While self-hosting certain services is one of the best choices I've made in 2025, my time spent deploying different containers has also given me a lot more hands-on knowledge of the practice.

Self-hosting has been surging in popularity as people seek to rein in rising subscription prices and get more control over their own data. But at the same time, I've also seen enthusiasts over-simplify self-hosting and how practical it is for the average person.

For some people, it's definitely a way to reduce the role of Big Tech in their lives. But I don't think it's a solution that will solve the frustrations we have with major companies for the vast majority of people. Here's why...

Self-hosting requires resources not everyone has

Hardware, time, and often money

You can get started self-hosting on your primary device, like a laptop. But if you want round-the-clock connectivity, you're likely going to need an always-on device, sometimes dedicated to the purpose of self-hosting.

While you don't need a dedicated home lab to start self-hosting, the more services you deploy, the more you'll need to scale up. This means more powerful hardware, more storage, more RAM. This is especially true for services that incorporate machine learning and AI-powered features.

There are ways to get used components or buy devices on sale, but availability really depends on the market you're in. My budget has been a major constraint for me when it comes to self-hosting due to the cost of components in my region and the lack of device availability.

The upfront cost of upgrading my NAS's RAM to host more services, for example, would pay for nearly 5 years of Google One on my current plan. Buying an entire NAS or mini PC is a whole lot more.

As much as people want to be freed from recurring subscriptions, it's a hard sell to get them to invest in hardware for self-hosting when in the short and medium term, it's much cheaper for them to keep their hosted services.

Cloud solutions aren't only about convenience, but reliability too

Self-hosted solutions can be finicky

When you host your own services, you need to have robust backups in place to protect your data. And data loss is a big risk when it comes to self-hosting if you don't take the right precautions.

Cloud services from major companies have resources that the average user doesn't, including extensive infrastructure redundancies. Sure, there are times when cloud services aren't available, but you rarely see your data disappear or become corrupted.

When you're self-hosting, there's not a huge team maintaining your infrastructure. Even the software you're hosting is usually maintained by small teams of volunteers, and sometimes even a solo developer. This means you will often encounter bugs, or updates that introduce breaking changes.

Then there's user error. I recently lost some notes and checklists because I hadn't configured permissions for a container correctly and as a result, my NAS was not saving the files from the service. Luckily, this wasn't anything I couldn't recover from.

While you don't have to be a software developer or an IT specialist to self-host, I do think you need to be relatively tech-savvy. And I'd argue that the majority of people just aren't that tech-savvy. There are things that will determine how much you can self-host, and part of these are tech skills.

So, besides the reduced reliability of personal hardware and volunteer-developed software, there's a whole lot of potential user error to add into the mix as well.

​​So what is the solution?

A different balance for different folks

I'm not trying to be a naysayer who is suggesting that self-hosting isn't a solution for some. But we need to stop over-simplifying the complexities involved and proposing it as a one-size-fits-all solution to the woes of the modern tech landscape. This can help people find other solutions that could suit them too.

It isn't a choice between hosting everything yourself or accepting all the invasive data policies and expensive subscriptions of Big Tech companies. You can find a middle ground if you don't have the time or resources to self-host certain services.

For example, there are tons of great open-source apps that people can try out as alternatives to SaaS platforms. You can also seek out smaller companies that actually allow you to own a software license rather than expecting you to pay for software in perpetuity.

I'd also recommend looking at privacy-focused alternatives to Big Tech companies, even if they do require a subscription. Many people are happy to support companies trying to do things differently.

You can chip away at your reliance on Big Tech companies slowly but surely in a way that works for you.

Self-hosting is worth trying, but it's not for everyone

I still think that self-hosting is worth trying out for anyone who's interested in learning about it. There are some pretty cool tools you can access and some of my favorite apps of the year are ones I've hosted on my own hardware.

However, we also need to be realistic about how attainable self-hosting is for the average person, especially when they want to access services securely from anywhere. That way, people can find a middle ground and the solutions available that suit them.