User blog comment:AnonymousTom/Private Servers @ Capacity + Minor DLC/@comment-28584497-20120328150932

I'd like to point out that you've ALWAYS had to pay for servers in BF games. This isn't a first. They're not overcharging, the price for a month is about the same as renting a server for BF2 or 1942 on Gameservers.com for a month. In fact, it's actually somewhat cheaper.

There's a difference between renting a server and finding a private match; that is, when you rent a server, you have TOTAL control over the entire thing, all the way down to minutiae. Whereas, joining a private match is a matter of finding an empty server. That's literally all you're doing when you join a private match.