Articles
News, tips, and deep dives into the self-hosting ecosystem.
My Homelab Stack: Everything I Actually Run (and What It Costs)
A full tour of my budget homelab stack: the hardware, every service I run grouped by job, and the real monthly cost breakdown with numbers.
Best Self-Hosted Password Managers in 2026 (Vaultwarden vs KeePassXC vs Passbolt vs Bitwarden)
Comparing the top self-hosted password managers: Vaultwarden, KeePassXC, Passbolt, and official Bitwarden. Tested on real homelab hardware.
Why I Stopped Using Rack Servers (And What I Use Instead)
I ran rack gear for two years. Here's what the homelab rack server vs mini PC tradeoff actually taught me, and what I run now instead.
Self-Hosting Meets Real Life: What's Actually Worth Running at Home
Not everything belongs in a container. An honest, category-by-category look at what self-hosting actually pays off at home and what you should just keep paying for.
Portainer vs Dockge vs CLI: Managing Docker Containers in Your Homelab
A practical comparison of the three ways to manage Docker in a homelab: Portainer, Dockge, and the plain command line. Which one to pick based on how you actually run your stack.
Low-Power Homelab: Run 15+ Services on Under 25 Watts
Build a homelab that idles under 25W while running 15+ services. Hardware picks, container density tips, power budget table, and honest trade-offs.
Self-Hosting Immich: How iCloud 'Optimize Storage' Silently Wrecks Your Photo Backup
Running Immich for photo backup? iCloud Optimize Storage can quietly back up 3MP thumbnails instead of originals. How to audit your library and fix it.
Start Here: Your Reading Order from Zero to a Working Homelab
Not sure where to begin? This is the reading order through Budget Homelab, from your first mini PC to a fully self-hosted stack.
How Much Does a Homelab Actually Cost? (Power, Hardware, Time)
Year-one total cost of ownership for a budget homelab: hardware, electricity, time, storage, recurring fees, and the upgrade spiral. With real numbers.
WireGuard vs Tailscale: Which Remote Access Solution for Your Homelab?
A direct comparison of WireGuard and Tailscale for homelab remote access. Which one to run based on your setup, your patience for configuration, and how often you actually need to get in.
Best GPU for a Self-Hosted AI Homelab (Used 3060 vs 3090 vs P40 vs Arc)
A practical buyer's guide to GPU selection for local LLMs: the used 3060 12GB, 3090, P40, and Intel Arc compared on VRAM, noise, power draw, and real inference speed.
Best Mini PC for Home Assistant in 2026 (HAOS, Containers, and Heavy Add-ons)
The opinionated 2026 buyer's guide to mini PC hardware for Home Assistant: five picks across price tiers, real performance notes, and the accessories that make the whole thing work.
Nginx Proxy Manager vs Caddy vs Traefik: Which Reverse Proxy for Your Homelab?
A direct comparison of the three most common reverse proxies for self-hosting. Which one to pick based on how you actually run your homelab.
Homelab Security Basics: What You Need to Lock Down
The practical security checklist for homelabs: what actually matters, what's overkill, and what most guides skip entirely.
Mini PC vs Old Server vs Raspberry Pi: What to Buy for Your First Homelab
A direct comparison of the three hardware paths for a first homelab: mini PC, used enterprise server, and Raspberry Pi. Cost, power, noise, and what each one is actually good at.
Plex vs Jellyfin: Which Should You Self-Host?
An honest comparison of Plex and Jellyfin for self-hosted media: where each one wins, where each one loses, and which to pick for your homelab.
How to Build a Homelab for Under $300
A real budget homelab build covering hardware, setup, and what you can actually run on it, for under $300 total including storage.
Best Used Mini PCs for a Homelab Under $200 (2026)
The best refurbished and used mini PCs for running Proxmox, Docker, and self-hosted services without spending new-hardware money. Real picks with current pricing.
Beelink vs MINISFORUM: Best Budget Mini PC for Self-Hosting
A direct comparison of Beelink and MINISFORUM mini PCs for homelab use. Which brand builds the better budget self-hosting machine in 2026?
Homelab Backup Strategy: 3-2-1 Without the Hassle
A practical backup strategy for your homelab that actually gets done: what to back up, where to put it, and how to automate it without overcomplicating it.
Best Self-Hosted Apps for Beginners: Start With These 5
The five best apps to self-host first, chosen for low complexity, high value, and real impact on your privacy and monthly bill.
