A VPS is a Virtual Private Server that people can rent for a fixed monthly price. A VPS provider takes a large, powerful, computer and splits it into smaller, less powerful, virtual computers. People can customize their computers based on the needs of the node network.
It is often more cost-effective to rent a VPS, rather than spending the money to buy a dedicated machine for each node. Pricing can vary based on provider, but a reputable provider can offer much better uptime than hosting at home. Many providers guarantee 99% uptime, some even as much as 100% uptime. This is because there’s a large infrastructure in place to keep the servers running, even through a power outage. Some Node owners may have a bad internet connection or inconsistent power, so using a VPS may be the best option for them.
A full tutorial for setting up a VPS is available here.