I’m wondering what the associated costs are and the benefits.
I’d like to build some apps with LN so I assume my own node would be better (or if any alternatives please let me know)
I read that a LN node needs to be running 100% of the time. Which on AWS would cost a lot. Plus if need a full Bitcoin core download +350gb.
If I build some small apps - I don’t see how I will make any revenue to at least break even.
Anyone got any experience / stats to share on this?
If you're serious, you should get a dedicated server, do the bitcoin core and lnd or core lightning integration. This is on the range of 150k sats per month. I'd say it's definitely feasible and if I were doing any kind of lightning app at all I'd run a node.
On the revenue side, perhaps it's better to start with something that people will pay for. That'll help build the circular economy much more than another bird feeder (nothing against them, I loved feeding the chickens).
Often people want to get into mining and the common reply is that you should just buy. In a similar way, if you have experience building profitable SaaS then just accept bitcoin lightning and pay attention to what your sats-paying customers are asking for.
I guess it just comes down to availability and stability.
If you need data centre-grade you'll pay a lot, if you just need reasonable availability and stability that can be had on low-end hardware and a decent ISP.
If you want to builde some apps just use opennode.com API and enjoy building the actual app.