How much do you pay each month for all your subscriptions?

Notes, task management, storage, editing, automation, personal finance… Add music, movies, and those apps that charge a monthly fee for the one feature you actually need.

Now consider a different budget: an AI plan at around US$20 a month and an affordable server at roughly US$6 a month. If you want to get fancy, add a domain name; to get started, you can access it by IP address.

With that budget as a starting point, you have a foundation for building and hosting your own apps.

An expense dashboard that makes sense to you. An organizer that follows your routine. Or a player that brings together open streaming sources (wink, wink), with your own catalog, favorites, and an interface designed for your screen.

The internet is full of content and information. Part of the work is finding sources that allow their use, collecting data through APIs or scrapers, filtering it, organizing it, and adapting it to your needs. AI can help you turn those pieces into an application.

Of course, servers have limits, apps need maintenance, security, etc... but for many personal tools, the possibility is already compelling.

How many subscriptions would you keep if you could build the exact feature you’re paying for?