How is it any more of a scam than cloud Microsoft or Google?  

$39 is actually a good deal (waaay cheaper than equivalent MS or Google offerings) when you consider the amount of software being offered, the fact you don't have to rent a VM, and you don't have to manage (or buy) the server.

And to be fair, not everyone can self-host.

I'm not affiliated, I *do* self host, but let's recognise that this is, on the face of it, is a better / cheaper / more private offer than google docs or microsoft cloud.

For those looking for self-hosted options (eeeeaaasy to self host), you could consider:

* Start 9
* Cloudron
* Paying someone on upwork to set up your own linux server

npub1freed0m

tech

How can I use open source software if I don't want to manage a server?

Honestly this smells like a scam, do not trust software provided by a third party on the internet. How can you know the software hasn't been tampered with, also 39$ a month is insanely steep for something that anyone can do after watching a youtube guide. Please get your own server and learn how to do this yourself