MongoDB Atlas vs Self-Hosted MongoDB on EC2: Real Costs
MongoDB Atlas vs self hosted, the real numbers: current MongoDB Atlas pricing against self hosted MongoDB AWS costs, including the engineering time most comparisons leave out.
Shalomi Umeshika
- Articles
- 75
- Main topic
- Development
- Writing since
- 2023
About Shalomi
Shalomi is a sales executive at Meetrix, working where the customer, the technology and the commercial side meet. She takes the first inquiry, works out what the customer actually needs, and brings in the engineers who can build it. Very little of it is a simple purchase: self-hosted deployments, marketplace licensing and customised infrastructure all have to be understood before they can be quoted.
Her side of a project runs end to end. Quotations, proposals, statements of work, invoices, project updates and the support conversation afterwards all sit with her. A large part of the job is keeping customers and engineers reading the same page once a project touches cloud infrastructure or a deployment that has been changed to fit one client.
Day to day she works across AWS Marketplace and Google Cloud Marketplace listings and runs the customer pipeline through HubSpot, Zoho and Mailchimp. She holds a Bachelor of Management from the University of Kelaniya.
She writes the alternatives and head-to-head comparisons on this blog. Because she is the one fielding the questions, those articles answer what customers ask first: licensing, real hosting cost and how much work a migration turns out to be. Technical claims are reviewed by the engineers who maintain the corresponding deployment.
Areas of focus
- Tool comparisons
- Self-hosting cost
- Collaboration tools
- IAM & Security
- LLMs & APIs
75 articles by Shalomi Umeshika
Development
Development
Strapi vs Directus: Which Open-Source Headless CMS in 2026?
Strapi vs Directus compared as APIs, not just content editors: native GraphQL, real-time subscriptions, and free granular permissions, for the best open source cms api to build on.
LLMs & APIs
Best Open-Source LLMs to Self-Host in 2026: Llama vs Mistral vs DeepSeek
Best open source llm for coding in 2026: DeepSeek Coder vs Code Llama vs Codestral compared on real HumanEval, SWE-bench, and VRAM numbers for self-hosted deployments.
Collaboration
Rocket.Chat vs Mattermost: Self-Hosted Team Chat Compared
Rocket.Chat vs Mattermost compared from the hosting side: real server requirements, deployment models, and Mattermost vs Rocket.Chat pricing, for teams picking a self hosted Slack alternative.
Business Intelligence
Apache NiFi vs Airbyte: Data Flow vs ELT
Apache NiFi vs Airbyte compared honestly: real-time dataflow automation with full lineage versus a 600+ connector ELT platform, and what self-hosting each one actually costs.
Education
Moodle vs Open edX vs Canvas: Open Source LMS Compared
Moodle vs Open edX compared honestly, plus Canvas: an open source lms comparison covering real self-hosting effort, not just feature checklists, for teams picking the best lms self hosted.
AI Image Tools
Fooocus vs Automatic1111 vs ComfyUI: Stable Diffusion UIs Compared
Fooocus vs Automatic1111 vs ComfyUI compared honestly: node-based control, the extension library everyone still uses, and which of the three is actually still shipping updates for models like Flux.1.
Collaboration
Jitsi Meet vs Zoom: Is the Free, Open-Source Alternative Worth It?
Jitsi Meet is a free, open-source alternative to Zoom. Here's how it actually compares on cost, limits, and security, and what Meetrix adds when you self-host it on AWS.
LLMs & APIs
OpenWebUI vs LibreChat: Self-Hosted ChatGPT UI Compared
OpenWebUI vs LibreChat compared honestly, including a licensing change most reviews don't mention: OpenWebUI is no longer OSI-approved open source above 50 users.
Development
Grafana vs Kibana: Metrics vs Logs Monitoring
Grafana vs Kibana compared honestly: data-source-agnostic dashboards against Elasticsearch's dedicated UI, current licensing, and which one actually fits your stack.
