123 Free Resources to Deploy and Start Your Own SAAS Business

The main difference between SaaS businesses and software companies is that SaaS is hosted in the cloud. Basically, this gets rid of the need for an end user license to activate the software and any infrastructure to host the software. Instead, the SaaS company hosts their membership. The customer just has to log into their account and they get full access.

Having discussed the SaaS model, we present to you some Free Resources to Deploy and Start Your Own SAAS Business that you should know about. This extensive list will cover various niches including VPN, music streaming services, photo hosting, ebooks catalog, Google Docs, notes, bookmarks service, URL shortener, calendar, cloud storage, DNS, Adblock email servers, chat servers, video calls, publishing systems, Disqus, web analytics, search engine, cloud backup, web archive and many more. For more information about each of the free SaaS resources, feel free to explore the full list below.

123 Free Resources to Deploy and Start Your Own SAAS Business

Deploy your own “VPN”

1. Algo VPN – Set of ansible scripts that simplify the setup of a personal wireguard and Ipsec VPN.
2. dockovpn.io – Stateless openVPN dockerized server which doesn’t require persistent storage.
3. OpenVPN – Full-featured open source VPN solution.
4. Streisand – Another set of ansible scripts to setup and run Wireguard, Openconnect, OpenSSH, OpenVPN, Shadowsocks, SSLH, Stunnel, or a TOR bridge.
5. WireGuard – Faster, simpler, leaner, and more useful than Ipsec. It intends to be considerably more performant than openVPN.

Deploy your own “Music streaming service”

1. Ampache – Web based audio/video streaming application and file manager.
2. Funkwhale – Web-based music library with airsonic compatibility. (Download / Source Code)
3. Koel – Simple web-based personal audio streaming service. (Download / Source Code)
4. Madsonic – Web-based media library and media streamer with jukebox functionality.
5. Mopidy – Extensible music server.

Deploy your own “Photo hosting”

1. Chevereto – Powerful and fast image hosting script that allows you to create your very own image hosting website in just minutes.
2. Lychee – Upload, manage and share photos like from a native application. (Download / Source Code)
3. Photo-Stream – Super-simple, Jekyll-based, self-hosted photo stream.
4. PhotoPrism – Personal photo management with AI classification and lots of features. (Download / Source Code)
5. Pinry – Your own Pinterest with boards and tags. (Download / Source Code)
6. Piwigo – PHP image gallery. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “eBooks catalog”

1. Calibre – E-book manager, packed with all you need features (including server).
2. Calibre-Web – Web UI for Calibre database.
3. COPS – Calibre Opds and HTML server.

Deploy your own “Google Docs”

1. Baserow – Your own API-focused airtable with plugins.
2. ONLYOFFICE CE – Private cloud office with collaboration features. CE version distributed as docker image. (Download / Source Code)
3. SeaTable – Your own airtable where spreadsheets meets database.

Deploy your own “Notes”

1. CodiMD – Realtime collaborative markdown notes.
2. Standard Notes – Clean and simple web app with e2e encryption, extensions and clients. (Download / Source Code)
3. TinyList – Your own Google keep. Simple and clean. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Bookmarks service”

1. Bookmarks – Self-hosted bookmarking app that can import bookmarks from Delicious and Chrome.
2. LinkAce – Bookmark archive with tags, lists and sharing features. (Download / Source Code)
3. Linkding – Simple bookmarks with tags and neat UI.
4. Unmark – Application for bookmarks. (Download / Source Code)
5. xBrowserSync – Secure and anonymous bookmarking server with browser plugins and mobile app. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “URL shortener”

1. CLI based approach – The Commons Host CDN platform has introduced support for custom HTTP response headers and redirect rules. Let’s use these features to build our own private URL shortener, with support for a custom domain name and Google Analytics tracking. It is all free of charge and 100% open source.
2. Delta – A file uploader and URL shortener packed with features and CLI.
3. Kutt – Modern URL shortener with support for custom domains. (Download / Source Code)
4. Shlink – URL shortener with neat UI, API and Analytics. (Download / Source Code)
5. Yourls – Your own URL shortener.

