Cactus Commons Media25 Big Tech Services You Can Replace
Every month, Big Tech companies collect two things from you: your money and your data.
Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Dropbox have built trillion-dollar businesses on a simple model: offer convenient services, collect everything you do, and charge you a monthly fee for the privilege.
The good news? Almost every service they offer can be replaced with a self-hosted alternative you run on your own hardware — in your home, under your control.
This guide introduces 25 Big Tech services you can replace, organized by category, along with the best self-hosted alternatives for each one.
You do not need to be a developer. You do not need to know Linux. You just need a spare computer and a free weekend.
📷 Photo Storage & Management
Your family photos are irreplaceable. Do you really want them stored on someone else’s server, analyzed by AI, and held hostage behind a monthly subscription?
1. Google Photos / iCloud Photos
Replace with: Immich
Immich is the closest self-hosted alternative to Google Photos. It includes automatic phone backup, facial recognition, albums, shared libraries, and a clean mobile app for iOS and Android. Most people cannot tell the difference.
What you save: $3–$10/month per person on Google One or iCloud+
2. Amazon Photos
Replace with: Immich or Photoprism
Amazon Photos offers unlimited photo storage — if you pay for Prime. Immich and Photoprism both provide unlimited storage on your own hardware with no monthly fee.
What you save: Included in Prime ($139/year) — but you can cancel Prime and keep your photos.
3. Flickr / SmugMug
Replace with: Piwigo
Piwigo is a mature, self-hosted photo gallery platform used by photographers, schools, and organizations worldwide. It supports albums, tags, comments, and sharing.
What you save: $8–$13/month
☁️ Cloud Storage & File Sync
4. Dropbox
Replace with: Nextcloud
Nextcloud is the gold standard for self-hosted cloud storage. It syncs files across all your devices, supports desktop and mobile clients, and includes collaboration features. Think Dropbox — but yours.
What you save: $10–$20/month
5. Google Drive
Replace with: Nextcloud
Nextcloud handles everything Google Drive does for file storage and sync. It also supports document editing through Nextcloud Office (powered by Collabora).
What you save: $3–$10/month (Google One)
6. Microsoft OneDrive
Replace with: Nextcloud
If you use OneDrive for file sync and backup, Nextcloud is a direct replacement. You keep your files on your hardware, not Microsoft’s.
What you save: Included in Microsoft 365 ($70–$100/year) — enough reason to drop the subscription entirely.
7. Box
Replace with: Nextcloud or Seafile
Seafile is a fast, lightweight alternative focused on file sync performance. It is especially good for large file collections and team sharing.
What you save: $10–$15/month
🎬 Media Streaming
8. Netflix / Hulu / Disney+ (personal media libraries)
Replace with: Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a free, open-source media server that streams your personal movie and TV collection to any device in your home — or remotely. It supports transcoding, subtitles, multiple users, and parental controls.
What you save: $8–$18/month per service
9. Spotify / Apple Music
Replace with: Navidrome
Navidrome is a lightweight self-hosted music server. It streams your personal music library to any device using the Subsonic API, which means it works with dozens of existing mobile apps.
What you save: $10–$11/month
10. YouTube (personal video sharing)
Replace with: PeerTube
PeerTube is a self-hosted video platform for sharing your own videos privately with family or publicly with the world — without ads, algorithms, or demonetization.
What you save: Your privacy and your audience relationship.
🔒 Passwords & Security
11. LastPass / 1Password / Dashlane
Replace with: Vaultwarden
Vaultwarden is a self-hosted implementation of the Bitwarden password manager. It is fully compatible with the official Bitwarden apps for iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, and more. Your passwords stay on your server.
What you save: $3–$5/month per person, or $5/month for families
12. Authy / Google Authenticator (cloud backup)
Replace with: Vaultwarden (built-in TOTP)
Vaultwarden includes built-in two-factor authentication code storage, so your 2FA codes live alongside your passwords — encrypted, on your hardware.
What you save: Consolidates tools and eliminates cloud dependency.
📄 Documents & Notes
13. Google Docs / Microsoft 365
Replace with: Nextcloud + Collabora Office
Nextcloud Office (powered by Collabora) provides a full browser-based office suite — word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations — that works entirely on your server.
What you save: $70–$100/year (Microsoft 365) or $30–$100/year (Google Workspace)
14. Evernote / Notion
Replace with: Joplin or Obsidian (local)
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app that syncs through Nextcloud. Obsidian stores notes as plain Markdown files on your own drive. Neither sends your notes to a company’s server.