Development
Appsmith vs Retool: Open Source vs Proprietary Internal Tools
Appsmith vs Retool compared honestly: current pricing, and the retool self hosted pricing surprise most reviews don't mention, self-hosting Retool costs the same as its cloud.
Development
NocoBase vs Airtable: Self-Hosted No-Code Database Compared
NocoBase vs Airtable compared independently: free-tier record limits, real pricing, and what a plugin-based self-hosted no-code database actually gets you.
Development
Wekan vs Trello: Self-Hosted Kanban vs SaaS
Wekan vs Trello compared: current pricing, free-tier board limits, and the trello data ownership question most reviews skip when talking about switching.
IAM & Security
Authentik vs Authelia: Lightweight Self-Hosted SSO Compared
Authentik vs Authelia compared honestly: a full identity provider against lightweight forward-auth middleware, and why they're not really solving the same problem.
IAM & Security
RustDesk vs TeamViewer vs AnyDesk: Remote Desktop Compared
RustDesk vs TeamViewer vs AnyDesk compared: current pricing, and the self-hosting question most reviews get wrong, RustDesk isn't the only one that can, but it's the only one that's free.
Development
Coolify vs Vercel and Netlify: When to Leave Managed Hosting
Coolify vs Vercel and Netlify: the real signals it's time to leave managed hosting, current bandwidth pricing on both platforms, and what self-hosting actually costs instead.
LLMs & APIs
Llama vs Mistral vs DeepSeek: Best Self-Hosted LLM in 2026
The best self hosted LLM in 2026: Llama vs Mistral vs DeepSeek compared on licensing, benchmarks, and hardware footprint for real self-hosted deployments.
LLMs & APIs
Flowise vs Langflow vs n8n: Visual AI Workflow Builders
Flowise vs Langflow vs n8n compared honestly, including a licensing detail most roundups skip: n8n's Sustainable Use License restricts commercial and embedded use.
Development
Supabase vs Firebase: Self-Hosted Postgres vs Google Cloud
Supabase vs Firebase compared: real Postgres versus Firestore's NoSQL model, current pricing, and what self-hosting Supabase actually gives up versus its managed cloud.
AI Image Tools
Fooocus vs Easy Diffusion vs AUTOMATIC1111: Best Self-Hosted AI Image Generators
The best self hosted AI image generator in 2026: Fooocus vs AUTOMATIC1111 vs Easy Diffusion compared on setup, extensions, and why one of them stopped shipping major updates.
Development
Strapi vs Directus: Which Headless CMS Should You Self-Host?
Strapi vs Directus compared honestly, including the licensing detail most reviews skip: Directus's self-hosted license is free only under $5M in revenue.
Collaboration
Nextcloud vs Google Drive for Business: Own Your Files
Nextcloud vs Google Drive for business compared: cost, storage, and the GDPR file storage angle Google's own EU data residency add-on can't fully solve.
Development
Plane vs Jira: Open Source Project Management Head-to-Head
Plane vs Jira compared honestly: pricing, self-hosting, and why Atlassian ending new Data Center sales in 2026 makes this a real self hosted Jira replacement question.
Development
Ghost vs WordPress for Self-Hosted Publishing
Ghost vs WordPress compared for self-hosted publishing: stack, security patching burden, built-in newsletters, and what each actually costs to run on your own server.
IAM & Security
Best Self-Hosted VPN Solutions in 2026 (OpenVPN, Headscale, WireGuard)
The best self hosted VPN options in 2026, compared honestly: OpenVPN Access Server, Headscale as a Tailscale alternative, and setting up WireGuard yourself.
IAM & Security
OpenVPN vs WireGuard for Business Remote Access
OpenVPN vs WireGuard for business remote access: OpenVPN Access Server's user management versus what it actually takes to run a self-hosted WireGuard VPN for a team.
Collaboration
Rocket.Chat vs Mattermost: Which Self-Hosted Slack Alternative?
