Alby is just my Lightning address, all zaps run off my self-custodial node.

Liquid is an option for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with the learning curve of running a node but still values self-custody. Aqua is the most popular option, but it isn’t perfect yet. I’ve been testing some other apps built on the Breez SDK that also use Lightning on the front end and Liquid on the back end, and it looks promising. The drawbacks are that you don’t get a Lightning address and you can’t spend or receive under 1000 sats, but there is no channel management and no need to deposit any funds or sync to the bitcoin blockchain to begin using them.