The download is free. That is usually where the cost calculation for a self-hosted automation platform ends. It is also where the real costs begin.
What self-hosting really includes
Running a workflow platform yourself means taking over everything a managed service would otherwise do — not once, but every month:
None of these is difficult on its own. Together they are a part-time job — one that is easy to postpone until the day something goes wrong.
An honest comparison
| Self-hosted | Managed and monitored | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Free or low | Included in the service |
| Setup | Your time | Done for you |
| Updates and security | Your responsibility, every month | Included |
| Monitoring and alerts | To be built and watched | Included — by the people who run it |
| When something breaks at night | Whoever is reachable | Agreed response times |
The point is not that managed is always cheaper. It is that self-hosted is rarely as cheap as it looks — and that the difference is paid in risk rather than in invoices.
Questions to ask before deciding
- Who updates the platform, and how quickly after a security patch?
- Who is alerted when a workflow fails — and at what hours?
- What happens when the one person who set it up is on holiday?
- What does an hour of downtime cost us? — see What Does an Hour of Downtime Really Cost?.
Free software is free to download. Running it is never free.
Want an honest comparison for your own automation platform? We build, run and monitor systems ourselves — and we know where automation pays off and where it becomes a risk.