Self-Hosting – Why & How – FOSS Alternatives

Why Self-Hosting?

Privacy & Data Protection: Your data stays on your servers. No third party has access to your emails, files or messages.

Full Control: You decide about updates, configuration and access. No unexpected changes to terms of service.

Cost Savings: Many FOSS tools are free. The only costs are server operating costs, which are often cheaper than SaaS subscriptions.

Digital Sovereignty: You are not dependent on a single provider. No vendor lock-in problems.

Learning Experience: Self-hosting teaches valuable knowledge about networks, server administration and IT security.

Start with an affordable VPS (Virtual Private Server) from Hetzner, Netcup or Contabo. A server with 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM is enough for many services.

Install a Linux system like Ubuntu Server or Debian. Most FOSS tools run best on Linux.

Docker makes installing most FOSS services a breeze. A simple docker compose up -d is often all it takes.

Use Caddy, Traefik or Nginx as a reverse proxy to run multiple services under one domain with automatic HTTPS.

Set up automatic backups, e.g. with Restic or BorgBackup. Regularly test your restores.