Move from multi-SaaS to self-hosted

If you want to move away from SaaS solutions and go with self-hosting, then FrontierStack is the tool for you.

Replace a stack of subscriptions with open-source equivalents you own and control.

Why self-host?

Cost, data ownership, privacy and control. A single Mac mini can run CRM, chat, helpdesk, analytics, storage and more.

Common swaps

CRM → SuiteCRM/EspoCRM; chat → Rocket.Chat/Mattermost; identity → Keycloak/FreeIPA; storage → MinIO/NAS — all in the catalog.

Run them safely

FrontierStack adds the firewall, open-ports watch, fail2ban, malware audit, backups, TLS and monitoring so your self-hosted stack is safe to expose.

See what you actually pay

Before you cut anything, find out what you are spending. Spend & Billing gathers every recurring charge — AI plans, cloud and hosting, SaaS tools, domains and certificates — as weekly, monthly or annual, grouped by category with monthly and annual totals. Presets cover the common services and you can type any name, so a subscription with no API is tracked just the same. Every entry keeps the currency it is billed in — dollars, euros, yen — and the totals convert to your chosen display currency at editable rates. Toggle one off to see the total without it, and it also watches your paid services for failed payments.

What self-hosting can save

The exact number depends on seats, support needs and which hosted systems you keep. The useful model is by use-case: replace the internal tools that are mostly workflow and data, keep the SaaS that carries legal, payment or marketplace risk, and let AI help create the missing glue.

Use-case	Typical hosted spend	Self-hosted operating spend incl. FS Standard at $10/mo	Possible reduction	Recommended pattern
Property management / short-term rentals PMS, guest messaging, smart-lock ops, task boards, reporting, docs	$600-$2,500/mo	$150-$500/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	65-85%$5,400-$24,000/yr	Keep the PMS/channel manager that earns revenue; self-host the ops hub, guest docs, automations, analytics and internal tools.
Education organization LMS, wiki, library, helpdesk, file share, forms, classroom sites	$1,000-$8,000/mo	$250-$1,200/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	60-85%$9,000-$81,600/yr	Use Moodle/Canvas-style LMS, Nextcloud, BookStack/Wiki.js and forms you control; connect SIS or Google/Microsoft only where required.
Retail / e-commerce Storefront, POS exports, email campaigns, analytics, inventory, support	$500-$4,000/mo	$150-$800/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	50-80%$4,200-$38,400/yr	Keep payments/POS where they reduce risk; self-host dashboards, inventory monitors, helpdesk, analytics and campaign tooling.
Agency / web studio Client portals, staging, uptime, analytics, file review, project docs	$400-$2,000/mo	$100-$350/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	55-85%$3,600-$19,800/yr	Replace scattered client portals and monitoring subscriptions with self-hosted status, docs, staging, Git and analytics per client.
Small business operations CRM, helpdesk, chat, scheduling, documents, password vault, backups	$300-$1,800/mo	$75-$300/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	60-85%$2,700-$18,000/yr	Run CRM/helpdesk/chat/storage locally, then connect accounting, payroll or tax services that must stay hosted.
Home lab / family office Media, files, photos, smart home, notes, DNS, password vault, backups	$100-$600/mo	$30-$150/mo incl. FrontierStack Standard at $10/mo	50-80%$840-$5,400/yr	Self-host the everyday services and keep only the cloud accounts that are hard to replace cleanly.

Assumptions: small teams to mid-sized sites; hosted spend combines several common SaaS tools, not one vendor; self-hosted spend includes hardware amortization, backups, domains, transactional services and a FrontierStack Standard licence modeled at $10/month, but not staff time. Treat this as a planning model, then plug in your actual invoices.

Use AI to make the equivalent

A monthly AI subscription can draft the replacement: data model, forms, dashboards, automations, import scripts, emails and reports. FrontierStack gives the AI safe tools to create, run, monitor and adjust those pieces on infrastructure you own.

Customize instead of overbuying SaaS

Many teams pay for large SaaS suites to get one special workflow. A better pattern is to self-host the base app, then ask AI to add the missing report, approval step, field, import/export, webhook or staff-only screen.