The Pi Zero 2 W isn’t a powerful computer, and it won’t replace a full home server running Proxmox. However, if you pick a lightweight operating system and the right services, you can easily turn one into a valuable part of your self-hosted setup, especially if you use it for services that need to run 24/7, even on battery back up.
Network-wide malware protection and ad-blocking
Pi-hole to the rescue
A Pi Zero 2 W is more than capable of acting as a DNS sinkhole (a filter) for your entire home network. Instead of installing ad-blockers on every single laptop, phone, and smart TV you own, you just point your router’s DNS server at the Pi. Once set up, a Pi-hole can be configured to block ads, trackers, and malicious domains before they even have a chance to load.
7 things I wish I knew before running a Pi-hole
Don’t be like me, make sure to prepare for these things before deploying Pi-hole the first time.
That type of filtering is especially useful for devices that don’t support traditional browser extensions or antivirus. While it won’t block every single ad or malicious domain on the internet—especially ads served from the same domains as the content, like YouTube—you will see an improvement. It’s a great first project because it requires almost no maintenance once it’s running.
Just keep in mind that a Pi-hole can occasionally interfere with the normal function of some websites, especially if you’re using very aggressive block lists. If you find that something on the internet is mysteriously malfunctioning, try temporarily bypassing or disabling your Pi-hole
A tiny backup VPN
Never lose access to your self-hosted services
If you rely on your self-hosted service, remote access is a necessity. I use a Pi Zero 2 as a lightweight VPN using Wireguard, which gives me a secure way back into my home network when I’m away without the risk of exposing every service directly to the public internet. It is also much simpler to set up securely than most other approaches. When there was a Cloudflare outage, my Pi Zero VPN setup also allowed me to maintain access to my self-hosted services while other approaches failed completely.
Because the Pi Zero 2W is so low-power and small, I keep the setup running 24/7 and attached to a battery backup, alongside my router and a few other essentials. That ensures that I can always access my network when I need it, even in the event of a power outage.
A self-hosted password manager
Don’t trust third-parties? You don’t need to
Vaultwarden is the unofficial, self-hosted BitWarden password manager. If you like the Bitwarden experience but want total control over where your vault lives, it is a reasonable way to maximize your control over your data.
Once it is installed, your passwords will sync across all your devices and you get full mobile app support without relying on a commercial cloud service.
However, there are a few drawbacks. A self-hosted manager requires backups, updates, and way more security diligence than most other self-hosted services. Additionally, Vaultwarden does have Podman and Docker installers to make the installation process easier and you can use those on a Pi Zero 2W. You could manually install it to ensure you don’t lose any performance due to containerization.
Your homelab dashboard
Kuma can keep an eye on all of your services
Once you start self-hosting, you eventually need a way to know what is actually online. One of the services I use is Uptime Kuma, which is a simple monitoring tool that watches your services and alerts you when something goes wrong. A Pi Zero 2 W is a good fit here; Uptime Kuma is lightweight, doesn’t have a demanding workload, and can easily be kept separate from my main Proxmox server that hosts the services I actually want monitored.
You can use it to track your NAS, media server, or Home Assistant instance. The dashboard gives you a quick visual overview so you’ll know about a problem before you encounter a “The connection has timed out” message.
A mini music server
Navidrome keeps your music server on one tiny computer and a microSD card
Navidrome is an interesting way to turn a Pi Zero 2 W into a self-hosted streaming server accessible from anywhere. You could even turn the Pi Zero 2 W into a portable streaming server that you can carry in your pocket. You just install a lightweight OS like DietPi, install Navidrome, and then add the music. You can use any app that supports the Subsonic API with your mini media server, though I’m partial to Symfonium for the Android Auto support.
I run a music server on a Pi 4, but performance on the Pi Zero 2 W is good enough for basic audio streaming. However, transcoding lossless files (like FLACs) on the fly will push the hardware to its limits. If your library is already in a format your devices handle natively, you won’t run into any issues. If it isn’t, I’d recommend converting everything in advance to ensure your performance is decent.
The Pi Zero 2 W shines with always-on services
The Pi Zero 2 W doesn’t have the power to run an entire homelab, it doesn’t have a fast enough processor or enough RAM. However, if your services are lightweight and are the kind of thing you want to ensure is always accessible, the the Pi Zero 2W can be a valuable addition to any homelab setup.
My Pi Zero 2 Ws run a Joplin server, a Pi-hole, and a Wireguard VPN—things that are important for work, access to my home network, and my security.
I’d recommend sticking to similar workloads to get the most value out of your Pi Zero 2s.