Self-Hosting in 2025: 15 Essential Services to Run on Your Own Server

Self-hosting gives you complete control over your data, privacy, and services. With rising concerns about big tech data collection and subscription fatigue, more people are turning to self-hosted alternatives. This guide covers the essential services worth running on your own Linux server in 2025.

1. Nextcloud – Personal Cloud Storage

Replace Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud with Nextcloud. It offers file sync, calendar, contacts, notes, and a growing ecosystem of apps. Nextcloud Hub integrates office document editing and collaboration.

2. Immich – Photo Management

Immich is a high-performance self-hosted photo and video backup solution that rivals Google Photos. It features machine learning for facial recognition, location mapping, and a beautiful mobile app for automatic backups.

3. Vaultwarden – Password Manager

Vaultwarden is a lightweight Bitwarden-compatible server that you can host yourself. All your passwords remain encrypted on your server, accessible through official Bitwarden clients across all devices.

4. Pi-hole – Network Ad Blocking

Block ads and trackers at the network level for all devices in your home. Pi-hole acts as a DNS sinkhole, preventing unwanted content before it reaches any device on your network.

5. Jellyfin – Media Streaming

Stream your movie and music collection to any device with Jellyfin. This open-source alternative to Plex requires no subscription and supports hardware transcoding for smooth playback.

6. Home Assistant – Smart Home Automation

Take control of your smart home devices without relying on cloud services. Home Assistant supports thousands of devices and enables powerful automation without vendor lock-in.

7. Paperless-ngx – Document Management

Digitize and organize your documents with OCR, tagging, and full-text search. Paperless-ngx scans incoming documents and makes them instantly searchable.

8. Gitea – Git Hosting

Host your own Git repositories with a GitHub-like interface. Gitea is lightweight, fast, and perfect for personal projects or small teams.

9. Syncthing – File Synchronization

Sync files between devices without a central server. Syncthing uses peer-to-peer technology with end-to-end encryption for private, continuous file synchronization.

10. Uptime Kuma – Monitoring

Monitor your services and websites with a beautiful, self-hosted status page. Uptime Kuma supports multiple notification channels and creates public status pages.

11. Wireguard – VPN Server

Run your own VPN for secure remote access and privacy. WireGuard is faster and simpler than OpenVPN while providing excellent security.

12. Mealie – Recipe Manager

Organize recipes, plan meals, and generate shopping lists. Mealie can import recipes from any website and includes meal planning features.

13. Audiobookshelf – Audiobook Server

Stream audiobooks and podcasts with progress tracking across devices. Audiobookshelf offers a polished mobile experience for your audio library.

14. n8n – Workflow Automation

Create powerful automations connecting your apps and services. n8n is a self-hosted alternative to Zapier with a visual workflow builder.

15. Ollama – Local AI

Run large language models locally for private AI assistance. Ollama makes it easy to deploy models like Llama and Mistral on your own hardware.

Getting Started

Docker and Docker Compose simplify deploying these services. Start with one or two essential services and expand as you become comfortable with self-hosting.

Conclusion

Self-hosting empowers you with data ownership, privacy, and freedom from subscriptions. While it requires initial setup and maintenance, the benefits of controlling your digital life make it worthwhile for many users.