5 reasons self-hosted software is gaining popularity again

Self-hosting, which involves hosting your own servers instead of relying on the cloud of a service provider, seems to be growing in popularity once again. Once considered a niche hobby, services that allow you to host your own software seem to be getting more attention than ever. While it takes some technical know-how to self-host software on your own private servers, there are plenty of resources online to help you start your self-hosting journey, including subreddits and YouTube tutorials.

But why are so many people turning to self-hosting? Here’s a look at some of the factors contributing to its popularity.

Wider access to server technology

It doesn’t take much to set up a small server anymore

Setting up your own home server requires access to hardware that you can use to host and run the software you want to use. While you might think this takes a serious upfront investment, you can create your first project using old hardware or budget components. One of the ways you can repurpose an old laptop, for example, is to create a home server (though there are some things you should know before turning a laptop into a home lab).

When it comes to storage hardware, capable HDDs and SSDs aimed at consumers have become more affordable over the years. Meanwhile, single-board computers (SBCs) like the Raspberry Pi provide cheap, pre-built systems you can use for a variety of self-hosting projects. You can also use a NAS for self-hosting and there are plenty of utilities that make it easier than ever to set up.

The lowered cost and ease of access to these components mean that even if you don’t have a device like a Raspberry Pi lying around, most people have hardware that has accumulated over the years. Even casual PC builders will likely have many of the necessary components lying around their home.

If you know where to look, you can even buy outdated enterprise server components at cheap prices. This is how some people are able to get sub-$250 enterprise-grade Xeon rigs. It’s thanks to this type of increased access to technology that more people are not only interested in self-hosting, but can start self-hosting without much cost.

The abundance of free, open-source software

There are plenty of self-hosted services to choose from

While open-source software that allows you to self-host has been around for a long time, those interested in self-hosting software have more tools to choose from than ever. This software, which is usually also free, covers a range of different functions.

There’s Nextcloud for storage, Jellyfin for media streaming, Bitwarden for password management, Home Assistant for smart home automation, and PhotoPrism for photo management. These are just some of the biggest names and there are plenty of alternatives available.

Cost saving

No more subscriptions

Now don’t get me wrong, there are costs associated with self-hosting. There’s the hardware you use, the impact running an always-on server has on your power bill, and other devices you may need like a UPS. But what you don’t usually face are recurring subscription costs that come with using a cloud service.

Many of us are embedded in cloud ecosystems because they used to be free. Google Photos is one example where I gladly started backing up my photos, only for Google to eventually count this towards its free allocation of 15GB of storage. By that time, I had thousands of images backed up to the cloud, and didn’t want the storage cap to impact my Gmail, so I begrudgingly subscribed to Google One. I’m on the cheapest tier, which gives me 100GB. But I am almost halfway through that storage limit and will either have to upgrade my plan or find an alternative backup solution.

These subscriptions can pile up over time, especially if you’re using a lot of storage and backing up your PC. Over the long term, backing up your data with free services and your own server could save you money. Using self-hosted free software with setups like your smart home also means you don’t have to pay to back up your camera footage.

If you already have a NAS, the upfront cost is even lower. You can build a Google Drive alternative on your NAS.

Less reliance on cloud providers

Server outages affect even the biggest names

You truly realize how much big businesses rely on cloud providers whenever there is an outage of a service like AWS. Some cloud service outages will only affect what websites you can load, but there are instances of people losing access to their smart homes during an outage.

Self-hosted software avoids this issue. While you could experience a self-inflicted outage if you do something wrong that affects your server, those types of outages are directly within your control.

Then there’s the fact that if a service provider stops operating in your region or withdraws an app, you don’t have to worry about losing access since you host it yourself.

Control over your data

You own your data

Perhaps the biggest benefit of self-hosting software is having control over your data. This data stays on your home network and storage and isn’t uploaded to a company’s cloud. This is useful when it comes to data leaks and breaches, but also data harvesting.

With generative AI training relying on our data shared with companies, who you share your data with is a particularly pronounced concern today. If you want to limit access to your files and other data, one of the best ways to do this is to run a private server.

You’ll still need to follow best practices when it comes to securing your home server to avoid malicious actors accessing your files. But you’ll also be less vulnerable to wide-ranging breaches of major companies.

With generative AI training relying on our data shared with companies, who you share your data with is a particularly pronounced concern today. If you want to limit access to your files and other data, one of the best ways to do this is to run a private server.

You’ll still need to follow best practices when it comes to securing your home server to avoid malicious actors accessing your files. But you’ll also be less vulnerable to wide-ranging breaches of major companies.