Honest comparisons, side by side
Choosing infrastructure is mostly about trade-offs. Each guide below compares an approach we offer against the common alternative — and tells you plainly where the alternative wins, so you can make the call that fits you, not the one that fits our sales page.
- Comparison
Shared hosting vs VPS: which should you choose?
An honest comparison of shared hosting and a VPS — cost, control, performance and who each one actually suits.
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Self-hosted VPN vs a commercial VPN service
When running your own VPN beats a subscription, and when a commercial provider is genuinely the better tool.
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Self-hosted video vs public video platforms
Owning your video hosting versus uploading to a public platform — reach, control, cost and privacy compared honestly.
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Managed DNS vs your registrar’s free DNS
Most registrars include basic DNS. Here is when that is genuinely enough, and when a proper managed DNS service earns its keep.
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Self-hosted email vs a business email provider
Running mail on your own server versus paying for a hosted mailbox — control and cost against deliverability and effort.
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Rented dedicated capacity vs hyperscale cloud
Snap-in resources against predictable bills — where elastic cloud genuinely wins and where fixed capacity is cheaper and quieter.
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Managed WordPress vs self-hosted WordPress
Managed WordPress removes the sysadmin work; self-hosting gives you control and lower cost at scale. An honest look at which fits.
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Self-hosted GitLab/Gitea vs GitHub cloud
Where self-hosted Git wins over GitHub, where GitHub is genuinely better, and how to decide for a small team or a solo developer.
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Nextcloud vs Google Drive (and Dropbox)
A fair comparison of self-hosted Nextcloud against Google Drive and Dropbox — cost, features, sharing and who each one suits.
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Self-hosted WordPress vs a website builder (Wix/Squarespace)
All-in-one site builders are fast to launch; WordPress on your own hosting is portable and cheaper long-term. How to pick.
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Icecast vs Shoutcast for internet radio
The two dominant streaming protocols for internet radio — licensing, features and which to run for your station.
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Self-hosted monitoring vs SaaS monitoring
Prometheus/Grafana and Uptime Kuma versus Datadog/UptimeRobot — cost model, features and when each makes sense.
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Not sure which fits?
Tell us what you are running and we will point you at the right product — even when that means the cheaper one.