Self-hosted apps, compared

Plausible Analytics vs Umami

Pick Plausible for a polished, privacy-friendly dashboard built on ClickHouse; pick Umami for an MIT-licensed, Postgres-only analytics app that is simpler to host.

Umami vs Matomo

Pick Umami for a lightweight, cookieless dashboard that is easy to host; pick Matomo if you need a full Google Analytics replacement with deep reports, goals and plugins.

Plausible Analytics vs Matomo

Pick Plausible for a simple, cookieless dashboard that anyone on your team can read; pick Matomo if you need ecommerce reports, segments and the depth of Google Analytics.

Metabase vs Apache Superset

Pick Metabase for the easiest setup and a query builder non-technical users love; pick Apache Superset for SQL-first teams that need many chart types and a permissive Apache license.

Metabase vs Redash

Pick Metabase for an actively developed BI tool with a visual query builder; pick Redash if your team writes SQL and wants a lightweight, BSD-licensed query and dashboard tool.

Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat

Pick Mattermost if you want a Slack-like chat built for engineering and DevOps teams; pick Rocket.Chat if you want an MIT core with omnichannel customer chat and federation.

Rocket.Chat vs Zulip

Pick Rocket.Chat if you want Slack-style channels plus omnichannel customer chat; pick Zulip if your team works asynchronously and wants topic-based threads that stay organized.

Mattermost vs Zulip

Pick Mattermost if you want Slack-style channels with DevOps workflows and enterprise options; pick Zulip if you want topic-based threading and a fully Apache-2.0 server.

Chatwoot vs Zammad

Pick Chatwoot for omnichannel live chat and social messaging support with mobile apps; pick Zammad for classic email-centred ticketing with SLAs, a knowledge base and reporting.

n8n vs Activepieces

Pick n8n for the deepest node library, code steps and AI agent workflows; pick Activepieces if you want an MIT-licensed, simpler Zapier-style builder for non-developers.

n8n vs Node-RED

Pick n8n to automate SaaS apps and AI workflows with ready-made integrations; pick Node-RED for IoT, MQTT and home automation flows on lightweight hardware like a Raspberry Pi.

n8n vs Huginn

Pick n8n for a visual workflow editor with hundreds of integrations and AI nodes; pick Huginn for a hackable, MIT-licensed Ruby agent system for web monitoring and scraping.

Nextcloud vs ownCloud

Pick Nextcloud for a full collaboration suite with a large app ecosystem; pick ownCloud if you want a focused file-sync server, especially its newer Go-based Infinite Scale edition.

Nextcloud vs Seafile

Pick Nextcloud for a broad collaboration suite with calendars, chat and apps; pick Seafile for fast, reliable file sync of large libraries with lower overhead.

Nextcloud vs Syncthing

Pick Nextcloud for a central server with web access, sharing links and collaboration apps; pick Syncthing to keep folders in sync directly between your own devices with no server.

Immich vs PhotoPrism

Pick Immich for a Google Photos-style experience with official mobile apps and automatic phone backup; pick PhotoPrism to browse and tag a large existing photo library.

Immich vs Ente

Pick Immich for server-side AI search and a rich self-hosted gallery; pick Ente if end-to-end encryption matters most and you are fine with on-device machine learning.

PhotoPrism vs LibrePhotos

Pick PhotoPrism for a polished, mature web library that indexes folders in place; pick LibrePhotos if you want a fully MIT-licensed, Django-based app with AI search and no paid tier.

Traefik vs Nginx Proxy Manager

Pick Traefik for label-based, automatic routing of Docker and Kubernetes services; pick Nginx Proxy Manager if you want to add proxy hosts and SSL certificates through a simple web UI.

Caddy vs Traefik

Pick Caddy for the simplest config file with automatic HTTPS and a built-in file server; pick Traefik for dynamic routing that follows Docker and Kubernetes labels.

Caddy vs NGINX

Pick Caddy for automatic HTTPS and a short, readable config; pick NGINX for maximum control, a huge ecosystem of tutorials and proven high-traffic performance.

Outline vs Wiki.js

Pick Outline if you want a fast, Notion-like team knowledge base with real-time editing; pick Wiki.js if you want a classic, fully open-source wiki with Git sync and many auth options.

BookStack vs Wiki.js

Pick BookStack if you want a simple, structured wiki that non-technical staff can use on day one; pick Wiki.js if you want Markdown-first docs, Git sync and many storage options.

Docmost vs Outline

Pick Docmost if you want a Confluence-style wiki under a true open-source license; pick Outline if you want a more mature, Notion-like team knowledge base and accept BSL 1.1.

Ollama vs LocalAI

Pick Ollama for the simplest way to download and run local LLMs with one command; pick LocalAI for a drop-in OpenAI API replacement that also serves images, audio and embeddings.

Open WebUI vs LibreChat

Pick Open WebUI for a polished ChatGPT-style front end centred on local models via Ollama; pick LibreChat for a multi-provider chat app with agents and a permissive MIT license.

Keycloak vs authentik

Pick Keycloak for an enterprise-grade, Apache-licensed identity server with deep standards support; pick authentik for a friendlier UI, visual flows and a built-in proxy for homelab apps.

authentik vs Authelia

Pick authentik for a full identity provider with user management UI, SAML and LDAP; pick Authelia for a lightweight Go forward-auth portal that adds 2FA in front of your reverse proxy.

