A cloud server will cost about $10 a month or $120/yr. Forge will cost $15 x 12 = $180. Total is $300/yr?

I guess for some folks this is money well spent but if you don't have the tech 'chops' to spin up a Linode or D.O. server and install WP then perhaps you should not be doing it?

It looks to me like Forge is a solution to a problem that very few people should have. You should not be running a cloud server if you don't know how to run a cloud server. I think that for $300 a year you are best advised to get a commercial VPS or spend a bit more and get a professionally managed server.

There are a zillion tutorials out there on how to properly install WP and manage a cloud server. It is better to learn how to do the necessary functions than to rely on a 'black box' to do it all for you.

YMMV.