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Self-hosted vs SaaS application security

Most application security platforms are SaaS: you send your code, or your findings, to a vendor cloud. Self-hosted runs entirely inside your infrastructure. For regulated, sovereign or air-gapped environments, that difference is the whole decision.

01What actually leaves your building

With SaaS AppSec, your source code, findings or both are processed in a multi-tenant vendor cloud. With self-hosted, nothing leaves - the scanners, the correlation engine and the AI all run on your infrastructure. The strongest data-residency posture is not a region setting; it is sending nothing at all.

02Comparison

DimensionSelf-hostedSaaS
Where code is processedYour infrastructureVendor cloud
Data residencyMet by design, no egressDepends on vendor regions and sub-processors
Air-gapped supportYes, fully offlineRarely supported
AI analysisLocal model by defaultUsually vendor cloud AI
UpgradesYou control the versionVendor-controlled

03Who should choose self-hosted

If you are a bank, a government body, a defence supplier or any team with data-residency or sovereignty requirements, self-hosted removes an entire class of vendor-risk questions from procurement. apPosture is self-hosted and air-gapped capable, with a local LLM by default and an external model strictly opt-in with a kill-switch. Deploy it in about 10 minutes.

FAQ

Is self-hosted harder to run?

It is a Docker Compose deployment. You trade a small amount of operational ownership for complete data control and no vendor egress.

Can self-hosted still use AI?

Yes. apPosture runs a local LLM by default, so analysis happens without sending code anywhere. Any external model is opt-in with a kill-switch.

Does self-hosted mean no updates?

No. You receive releases and apply them on your schedule, which is often a requirement in regulated environments.

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Air-gapped deploymentTrust centerSecurity modelQuickstart

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