Rocket.Chat vs Mattermost compared honestly: omnichannel support, cost, stack, and scale, so you can pick the right self hosted Slack alternative.
Collaboration
Mattermost vs Slack: Self-Hosted vs SaaS Team Chat
Self-hosted Mattermost compared to SaaS Slack on cost, setup, permissions, scale, and lock-in, with current 2026 pricing for both, verdict included.
Development
Metabase vs Redash vs Superset: Self-Hosted BI Head-to-Head
Metabase vs Redash vs Superset compared honestly: query builders, pricing and maintenance status, for teams weighing a real open source BI tools comparison.
Development
Apache Superset vs Tableau: Open Source BI vs Enterprise
Apache Superset vs Tableau compared: chart types, pricing and dashboards, so you can judge this open source Tableau alternative on its real merits.
Development
ERPNext vs Odoo: Which Open Source ERP in 2026?
ERPNext vs Odoo compared: pricing, modules and licensing, for an honest open source ERP comparison covering ERPNext pricing vs Odoo's Enterprise tiers.
IAM & Security
Keycloak vs Auth0: Open Source vs SaaS Identity
Keycloak vs Auth0 compared: pricing, features and data control, so you can decide between a self hosted Auth0 alternative and managed SaaS identity.
IAM & Security
Headscale vs Tailscale: Self-Hosted Control Plane Compared
Headscale vs Tailscale compared: setup, pricing and the Headplane UI, so you can decide if a self hosted tailscale alternative fits your team.
IAM & Security
Authentik vs Keycloak: Which Open Source Identity Provider?
Authentik vs Keycloak compared: features, protocols and licensing, so you can pick the right self hosted IdP for your open source identity provider comparison.
Collaboration
Best Open Source Collaboration Tools on AWS Marketplace (2026)
The best open source collaboration tools on AWS Marketplace: chat, video, files and project management AMIs you can self-host without per-seat pricing.
Development
Best Self-Hosted Heroku Alternatives: Coolify vs CapRover vs Dokploy
Coolify vs CapRover vs Dokploy compared: features, resource needs and pricing, so you can pick the right self hosted Heroku alternative for your team.
Collaboration
BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Meet: Open Source Video Conferencing Compared
BigBlueButton vs Jitsi Meet compared: features, server requirements, breakout rooms and pricing, so you can pick the right open source video platform.
Development
Plane on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy the Open-Source Jira Alternative in Minutes
Deploy Plane on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace listing. Run the open-source Jira alternative on your own infrastructure, with issues, cycles, and roadmaps included.
IAM & Security
Headscale on AWS Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy Your Own Tailscale Control Server in Minutes
Deploy Headscale on AWS in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured AWS Marketplace AMI. Run your own self-hosted Tailscale control server and mesh VPN coordination layer, with no per-device billing.
Development
Redash on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy a Self-Hosted BI Dashboard in Minutes
Deploy Redash on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace listing. Query any data source, build dashboards, and keep every row of data inside your own GCP project.
Development
Supabase on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy the Open-Source Firebase Alternative in Minutes
Deploy Supabase on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace listing. Get Postgres, Auth, Storage, and Realtime running on your own infrastructure, with no Firebase-style usage billing.
LLMs & APIs
Flowise on AWS Marketplace by Meetrix - Build AI Chatbots and LLM Workflows Without Code
Deploy Flowise on AWS in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured Marketplace listing. Build AI chatbots, RAG pipelines, and LLM agents on your own infrastructure, with full data control.
Development
Directus on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy a Headless CMS in Minutes
Deploy Directus on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace listing. Turn your database into a REST and GraphQL API with full data control and no per-record fees.
Development
NocoBase on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy a No-Code Platform in Minutes
Deploy NocoBase on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace listing. Build internal tools and custom databases on your own infrastructure, with no per-seat fees.
IAM & Security
OpenVPN Server on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy a Secure VPN in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted OpenVPN server on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace solution. Secure remote access to your VPC with full data control and no per-user fees.
