https://pragmaticsysadmin.help/tags/honest-guide/Practical sysadmin guides, senior tech help for aging parents, and kids' learning games — without the buzzwords. By Jonne, a Finnish sysadmin.Hugo -- gohugo.ioenPragmatic Sysadmin (Pragmatic Sysadmin)Pragmatic Sysadmin (Pragmatic Sysadmin)Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://pragmaticsysadmin.help/sysadmin/self-hosting-isnt-free-honest-cost-running-own-server/Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000Pragmatic Sysadminhttps://pragmaticsysadmin.help/sysadmin/self-hosting-isnt-free-honest-cost-running-own-server/<p>Every self-hosting guide starts the same way: <em>&ldquo;Forget Dropbox, forget Google Drive — run it yourself and save money.&rdquo;</em></p> <p>I&rsquo;m going to tell you something different. Self-hosting costs money. Self-hosting costs time. Self-hosting has hidden costs that nobody writes about until you&rsquo;re three hours deep in a broken Docker volume at 11 PM on a Wednesday.</p> <p>This isn&rsquo;t an anti-self-hosting post. I&rsquo;ve been running my own servers at home for five years. I love it. But I wish someone had shown me this math before I started.</p> <p>So let me show you the math.</p>