An 11x11 cm mini PC can now do the job of a media server, a smart-home controller, and a light NAS for less money than one prebuilt NAS box. What decides how good the result is: the software you point at it. The seven apps below are the ones that keep showing up on r/selfhosted when a working mini PC build gets shared. None of them cost anything to run, and all of them have communities big enough to fix problems fast when a config breaks.
We built out a Beelink SER8 mini PC over a week and installed every app below to check what the setup path really looks like in 2026.
What to look for in a mini PC home server stack
Five practical criteria mattered more than any feature checklist:
- Low idle power draw so the machine can stay on 24/7 without embarrassing your electricity bill
- Docker or similar container support so services stay isolated
- Web-first UI so you rarely need a keyboard on the box itself
- A backup path (automatic snapshots or replication) that survives a disk failure
- A recovery story for when you accidentally break a container at 11pm
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price/mo | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CasaOS | One-click app store for a beginner-friendly server | Linux (Docker) | Free, open source | $0 | 4.6 |
| Home Assistant | Full smart-home automation hub | Linux, Windows, macOS | Free, open source | $0 | 4.8 |
| Proxmox VE | Type-1 hypervisor for VMs and containers | Bare metal | Free, community | $110/year Enterprise | 4.7 |
| TrueNAS Scale | ZFS-backed NAS with container support | Bare metal | Free, open source | $0 | 4.7 |
| Portainer | Docker/Kubernetes web UI for daily ops | Linux, Windows, macOS | Free CE tier | $0 | 4.6 |
| Jellyfin | Media server without the tracker | Linux, Windows, macOS | Free, open source | $0 | 4.6 |
| OpenMediaVault | Debian-based NAS interface | Linux (Debian) | Free, open source | $0 | 4.5 |
The apps
1. CasaOS, best for a beginner-friendly one-click server
CasaOS is a lightweight Debian layer that turns a fresh mini PC into a home server with a graphical dashboard. Its app store lists 100+ pre-configured containers (Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Home Assistant, PhotoPrism, etc.) so most beginners are up and running inside 20 minutes.
Where it falls short: production-critical users prefer to build the same stack manually. The abstraction sometimes hides why a container fails.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, open source
- Paid: no paid tier
Platforms: Linux (installed on top of Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04+)
Download: CasaOS
Bottom line: the fastest way from a fresh mini PC to a working home server.
2. Home Assistant, best for smart-home automation
Home Assistant is the community-standard smart-home controller. It supports 2,500+ integrations, from Zigbee dongles to Matter devices to whatever obscure IoT bulb you already own. The Home Assistant OS install locks the mini PC to smart-home work; the Docker install lets you run it alongside a media server or NAS.
Where it falls short: automations have a learning curve if you want to move past visual editing. Reading YAML pays off eventually.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, open source
- Paid: Home Assistant Cloud subscription for remote access is optional at $6.50/mo
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS (Docker) or Home Assistant OS on bare metal
Download: Home Assistant
Bottom line: worth installing even if you only automate lights and a doorbell today.
3. Proxmox VE, best for VMs and containers on bare metal
Proxmox VE is a Debian-based hypervisor that gives you full VMs and LXC containers with a web UI, snapshots, and a clean replication path to another node. Enthusiasts run Home Assistant OS and TrueNAS as VMs on top of Proxmox, which lets you rebuild any service by restoring a snapshot.
Where it falls short: overkill if you plan to run one or two services. The abstraction pays back at three or more.
Pricing:
- Free: community repo (updates are less curated)
- Paid: $110/year Enterprise support and stable repo access
Platforms: Bare metal (installer replaces the host OS)
Download: Proxmox VE
Bottom line: the pick for anyone who wants a rebuilt-in-an-hour recovery story.
4. TrueNAS Scale, best for ZFS-backed NAS
TrueNAS Scale is iXsystems’s Debian-based NAS OS with ZFS as the default filesystem. Snapshots and replication are first-class, and Scale ships with a Docker/Kubernetes runtime for apps. On a mini PC with two external drives, it turns a shoebox into a proper backup target.
Where it falls short: ZFS eats RAM (rule of thumb: 1 GB per TB of storage, plus 8 GB baseline). Undersize the box and performance suffers.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, open source
- Paid: no paid tier for Scale; iXsystems sells hardware
Platforms: Bare metal (installer replaces the host OS)
Download: TrueNAS Scale
Bottom line: the choice if data integrity is the priority.
5. Portainer, best for a Docker UI
Portainer is the web console most self-hosters keep next to their Docker install. Manage containers, stacks, images, and volumes from a browser without SSHing into the box every time. The Community Edition covers what home users need.
Where it falls short: it hides some Docker Compose semantics. Reading the underlying compose.yml still helps.
Pricing:
- Free: Community Edition
- Paid: Business Edition for teams
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS (as a Docker container)
Download: Portainer
Bottom line: install this on day one and thank yourself the first time something breaks.
6. Jellyfin, best for media server
Jellyfin is the fully free, open-source media server that replaced Plex on many home labs. It transcodes on Intel iGPUs (huge for a small mini PC), streams to browsers, phones, TVs, and Kodi, and does not phone home to a hosted service.
Where it falls short: less polished than Plex out of the box. Metadata scraping occasionally needs a rescan.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, open source
- Paid: no paid tier
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS
Download: Jellyfin
Bottom line: our default media server pick in 2026.
7. OpenMediaVault, best for a Debian-based NAS
OpenMediaVault is a Debian-based NAS UI that sits lighter than TrueNAS. It uses ext4/BTRFS by default, so the RAM cost is smaller, and its plugin system exposes Docker, snapraid, and cloud sync.
Where it falls short: no ZFS. If you want strong bit-rot protection, TrueNAS Scale is the better pick.
Pricing:
- Free: everything, open source
- Paid: no paid tier
Platforms: Linux (Debian)
Download: OpenMediaVault
Bottom line: the lighter-weight NAS choice for mini PCs with 8 GB or less RAM.
How to pick the right one
If you have never done this before: CasaOS. It gets you a working server the fastest.
If your priority is smart home: Home Assistant OS as the primary install.
If you want a serious hypervisor with easy backups: Proxmox VE, and run Home Assistant, TrueNAS, and Jellyfin as guests.
If your priority is data integrity: TrueNAS Scale.
If you want a lighter NAS on a low-RAM machine: OpenMediaVault.
Install Portainer no matter which of the others you pick. Install Jellyfin the moment you have working storage.
FAQ
What mini PC works best for a home server? A modern N100, N150, or Ryzen mini PC with 16 GB RAM and a second M.2 slot covers most home labs. Beelink, Minisforum, and BOSGAME are the community’s usual first picks.
Can I run all of these apps on one mini PC? Yes. Home Assistant, Jellyfin, Portainer, Nextcloud, Vaultwarden, and a dozen supporting services fit comfortably on a 16 GB RAM mini PC. Proxmox on top makes them easy to snapshot and roll back.
Is TrueNAS or OpenMediaVault better for a mini PC? TrueNAS Scale on 16 GB+ RAM with 1 TB+ of storage. OpenMediaVault on 8 GB or when you want a lighter footprint.
Do I need a UPS for a mini PC home server? Strongly recommended, especially with TrueNAS or Proxmox. A power blip during a write can corrupt a container’s state. Any $60-80 line-interactive UPS covers it.
How much power does a mini PC home server draw? An idle Beelink SER8 pulls around 12-15 watts. A Ryzen 7 mini PC under moderate load sits closer to 25-30 watts. Both are far less than a full desktop NAS.
