Auto-alojamiento en 2026: la guía completa para principiantes

Self-hosting has gone from niche hobby to mainstream practice. In 2026, the tools are mature, the hardware is affordable, and the reasons to take control of your digital life have never been stronger. Whether you want to escape rising SaaS costs, protect your privacy, or simply learn how servers work — this guide will get you started.

What Is Self-Hosting?

Self-hosting means running applications on hardware you control — instead of relying on someone else's servers (aka "the cloud"). Instead of paying Dropbox $12/month, you run Nextcloud on a $5/month VPS. Instead of trusting Google with your email, you run Stalwart Mail on your own domain.

The benefits are compelling:

• Full data ownership — Your files, emails, and notes live on your hardware
• Privacy by default — No third-party scanning, tracking, or selling your data
• Cost savings — A single $5-30/month server can replace dozens of SaaS subscriptions
• No vendor lock-in — Switch, migrate, or customize freely
• Learning opportunity — Understand how the internet actually works

Choosing Your Hardware

You have three main options for running self-hosted apps. Each has its sweet spot.

Option 1: A VPS (Virtual Private Server)

Best for: Beginners, remote access, always-on services
Cost: $4–30/month
Recommended providers: Hetzner, Contabo, OVHcloud, Netcup

A VPS is a virtual machine running in a data center. You get root access, a public IP address, and reliable uptime. This is the easiest way to start because you don't need to worry about hardware failures, power outages, or dynamic DNS.

Option 2: A Mini PC at Home

Best for: Media servers, home automation, NAS
Cost: $150–500 one-time
Recommended hardware: Intel N100 mini PCs, Beelink, MinisForum

For services that need lots of storage (media libraries, backups) or that you want on your local network (home automation), a small home server makes sense. The Intel N100-based mini PCs consume only 6-15W of power — about the same as a lightbulb — and can run dozens of Docker containers.

Option 3: Repurposed Old Hardware

Best for: Learning, experimentation, zero cost
Cost: Free (if you have old hardware)
Examples: Old laptop, Raspberry Pi, retired desktop

Got an old laptop collecting dust? It's a perfectly capable server. Install Ubuntu Server, plug it into your router, and you're in business. The only downside is power consumption and noise compared to purpose-built hardware.

Essential Software Stack

Here's the software foundation every self-hoster should set up first:

1. Operating System: Ubuntu Server or Debian

Both are rock-solid, well-documented, and have massive community support. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is the default choice for most beginners.

# After installing Ubuntu Server, update everything
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install essential tools
sudo apt install -y curl wget git ufw fail2ban

2. Docker: Your App Deployment Engine

Docker lets you install complex applications with a single command. Instead of manually configuring databases, web servers, and dependencies, you just run a container.

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

# Add your user to the docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Install Docker Compose (included with modern Docker)
docker compose version

3. Reverse Proxy: Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager

A reverse proxy routes traffic from your domain to the right container. Caddy is the simplest option — it automatically handles HTTPS certificates.

# Example Caddyfile
cloud.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

pass.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8081
}

git.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

Every service gets its own subdomain, automatic HTTPS, and clean URLs. No more remembering port numbers.

4. Firewall & Security Basics

# Enable UFW firewall
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable

# Enable fail2ban for SSH brute-force protection
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban

Your First 5 Self-Hosted Apps

Start with these high-impact replacements that you'll use every day:

docker run -d --name nextcloud -p 8080:80 -v nextcloud:/var/www/html nextcloud

docker run -d --name vaultwarden -p 8081:80 -v vw-data:/data vaultwarden/server

# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama pull deepseek-r1:14b

# Install Open WebUI
docker run -d --name open-webui -p 3000:8080 \
  --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:11434 \
  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main

Cost Breakdown: SaaS vs Self-Hosted

Here's what a typical self-hoster saves per year:

That's 93% savings — and you get complete data ownership on top of it.

Security Best Practices

Self-hosting means you're responsible for security. Follow these essentials:

• Keep everything updated — Set up unattended-upgrades for OS patches
• Use SSH keys, not passwords — Disable password authentication in sshd_config
• Enable a firewall — Only open ports you actually need (80, 443, SSH)
• Use fail2ban — Automatically ban IPs with too many failed login attempts
• HTTPS everywhere — Caddy handles this automatically with Let's Encrypt
• Regular backups — Use restic or borgbackup to an offsite location
• Monitor your services — Uptime Kuma is a great self-hosted uptime monitor

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Don't over-engineer it — Start with 2-3 apps. Add more as you get comfortable.
• Don't skip backups — Your server will eventually fail. Backups are non-negotiable.
• Don't expose services without auth — Use reverse proxy authentication or VPN for sensitive apps.
• Don't ignore updates — Unpatched software is the #1 security risk.
• Don't run everything on one server — As you grow, separate critical services.

Next Steps

You've got the foundation. Here's where to go from here:

• Browse our app directory at hostly.sh to discover more self-hostable apps
• Join the community — Reddit's r/selfhosted is the largest self-hosting community with 400K+ members
• Set up monitoring — Deploy Uptime Kuma to watch your services
• Automate backups — Schedule daily backups with restic to Backblaze B2 ($0.005/GB)
• Explore AI self-hosting — Check out our DeepSeek R1 vs ChatGPT comparison

Self-hosting in 2026 is easier than ever. The tools are polished, the community is huge, and the savings are real. Start small, learn as you go, and enjoy the freedom of owning your digital life.

Ready to dive in? Browse our curated directory of self-hostable applications at hostly.sh — we categorize, compare, and review the best open-source software for every use case.