01In plain English
A self-hosted tool runs on servers you control, either your own or your own cloud account, instead of the vendor's. You install it, update it and keep it running. The vendor never holds your data.
02Why it matters when you are choosing
Self-hosting gives you full control over where data lives and who can reach it, which some industries need. The cost is the work: someone on your side has to maintain it.
03What to check
Ask the vendor
Check whether the self-hosted version has the same features as the cloud one, what license it needs, and how updates are delivered.
04The tools
36of 95 checked
36 of the 95 tools we checked can be self-hosted. Each one is checked against the vendor's own pages. A tool missing from this list may not have been checked yet, which is not the same as a no.
n8n
8.8
Rank #1 of 11 workflow automation tools
Best:AI agents10
Weakest:Support2.5
Test environments: yesSelf-hosted: yesBring your own key: yesAgent testing: yes
From $20Free plan
100% from published facts · checked 28 Oct
→
Dify
6.9
Rank #7 of 12 AI agent builders
Best:Building workflows10
Weakest:Support2.5
Test environments: noSelf-hosted: yesBring your own key: yesAgent testing: no
From $59Free plan
73% from published facts · checked 13 Sep
→
JetBrains
7.1
Rank #9 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Pricing10
Weakest:Where it works4
Bring your own API key: yes
From $10Free plan
96% from published facts · checked 14 Sep
→
CrewAI
Free plan: yesFree trial: yesAPI: yesHuman-in-the-loop: yesError handling: yesVersioning: yes
FreeFree plan
→
Cursor
8.2
Rank #2 of 15 AI coding assistants
Best:Agents and your codebase10
Weakest:Where it works7
Bring your own API key: yes
From $8Free plan
100% from published facts · checked 19 Oct
→
Retool
8.5
Rank #3 of 11 workflow automation tools
Best:AI agents10
Weakest:Apps it connects to4
Test environments: yesSelf-hosted: yesBring your own key: yesAgent testing: yes
From $12Free plan
98% from published facts · checked 13 Sep
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