THE DECISION NOTEBOOK
Free, open source or self-hosted?
Three different properties. Three different questions to ask before you commit.
Start with the licence and plan
A free plan says something about a vendor’s pricing. Open source concerns the code licence. Self-hosting concerns where and how you operate the software. None automatically proves the other two. Our filters require a separate verified claim for each property.
Check the total operating effort
For a free plan, check usage limits, seats and overages. For self-hosting, plan for infrastructure, updates, backups and administration. We leave unconfirmed costs visible instead of inventing a monthly total.
Try a narrow shortlist
Use verified filters to build a shortlist, compare the pricing rows and open the official terms. Test your actual workflow before migrating important work.