About Selfhosted Guides

Selfhosted Guides is a resource for anyone looking to replace expensive SaaS subscriptions with open source, self-hosted alternatives. We cover 210+ tools across 32 categories — from file storage and password managers to monitoring stacks and CRM systems.

Why self-host?

• Privacy — Your data stays on your servers, under your control.
• Cost — A $5/month VPS can replace hundreds in SaaS subscriptions.
• Freedom — No vendor lock-in, no surprise pricing changes, no feature removals.
• Learning — Running your own infrastructure teaches you how things actually work.

Our approach

Every guide on this site aims to be:

• Practical — Real Docker Compose and bare-metal setup instructions, not vague overviews.
• Honest — We cover the trade-offs. Self-hosting isn't always the right choice, and we say so.
• Comprehensive — Feature comparisons, hardware requirements, migration paths, and security considerations.
• Maintained — Guides are updated when software changes significantly or better alternatives emerge.

What we cover

• Storage & sync — Nextcloud, Syncthing, Seafile, and S3-compatible solutions
• Security & access — Vaultwarden, Authelia, Authentik, Traefik, Cloudflare Tunnels
• Monitoring — Grafana, Prometheus, Uptime Kuma, Beszel, Netdata
• Productivity — Gitea/Forgejo, BookStack, Nextcloud Office, Outline
• Media — Jellyfin, Plex, Immich, Navidrome, Calibre-Web
• Communication — Matrix/Element, Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Zulip

Selfhosted Guides is operated by Paperkite Technologies, based in Seattle, WA.