this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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I am trying to capture costs for starting into homelab/selfhosting.

VPNs, search engines, absolutely everything and anything.

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[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

VPNs, search engines, absolutely everything and anything.

  • ~~Wireshark~~ Wireguard (VPN): free
  • SearxNG (Search Engine): free
  • Equipment: widely varies

The whole idea of selfhosting is to cut out corporate subscriptions and to retain your privacy, security, anonymity, and data.

[–] hoshikarakitaridia@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If the VPN is for phoning home, of course there's free client and server software.

But if it's for spoofing a different location, you either get found out, or you have to pay.

I wanna live in a world where I do not pay for anything but there is stuff that you can only really get if you pay.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

But if it’s for spoofing

Yeah. I just thu that in there thinking that in as an example. Of course, you're right, you'd get clinked.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Wireshark has to be a typo right? I never knew the packet capture program did that.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ahhh fuck Wireguard. This old brain is not functioning today.

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 days ago

To be fair, Wireshark is a far more memorable name than Wireguard. Sharks are very cool!

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I am very concerned about selfhosting and exposing my network to the internet. I thought people had VPS etc.

[–] BartyDeCanter@piefed.social 3 points 3 days ago

Do you mean a VPN? Tailscale has a free tier, or you can run a headscale instance on whatever hardware you like.

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

A VPS is a Virtual Private Server, such as one would rent from a provider like digitalocean.com com or similar. Most of the crew here run their homelab off of equipment located in their residence. If a VPS is the path you'd like to take, then that would be a subscription. If you have equipment in your physical possession, that is yet another path. Either way, security is of utmost importance.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Tailscale being an alternative to a VPS then?

[–] TheMadCodger@piefed.social 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Tailscale is a layer on top of wireguard and is a VPN. Don't open your home to the outside world, that's just asking for trouble.

Tailscale is a great choice for you at this stage for accessing your stuff from anywhere and not worrying about anyone else. Downside is if Tailscale decides to enshittify some day you (a lot of us) will have to figure what our next move is.

For the casual and/or beginner, it really is an excellent service even at the free tier.

[–] doctorflynt@feddit.org 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

i dont have that much knowledge about security, but would it be reasonable to expose a single raspberry in a dmz behind a firewall as a headscale vps?

i mean it would be hard for an attacker to get past the physical firewall into the main network, right?

on the other hand they wouldnt need to get past the firewall if they take over the headscale server… edit: but that would also happen, if a vps hosted somewhere else, got infected, right?

[–] irmadlad@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Tailscale is a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which is different than a VPS (Virtual Private Server).

ETA: Oops. I see your question has been answered multiple times. It seems you are a beginner at selfhosting and trying to get a grip on what's necessary to start and trying to wrap your brain around all the acronyms. There is absolutely no shame in being a beginner. Everyone in this community was a beginner at some point in their life. So, don't be bashful about asking questions. I've found the folks here to be patient and helpful.

[–] BartyDeCanter@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago

Tailscale is a kind of VPN (virtual private network) not a VPS (virtual private server).

[–] tjoa@feddit.org 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Selfhosting on a VPS can have its use cases (piracy). If you are worried about exposing it to the internet just don’t and ise company profiles on your devices to automatically connect your network using VPN