Life & fun · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to TheLittleHost – DNS hosting built on my own ASN and Anycast network
Hey HN, A few years ago I came across the On the Metal podcast episode with Kenneth Finnegan about setting up the Fremont Cabal Internet Exchange. It sent me down a rabbit hole I haven’t climbed out of. I'm a software and systems engineer by background, and I am not a network engineer. I’d dabbled with DNS and mail servers before, but always wondered how everything actually tied together at the infrastructure level. Kenneth’s interview awoke something in me. I went all in, taught myself BGP, figured out how ASNs work, got my own IP prefix and eventually racked my own servers at a local…
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
- 1
I wasn't quite sure if this qualified as "Show HN" given you can't really download it and try it out. However, dang said[0]: > If it's hardware or something that's not so easy to try out over the internet, find a different way to show how it actually works—a video, for example, or a detailed post with photos. Hopefully I did that? Additionally, I've put code and a detailed guide for the netboot computer management setup on GitHub: https://github.com/kentonv/lanparty Anyway, if this shouldn't have been Show HN, I apologize! [0]…
2024 · lanparty.house · its alternatives →
- 2
Hey everyone. It's Sherub here, author of the Build your own DNS Server challenge on CodeCrafters. Currently it’s available in Rust, Go, and Python and is free while in beta. https://codecrafters.io/dns-server I've kept the challenge accessible but still challenging for an intermediate developer. This challenge, like others from CodeCrafters, is self-paced. You can use any tools you prefer (terminal, editor, etc.) to build the project. At the end of the challenge, you will have created a DNS forwarding server. The server can create and read DNS packets and respond to DNS…
2023 · app.codecrafters.io · its alternatives →
- 3
Hey all, wanted to share my recent weekend hack project. I wanted to improve upon the existing space for looking up information about IP addresses and ASNs. The backend is written in Rust and pulls BGP data every 8 hours from the RIPE RIS project to build up a routing table and also adds geolocation information. The frontend is using React and Tailwind. Would love any feedback or suggestions on what to improve.
2023 · ip.guide · its alternatives →
- 4SH
Over the past week I built a project to let people self-host an entire maps stack so they don't have to send data to the big G. Right now it includes a base map, geocoder and directions server. Currently only bicycle directions are supported, and I'm only hosting tiles for Seattle because I'm unemployed and can't afford to host data for the whole planet. Check it out! https://maps.ellenhp.me/ https://github.com/ellenhp/headway Ultimately I'd like to really focus on transit routing (not implemented) but I'll probably throw a driving mode in there too.
2022 · maps.ellenhp.me · its alternatives →
- 5KE
My goal was to create a DNS server as simple as the LDAP server I've been contributing to (glauth) and here it is: https://github.com/fusion/kittendns A few things to know about it: - It is easy to configure using a Toml file - I am using it to bail my coredns/etcd instances when under attack - (yes, it also works as a service location server) - It comes with a simple, plain English, rule engine that doesn't do much at this point - It can be used with LetsEncrypt. I use it to retrieve certificates for my home servers. - RFC: all the nice ones :) Anyway, feedback is…
2022 · its alternatives →
- 6
Hi HN, Alexey from Chainstack here. We built Chainstack Self-Hosted to package everything we’ve learned from 8+ years of running blockchain nodes into a single control panel. The goal we’re building this product around is to make blockchain infrastructure boring to operate. The software is free to install. You only pay for the infrastructure you run it on. The quickest way to get hands-on with it is through the Vultr Marketplace or one of the other providers listed in the docs. The current release supports Ethereum Mainnet, Sepolia, and Hoodi with Reth + Prysm full nodes. We’ll be adding…
Jun 2026 · docs.chainstack.com · its alternatives →
- 7
I built a DNS resolver that lets me use https://frontend.numa instead of localhost:5173 — auto-generated TLS certs, WebSocket passthrough, path routing. No mkcert, no nginx, no /etc/hosts.
Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 8
The blog of an engineer from Canada
2014 · willwarren.com · its alternatives →
- 9DL
2020 · live.ix · its alternatives →
- 10
Hey HN, I'm Daniel, solo dev from Germany. I built ClawHosters (https://clawhosters.com), a managed hosting platform for OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent framework. Quick timeline: domain registered February 5th. First paying customer six days later. I probably should have spent more time on it, but it works. If you haven't seen OpenClaw, it lets you run a personal AI assistant that connects to Telegram, Discord, Slack, and WhatsApp. Self-hosting it is absolutely possible, but it's a pain. You're dealing with Docker setup, SSL certs, port forwarding, security hardening, keeping…
Feb 2026 · clawhosters.com · its alternatives →
- 11
I created this website about a month ago to solve a problem I was facing myself as an aspiring digital nomad. It is very important to find an accommodation with fast and reliable Internet. I also specifically wanted places with Ethernet access to minimize latency as much as possible since I (and many others) use a VPN hosted back at home. The database is in its infancy but covers 11 countries so far. I realize the UX is very basic and a minimum viable product. I intend to have someone help me overhaul the design (with ReactJS perhaps) to make it mobile friendly and more appealing.
