Self-Hosting Guide: Control Your Data and Save Money

TL;DR

• Self-hosting = running your own tools on your own server
• Reasons: privacy, control, long-term savings, no artificial limits
• Recommended stack: Cheap VPS + Docker + Coolify/Portainer
• Best alternatives: Umami (analytics), Nextcloud (storage), n8n (automation)
• Not everything is worth it: evaluate maintenance cost vs benefit

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Why Self-Hosting?

1. Real Privacy

When you use Google Analytics, Gmail, or Notion… your data is on their servers. They read it, analyze it, monetize it. Privacy is one of the key AI trends for 2026, and self-hosting is how you take control.

With self-hosting, data is on YOUR server. Nobody else has access.

2. Total Control

• No artificial “free plan” limits
• No pricing changes that affect you
• No features disappearing because they’re not profitable
• No “oops, we’re shutting down the service”

3. Long-term Savings

Service	SaaS monthly	Self-hosted
Analytics (GA4 alternative)	$0-50	~$0
Automation (Zapier)	$20-100	~$5 (shared VPS)
Storage (Dropbox)	$12-20	~$5-10 (VPS + disk)
Email marketing	$30-300	~$10

A $5-20/month VPS can run MANY tools.

4. No Vendor Lock-in

Your data in open formats. You can migrate whenever you want.

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The Recommended Stack (2026)

Level 1: The Minimum

Component	Recommended option	Cost
Server	VPS (Hetzner, Contabo, OVH)	~$5-10/mo
Containers	Docker + Docker Compose	Free
Reverse proxy	Traefik or Caddy	Free
Domain	Any registrar	~$10/year

With this you can run dozens of services.

Level 2: Easier Management

If you don’t want to write Docker Compose by hand:

Tool	For what
Coolify	All-in-one panel, best option 2026
Portainer	Visual Docker management
Yacht	Lightweight Portainer alternative

Coolify is my favorite: one-click deploys, automatic SSL, integrated backups.

Level 3: For the Serious

• Kubernetes (K3s for small servers)
• Ansible/Terraform for infrastructure as code
• Monitoring with Prometheus + Grafana

This is overkill for personal projects. Only if you have multiple critical services.

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The Best Self-Hosted Alternatives

Analytics: Umami

Replaces: Google Analytics, Plausible, Fathom

Why I use it:

• No cookies = no GDPR banner
• Clean and fast interface
• Data on my server

If you want to start here, check my Umami setup guide.

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Storage: Nextcloud

Replaces: Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive

Why it’s good:

• File synchronization
• Calendar, contacts, notes
• Decent mobile apps
• Document collaboration (with OnlyOffice)

Warning: Can be heavy. Needs good VPS or dedicated hardware.

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Automation: n8n

Replaces: Zapier, Make, Power Automate

Why it’s great:

• Visual workflows like Zapier
• +400 integrations
• No execution limits
• You can write custom code

Use case: Automate publications, sync data, notifications.

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Password Manager: Vaultwarden

Replaces: LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden Cloud

Why it’s worth it:

• Compatible with Bitwarden clients
• Very lightweight (< 100MB RAM)
• Total control of your passwords

Critical: Backups. If you lose this, you lose everything.

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Notes: Outline or AppFlowy

Replaces: Notion, Confluence

Outline:

• Very similar to Notion
• Native Markdown
• Powerful search

AppFlowy:

• Open source, local-first
• Newer, less mature

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Git: Gitea or Forgejo

Replaces: GitHub, GitLab

Why:

• Unlimited private repositories
• Integrated CI/CD
• Very lightweight

When to use: If you need private repos and don’t want to pay GitHub/GitLab.

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Media: Jellyfin

Replaces: Plex, Netflix (for your own library)

Why:

• 100% free and open source
• No subscription for features
• Apps for everything

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Home Automation: Home Assistant

Replaces: Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings

Why:

• Total privacy
• Works without internet
• Compatible with (almost) everything

Note: This is a rabbit hole. Prepare to invest time.

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Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Not Doing Backups

“The VPS disk died and I lost everything”

Solution:

• Automatic daily backup
• Offsite backup (another provider, B2, S3)
• Test restoration regularly

2. Exposing Services Without Authentication

“Someone got into my Nextcloud”

Solution:

• Authelia or Authentik as SSO
• Mandatory 2FA
• Fail2ban to block attacks

3. Not Updating

“I got hacked through a 6-month-old vulnerability”

Solution:

• Watchtower to auto-update containers
• Or monthly manual updates
• Subscribe to security advisories

4. Over-engineering

“I need Kubernetes for my blog”

Solution:

• Start simple (Docker Compose)
• Scale when necessary
• A $10/month VPS handles more than you think

5. Underestimating Maintenance

“I thought it was install and forget”

Reality:

• 1-2 hours/month minimum maintenance
• More if something breaks
• More if you want to add services

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When It’s NOT Worth It

Your Time is Very Expensive

If you earn $100/hour and self-hosting costs you 5 hours/month of maintenance… pay for the SaaS.

The Service is Critical for Your Business

• Transactional email → use Resend/Postmark
• Auth → use Auth0/Clerk
• Payments → use Stripe

If it goes down and you lose money, the savings aren’t worth it.

You Don’t Have Technical Knowledge

Self-hosting has a learning curve. If you don’t know what SSH, Docker, or a reverse proxy is… the learning cost may not be worth it.

It’s a Side Project You’ll Probably Abandon

Setting up infrastructure for a project you won’t maintain is wasted time.

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My Personal Setup

Hetzner VPS (€5/month)
├── Coolify (management)
├── Umami (analytics)
├── n8n (automation)
├── Vaultwarden (passwords)
├── PostgreSQL (shared)
└── Caddy (reverse proxy, SSL)

Backups → Hetzner Storage Box (€3/month)
DNS → Cloudflare (free)

Total cost: ~€8/month

This replaces: Google Analytics, Zapier, cloud password manager.

Estimated annual savings: €200-500 depending on usage.

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How to Start

Week 1: Basic Server

1. Rent VPS (Hetzner, Contabo, DigitalOcean)
2. Install Docker
3. Configure basic firewall
4. Point a domain

Week 2: First Service

1. Install Coolify (makes everything easier)
2. Deploy something simple (Umami, Uptime Kuma)
3. Configure automatic SSL
4. Verify it works

Week 3: Backups and Security

1. Configure automatic backups
2. Enable 2FA where you can
3. Install Fail2ban
4. Document your setup

After: Add Services As Needed

Don’t try to set up everything at once. One service at a time.

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Resources

Communities

• r/selfhosted (Reddit) - The largest community
• Awesome Self-Hosted (GitHub) - List of +500 projects

Learning

• Linuxserver.io - Well-maintained Docker images
• Noted.lol - Self-hosting tutorials
• Christian Lempa - YouTube

Recommended Hosting

• Hetzner - Best value in Europe
• Contabo - Cheaper, less support
• DigitalOcean/Vultr - More expensive, better UX
• Oracle Cloud - Very generous free tier

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Conclusion

Self-hosting is control, privacy, and savings. But it has costs: time, learning, maintenance.

For personal projects and side projects, it’s worth it. For critical business services, evaluate case by case.

Start simple: a VPS, Docker, Coolify, and one service you actually use. Add more when you need it.