Deploy your own “Calendar”

1. Calendar Server – Calendar and contacts server made by Apple.
2. Radicale – Caldav and Carddav server made with Python.
3. Sabre – Carddav, Caldav and Webdav server made with PHP.

Deploy your own “Cloud storage”

1. Filestash – Easily turn popular backends like SFTP, S3, Github, etc into web-based file manager. (Download / Source Code)
2. MinIO – Object storage server compatible with Amazon S3 Apis.
3. Nextcloud – Enhanced owncloud fork with tons of additional services. (Download / Source Code)
4. OwnCloud – Personal cloud which runs on your own server. (Download / Source Code)
5. Syncthing – Continuous file synchronization program.
6. Teedy – Lightweight document management system with workflows. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “DNS”

1. Unbound – Validating, recursive, caching DNS resolver. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “AdBlock”

1. Pi-hole – Network-wide ad blocking software you can deploy to local Raspberry Pi or always-free instance of Google Cloud. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Email server”

1. iRedMail – Mail server suite with vast of options.
2. Mail-in-a-Box – Another mail server suite based on Postfix, Dovecot, Z-push, Roundcube, Nextcloud, Apache Spamassassin, Postgrey, Nginx. (Download / Source Code)
3. Mailcow – Dockerized mail server suite based on postfix, dovecot, nginx, php, mariadb, rspamd and more. (Download / Source Code)
4. Mailu – Dockerized, secured mail suite which is easy to install and maintain.
5. Postal – A fully featured mail server with web UI. (Download / Source Code)
6. Roundcube – Browser-based Imap client with an application-like user interface.

Deploy your own “Chat server”

1. Matrix – Ecosystem for open federated instant messaging and VoIP. (Download / Source Code)
2. Mattermost – Private cloud, slack-alternative. (Download / Source Code)
3. Mumble – Low-latency, high quality voice chat for gaming. (Download / Source Code)
4. Prosody IM – Modern XMPP communication server. (Download / Source Code)
5. Riot – Multi platform chat app based on Matrix protocol.

Deploy your own “Video calls”

1. Jitsi – Multi-platform open-source video conferencing. (Download / Source Code)
2. Nextcloud Talk – Chat or video calls via web or mobile apps, including screen sharing and webinar functionality. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Publishing system”

1. Gatsby – React-based framework that helps developers build fast websites and apps. (Download / Source Code)
2. Ghost – Headless node.js CMS for professional publishing.
3. Hugo – Static site generators with amazing speed.
4. Jekyll – Static websites and blogs. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Disqus” comments

1. Code It Yourself approach by Tania Rascia
2. Isso – Lightweight commenting server. It aims to be a drop-in replacement for Disqus. (Download / Source Code)
3. Remark42 – Self-hosted, lightweight, and simple commenting system, which doesn’t spy on users. (Download / Source Code)
4. Staticman – Commenting server for static sites which stores all user generated content into your own repository. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Web analytics engine”

1. Ackee – Self-hosted, node.js based analytics tool for those who care about privacy.
2. Fathom Lite – Simple, privacy-focused website analytics.
3. GoAccess – Real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer that runs in a terminal or through browser. (Download / Source Code)
4. Matomo – Open analytics platform.

Deploy your own “Google search”

1. Searx – A privacy-respecting, hackable metasearch engine. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Cloud backup”

1. Borg – Deduplicating archiver.
2. Duplicity – Backs up directories by producing encrypted TAR-format volumes and uploading them to a remote or local file server.
3. ElkarBackup – Backup solution based on rsync/rsnapshot.
4. Restic – Encrypted, deduplicated & simple backups with an easy-to-use CLI. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Web archive”

1. ArchiveBox – Self-hosted web archive. (Download / Source Code)
2. Archivy – Knowledge repository that allows you to preserve content. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “File sharing server”

1. FilePizza – Peer-to-peer file transfers with only browser.
2. Firefox Send – Simple, private file sharing with encryption.
3. Linx – Simple file/code/media sharing website.
4. Lufi – Convenient file sharing with e2e encryption.
5. XBackBone – PHP file manager that support the instant sharing tools like sharex, upic, etc. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Information storing and organization system”

