--- title: I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these... description: A roundup of self-hosted, open-source apps students can use instead of paying for commercial subscriptions: Stirling PDF for editing and merging PDFs... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these self-hosted apps | daily.dev og:description: A roundup of self-hosted, open-source apps students can use instead of paying for commercial subscriptions: Stirling PDF for editing and merging PDFs... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/pQE3DcqfR.png og:image:alt: I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these self-hosted apps og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these self-hosted apps **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 6 min read · 1 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary A roundup of self-hosted, open-source apps students can use instead of paying for commercial subscriptions: Stirling PDF for editing and merging PDFs privately, Zotero for research citation management with WebDAV-synced attachments, Nextcloud as a self-hosted Office/cloud storage alternative, Jellyfin for streaming personally owned media without subscription fees, and Logseq (or Obsidian) for privacy-focused, local-first note-taking. The recommendations emphasize privacy, cost savings, and running services on a NAS or home server. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What can I use instead of Adobe Acrobat to edit and merge PDFs without paying for a subscription? Stirling PDF is a self-hosted, open-source tool for merging, splitting, converting, and editing PDF files, run on your own hardware such as a NAS or small server. It keeps personal information, coursework, or research documents private instead of relying on unknown online conversion websites or a paid Adobe Acrobat subscription. _Anyone comparing self-hosted tools against paid subscriptions can track new options via daily.dev._ ### How can I sync my Zotero library without using Zotero's own storage service? Zotero attachment files can be synced using WebDAV instead of Zotero's built-in storage service, letting you keep research files on your own NAS or small server rather than third-party infrastructure. Zotero itself still handles collecting sources and citation metadata, but WebDAV gives you control over where the actual files live. _Researchers weighing self-hosted storage options can follow related tooling discussions on daily.dev._ ### What is a self-hosted alternative to Google Docs or Microsoft Office for students? Nextcloud is an open-source, self-hosted cloud platform that can replace Microsoft Office or Google Docs for document management and note-taking, running on Windows, macOS, and Linux with mobile and desktop apps. It can be complex to configure, and its plugin ecosystem lets you extend it with additional apps beyond basic file storage. _Developers evaluating self-hosted productivity stacks can keep up with tools like Nextcloud on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@theacademe** · 0 upvotes > You might possibly add OnlyOffice to that list. Not only for compatibility but also for the great extensions. And I would look at substituting Bento PDF for Stirling PDF. Stirling has announced some licensing changes for the next version. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [These 5 self-hosted apps can save hundreds of dollars in your new school term](https://daily.dev/posts/these-5-self-hosted-apps-can-save-hundreds-of-dollars-in-your-new-school-term-90mebnwz3) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [5 self-hosted apps that replaced my expensive paid subscriptions without feeling like a downgrade](https://daily.dev/posts/5-self-hosted-apps-that-replaced-my-expensive-paid-subscriptions-without-feeling-like-a-downgrade-uqtqgverj) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [These 5 open-source software cost me nothing, but they're absolutely worth paying for](https://daily.dev/posts/these-5-open-source-software-cost-me-nothing-but-they-re-absolutely-worth-paying-for-st7b5xioc) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#devtools](https://daily.dev/tags/devtools), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#jellyfin](https://daily.dev/tags/jellyfin) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these self-hosted apps","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr"},"datePublished":"2026-08-13T16:30:31.932Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:54:14.918Z","description":"A roundup of self-hosted, open-source apps students can use instead of paying for commercial subscriptions: Stirling PDF for editing and merging PDFs...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/490a6756a1f6bfdcd712972b0bc8264f?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/490a6756a1f6bfdcd712972b0bc8264f?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"open-source,devtools,self-hosting,jellyfin","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I replaced 5 expensive student subscriptions with these self-hosted apps"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-5-expensive-student-subscriptions-with-these-self-hosted-apps-pqe3dcqfr","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"You might possibly add OnlyOffice to that list. 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