https://besterry.com/tags/selfhost/Recent content in Selfhost on Besterry — Linux & DevOps NotesHugoen-usTue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://besterry.com/posts/selfhost-vs-saas-tradeoffs/Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://besterry.com/posts/selfhost-vs-saas-tradeoffs/<p>The &ldquo;self-host everything&rdquo; movement has passionate advocates on both sides. Reality is nuanced. Here&rsquo;s the framework I use when deciding.</p> <h2 id="cost-isnt-the-main-factor">Cost isn&rsquo;t the main factor</h2> <p>Many self-host advocates lead with cost savings. Usually it&rsquo;s misleading:</p> <ul> <li>SaaS at small scale is often free or cheap ($0-50/mo)</li> <li>Self-hosting on cheap VPS starts around $5/mo</li> <li>But self-hosting eats engineer time — 2-10 hours/month for maintenance</li> <li>At $100/hr engineering time, self-hosting often costs MORE than SaaS</li> </ul> <p>Cost-wise, self-hosting wins when you&rsquo;re either:</p>