2023 · thewirednomad.com · its alternatives →
- 12NS
Hey everyone, I was always tired of setting up PowerDNS, Bind and PiHole and I am trying to do more projects in Rust, so here is Nomina. It has: * Split Horizon DNS (return a different IP/record if remote IP is in a certain network etc) * DynDNS Support * Blocklist Integration * DHCP4+6 Server * AXFR/IXFR support * Rewriting of records It can replace most of the common Home Lab setups incl. PiHole AdBlocking etc. https://github.com/DatanoiseTV/Nomina
Jun 2026 · its alternatives →
- 13
TL;DR: I built a lightweight, self-hosted HTTP tunnel that turns localhost into a public HTTPS URL. No paid plans, no secret black boxes. Just one Go binary, Caddy with wildcard TLS, and a $0/month Oracle Cloud VM. GitHub repo Why I Built It My development workflow lives mostly on a free Oracle Clou
2025 · nexo.sh · its alternatives →
- 14
TheGates▲25I've built a Godot plugin that lets you publish and update your projects directly from the editor to TheGates. It gives you free hosting and native performance on Linux, Windows, and macOS — no setup or packaging needed. it’s meant for indie devs who want to share builds quickly, gather feedback, or host small demos without exporting to multiple platforms or asking users to reinstall every time.
2025 · thegates.io · its alternatives →
- 15
Contribute to fmeringdal/do-hashicorp-cluster development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 16
Hi HN, I wanted to give my family, who are scattered all over the world, a simple and private way to connect. The commercial options didn't quite fit, and the open-source tools I found were a bit too barebones and not friendly enough for non-technical users. My main goal was to build something completely self-service. I wanted my family to be able to manage their own devices without my help, so I could set it up once and then stay out of it. This led me to build LeiaGuard, a self-hostable UI for WireGuard built with Next.js. To make it truly easy for everyone, the interface is available in…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 17
I've been playing with cross platform windows/linux Kubernetes clusters recently and have had endless problems with installer scripts misconfiguring networking by using the wrong NIC etc. I got frustrated with the tooling on windows to debug container networking so I built a tool that attempts to stitch together the HNS (Host Network Service) & HCS (Host Compute Service) resources into a tree that shows the relationship between configs. You can also search over it to find the networking impacting your containers or launch the windows built in packet capture tool to create a network…
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 18OS
Hey Hacker News! I am madnuttah, I am a Windows/Linux Sysadmin and some folks may remember this username for "niche" mods I've made for Fallout and Skyrim and some C# UWP Windows Store Apps which I've retired because of Microsoft's unclear strategy abandoning things from one day to another. Why am I writing this? I wanted to be independent from the DNS servers of my provider, because they have often shined brightly with problems in the past instead of functioning properly, wanted to have a little bit more privacy and freedom back by fighting censorship via DNS, so I built my own Unbound…
2022 · its alternatives →
- 19
wsgrok▲7I built it for myself because ngrok didn't let me add one more domain unless I paid $12 more. I probably should've looked for alternatives before building my own, but my grudge got in the way . Once I started, I wanted to make it better than the other options. Silly, I know. No one probably cares. I plan to open source it sometime next year because I’ve got other projects to finish first. It's free until I deplete my cloud credits, then it will switch to a tier-based model with a free option.
Jan 2026 · wsgrok.com · its alternatives →
- 20
I wanted to share a VPN service I've been working on with my team. In short, it automates the deployment of VPN servers. Instead of sharing an IP address with thousands of other users (like traditional VPN providers do), every user gets their own virtual server with a dedicated IP. In its current form, it works perfectly for those who constantly use a VPN for remote work and gaming or in regions with censorship and VPN blocks. Why we built this: The project started out of frustration. I often used a VPN, and after trying many commercial solutions, I realized they all have drawbacks. This led…
Oct 2025 · shp.network · its alternatives →
- 21
Hi HN, I'm the creator of epress. After a lot of work, I'm excited (and a bit nervous) to finally share it with you. For years, I've been feeling like a digital tenant on the platforms I use every day. My content, my social graph, my online identity—they were all stored on someone else's servers, subject to their rules, algorithms, and business models. I could be de-platformed, my data could be sold, or an API I relied on could suddenly be put behind a paywall. I looked into existing decentralized alternatives. While many are great projects, I found they often shifted the trust from a big…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 22AB
bit.site dynamically captures all requests to *.bit.site, automatically resolving the IPFS/IPNS/Skynet content hashes for the corresponding .bit account records. It returns the relevant static content via HTTPS, enabling users to access decentralized networks with zero configuration on modern browsers. At the same time, we provide global CDN acceleration, striving to enhance the availability of decentralized content.
2023 · bit.site · its alternatives →
- 23
Hey HN, With the news of OpenRouter possibly being acquired and proliferation of hosted LLM routers (i.e. Ramp Router, Vercel’s AI Gateway), I saw the need for a self hosted solution focused on cost savings, transparency, and performance. So, I built an open sourced router with a simple CLI interface that can easily sit between coding agents and GenAI workloads. For the curious and lazy, at the moment, Millwright has the tools for, - Providers: OpenAI-compatible APIs, Anthropic, Amazon Bedrock - Routing: policy-controlled model roles (cheap, mid, frontier), cheapest healthy route selection -…
Jul 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 24
Hi HN, as a learning experience, I created a small DNS resolver with blocking capabilities and resolution of local host names. There are already tons of good ad-blocking DNS implementations out there. And they do this much better than my implementation. Great examples are Blocky or pihole. So when I set out to "play around", I looked at these projects and tried to modify them. Fortunately for them, but unfortunately for beginners, these are already quite far developed and complex projects. So impatient me set out to "quickly write something in Python". Almost two weekends later, I put in so…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
Also compare
- I built a(nother) house optimized for LAN parties alternatives
- I built a guided Build your own DNS Server challenge alternatives
- IP Guide – Info on IP addresses, Networks, and ASNs alternatives
- Self-Hosted Maps Stack alternatives
- KittenDNS – Easy to setup, rule engine, LetsEncrypt compatible alternatives
- Chainstack Self-Hosted, hosting your own blockchain nodes made simple alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →