This is my actual setup, running for 18 months. Twelve Docker containers on a Synology DS920+, one Hetzner VPS, zero paid subscriptions. Total monthly: ~$7. Total upfront: ~$1,800.
Here's what I run, why I run it, what works, and what I'd do differently.
The stack
On the NAS (12 containers)
1. Nextcloud — file sync, calendar, contacts. Replaced Dropbox + Google Calendar. Pain: upgrades occasionally break. I pin versions and update quarterly.
2. Immich — photo library. Replaced Google Photos. AI face/object recognition is on par with Google's. Pain: ML hardware acceleration is fiddly on Synology.
3. FreshRSS — RSS reader. Replaced Inoreader/Feedly. Just works.
4. Jellyfin — media streaming. Replaced Plex. Free, open, no telemetry. Pain: hardware transcoding is borderline on DS920+.
5. Vaultwarden — password manager. Bitwarden-compatible but open source. Same clients as Bitwarden.
6. Calibre-Web — ebook library. Replaces Kindle cloud for personal books.
7. Paperless-ngx — document management. OCR + tag scanned docs. Slow on CPU.
8. Homarr — dashboard showing all container status.
9. Uptime Kuma — monitoring. Pings every 5 min, alerts on failure.
10. Pi-hole — DNS-level ad blocking for whole network.
11. Traefik — reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt.
12. Caddy — companion web server (legacy, migrating to Traefik-only).
On the VPS (Hetzner €4.35/month)
- Mailcow — mail server. Email is genuinely hard to self-host (deliverability, DKIM, blacklists). Spent 2 weekends setting up; monitor quarterly.
- WireGuard — VPN. Site-to-site between laptop and home. ~50 Mbps throughput.
Backblaze B2 ($7/month)
Encrypted backups via restic. ~1.5TB of unique data.
What I don't self-host
I still pay for:
- ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)
- Backblaze B2 backup ($7/month)
- Adobe Creative Cloud ($60/month)
- Apple One ($30/month)
- Domain ($12/year)
Unavoidable subscriptions: ~$120/month.
What I no longer pay for
- Dropbox Plus ($10/mo → $0): Nextcloud
- Google Photos ($10/mo → $0): Immich
- 1Password ($5/mo → $0): Vaultwarden
- Evernote ($8/mo → $0): Paperless + Joplin
- Plex Pass ($5/mo → $0): Jellyfin
- Inoreader Pro ($7/mo → $0): FreshRSS
- NordVPN ($4/mo → $0): WireGuard
Total saved: ~$60/month → $720/year.
What I'd do differently
Looking back at 18 months:
- Start with less. I initially had 20+ containers; trimmed to 12.
- Use Traefik for everything, no port mappings.
- Skip the GPU/4K transcoding rabbit hole — direct play works for 95%.
- Buy 2 NAS drives from different batches. Drive failures correlate within batches.
Should you self-host?
Self-host if you:
- Want data ownership
- Are comfortable with Linux/Docker basics
- Have backup discipline
- Have stable home internet
- Enjoy tinkering
Don't self-host if you want zero-touch reliability or aren't willing to learn Docker.
Cost summary
- Year 1: NAS $1,800 + VPS $60 + B2 $84 = $1,944
- Year 2: VPS $60 + B2 $84 = $144
- Year 3+: same = $144/year
Cloud equivalent: ~$60/month = $720/year. So break-even at year 3 (cumulative $2,088 vs $2,160 in cloud). After that, savings.
Final thought
Self-hosting in 2026 isn't for everyone. But if you have the time and patience, both the financial and data-ownership payoffs are real.
Start with 2-3 services. Build backup discipline. Add more as you get comfortable. Within a year you'll have a stack that works.
If I had to start over from scratch? Yes, without hesitation.
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