UniFi Cloud Hosting vs self-hosting

Every UniFi network needs a controller somewhere — the software that manages your access points, switches and settings. The only real question is where it lives. Here's what actually changes between running it yourself and hosting it in the cloud.

Self-hosting

This means running the UniFi Network Application on hardware at your own site — a spare PC, a NAS, a Raspberry Pi, or dedicated Ubiquiti hardware like a Cloud Key or Dream Machine. You own it outright, there's no recurring hosting cost, and everything stays on your own premises.

The trade-off is that you're responsible for keeping it patched, backed up, powered, and physically secure. One thing worth knowing: if that hardware fails or loses power, your access points and switches keep running on their last saved configuration — you don't lose Wi-Fi or connectivity outright, just central visibility and the ability to make changes until it's back. Remote access (checking or changing settings off-site) usually needs extra setup too, like port forwarding or a VPN, since most business broadband doesn't hand out a fixed public address by default.

Cloud hosting

Here, the same controller software runs on a server in a data centre instead of on hardware at your venue. You still log in and manage your network exactly the same way — hosting it elsewhere doesn't by itself mean someone else is managing it for you.

What changes is what's underneath it: no local hardware to buy or maintain, and it's typically hosted on infrastructure with real independent accreditation behind it — ISO 27001 certified data centres, for example, rather than a PC in a cupboard. Backups and resilient power are handled at the data-centre level, so a local power cut or a failed hard drive at the venue doesn't take your controller down with it. Remote access also just works, without you needing to solve port forwarding yourself.

Which is right for you?

Self-hosting is a perfectly reasonable choice if you're comfortable maintaining it yourself, already have solid backups, and don't mind the extra remote-access setup — plenty of single-site setups run this way without issue.

Cloud hosting mainly earns its keep by removing that maintenance and resilience burden — which tends to matter more the more sites or access points you're responsible for, or the less time there is to give it hands-on attention.