I went the x1c route after the XL was too expensive to justify. Sold it after their first fuck up with the forced login that they put on the back burner (for now) and got a core one with the hope for Indx.
It just feels right to me to be able to control my printer and still have a modern machine that can be repaired in just about every way and where I control the software. So yeah, not the cheapest option but the most open one. That is what matters to me and although the prise for the indx is on the high side (especially for those of us on a budget) I don't regret taking that path.
I used to compare it with using Linux as a desktop which was hard in 2003. It was a hassle but I am very happy watching the past 22 years of enshitifaction and seeing how easy Linux has gotten. Let's hope prusa doesn't go the of long forgotten Linux distros we lost along the way.
Pangolin (or netbird) on the vps. I can recommend something with at least a gig of ram from ionos. The rest doesn't matter. Then just paste the vpn snippet on the local service compose (assuming you are using docker) and be done with it. Works like a charm.