March 3, 2026
Self-hosted or self-shilled?
Self-Hosted Software List
“Self-hosted” site accused of being an ad-filled cash grab by its own users
TLDR: A new website claims to list the best do-it-yourself, privacy-friendly apps, but users quickly called it out for being ad-heavy and letting paid projects jump the line. The community is split between seeing it as a useful directory or just another pay-to-win billboard pretending to be “curated.”
A new site promising a clean, hand-picked list of “self-hosted” apps—software you run on your own server to keep control of your data—just launched, but the community isn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet. Creator John pitches it as a passion project to help builders share their tools and privacy fans find alternatives to big tech. Sounds wholesome… until people actually clicked it.
The loudest voice in the room? Crowberry, who basically yelled “AD TRAP!” in the comments, saying the page is so stuffed with ads it feels like pure clickbait. Another user, Hamuko, dug deeper and found you can pay about fifty bucks to get your project “boosted” to the top, calling it a quick “slop cash grab” instead of a genuinely curated list. That’s where the real drama kicked in: is this a helpful directory, or just a leaderboard for whoever pays the most?
Others casually derailed the hype by dropping rival links. putna pulled a “this is cool, but here’s something better” and plugged selfh.st and 1vps.com, while gchamonlive said the whole thing just reminds them of an old project, hostyoself. Meanwhile, an account literally named selfhostedsoft showed up to do the PR spin, carefully explaining how the directory helps you “control your data” as if the crowd hadn’t already decided the top spot was pay-to-win. In the end, the community turned a simple link list into a full-on trust fight over ads, money, and authenticity.
Key Points
- •The Self-Hosted Software List is a curated directory of self-hosted software across various categories.
- •The directory aims to help both developers who want to share their self-hosted software and users seeking self-hosted solutions.
- •The list includes both free and proprietary software that can be installed and managed on users’ own servers.
- •Running software from the list on one’s own servers is presented as a way to increase data control, privacy, and data sovereignty.
- •The directory was created by John (@johnrushx) and is part of the marsx.dev family, with an open invitation for builders to connect with him for advice.