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Should I self-host Roam Research?
Roam still charges $15/mo for backlinked notes. SiYuan and Trilium (verified earlier here) both do blocks, backlinks and graph views locally, and your second brain stops having a landlord.
The math (nothing hidden, including your time)
| Roam Research (Pro) | $15.00/mo |
| VPS share + storage | −$0.30/mo |
| Your maintenance: 15 min/mo at $20/h | −$5.00/mo |
| Net saving | $9.70/mo |
| Setup: 11 min measured (one-time) | $3.67 |
| Break-even | 0.4 months |
| Markup Index (price ÷ real self-host cost) | 2.8× |
Price: source, checked 2026-08-06. Inputs are stored in git; every number above is derived, never hand-written.
What you lose
- Roam's specific block-ref query syntax if your vault leans on it
- Migration is an export-and-massage weekend, not a click
What you're paying Roam Research for
- networked notes & backlinks
- daily notes
- block references
- graph view
Ranked alternatives
A block-referencing outliner with daily notes and two-way links, served from one container to whatever browser you open next.
A personal knowledge base with a note tree, relations and scripting, keeping every note in one SQLite file you can copy.
Hardware
Runs comfortably on Raspberry Pi.
The tested compose file (our evidence, CI-booted)
# SiYuan — local-first block-based notes with backlinks
services:
siyuan:
image: b3log/siyuan:latest
container_name: siyuan
restart: unless-stopped
command: ["serve", "--workspace=/siyuan/workspace/", "--accessAuthCode=changeme123"] # v3.7+ needs the serve subcommand
ports:
- "6806:6806"
volumes:
- siyuan-data:/siyuan/workspace
probe:
image: busybox:stable
network_mode: "service:siyuan"
depends_on:
- siyuan
command: sh -c 'while true; do sleep 30; done'
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z localhost 6806 || exit 1"]
interval: 5s
timeout: 5s
retries: 40
start_period: 15s
volumes:
siyuan-data:
Want a guided install instead? caniselfhostit.com/roam-research has AI-agent prompts that assume a bare machine — that's their half of the stool, and it's good.
Verification
Protocol v1 · verified by zernonia on 2026-08-10 · setup measured at 11 min · AI assistant: claude-code (allowed & stated)
What broke
- Boot to healthy measured at 15s on the 2GB reference env
Full timed log
# Roam Research — verdict log - **Date:** 2026-08-10 - **Verdict:** YES — worth it - **Protocol:** v1 (2GB reference env, Docker preinstalled, AI assistant: claude-code) ## Setup evidence - Compose: `compose/roam-research-siyuan.yml` - Boot to healthy: **15s** measured this session - Setup time recorded: 11 min (boot + configuration to first working workflow) ## What broke / notes - Boot to healthy measured at 15s on the 2GB reference env ## The call Roam still charges $15/mo for backlinked notes. SiYuan and Trilium (verified earlier here) both do blocks, backlinks and graph views locally, and your second brain stops having a landlord.
Verdict history
- 2026-08-10: unscored → YES — Initial verdict: Roam still charges $15/mo for backlinked notes.