Why Your Homelab Needs a Reverse Proxy
A reverse proxy puts your services behind a single entry point with HTTPS and clean domain names. Here's why it matters and how to set one up with Nginx Proxy Manager or Caddy.
Proxmox Cluster: Running High Availability at Home
Proxmox clustering lets VMs migrate between nodes automatically if one goes down. Here's how it works, what you actually need to set it up, and whether it's worth the complexity.
How to Set Up VLANs in a Homelab: Isolate IoT on a $30 Switch
Set up homelab VLANs on a $30 managed switch: tag VLANs, configure trunk ports, route between networks, and isolate untrusted IoT devices. Exact config included.
Setting Up a VPN Kill Switch for Your Homelab
A VPN kill switch blocks all traffic if the VPN connection drops. Here's how to implement one for specific containers or your whole server, and why it matters.
Best Open-Source Alternatives to Google Workspace
Google Workspace costs $72-$216/user/year. These self-hosted alternatives cover email, docs, calendar, and storage, and they run on hardware you already own.
Best Mini PCs for a Budget Homelab in 2026 (Real Idle Power Numbers)
The complete 2026 guide to mini PC homelab hardware: every tier from $80 to $475, real idle power numbers, and the picks that actually run Proxmox and Docker well.
Homelab Power Usage: How to Measure and Reduce It
Your homelab runs 24/7, and that adds up on your electric bill. Here's how to actually measure what you're using and cut it without cutting your setup.
Replacing Google One With a Home Server: Is It Actually Worth It?
Google One keeps raising prices. Here's what it actually takes to replace it with a self-hosted alternative, and whether the trade-offs make sense.
Running Kubernetes at Home: Is K3s Worth It?
K3s makes Kubernetes small enough to run on a Raspberry Pi. But should you? Here's an honest take on when home Kubernetes makes sense and when Docker Compose is the better call.
NAS vs. Direct-Attached Storage for Homelabs
A NAS isn't always the right answer for homelab storage. Here's when direct-attached storage wins, when it doesn't, and how to decide which one you actually need.
Self-Hosting Your Password Manager: A Vaultwarden Deep-Dive
Vaultwarden is a self-hosted Bitwarden server that runs on almost nothing. Here's how to set it up, back it up, and actually trust it with your passwords.
The Hidden Costs of Homelab Nobody Tells You About
Electricity and hardware get all the attention. Here's the full list of what a homelab actually costs, including the things most guides skip.
How to Monitor Your Homelab with Prometheus and Grafana
Prometheus scrapes metrics. Grafana makes them pretty. Together they give you dashboards that actually tell you what's happening on your homelab.
How to Build a Complete Homelab for Under $500 in 2026
How to allocate a $500 homelab budget across compute, storage, and networking. Covers which mini PC to buy, what to skip, and what to add first when you have room to grow.
The Homelab Subreddit Hardware Buying Guide
What r/homelab and r/selfhosted actually recommend for hardware, and what the forum consensus gets right and wrong for budget builds.
Homelab Storage Options: NAS vs DAS vs Raw Drives
How to think about storage for your homelab: the tradeoffs between a NAS, direct-attached storage, and drives in your server, with real recommendations.
How Much Does a Homelab Actually Cost Per Month? (Real Numbers)
The real monthly cost of running a homelab: power draw, hardware amortization, domain, and services. Based on what I actually pay, not estimates.
Docker vs Proxmox: Which Should Your Homelab Use?
Docker on bare metal vs Proxmox: a direct comparison of both approaches, when to pick each, and when running both on the same machine is the right call.
Don't Use .local for Your Homelab Domain
Using .local for your homelab DNS zone conflicts with mDNS (Bonjour/Avahi). Here's why resolution breaks intermittently and what to use instead.
Why I Don't Open Ports on My Router Anymore
Port forwarding used to be the standard way to access homelab services remotely. Here's why I stopped doing it and what I run instead.
The Budget Homelab Starter Stack: 5 Services That Cover 90% of Your Needs
Skip the overwhelm. These five self-hosted services cover file sync, password management, reverse proxying, remote access, and document storage.
Self-Hosting vs. the Cloud: When It Actually Makes Financial Sense
A clear-eyed breakeven analysis of self-hosting versus cloud subscriptions, with real costs, real trade-offs, and an honest answer for different situations.
What Is a Homelab? A Plain-English Intro for Beginners
A homelab is a server you run at home. Here's what that actually means, what people do with them, and how to figure out if you need one.
Why Self-Hosting Matters More Than Ever in 2026
Cloud services keep getting more expensive and less private. Here's why building your own homelab is the smartest move you can make this year.