What you save: $8–$16/month
15. Confluence / Dropbox Paper
Replace with: Outline or BookStack
Outline and BookStack are self-hosted knowledge base platforms. They are great for organizing documentation, how-to guides, and reference material for your household or small team.
What you save: $10–$20/month
📧 Email & Communication
16. Gmail / Outlook (on a custom domain)
Replace with: Stalwart Mail
Running your own email server is one of the more advanced self-hosting projects, but very doable. Stalwart Mail is a modern, all-in-one mail server that handles SMTP, IMAP, and spam filtering.
What you save: $6–$12/month (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 with custom domain)
17. Slack / Microsoft Teams
Replace with: Mattermost or Rocket.Chat
Both platforms offer self-hosted team messaging with channels, direct messages, file sharing, and integrations — without your conversations stored on someone else’s server.
What you save: $7–$15/month per user
18. Zoom / Google Meet
Replace with: Jitsi Meet
Jitsi Meet is a self-hosted video conferencing platform. Run it on your own server for private calls with family, friends, or your team.
What you save: $15/month (Zoom Pro)
📋 Productivity & Organization
19. Todoist / Asana (personal use)
Replace with: Vikunja
Vikunja is a self-hosted task management app with lists, kanban boards, and calendar views. Simple enough for personal use, capable enough for small teams.
What you save: $4–$12/month
20. Google Calendar
Replace with: Nextcloud Calendar
Nextcloud includes a built-in CalDAV calendar server. It syncs with iOS, Android, and desktop calendar apps — no Google account required.
What you save: Part of escaping Google entirely.
21. Google Contacts
Replace with: Nextcloud Contacts
Nextcloud also includes a CardDAV contacts server. Your contacts sync to your phone and computer without passing through Google’s servers.
What you save: Your privacy.
🗃️ Document Archiving
22. Paper filing / Adobe Acrobat document management
Replace with: Paperless-NGX
Paperless-NGX is a self-hosted document management system that scans, OCRs, tags, and organizes your paper documents digitally. Your entire filing cabinet becomes searchable.
What you save: $10–$20/month, plus the time you spend hunting for documents.
📊 Analytics
23. Google Analytics
Replace with: Umami or Plausible (self-hosted)
Umami and Plausible are lightweight, privacy-respecting website analytics platforms. They show you how many visitors you have without sending that data to Google.
What you save: Your visitors’ privacy — and your own.
🔗 Bookmarks & Read-Later
24. Pocket / Instapaper / Raindrop.io
Replace with: Linkding or Hoarder
Linkding is a minimal self-hosted bookmark manager. Hoarder adds AI-powered tagging and full-page archiving so bookmarked pages are saved even if the original disappears.
What you save: $5–$10/month
🏠 Smart Home
25. Google Home / Amazon Alexa / Apple HomeKit (cloud-dependent)
Replace with: Home Assistant
Home Assistant is the most popular self-hosted smart home platform in the world. It runs locally on your network, controls thousands of devices, and does not require an internet connection to operate your lights.
What you save: Subscription fees for connected devices — plus your smart home data stays in your home.
What Would You Save?
Here is what a typical household pays for cloud services every month:
| Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Google One (2TB) | $10 |
| iCloud+ (200GB) | $3 |
| Dropbox Plus | $12 |
| Netflix | $15 |
| Spotify | $11 |
| 1Password Family | $5 |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $10 |
| Total | $66/month |
That is $792 per year — for services you can replace with hardware you own and software that is free.
Where Do You Start?
If you are new to self-hosting, start with the services you pay for most and use most.
For most people, that is:
- Photos — Replace Google Photos or iCloud with Immich
- File Storage — Replace Dropbox or Google Drive with Nextcloud
- Passwords — Replace LastPass or 1Password with Vaultwarden
- Media — Replace subscription streaming (for personal libraries) with Jellyfin
- Documents — Replace paper filing with Paperless-NGX
These five apps alone can save $30–$50 per month and run comfortably on a $200 mini PC.
Ready to Build Your Own Private Cloud?
The Escape Big Tech in a Weekend starter kit walks you through installing all of this — step by step, from zero — in a single weekend.
No Linux experience required. No Docker knowledge assumed. Just a computer, a free weekend, and the desire to own your data.
Get the Escape Big Tech Starter Kit →
Published by Cactus Commons Media. We believe technology should serve you — not the other way around.