I recently started integrating Drone at our organization. Here's my take away -
echo all your secrets and env variables as it considers the drone.yml of the HEAD branch.But once I got around completing the experiments and using the plugins, workflow became so much more easier. Whenever a PR is raised for qa , the QA team is notified automatically and they can proceed with the exploration tests and approve for release.
We are planning to integrate all new projects with Drone. It is much more easier to use and understand (once the initial setup is done). But we aware that it's not yet as polished as Travis or the likes. But it is definitely worth the effort!
If you are an individual developer or part of a small team (3-6 people), going for self-hosted solution will not make sense as it adds an overhead of maintenance for the service. Being part of a larger team where the ownership can be defined, shared and transferred will help you explore Drone properly.