Development
Cal.diy Scheduling Platform on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted Cal.diy scheduling platform on Google Cloud in minutes. Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace solution gives you full control over your bookings and calendar data, with no per-seat fees.
Development
Ghost Publishing Platform on AWS Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted Ghost publishing platform on AWS in minutes. Meetrix's pre-configured AWS Marketplace AMI gives you blogging, newsletters, and paid memberships, with no platform cut and no subscriber cap.
Development
Listmonk Newsletter Manager on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted Listmonk newsletter and mailing list manager on Google Cloud Platform in minutes. Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace solution keeps your subscriber data and campaigns fully under your control.
Development
Mailcow Mail Server on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted Mailcow mail server on Google Cloud Platform in minutes. Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace solution bundles Postfix, Dovecot, SOGo webmail, and spam filtering, fully under your control.
IAM & Security
OpenVPN on AWS Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy a Secure VPN Server in Minutes
Deploy a self-hosted OpenVPN server on AWS in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured AWS Marketplace AMI. Secure remote access to your VPC with full data control and no per-user fees.
Development
Metabase BI Analytics Server on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy Metabase on Google Cloud Platform in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace image. Self-host your business intelligence and analytics server with full data control.
Development
Deploy RustDesk on GCP: Secure Remote Desktop on Ubuntu Server via Google Cloud Marketplace
Deploy RustDesk on Google Cloud in minutes with Meetrix's pre-configured Ubuntu Server image. Secure, self-hosted remote desktop - no TeamViewer fees.
Development
Coturn TURN Server on GCP Marketplace by Meetrix - Deploy in Minutes
Deploy a production-ready Coturn TURN/STUN server on Google Cloud Platform in minutes. Meetrix's pre-configured GCP Marketplace solution handles NAT traversal for WebRTC, VoIP, and real-time apps.
AI & Automation
OpenClaw: The Ultimate AWS Marketplace Tool for Automated Cloud Security & Compliance
Discover OpenClaw, the open-source personal AI assistant now available on AWS Marketplace. Automate tasks, streamline workflows, and enhance productivity with customizable, platform-agnostic AI solutions leveraging AWS infrastructure.
LLMs & APIs
A Comprehensive Guide to Amazon Transcribe and Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Explore Amazon Transcribe's features, its synergy with AWS, and how this powerful combination revolutionizes audio transcription for businesses and individuals.
Collaboration
Otter.ai Transcription Tool Comprehensive Review
A comprehensive review of the Otter.ai transcription tool, detailing its key features, accuracy, user experience, pricing, and real-world applications.
Collaboration
Exploring the Top 10 Video Conferencing Tools: Features, Pros, and Cons in 2026
Discover the best video conferencing tools of 2026 with detailed analysis of features, pros, and cons. From Zoom to Jitsi Meet, find the perfect solution for your remote work and virtual collaboration needs.
Collaboration
Review of the 10 Most Secure Video Conferencing Tools 2026
This article explores 10 of the most secure video conferencing tools in 2026, with an emphasis on their features such as in-built security measures and their user-friendliness in assisting businesses to make informed decisions and motivate workers to engage in collaboration with teammates.
Development
Deploy Apache Superset on AWS Marketplace - Open-Source Data Visualization Made Easy
Launch a secure, scalable Apache Superset environment on AWS in minutes. Explore, visualize, and share data with our pre-configured, production-ready AMI.
Development
Redash AWS Deployment - Preconfigured Query & Dashboard Builder
Deploy a secure, scalable Redash environment on AWS in minutes. Connect to any data source, build queries, and create powerful dashboards with our pre-configured AMI.
Development
Odoo AWS Deployment - Preconfigured ERP, CRM, and Business Apps in One AMI
Deploy a secure, scalable Odoo environment on AWS in minutes. Get a full suite of business apps with our pre-configured, production-ready AMI.
