Why I self-host almost everything now

I moved most of my automation onto a small server I rent for a few euros a month, and I would not go back.

The trigger was a workflow tool I relied on. It was fine, until the free tier changed and I realised my whole setup lived on someone else’s terms. So I moved it onto a plain Linux box I control. Same tools, running in containers, sitting behind a web server that handles HTTPS for me automatically.

Here is the thing people get wrong about self-hosting: they assume it means constant maintenance. In practice, once it is set up, it mostly just runs. The real cost is the first weekend of learning, not the ongoing upkeep.

What actually changed for me

The obvious win is money. A single small server can run a dozen things that would each be a separate subscription.

The bigger win is that the pieces start talking to each other. When everything lives in one place, wiring one tool into another stops being a paid integration and becomes a few lines of config. That compounds over time.

What I would tell past me

Start with one thing you already pay for, and move only that. Get it working end to end before you touch anything else. Momentum matters more than a perfect plan, and a working setup you understand beats a clever one you do not.