What Are the Most Popular Private Services That People Decide to Self-Host?

• Popular self-hosted services for private (or family) usage
  • File servers
  • Media servers
• Home automation
  • Backup services
  • VPN servers
• Services that getting popularity for self-hosting
  • Personal Finance
  • Personal CRM
  • Personal Knowledge Management
  • Personal Health Management
• What devices can be used for self-hosting of private services?

Popular self-hosted services for private (or family) usage

Some popular services for private use that people choose to self-host in order to increase productivity and improve the quality of life of individuals or whole families include:

File servers

• such as Nextcloud or Owncloud, for personal cloud storage and file sharing. These services allow users to store, share, and access files from anywhere and on any device.

Media servers

such as Plex or Kodi, for streaming media such as movies, TV shows, and music. These services allow users to organize and stream their personal media collections as well as access online content.

Home automation

such as Home Assistant or OpenHAB, for controlling and automating various devices in a smart home. These services allow users to control lights, thermostats, security systems, and other devices from a single interface.

Backup services

such as Bacula or Duplicati, for creating backups of important data. These services allow users to schedule regular backups and restore data in case of failure or loss.

VPN servers

such as OpenVPN or WireGuard, for creating a virtual private network that can be accessed from anywhere. These services allow users to encrypt their internet connection and access their home network from remote locations.

It is important to note that self-hosting can require a certain level of technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.

Services that getting popularity for self-hosting

There are a few private services that are gaining attention or are envisioned to be very popular in the future that were not mentioned above. These include:

Personal Finance

such as Moneywagon or Firefly III allows people to manage personal finance and budgeting, allowing people to track expenses, income, and investments, as well as creating financial reports and goals.

Personal CRM

such as PHP CRM or CRMNext is a self-hosted personal customer relationship management tool, allows people to keep track of leads and customers, manage sales, and improve customer service.

Personal Knowledge Management

such as Obsidian (tool) or Zettelkasten (method) helps people to manage and organize notes, thoughts, and ideas in a more efficient way, allowing them to create connections between them and make easy to find related information.

Personal Health Management

such as Nightscout or Open Humans is a tool that allows people to track and manage personal health data, such as sleep, activity, and nutrition.

It is worth noting that these services are still relatively niche and may require more technical expertise to set up and maintain than more established self-hosted services.

What devices can be used for self-hosting of private services?

There are a variety of devices that can be used for self-hosting private services, depending on the specific service and the user's needs. Some popular devices include:

• Desktop computers: Typically old PCs. These can be used to run a variety of services, such as file servers, media servers, and backup services. They typically have more storage and processing power than other devices, making them well-suited for running multiple services at once, however, they are consuming relatively more electrical energy than other options.

• Single-board computers: These are small, low-power devices that can be used to run a limited set of services. Some popular single-board computers include the Raspberry Pi, the Odroid, and the Arduino. They are very affordable, easy to use, and can be powered by a small power supply.

• NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices: These are specialized devices that are designed for storing and sharing files on a network. They typically come with a variety of built-in services, such as file sharing and backup. Some popular NAS devices include the Synology and the QNAP.

• Cloud-based services: The last option that could be considered as self-hosted but all the data is not on your own premises. These are services that run on remote servers and can be accessed over the internet. Some popular cloud-based services include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. These can be used to host services remotely, with the added benefit of scalability and reliability.

It's important to note that the choice of device will depend on the specific service being run, the amount of resources required, and the user's technical expertise and budget.