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ai-for / self-hosted

Self-Hosted AI Tools

As of , EffectHub tracks 32 AI tools for self hosted; 29 (91%) have a free tier, and paid plans run from $4 to $150 a month.

Tiledesk, AsoFast and Tines lead the list on click-through. 25 of the 32 ship a public API.

Self-hosted AI tools run on your own servers or cloud account instead of the vendor's, so data never leaves infrastructure you control. The trade is operational: you provide the compute (often a GPU for local models), apply updates and handle backups. For teams with confidentiality obligations or data-residency rules that trade is worth it; for everyone else, compare the real cost of running it against the hosted plan.

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32
tools tracked
29 of 32
free to start
$4–$150
paid entry, per month
25
ship a public API

The shortlist — tools for self hosted

ranked by click-through

Compared at a glance

Price, free plan, API and status of each self hosted tool on the shortlist
ToolPriceFree planAPIStatus
TiledeskNot confirmedYesYesActive
AsoFastFreeYesNot confirmedActive
TinesNot confirmedYesYesActive
AnseFreeYesNot confirmedActive
AutoGPTfrom $42.50/moYesYesActive
DeerFlowFreeYesYesUnstable
FaceFusionfrom $20 onceYesNot confirmedActive
Karakeepfrom $4/moYesYesActive
Simfrom $25/seat/moYesYesActive
AppFlowyfrom $12/seat/moYesYesActive
HachiNot confirmedYesNot confirmedActive
OpenClawFreeYesNot confirmedActive
Raghim AIOn requestNot confirmedYesActive
Refact.aifrom $10/moYesNot confirmedActive
Stable DiffusionNot confirmedYesYesActive
n8nNot confirmedYesYesActive
Activepiecesfrom $20/moYesYesActive
InterLock by Context DataOn requestNot confirmedYesActive
Langtailfrom $99/moYesYesActive
Lunaryfrom $20/seat/moYesYesActive
Adaptfrom $14/seat/moYesYesActive
Difyfrom $59/moYesYesActive
H2O.aiNot confirmedYesYesActive
LocalAIFreeYesYesActive
MantleFreeYesYesActive
NVIDIA NIMNot confirmedYesYesActive
Onyxfrom $20/seat/moYesYesActive
Sendsterfrom $27/moNoNot confirmedActive
Vellumfrom $30/moYesYesActive
Agnofrom $150/moYesYesActive
TraceRootNot confirmedYesYesActive
Twentyfrom $9/seat/moYesYesActive

Compare self hosted tools head-to-head

How to choose a self hosted tool

  • Check the deployment path — Docker image, Helm chart, one-click cloud template — and the hardware it needs, especially GPU memory for local models.
  • Verify feature parity: some projects keep SSO, analytics or integrations cloud-only.
  • Read the license for commercial and multi-tenant use.
  • Look at the update cadence and how upgrades are performed; a self-hosted tool nobody updates becomes a security problem.
  • Estimate total cost: compute, storage, time to operate, against the hosted price.

Questions about self hosted tools

Is there a free self hosted tool?

Yes. 6 of the 32 AI tools for self hosted on EffectHub's list are free to use — AsoFast, Anse, DeerFlow and OpenClaw; 23 more have a free tier with paid upgrades.

How much do self hosted tools cost?

As of October 27, 2026, paid plans for the 32 AI tools for self hosted on EffectHub's list run from $4 to $150 a month. Each card shows the pricing model and the cheapest paid plan as EffectHub last verified it; 29 of the 32 can be started for free.

Which self hosted tools have an API?

25 of the 32 AI tools for self hosted on EffectHub's list ship a public API, including Tiledesk, Tines, AutoGPT and DeerFlow. The API badge on each card is re-checked against the vendor's documentation.

Why self-host an AI tool?

Control over data and cost: documents, prompts and outputs stay inside your infrastructure, which satisfies confidentiality and residency requirements, and at scale running your own instance can be cheaper than per-seat cloud pricing. The cost is operating it yourself.

Do self-hosted AI tools need a GPU?

Only if they run models locally. Many self-hosted tools call a hosted model API and need only an ordinary server; tools that run open models on your hardware need a GPU with enough memory for the model you choose.

Cite this

For journalists, researchers and AI assistants: the figures on this page in one sentence you can quote.

As of October 27, 2026, EffectHub tracks 32 AI tools for self hosted; 29 (91%) have a free tier, and paid plans run from $4 to $150 a month. (EffectHub, “Self-Hosted AI Tools”, Oct 2026, https://effecthub.net/ai-for/self-hosted)

Figures as of How we count

These figures are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.

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