See what Haven (havenweb.org) offers in 2026: private self-hosted blogging, pricing, key features, pros and cons, and the best alternatives to explore.
Category
Content Marketing
Pricing
Open Source / Freemium, from Free (self-hosted)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Founded
2021
Free PlanWeb AppOpen SourceSelf-Hosted
Overview
Haven is an open-source, self-hosted blogging platform built for people who want to share photos and updates privately with a specific group of friends or family rather than post publicly. It was created by an independent developer who was frustrated with WordPress's complexity and spam problems and wanted a simpler, private way to share family photos.
Unlike a public blog, a Haven site has no way to be made visible to the general internet. Every visitor needs an account the owner creates for them, every connection is encrypted, and there is no advertising, tracking or algorithmic feed anywhere in the product.
Key Features
Haven includes a markdown post editor with live preview, per-account access control so the owner decides exactly who can see the site, a private RSS feed for followers, and a built-in RSS reader so owners can follow other Havens or outside blogs from the same interface.
Because each Haven is single-tenant and runs on infrastructure the owner controls or rents, it can run on hardware as small as a Raspberry Pi or a low-cost cloud virtual machine, and it is most commonly deployed using Docker.
Pricing
Haven's source code is free and open source under the MIT license, so anyone comfortable with Docker can self-host it at no cost beyond their own server. For people who prefer not to manage infrastructure themselves, Haven also offers an official hosted plan on a dedicated virtual server for five dollars per month, plus a fully managed hosting option for those who want setup and maintenance handled for them.
There are no tiered feature plans; the paid options are purely about who manages the hosting, not about unlocking additional functionality.
Key Features
Private, invite-only publishing — Every Haven site is invisible to the public internet by design; the owner creates an account for each person who should have access, and there is no way to open the site to everyone.
Markdown editor with live preview — Posts are written in markdown with a live preview pane, making it easy to format text and embed photos without touching HTML.
Built-in RSS reader — Owners can follow other people's Havens or traditional blogs and RSS feeds from inside the same interface they use to publish their own posts.
Private RSS feeds for followers — Invited followers get a private RSS feed unique to that Haven so they can keep up with new posts in their own feed reader.
Self-hosted, single-tenant architecture — Each Haven instance runs on infrastructure the owner controls, from a home Raspberry Pi to a small cloud VM, keeping data off shared third-party servers.
Docker-based installation — The project ships with a Docker deployment path, making setup manageable without deep systems administration experience.
HTTPS encryption by default — All traffic between a visitor's browser and the Haven server is encrypted, so posts cannot be intercepted in transit.
No ads or tracking — Haven contains no advertising, analytics trackers or engagement-optimized algorithmic feed, keeping the focus on the people you actually invited.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Completely free and open source, with no vendor lock-in
Genuinely private by design, with no public visibility option and no tracking or ads
Lightweight enough to run on very cheap hardware like a Raspberry Pi
Simple, focused feature set that avoids the complexity and spam issues of platforms like WordPress
Low-cost official hosting option for people who do not want to self-host
Cons
Requires comfort with Docker or a willingness to pay for hosting to get started
No built-in monetization tools, unlike public blogging platforms such as Substack
Small, independent project with no dedicated support team or enterprise SLA
Limited discovery: because it is intentionally private, there is no way to grow an audience beyond people you personally invite
Feature set is minimal compared to full-featured CMS platforms
Pricing
Self-hosted Free N/A
Hosted $5/month Monthly
Fully Managed Custom Contact for pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Haven used for?
Haven is used to run a private, self-hosted blog or photo-sharing site that only people you explicitly invite can see, such as extended family or a close friend group.
Is Haven free?
Yes, Haven's source code is free and open source under the MIT license. There is also an optional hosted plan starting at 5 dollars a month for people who do not want to manage their own server.
Do I need technical skills to run Haven?
Self-hosting Haven with Docker is easiest for people comfortable with basic server administration. Less technical users can use Haven's paid or fully managed hosting instead.
Can anyone find my Haven through Google?
No. Haven has no public visibility mode; only accounts the owner creates can access the site, and it is not designed to be indexed or discoverable.
Who created Haven?
Haven was created by an independent developer who wanted a simpler, private alternative to WordPress for sharing family photos, and it has been maintained as an open-source project since.
How is Haven different from Substack or WordPress.com?
Substack and WordPress.com are built for public, discoverable publishing and, in Substack's case, monetization. Haven is built for the opposite use case: small, private, ad-free sharing with people you already know.