1. Bookstack – Platform to create documentation/wiki content built with PHP & Laravel.
2. Dokuwiki – Simple Wiki that doesn’t require a database. (Download / Source Code)
3. MediaWiki – Collaboration and documentation platform with enormous capabilities.
4. Outline – Fastest Wiki and knowledge base for growing teams with Markdown support and clean UI. (Download / Source Code)
5. Wiki.js – Lightweight and extensible Wiki made with node.js. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Password manager”

1. Bitwarden – Easiest and safest way to store, share, and sync sensitive data. (Download / Source Code)
2. LessPass – Stateless password manager. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Read it Later”

1. Shaark – Knowledge storage for web links, notes, pictures and passwords with clean web UI.
2. Shiori – Simple bookmarks manager written intended as a simple clone of pocket.
3. Wallabag – Self hostable application for saving web pages.

Deploy your own “RSS reader”

1. FreshRSS – RSS aggregator with responsive UI. (Download / Source Code)
2. Miniflux – Minimalist and opinionated feed reader.
3. Selfoss – Multipurpose RSS reader, live stream, mashup, aggregation web application.
4. Tiny Tiny RSS – Web-based news feed reader and aggregator.

Deploy your own “Git server”

1. Gitea – Lightweight and powerful GIT server made with go, so you can deploy it even on Raspberry Pi. (Download / Source Code)
2. GitLab CE – Turn-key GIT hosting solution. (Download / Source Code)
3. Gitolight – GIT hosting on a server, with very fine-grained access control and many powerful features.
4. Pagure – Lightweight, powerful, and flexible git-centered forge with decentralization features.

Deploy your own “Gist/PasteBin”

1. 0bin – Client side encrypted pastebin that can run without a database. (Download / Source Code)
2. Privatebin – Minimalist, online Pastebin where the server has zero knowledge of pasted data. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Mailchimp”

1. Listmonk – Newsletter and mailing list manager with a modern dashboard.

Deploy your own “Kanban board”

1. Kanboard – Project management software that focuses on the Kanban methodology. (Download / Source Code)
2. Phabricator – A collection of web apps which contains bug tracker, Kanban board, Wiki, chat and everything you need to build software. (Download / Source Code)
3. Planka – Kanban board which looks and feels exactly like Trello. (Download / Source Code)
4. Taiga – Project management software with a Kanban board, Sprints, Wiki and tickets. (Download / Source Code)
5. Wekan – Collaborative Kanban board.

Deploy your own “GPS tracking system”

1. OwnTracks – Lightweight program for storing and accessing location data published viaMQTT or HTTP by the owntracks apps.
2. µlogger server – Web application for real-time collection of geolocation data, tracks viewing and management.

Deploy your own “Personal finance tracker”

1. Firefly III – Financial manager to help you keep track of expenses, income, budgets and everything in between. (Download / Source Code)
2. Ledger – Plain text double-entry accounting with 3rd party UI like Prudent (https://prudent.me/). (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Smart home”

1. Home Asisstant – Home automation hub which can be deployed on Raspberry Pi. (Download / Source Code)
2. Home Bridge – Lightweight server that emulates the IOS homekit API so you can work with smart home devices that do not support the homekit protocol. (Download / Source Code)
3. OpenHAB – Vendor-neutral, hardware/protocol-agnostic home automation hub. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “IFTTT”

1. Beehive – A flexible event/agent & automation system made with Go.
2. Huginn – System for building agents that perform automated tasks for you online. Written in Ruby.
3. n8n – Node-based workflow automation tool with visual editor. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Google Authenticator” (2FA, OTP)

1. 2FAuth – A web app to manage your two-factor authentication. (Download / Source Code)

Deploy your own “Twitch”

1. Lightspeed – A self-contained obs → ftl → webrtc live streaming server.

Deploy your own “App store” for servers

1. Portainer – Container management tool. It allows anyone to deploy and manage containers without the need to write code. (Download / Source Code)
2. Yacht – A web interface for managing docker containers with an emphasis on templating to provide 1 click deployments.