Free self-hosted software: 36 apps for your own server
Self-hosting means running software on your own server: your data stays with you and there are no per-seat fees. In exchange, someone technical has to install and maintain it.
Penpot62,175An open-source, browser-based tool for designing web and app interfaces, Figma-style.Design & photoOpen source
Stirling-PDF95,986Open-source PDF toolkit you host on your own server with Docker, with 50+ operations.Office & PDFOpen source
Excalidraw135,319Open-source, hand-drawn style whiteboard that runs in the browser.Office & PDFOpen source
LanguageTool15,236Open-source spelling and grammar checker for English and about 30 other languages.Office & PDFOpen source
AppFlowy78,427Open-source Notion-style app for notes, databases and task boards.Notes & teamworkOpen source
AFFiNE74,313Open-source workspace that combines documents, a freeform whiteboard and databases, with local-first storage.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Wekan21,159Open-source, self-hosted Trello-style kanban board.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Kanboard9,947Very lightweight open-source kanban board written in PHP, with WIP limits and charts.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Plane62,140Open-source project management tool, an alternative to Jira, Linear and Trello.Notes & teamworkOpen source
OpenProject17,109Open-source project management for organizations, with Gantt charts and agile boards.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Redmine6,073Long-established open-source project management and issue tracker, widely used by software companies.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Taiga859Open-source agile project management with Scrum, Kanban, user stories and sprints.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Mattermost39,557Open-source, self-hosted Slack alternative with channels, direct messages, threads, voice calls and bots.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Rocket.Chat46,375Open-source team chat platform that also handles customer support.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Element13,640Open-source, end-to-end encrypted chat app built on the Matrix protocol.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Zulip26,190Open-source team chat that organizes messages by topic, so conversations don't get buried like in Slack.Notes & teamworkOpen source
Jitsi Meet30,210Open-source video meetings with no 40-minute cap: open a link and you're in.Notes & teamworkOpen source
BigBlueButton9,271Open-source virtual classroom with whiteboard, breakout rooms, polls and recording.Notes & teamworkOpen source
RustDesk128,600Open-source remote desktop app and an alternative to TeamViewer and AnyDesk.PC utilitiesOpen source
Nextcloud37,441Self-hosted open-source cloud storage and an alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox.PC utilitiesOpen source
Seafile15,435Self-hosted open-source file sync and sharing, known for being fast and light with large libraries.PC utilitiesOpen source
Vaultwarden70,410A lightweight rewrite of the Bitwarden server that you host for your family or company.PC utilitiesOpen source
n8n209,797Zapier-style workflow automation with drag-and-drop steps, 400+ integrations and AI steps.Web & online business
Activepieces25,423Open-source (MIT) automation tool as easy to use as Zapier, with many integrations and AI steps.Web & online businessOpen source
Node-RED23,823Open-source visual programming tool for IoT and factories that links devices to web services and databases.Web & online businessOpen source
Matomo22,013Open-source Google Analytics alternative: pageviews, sources, goals and e-commerce.Web & online businessOpen source
Umami39,982Lean open-source web analytics without cookies, easier to read than Google Analytics.Web & online businessOpen source
Plausible29,793Privacy-friendly open-source web analytics, free to self-host as the Community Edition.Web & online businessOpen source
PostHog40,696Open-source product analytics suite: traffic, funnels, session replay, A/B tests and surveys.Web & online businessOpen source
listmonk24,194Very lightweight open-source newsletter tool that manages lists of up to millions of subscribers.Web & online businessOpen source
Mautic10,951Open-source marketing automation: email, segments, lead scoring and nurture campaigns.Web & online businessOpen source
WooCommerce10,582Open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress that powers a large share of self-built online stores.Web & online businessOpen source
PrestaShop9,248French open-source e-commerce platform, strong at managing large, multilingual product catalogs.Web & online businessOpen source
Odoo Community55,631Open-source business suite: online store, point of sale, inventory, purchasing, CRM and basic accounting.Web & online businessOpen source
Medusa37,126Open-source commerce platform for developers (Node.js) with a separate admin and storefront.Web & online businessOpen source
Open WebUI158,070Self-hosted ChatGPT-style interface for teams that connects to Ollama or vendor APIs.AI
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FAQ
What does self-hosting mean?
Installing software on a server you control (a rented VPS or a machine in your office) instead of using the vendor's cloud service. Your data stays with you and there are no per-user fees.
What do I need to self-host?
A Linux server (a VPS with 2 GB RAM is enough for small apps), a domain name, an HTTPS certificate, and someone comfortable with Docker to install, update and back up.
Is self-hosting cheaper than SaaS?
For larger teams or heavy use it is usually much cheaper, because nothing is billed per seat or per run. In exchange you handle operations, security and backups yourself.