 with 16 GB and a 256 GB SSD, VAT included where it applies. MacinCloud’s dedicated M4 plan, with 16 GB and a 250 GB SSD, is $164: $52 more, for an earlier generation of Apple chip. Its managed M4 account starts at $29 a month, but that is a user account, not a machine of your own.

One machine, one customer, full admin

Every SoloRack plan is a physical Mac mini M6, rented whole to one customer at a time, with full admin rights from the first minute. Install whatever your toolchain needs without asking anyone.

At MacinCloud, admin rights depend on the plan. Dedicated plans include full administrator, root and sudo access. Managed and pay-as-you-go plans are standard user accounts with tools pre-installed, and MacinCloud’s support team carries out admin tasks on request. If your build needs more, you ask support or move to a dedicated plan. With SoloRack, a short rental and admin rights come together.

Renewals and your data

We email you 3 days and 1 day before each monthly renewal, and 2 hours and again 30 minutes before a pass ends. If a payment fails, you get an email with a link to update your card, and 24 hours to fix it, with your Mac untouched and still reachable. You can cancel the monthly plan at any time in the Stripe customer portal.

MacinCloud’s subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel, and its terms state that you will not be notified in advance of renewals. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, with no refund for that period. Pay-as-you-go credit is recharged automatically when it runs out. The terms describe no grace period after a failed payment.

At the end of a rental, we never wipe a Mac without warning. Our reminders tell you that everything on it is deleted when the rental ends, so you can download your files and export your signing certificates first. Within minutes of the end, your macOS account and all your files are deleted. We keep no backup or copy, so we cannot get them back, and the whole Mac is erased before the next customer. MacinCloud’s terms make you responsible for backing up your own content, and say expired pay-as-you-go accounts are subject to permanent removal: pay-as-you-go credit expires after 60 consecutive days without a login. The terms state no retention period after a cancellation.

Support and getting started from Windows

Our support is by email, answered by people, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish or Arabic. MacinCloud runs a support portal with a ticket system and accepts email; its website does not say which languages its support covers.

MacinCloud’s managed and pay-as-you-go plans connect through Microsoft’s Remote Desktop, which Windows already includes, and its M4 and M2 dedicated plans offer RDP as an add-on. That is a real convenience.

With SoloRack, you connect from Windows, macOS or Linux with a remote desktop app, plus SSH for the command line, a few minutes after payment. You install Xcode from the App Store with your own Apple Account, so the licence is yours. Checkout is hosted by Stripe, cards that ask for 3D Secure work, and businesses can add their VAT number there.

Who MacinCloud suits

MacinCloud is a sensible choice if you want your Mac in North America, Asia or Australia: it lists eight locations across those regions and Europe. It also suits you if you need an older macOS release (its dedicated plans page lists versions back to OS X El Capitan), or if a managed account with pre-installed tools is enough and you want to try it first: first-time users get a 24-hour trial on managed plans.

Switching to SoloRack

Pick a plan. The 24-hour pass is $19, the 7-day pass $49 and the monthly plan $112. Pay on Stripe’s checkout page.
Get your Mac in minutes. Your access details are ready in My account a few minutes after payment.
Connect. Open the remote desktop from Windows, macOS or Linux, or use SSH. Sign in to the App Store with your Apple Account, install Xcode and clone your project.