Pro WeatherThe Hidden Costs of Running Your Own Weather Server
Self-hosted weather software like CumulusMX and WeeWX is free. You download it, install it, and start collecting data. The sticker price is zero, which makes it an easy choice compared to a paid service.
But free software is not the same as zero cost. When you add up everything required to keep a self-hosted weather site running, the total is often higher than people expect. This post breaks down where the money and time actually go.
Hardware costs
You need a computer running 24/7. For most people, that means a Raspberry Pi (roughly €70–100 for a Pi 4 with a case and power supply, and more for a Pi 5). You will also need a microSD card (€10–20). A good quality SD card extends the time between failures, but it will still wear out eventually under continuous write load.
Over three years, you will probably replace the SD card at least once. Some owners go through two or three. The Pi itself is reliable, but the SD card is a consumable.
If you do not already own a Pi and need to buy one, that is roughly €80–120 up front before you have collected any data.
Electricity
A Raspberry Pi draws about 5–10 watts under load. Running it 24/7 for a year uses roughly 45–90 kWh. At European electricity prices (roughly €0.25–0.40 per kWh), that is about €10–35 per year just to keep the machine on.
This is not a major expense, but it is not zero, and it adds up over the life of the setup.
Web hosting
Your self-hosted software generates web pages, but those pages need to be served somewhere. Some owners point their domain at their home IP address, which is unreliable without a static IP and exposes their home network. The common approach is a cheap shared hosting plan.
A basic shared hosting plan costs about €3–10 per month, or €36–120 per year. You need one that supports PHP and MySQL if you are using most weather templates.
Over three years, that is €108–360 in hosting costs alone.
Domain name
A custom domain runs about €10–15 per year. This is the same whether you self-host or use a managed service, but it is a cost to include in the total.
The cost of your time
This is the hardest to quantify, but it is often the largest cost. Setting up a self-hosted weather station takes an afternoon to a weekend for a first-time user, and ongoing maintenance takes a few hours per month:
- Setting up the Pi and installing the software: 2–4 hours
- Configuring the weather software: 1–3 hours
- Setting up the web host and FTP: 1–2 hours
- Configuring a custom domain and SSL: 1 hour
- Monthly maintenance (checking logs, updates, troubleshooting): 1–2 hours
Over a year, you are looking at roughly 15–30 hours of your time. If you value your time at even a modest rate, that far exceeds any subscription cost.
The full three-year picture
| Cost | Self-hosted (3 years) | Pro Weather (3 years) |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi + SD card | €80–120 (once) | €0 |
| Replacement SD cards | €10–40 (1–2 replacements) | €0 |
| Electricity | €30–105 | €0 |
| Web hosting | €108–360 | €0 |
| Domain name | €30–45 | €30–45 |
| Time (setup + maintenance) | 50–100 hours | 5 minutes setup |
| Subscription | €0 | €177 (€59/year) |
| Total (cash) | €258–670 | €207–222 |
| Total (including time) | Much higher | Fixed |
The table above shows that over three years, the cash cost of self-hosting is comparable to or higher than a managed service, and that is before you account for your time.
What you actually get for the money
The point is not that self-hosting is too expensive. For many people, the hobby value of running a Pi and tinkering with software is part of the enjoyment, and that is worth paying for.
But if you are not in it for the tinkering, if you just want a weather website that stays online, the hidden costs of self-hosting add up to more than the visible price of a managed service. With Pro Weather, you pay a predictable monthly or yearly fee and get everything included: hosting, updates, data retention, and no hardware to manage.
For a feature comparison, see Pro Weather vs CumulusMX and Pro Weather vs WeeWX.