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How We Self-Host Our Marketing Stack and Save 60%: A Complete Guide

A practical framework for self-hosting your CRM, automation platform, and email tools to reduce costs, gain control, and eliminate vendor lock-in

By Pacing Agency | January 2025 | Estimated read time: 60-80 minutes

Introduction: Why Self-Hosting Makes Sense​

The Self-Hosting Opportunity​

We were spending £1,500/month on CRM, automation, and email tools. By self-hosting, we now spend £150/month on infrastructure and save 60%+ while gaining complete control over our data and tools.

The Real Benefits:

  • Massive Cost Savings: 50-70% reduction in monthly tool costs
  • Complete Data Control: Your data, your servers, your rules
  • No Vendor Lock-In: Switch, customize, or modify as needed
  • Unlimited Customization: Modify tools to fit your exact needs
  • Scalability: No per-user or per-task pricing limits
  • Privacy & Compliance: Full control over data storage and access
  • Long-Term Savings: Costs decrease over time, not increase

Why Most Companies Don't Self-Host:

  • Assumed it requires deep technical expertise
  • Fear of maintenance burden
  • Don't realize the cost savings potential
  • Think SaaS is "easier" (it often isn't)
  • Don't know self-hosting options exist
  • Vendor marketing makes SaaS seem like the only option

What This Guide Will Help You Achieve​

Clear Outcomes:

  • Understand if self-hosting is right for your business
  • Learn how to self-host CRM, automation, and email platforms
  • Calculate your potential cost savings
  • Set up and maintain self-hosted tools
  • Build custom tools that solve specific problems
  • Eliminate vendor lock-in and recurring subscription costs
  • Gain complete control over your marketing technology

What You'll Get:

  • Step-by-step self-hosting framework
  • Cost comparison calculator (SaaS vs. self-hosted)
  • Technical setup guides for each tool
  • Maintenance and troubleshooting guides
  • Real-world case study with actual numbers
  • Decision-making frameworks
  • Templates and checklists

Who This Guide Is For​

Perfect For:

  • Companies spending £500+/month on CRM, automation, or email tools
  • Teams with basic technical capability (or access to it)
  • Companies planning to use tools long-term (2+ years)
  • Businesses that need customization beyond SaaS limits
  • Organizations requiring data control for compliance
  • Teams tired of vendor lock-in and escalating costs

Not For:

  • Companies that need tools for less than 6 months
  • Teams with zero technical capability and no budget for help
  • Businesses that need enterprise support and SLAs
  • Organizations that change tools frequently

What You'll Need​

Technical Requirements:

  • Basic server management knowledge (or access to someone who has it)
  • Budget for hosting infrastructure (£50-200/month)
  • Time for initial setup (20-40 hours)
  • Ongoing maintenance time (2-5 hours/month)

Tools We'll Cover:

  • CRM: Twenty (open-source, self-hosted)
  • Automation: n8n (open-source, self-hosted)
  • Email: Notifuse (open-source, self-hosted)
  • Custom Tools: Tech stack analyzer, user journey analyzer, headshots AI

The Self-Hosting Framework: A 5-Step Process​

The 5-Step Framework Overview​

Here's the process we'll follow:

  1. Assess Your Self-Hosting Readiness - Determine if self-hosting makes sense for your business
  2. Self-Host Your CRM (Twenty) - Replace expensive CRM tools with self-hosted Twenty
  3. Self-Host Your Automation Platform (n8n) - Replace Zapier/Make with unlimited self-hosted automation
  4. Self-Host Your Email Platform (Notifuse) - Replace Mailchimp/ConvertKit with self-hosted email
  5. Build & Self-Host Custom Tools - Create custom solutions for unique needs

How Long This Takes​

  • Assessment: 2-4 hours (evaluate readiness, calculate savings)
  • CRM Setup: 8-12 hours (installation, configuration, migration)
  • Automation Setup: 6-10 hours (n8n installation, workflow migration)
  • Email Setup: 6-10 hours (Notifuse installation, email configuration)
  • Custom Tools: 20-40 hours (development, depending on complexity)
  • Total Initial Setup: 40-80 hours
  • Ongoing Maintenance: 2-5 hours/month

Expected Outcomes​

Cost Savings:

  • 50-70% reduction in monthly tool costs
  • No per-user or per-task pricing escalations
  • Predictable infrastructure costs
  • Break-even in 3-6 months typically

Operational Benefits:

  • Complete data control and ownership
  • Unlimited customization
  • No vendor lock-in
  • Full API access and integration control
  • Scalability without cost increases
  • Privacy and compliance control

Before You Start: Checklist

  • Current monthly tool costs calculated
  • Technical capability assessed (internal or external)
  • Hosting infrastructure planned
  • Data migration strategy prepared
  • Backup and security plan ready
  • Team training plan created

Additional Resources​

This guide was created by Pacing Agency to help companies self-host their marketing technology stacks and achieve significant cost savings. For questions or feedback, visit docs.pacing.agency.