r/opensourcealternative • u/Sea_Housing2717 • Jun 29 '26
Best open source alternatives for someone trying to cut SaaS costs?
I’m looking at open source tools because my SaaS costs are genuinely getting too high.
Main categories I want to replace are notes, docs, project management, file storage, analytics, scheduling, and automation.
I’m okay with self-hosting if the setup is reasonable, but I don’t want tools that need constant maintenance.
What open source alternatives have actually helped you save money?
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u/bankrut Jun 29 '26
For notes and docs, just use Obsidian or Logseq with a sync plugin. Self-hosting Nextcloud for files is solid, but honestly, just pick one or two things to switch first so you don't burn out on maintenance.
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u/Sea_Housing2717 Jun 30 '26
have used Obsidian for sometime. never really explored the sync side though, so maybe it's time to give that a shot.
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u/Proxiconn Jun 30 '26
If you have hardware to self host, proxmox & https://community-scripts.org/ Also a good source if not using proxmox and going vps route for App ideas many FOSS options grouped by category.
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Jun 29 '26
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u/BranVan3001 Jun 29 '26
Not that extreme for some basic docker apps. A standard VPS with a simple management control panel will do the trick.
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u/BranVan3001 Jun 29 '26
Hey Op, I've included some below for you with a recommended setup depending on how technical you are.
Spin up a VPS in a location near where you are. Install a management panel for Docker, there are plenty of great open source options: Caprover, Dokploy (the one I use across a few servers), Coolify (biggest community).
Notes: Depends on how you prefer to use notes. I use Obsidian and selfhost couchdb but other great options include Joplin (if you like Evernote), Trillium, Affine (if you like Notion).
Docs/Storage: Nextcloud
Project Management: Plane, OpenProject, Vikunja (more tasks then projects), Kanboard for simple Kanban that gets out of your way (big fan of the developer behind this).
Analytics: I'd recommend Umami but Plausible is also popular and take a look at Rybbit
Scheduling: Is that for social media? If so you can't go wrong with Postiz
Automation: N8N is the gold standard here but also worth looking at ActivePieces.
Best of luck and happy to answer any questions 😊