Self-Hosted Infrastructure: SaaS Freedom in Practice

Running 15+ self-hosted services that replace $2,000+/month in SaaS subscriptions while maintaining enterprise-grade security and 99.9% uptime.

The Challenge

Modern businesses drown in SaaS subscriptions. Each tool seems affordable – $10/month here, $30/month there – but the total adds up fast. Worse, your data lives on someone else’s servers, subject to their security practices, their pricing changes, and their business continuity.

The challenge: replace enterprise SaaS tools with self-hosted alternatives that maintain the same reliability and security, while dramatically reducing costs and regaining data sovereignty.

The Solution

We built and maintain a comprehensive self-hosted infrastructure that demonstrates exactly what we deliver through our Self-Hosted Independence service. This isn’t theoretical – it’s the production environment that runs our business.

Productivity & Collaboration

• Nextcloud – File storage, calendar, contacts (replaces Google Workspace/Dropbox)
• GitLab – Source control, CI/CD, issue tracking (replaces GitHub Teams)
• Obsidian Sync – Self-hosted sync server for knowledge management
• JupyterLab – Data analysis and development notebooks

Communication & CRM

• Stalwart Mail Server – Full email server with SMTP, IMAP, spam filtering (replaces Google Workspace mail)
• SimpleLogin – Email aliasing for privacy and organization
• EspoCRM – Customer relationship management (replaces HubSpot/Salesforce basics)

Automation & Infrastructure

• n8n – Workflow automation (replaces Zapier)
• Activepieces – Alternative workflow engine for specific use cases
• PowerDNS – Authoritative DNS server with full control
• OpenResty/Nginx – High-performance reverse proxy and load balancing
• CyberPanel – Server management and hosting control panel

Security & Networking

• Vaultwarden – Password management (replaces 1Password/LastPass)
• ZeroTier – Software-defined networking for secure cross-location access
• Fail2ban – Intrusion prevention across all services
• Automated backups – Encrypted offsite backups with tested restores

The Results

• $2,000+/month in SaaS savings – replaced subscriptions with ~$100/month hosting
• 99.9% uptime – properly configured self-hosted beats many SaaS reliability claims
• Complete data sovereignty – all data on owned/controlled infrastructure
• No vendor lock-in – can migrate or export anything at any time
• Enhanced security – attack surface reduced to what we actually use
• 3+ years in production – proven reliability, not just theory

Cost Comparison

What this infrastructure replaces:

• Google Workspace Business: $12-18/user/month
• GitHub Teams: $4-21/user/month
• Zapier Professional: $49-89/month
• 1Password Teams: $8/user/month
• HubSpot Starter: $50+/month
• Dropbox Business: $15-24/user/month

Total SaaS equivalent: $2,000-3,000/month

Self-hosted infrastructure: ~$100/month (VPS hosting + domains)

Annual savings: $22,800-34,800

Technologies Used

Get Your SaaS Freedom

This is exactly what we deliver through our Self-Hosted Independence service. We’ll audit your current SaaS stack, identify the best self-hosted alternatives, and set up everything with proper security and backups.