What do you use for staging when your host offers none?

I used to work support at a host that ran into this constantly with smaller clients on shared plans. When your host provides no staging environment, what does your workflow look like?

I've seen a few approaches work well:

• Local Docker stack mirroring production PHP/MySQL versions
• Separate cheap VPS from another provider (OVHcloud, Vultr) for throwaway testing
• Subdomain on same host with .htaccess password protection — risky if you forget it's there

Currently I'm testing a plugin combination that might remove the need entirely: WP Migrate Lite plus a small rsync wrapper. Early results are promising for WordPress workflows, though I know not everyone here runs WP.

Would love to hear what you're actually using day-to-day. Happy to check specific compatibility via DM if helpful.

— Jane