Development
Build Custom Databases with NocoBase on AWS - Preconfigured for Scalability & Security
Learn how to set up NocoBase with custom database configurations on AWS for scalable no-code application development.
Time Series & Monitoring
TimescaleDB with Grafana and Prometheus on AWS
Deploy TimescaleDB with Grafana and Prometheus on AWS for time-series data monitoring and visualization.
Development
Deploy Appsmith on AWS with Meetrix: Build Internal Tools in Minutes with Open-Source Power
Deploy Appsmith low-code platform on AWS for rapid application development.
Collaboration
Mattermost AMI by Meetrix on AWS Marketplace: The Secure, Scalable Collaboration Solution
Deploy Mattermost on AWS using our pre-configured AMI for secure team collaboration.
Development
Self-Host Supabase with Meetrix on AWS - The Open-Source Firebase Alternative, Ready in Minutes
Learn how to self-host Supabase on AWS for full control over your database and backend services.
Development
Deploy Apache NiFi on AWS with Meetrix - Simplify Complex Data Flows in Minutes
Step-by-step guide to deploy Apache NiFi on AWS for data flow automation and processing.
LLMs & APIs
Deploy OpenWebUI with Ollama on AWS using Meetrix: Secure, Intuitive UI for Self-Hosted LLMs
Deploy OpenWebUI Ollama on AWS for local AI model serving and web interface.
Development
Deploy Directus on AWS with Meetrix - The Open-Source Headless CMS, Pre-Configured and Production-Ready
Step-by-step guide to deploy Directus headless CMS on AWS using Meetrix's optimized configuration for scalable content management.
Education
Deploy Moodle on AWS with Meetrix - The Leading Open-Source LMS, Pre-Configured for Instant Use
Deploy Moodle learning management system on AWS using Meetrix for educational institutions.
Collaboration
Transforming Communication and Collaboration: A Case Study on the Synergy Between Workcast and Meetrix
A case study on how Workcast and Meetrix collaborate to innovate in the digital events market.
Collaboration
Revolutionizing Collaboration: A Case Study on How Meetrix.io Transformed Orga Support's Communication
A detailed case study on how Meetrix.io's expertise in Jitsi helped Orga-Support resolve critical communication issues, enhancing their collaboration and operational efficiency.
Development
Exploring the Versatility of Jitsi: Domains and Use Cases
Explore various Jitsi domain configurations and real-world use cases for different business scenarios and deployment strategies.
Collaboration
Best Way to Communicate on a Cruise Ship 2026: How Meetrix.io Transformed The World CC with Jitsi for Seamless Collaboration
The largest residential ship in the market deploys Meetrix to improve Real-Time Communication on a unified platform and boost collaboration between members of staff on and off-board.
Collaboration
Revolutionizing Real-Time Communication: How Huddle XR Leveraged Meetrix for Enhanced RTC
Pioneer Communications Platform Huddle XR leveraged Meetrix to strengthen the core of their communication platforms and enhance security.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Shalomi Umeshika?
Shalomi Umeshika is a Sales Executive at Meetrix, with 75 published articles on the Meetrix blog. Sales executive at Meetrix. Handles inquiries, quotations, proposals, statements of work and invoicing, works out what a customer actually needs, and keeps them and the engineers aligned once a project is running.
What does Shalomi write about?
Mainly Development, Collaboration, IAM & Security. Development makes up the largest share of the work, with 36 published articles.
Are these articles based on real deployments?
Yes. Meetrix maintains production images for AWS Marketplace and Google Cloud Marketplace, and the guides published here are written while deploying those products on live infrastructure. Screenshots and command output come from that run rather than from vendor documentation.
Who reviews the technical accuracy?
Technical claims are checked against our own deployments and reviewed by the engineer who maintains the relevant image before an article goes live. Corrections are applied to the article itself, and the publish date moves with any substantive update.
How can I get in touch about an article by Shalomi?
Email support@meetrix.io with the article URL and your question. If a step no longer works, tell us which one - that is how most of our updates get triggered.
