Self-host Nhost

updated Jul 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Sep 2026 · how we test

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Open-source Firebase alternative built on Postgres and Hasura's instant GraphQL API, with authentication, file storage, and serverless functions in one Docker Compose stack.

Firebase / yr$300

Self-hosted / yr~$283

You keep$17/yr

Pocket the difference — spin it up on a cheap VPS in minutes.Start free on Kamatera →

Key facts

CategoryBackend & BaaS

LicenseMIT

StackPostgreSQL, Hasura

Min RAM2048 MB

Official imageyes

Measured idle RAM510 MB

Difficulty

Sourcegithub.com/nhost/nhost

Websitenhost.io

Our recommendation

Reach for Nhost when you want Hasura's instant GraphQL API over Postgres bundled with auth, storage, and functions — a strong fit if your app is GraphQL-first rather than REST-first. Budget 2 GB and expect to do more assembly than Supabase's official stack: the self-hosted path is a community Docker Compose reference, not the product Nhost sells as managed cloud.

What you need

Any VPS with at least 2048 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
About the better part of a day

Where to host itaffiliate disclosure

Hetzner Cloudrun it on

From $23.59/mo · 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB · EU + US

Get Hetzner Cloud

Kamaterafree trial

From $4/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 20 GB · US + EU + Asia

Start free on Kamatera →

DigitalOceanalso works on

From $6/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB · US + EU + Asia

Deploy on DigitalOcean →

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Install

Run these commands on your server:

# Nhost — self-hosting reference stack (community-maintained; no formal support without a paid agreement)
git clone https://github.com/nhost/nhost
cd nhost/examples/docker-compose
cp .env.example .env
# MinIO removed its images from Docker Hub (Sept 2026); the pinned minio/minio tag no longer pulls, so swap in Chainguard's free MinIO build (latest tag only)
sed -i 's|image: minio/minio:.*|image: cgr.dev/chainguard/minio:latest|' docker-compose.yaml
docker compose up -d

vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

What you take on

Nhost is Postgres and Hasura underneath, both mature — but the self-hosted packaging asks more of you than the hosted product does:

non-negotiableSelf-hosting is community-maintained, not the core product. Nhost's business is managed cloud; the Compose setup is a community reference implementation without an official support agreement — treat docs gaps as expected, not a bug.

non-negotiableHasura adds a piece to operate. You're running and understanding a GraphQL engine on top of Postgres, not just Postgres — budget time to learn Hasura's permission and metadata model.

non-negotiableBackups are your own Postgres discipline. Same as any self-hosted Postgres app: pg_dump/WAL-archiving and a tested restore, because nothing does it for you.

An alternative to

Firebase →

Common questions

Why does docker compose fail with "pull access denied for minio/minio, repository does not exist"?

MinIO removed its minio/minio and minio/mc images from Docker Hub in September 2026, and quay.io has refused anonymous pulls since 24 September. Nhost's example compose still pins minio/minio:RELEASE.2025-02-28T09-55-16Z (checked 2026-09-28), so the whole pull aborts before anything starts. The install above swaps in Chainguard's free MinIO build (cgr.dev/chainguard/minio:latest); with that one change the full stack installed cleanly on a fresh Ubuntu 26.04 server on 2026-09-29. Chainguard only publishes that image as latest, and the community MinIO line gets no further security fixes, so for anything long-lived consider pointing Nhost's storage at a different S3-compatible server.

Self-host Nhost

Key facts

What you need

Install

What you take on

An alternative to

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