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12 picks · data-backed ranking

Best self-hosted apps (YEAR)

The best self-hosted apps are Ollama, n8n (source-available) and Immich. Ollama leads with 182,289 GitHub stars. Candidates: every app in the catalog. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out.

One app per category, so the list covers the whole catalog instead of the same few kinds of software.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Ollama

    ollama/ollama

    Get up and running with Llama 3.3, DeepSeek-R1, Phi-4, Gemma 3, and other large language models.

    AI & LLM ToolsGoDocker

    AI-nativeTop pick for AI & LLM tools: Ollama has 182,289 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,083 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT.

  2. Rank 2:

    n8n

    n8n-io/n8n

    Free node based Workflow Automation Tool. Easily automate tasks across different services.

    FeaturedSource-availableAutomation & WorkflowsTypeScriptDocker

    Top pick for automation & workflows: n8n has 206,738 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Sustainable Use License 1.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 9,029 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.

  3. Rank 3:

    Immich

    immich-app/immich

    Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).

    FeaturedPhoto GalleriesTypeScriptDocker

    Top pick for photo galleries: Immich has 115,648 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,638 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

Full ranking

All 12 picks, ranked

Ranked by GitHub stars and recent activity. Open any pick for live stats and licence details.

  1. 1

    Ollama

    Get up and running with Llama 3.3, DeepSeek-R1, Phi-4, Gemma 3, and other large language models.

    AI-nativeTop pick for AI & LLM tools: Ollama has 182,289 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,083 commits in the last year; it replaces ChatGPT.

  2. 2

    n8n

    Free node based Workflow Automation Tool. Easily automate tasks across different services.

    Top pick for automation & workflows: n8n has 206,738 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Sustainable Use License 1.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 9,029 commits in the last year; it replaces Zapier and IFTTT.

  3. 3

    Immich

    Photo and video backup solution directly from your mobile phone (alternative to Google Photos).

    Top pick for photo galleries: Immich has 115,648 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,638 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.

  4. 4

    Supabase

    Postgres development platform with auth, realtime, storage and edge functions, the open-source Firebase alternative.

    Top pick for low-code & backend: Supabase has 111,147 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 6,123 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase.

  5. 5

    Stirling-PDF

    Local hosted web application that allows you to perform various operations on PDF files, such as merging, splitting, file conversions and OCR.

    Top pick for document management: Stirling-PDF has 93,634 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,925 commits in the last year; it replaces Adobe Acrobat.

  6. 6

    Uptime Kuma

    Easy-to-use self-hosted uptime monitor with status pages and 90+ notification channels.

    Top pick for monitoring & status pages: Uptime Kuma has 92,149 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,359 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Uptime Robot.

  7. 7

    Home Assistant

    Home automation platform.

    Top pick for home automation & IoT: Home Assistant has 91,266 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 17,497 commits in the last year; it replaces IFTTT and Nest / SmartThings.

  8. 8

    Excalidraw

    Virtual hand-drawn style whiteboard for diagrams and sketches.

    Top pick for utilities: Excalidraw has 133,574 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 272 commits in the last year; it replaces Figma and Lucidchart.

  9. 9

    Coolify

    Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.

    Top pick for self-hosting platforms: Coolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,939 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  10. 10

    Memos

    Knowledge base that works with a SQLite db file.

    Top pick for note-taking & editors: Memos has 63,545 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 928 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep.

  11. 11

    Traefik

    HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer that makes deploying microservices easy.

    Top pick for web servers & reverse proxies: Traefik has 65,081 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 846 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok.

  12. 12

    frp

    Fast reverse proxy that exposes local servers behind NAT to the internet.

    Top pick for proxy & VPN: frp has 109,755 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 165 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What are the best self-hosted apps?

The best self-hosted apps are Ollama, n8n (source-available) and Immich. Ollama leads with 182,289 GitHub stars. Candidates: every app in the catalog. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out.

Is Ollama free?

Yes. Ollama is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these apps with Docker?

Yes, all of them. Ollama, n8n and Immich publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.

Are all of these apps open source?

11 of the 12 apps on this list are open source; 1 is source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

Which of these apps is the most actively developed?

Home Assistant, with 17,497 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 2026.9.4, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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