The article discusses how self-hosting open source tools can help save money, especially for bootstrapped startups and freelance projects.
By self-hosting tools like Plunk for email, n8n for automation, Postgres for databases, Nextcloud for file sharing, and Redis for caching, the author managed to save around €150 per month.
Plunk serves as a self-hosted email platform, offering savings compared to popular email marketing tools like Mailchimp or Customer.io.
Using n8n for automation tasks provides unlimited executions and cost savings compared to n8n Cloud's monthly pricing.
Self-hosting Postgres for database needs, instead of using managed services like Timescale Cloud, can lead to significant savings and more control over data.
Nextcloud is favored for file sharing and data privacy concerns, offering an alternative to services like Google Drive or Dropbox.
Self-hosting Redis as a cache solution can cut costs compared to Redis Cloud, particularly for smaller workloads.
The article provides an overview of monthly savings by self-hosting these tools, highlighting the significant difference in costs compared to SaaS options.
Considerations for deciding on self-hosting based on time and financial factors are discussed, emphasizing starting with low-risk tools before critical infrastructure.
The author attributes affordable self-hosting to the Docker hosting platform called Sliplane, which charges per server and allows hosting multiple services economically.