Let us do some quick math. If you are like most professionals or small teams, you are probably paying for some combination of: cloud storage (€10/month), password manager (€5/month), project management (€12/month), analytics (€15/month), email marketing (€20/month), file sharing (€8/month), video calls (€12/month), and monitoring tools (€15/month).
That is €97/month — €1,164 per year — for services that have excellent free, self-hosted alternatives. And that is a conservative estimate.
Self-hosting in 2026 is not the painful, unreliable experience it used to be. Modern self-hosted software is polished, Docker makes deployment trivial, and the community support is outstanding. This guide will show you exactly what to replace and how.
The Self-Hosting Advantage
- Cost: Most alternatives are completely free and open-source
- Privacy: Your data stays on your hardware, under your control
- No vendor lock-in: Switch tools or modify them without losing your data
- Performance: Local hosting means instant response times
- Learning: Running your own infrastructure builds valuable skills
The Complete SaaS Replacement Guide
Cloud Storage: Replace Google Drive / Dropbox
Self-hosted alternative: Nextcloud
- File sync across all devices (desktop, mobile, web)
- Built-in office suite (Nextcloud Office / Collabora)
- Calendar, contacts, notes, tasks — all integrated
- End-to-end encryption available
- You save: €10-15/month per user
Password Manager: Replace 1Password / LastPass
Self-hosted alternative: Vaultwarden
- Bitwarden-compatible server, uses official Bitwarden apps
- Full-featured: folders, organizations, password sharing, TOTP
- Incredibly lightweight — runs on a Raspberry Pi
- You save: €5-8/month per user
Photo Management: Replace Google Photos / iCloud
Self-hosted alternative: Immich
- Stunning Google Photos-like interface
- AI-powered face recognition and object detection
- Mobile app with automatic backup
- Timeline view, albums, sharing — everything you expect
- You save: €3-10/month
Web Analytics: Replace Google Analytics
Self-hosted alternative: Plausible CE or Umami
- Privacy-focused — no cookies, GDPR-compliant by default
- Beautiful, simple dashboard
- Lightweight script (under 1KB vs Google's 45KB)
- You save: €10-50/month depending on traffic
Project Management: Replace Trello / Asana / Jira
Self-hosted alternatives:
- Plane — Jira-like with modern UI, issues, cycles, modules
- Vikunja — Kanban boards, lists, and calendars
- Taiga — Full agile project management (Scrum and Kanban)
- You save: €8-25/month per user
Communication: Replace Slack
Self-hosted alternatives:
- Mattermost — Slack clone with channels, threads, integrations
- Rocket.Chat — Feature-rich team communication
- You save: €7-15/month per user
Note-Taking / Wiki: Replace Notion / Confluence
Self-hosted alternatives:
- Outline — Beautiful, fast, Notion-like wiki
- BookStack — Organized documentation platform
- Silverbullet — Markdown-based note-taking
- You save: €8-20/month per user
Monitoring / Uptime: Replace Pingdom / UptimeRobot Pro
Self-hosted alternative: Uptime Kuma
- Beautiful monitoring dashboard
- HTTP, TCP, DNS, Docker, and game server monitoring
- Notifications via email, Slack, Telegram, Discord, and 50+ more
- You save: €15-50/month
Email Marketing: Replace Mailchimp
Self-hosted alternative: Listmonk
- High-performance mailing list manager
- Template builder, campaign management, analytics
- Handles millions of subscribers on modest hardware
- You save: €20-100+/month depending on list size
The Docker Compose Starter Stack
Here is a practical starting point. These five services can be deployed in under an hour with Docker Compose:
- Traefik — Reverse proxy with automatic SSL certificates
- Vaultwarden — Password management (critical security tool)
- Uptime Kuma — Monitor your other services
- Nextcloud — File storage and collaboration
- Plausible CE — Website analytics
This stack replaces roughly €50-80/month in SaaS subscriptions and runs comfortably on a €100 mini PC drawing 15 watts of power.
Security Considerations
Self-hosting means you are responsible for security. Essential practices:
- Keep everything updated — use Watchtower for automatic Docker image updates
- Use a reverse proxy with SSL — never expose services without HTTPS
- Enable 2FA everywhere — especially on admin panels
- Regular backups — automated, tested, and stored off-site
- Firewall rules — only expose ports you absolutely need
- VPN access — use WireGuard for secure remote access instead of exposing services to the internet
When NOT to Self-Host
Self-hosting is not always the right choice:
- Email — Self-hosting email is a nightmare of deliverability issues. Use a proper email provider.
- DNS — Use Cloudflare or similar. Do not run your own authoritative DNS unless you know exactly why.
- Critical business tools with SLA requirements — if downtime costs you more than the subscription, pay for the SaaS version.
Getting Started
The barrier to entry has never been lower. If you can follow a guide and type commands into a terminal, you can self-host. Start with one service, get comfortable, then expand.
Build the skills you need:
- Docker Fundamentals — essential for self-hosting
- Docker Compose & Multi-Container Applications — manage complex stacks
- Docker Security & Production Hardening — secure your self-hosted services
Your wallet and your privacy will both thank you.