PocketBase vs Supabase

Pick PocketBase for a tiny single-binary backend with SQLite, auth and realtime; pick Supabase for a full Postgres platform with auth, storage, edge functions and room to scale.

Appwrite vs Supabase

Pick Appwrite for a document-style backend with broad mobile SDKs and functions in many languages; pick Supabase if you want relational PostgreSQL, SQL access and row-level security.

Uptime Kuma vs Gatus

Pick Uptime Kuma for a polished web UI where you add monitors and status pages by clicking; pick Gatus for config-as-code health checks defined in YAML and stored in Git.

Grafana vs Metabase

Pick Grafana for real-time dashboards over metrics, logs and time-series data; pick Metabase for business intelligence questions over SQL databases that non-technical users can answer.

Joplin vs TriliumNext Notes

Pick Joplin if you want native desktop and mobile apps with end-to-end encrypted sync; pick TriliumNext if you want a deeply hierarchical personal knowledge base you host yourself.

Memos vs Joplin

Pick Memos if you want a lightweight, self-hosted timeline for quick notes; pick Joplin if you want full notebooks with native apps and offline, encrypted sync.

Gitea vs GitLab

Pick Gitea for a fast, lightweight Git server with built-in Actions on modest hardware; pick GitLab if you want a full DevOps platform and can give it a large server.

Gitea vs Gogs

Pick Gitea for built-in CI, a package registry and a busier development pace; pick Gogs only if you want the simplest possible Git server with the smallest feature set.

Coolify vs Dokploy

Pick Coolify for a mature, fully Apache-licensed Heroku alternative with a big one-click service catalog; pick Dokploy for a lighter, fast-moving PaaS with Docker Swarm multi-node support.

Portainer vs Dockge

Pick Portainer for full management of Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes with users and access control; pick Dockge for a focused, fast UI that edits and runs docker-compose stacks.

Ghost vs WordPress

Pick Ghost for a fast, focused publishing platform with built-in newsletters and paid memberships; pick WordPress for maximum flexibility through plugins, themes and any type of site.

Cal.diy vs Easy!Appointments

Pick Cal.diy for a modern, MIT-licensed Calendly-style booking app forked from Cal.com; pick Easy!Appointments for a lightweight PHP booking system for services and staff.

Strapi vs Directus

Pick Strapi for a code-first, MIT-licensed headless CMS you shape in JavaScript; pick Directus to put an instant API and admin app on top of an existing SQL database.

Twenty vs Krayin CRM

Pick Twenty for a modern, Notion-like CRM with custom objects, workflows and strong APIs; pick Krayin CRM for a simple, MIT-licensed Laravel CRM that runs on ordinary PHP hosting.

NocoDB vs Teable

Pick NocoDB for a mature Airtable-style UI, mainly for internal use given its source-available license; pick Teable for an AGPL Postgres-native spreadsheet with direct SQL access.

Paperless-ngx vs Docspell

Pick Paperless-ngx if you want the most popular, easiest-to-run scanned document archive; pick Docspell if you want richer metadata, email import and a JVM-based stack.

Audiobookshelf vs Calibre Web

Pick Audiobookshelf if you want to stream audiobooks and podcasts with progress sync; pick Calibre-Web if you want a web front end for an existing Calibre e-book library.

Odoo vs ERPNext

Pick Odoo for the largest app ecosystem and polished UX, knowing key apps are Enterprise-only; pick ERPNext if you want a full ERP with every module open source under GPL-3.0.

Actual Budget vs Firefly III

Pick Actual Budget for fast, local-first envelope budgeting that syncs across devices; pick Firefly III for detailed double-entry tracking of every account with rules and reports.

Home Assistant vs openHAB

Pick Home Assistant if you want the largest smart home ecosystem with a polished UI; pick openHAB if you prefer a vendor-neutral Java platform with text-based configuration and rules.

Navidrome vs Jellyfin

Pick Navidrome if you only stream music and want a light server with many Subsonic apps; pick Jellyfin if you want one server for movies, TV, music and more.

Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home

Pick Pi-hole for the classic, widely documented network ad blocker with a huge community; pick AdGuard Home for built-in encrypted DNS, parental controls and a single-binary install.

listmonk vs Mautic

Pick listmonk for a fast, simple self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager; pick Mautic for full marketing automation with campaigns, lead scoring, forms and landing pages.

Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden

Pick Vaultwarden for a lightweight Bitwarden-compatible server on a home server or small VPS; pick the official Bitwarden server if you need vendor support and audited enterprise features.

Meilisearch vs Typesense

Pick Meilisearch for the easiest instant search with great defaults and on-disk indexes; pick Typesense for an in-memory engine with built-in Raft clustering for high availability.

AppFlowy vs AFFiNE

Pick AppFlowy if you want a Notion-style workspace with native desktop and mobile apps; pick AFFiNE if you want docs and whiteboards merged in one self-hosted Community Edition.

Jitsi Meet vs BigBlueButton

Pick Jitsi Meet if you want quick, account-free video meetings that are easy to host; pick BigBlueButton if you run online classes and need whiteboards, breakout rooms and recordings.

Frigate vs ZoneMinder

Pick Frigate for AI object detection and tight Home Assistant integration; pick ZoneMinder for a classic, mature NVR that records many cameras without needing an AI accelerator.