Managed hosting vs self-hosting?
Running your own servers feels cheaper, but is it really? We compare the real costs and the hidden risks, without a sales pitch.
The attractive side of self-hosting
Renting a bare server costs little per month. On paper, self-hosting therefore looks like the cheapest option. And if you are technically skilled and enjoy it, it can work perfectly well. You have full control and you pay only for the machine.
The problem lies in everything around it. A server is not something you set up once and then forget. It demands maintenance, security and attention, even when you would rather be working on your business.
The hidden costs
What self-hosting really costs only becomes clear when something goes wrong. A few things people often forget:
- Your time. Installing updates, closing security holes and solving problems takes hours you do not spend on clients.
- Knowledge. Keeping a server secure requires specialist knowledge. If you lack it, you run risks without knowing.
- Availability. If your site goes down on a Saturday evening, it stays down until you can get to it. Clients do not wait.
- Backups. Everyone knows they matter, until the moment you discover they were not there.
What managed hosting takes over
With managed hosting you pay a little more per month, but you get peace of mind in return. Monitoring, updates, security and backups are taken care of. If something goes wrong, we step in, often before you notice. You do not need server knowledge in-house and you never lose a night to a server that refuses to cooperate.
For most business owners, that peace of mind easily outweighs the small difference in price. Read more about what our managed hosting does for you as standard.
How do you choose?
A simple rule of thumb: if you can and want to put in the time and knowledge yourself, self-hosting is a fine option. If you mainly want to focus on your business and your software simply has to run reliably, managed hosting is the logical choice. The best case is when building and hosting your software sit with the same provider, because then there is no finger-pointing when problems arise. That is how we work: we host the software we build ourselves.
Not sure which way suits you? Get in touch and we will think along, with no obligation.
Putting your hosting in good hands?
Tell us what you run, and we will see whether managed hosting is the smartest choice for you.