Comparison

Traefik vs Caddy vs Nginx Proxy Manager: Reverse Proxy Showdown 2026 Every self-hoster hits the same wall: you’ve got a dozen services running on different ports, and you want clean URLs with HTTPS. You need a reverse proxy. The question is which one. Traefik, Caddy, and Nginx Proxy Manager are the three most popular choices in the self-hosting world. They all solve the same core problem — route app.yourdomain.com to the right container with automatic SSL — but they do it very differently. ...

Running Authentik vs Authelia: SSO Comparison for Self-Hosters (2026) You’re tired of logging into every self-hosted service separately. You want single sign-on. You’ve narrowed it down to two options: Authentik and Authelia. Both are open-source, both work with Docker, both solve the “too many logins” problem — but they take fundamentally different approaches. Authentik is a full identity provider. Authelia is a lightweight authentication portal. Choosing between them depends on what you actually need. ...

If you’re leaving Google Photos (or Apple iCloud, or Amazon Photos), you’ve probably narrowed it down to two options: Photoprism and Immich. Both are excellent. Both are self-hosted. Both will keep your photos private. But they’re built for different people. Here’s the honest breakdown after running both in production throughout 2025 and into 2026. The Quick Answer Choose Immich if you want a Google Photos replacement with automatic mobile backups and you’re comfortable with a fast-moving project that occasionally has breaking changes. ...

You’ve got a hard drive full of movies, TV shows, and music. You want to stream them to every device in your house — and maybe remotely too. The two big options are Plex and Jellyfin. Both work. Both are good. But they’re fundamentally different in philosophy, and the right choice depends on what you care about. The Short Answer Pick Plex if you want a polished experience that just works, don’t mind some cloud dependency, and are okay with paying for premium features. Pick Jellyfin if you want fully open-source, no cloud anything, no accounts, and don’t mind rougher edges. Quick Comparison Feature Plex Jellyfin Price Free + $120 lifetime Plex Pass 100% free Open Source No (proprietary) Yes (GPL) Account Required Yes (Plex account) No Cloud Dependency Yes (auth, discovery) None Mobile Apps Excellent (paid unlock) Good (free) Smart TV Apps Excellent Limited Transcoding Excellent (hw accel) Good (hw accel) Live TV / DVR Yes (Plex Pass) Yes (free) Music Plexamp (excellent) Basic Plugins Limited (removed most) Full plugin support Multi-user Yes Yes Remote Access Built-in Manual (reverse proxy/VPN) Installation Both run great in Docker. ...

Choosing the right VPS is the most important decision you’ll make for your homelab-in-the-cloud. Get it wrong and you’re overpaying, underperforming, or dealing with support nightmares. I’ve tested all the major providers. Here’s what actually matters. TL;DR — Best VPS Picks Use Case Best Pick Why Starting Price Best Overall Hetzner Unbeatable price/performance €3.79/mo Best US-Based Vultr 32 locations, hourly billing $5/mo Best Managed DigitalOcean Easiest UI, great docs $4/mo Best Free Tier Oracle Cloud 4 ARM cores + 24GB RAM free forever Free Best for Europe Hetzner German datacenters, GDPR-native €3.79/mo Best High-Performance Vultr Bare Metal Dedicated hardware $120/mo 1. Hetzner — Best Price-to-Performance Hetzner is the open secret of the self-hosting community. German company, incredible pricing, solid hardware. ...

Self-Hosted RSS Reader: FreshRSS vs Miniflux RSS isn’t dead—it’s just gone underground. While most people rely on algorithm-driven feeds from social media, power users and privacy-conscious individuals have rediscovered RSS as the ultimate way to curate content without tracking or manipulation. If you’re ready to take control of your reading list, self-hosting an RSS reader is the way to go. The two most popular options are FreshRSS and Miniflux, but which one should you choose? ...

Choosing the right hardware for your home server is one of the first decisions you’ll face as a self-hoster. The two most popular options—Raspberry Pi and Mini PCs—each have their strengths. In this guide, I’ll help you decide which is the better choice for your specific needs. The Quick Answer Choose a Raspberry Pi if: You’re on a tight budget, running lightweight services, want minimal power consumption, or are learning Linux basics. ...

Choosing a media server for your home setup is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a self-hoster. Jellyfin and Plex are the two most popular options, but they take fundamentally different approaches. In this comprehensive comparison, I’ll help you decide which one is right for your needs. The Quick Answer Choose Jellyfin if: You want a completely free, open-source solution with no accounts required and full control over your data. ...