Coolify vs Dokku

Coolify is an open-source, self-hostable deployment platform for websites, databases, web applications, and more than 280 one-click services. It builds each commit and deploys over SSH to a connected server. Projects can use Nixpacks, Railpack, Dockerfile, Docker Compose, static serving, or a prebuilt registry image. Push-to-deploy connections include GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Gitea, including self-hosted instances. One-click databases include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, KeyDB, Dragonfly, and ClickHouse. Operations include pull-request deployments, scheduled tasks, shared environment variables, monitoring, S3-compatible database backups, and rollbacks. An API and MCP server let AI clients such as Claude and Cursor manage resources, deployments, logs, and restarts. Coolify runs only on Linux; the documented minimum is 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, and 10 GB disk. Self-hosted use is free forever. Cloud costs $5 a month plus $3 server.

Dokku is a self-hosted Platform as a Service for building and running applications from Git pushes on a server you choose. It can deploy applications with Heroku buildpacks, Dockerfiles, or Docker images, targeting a single server, Docker containers, or a K3s cluster. Dokku routes web processes, manages background processes and automated cron tasks, and supports deployment rollback and audit logs. Its plugin architecture allows users to add functionality, with official plugins for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, and Let’s Encrypt. Per-application SSL/TLS certificate management is supported, and HTTPS responses have HSTS enabled by default. Dokku recommends SSH key authorization for pushes. The free open-source plan costs nothing. Dokku Pro costs $849, paid once and adds a web interface, JSON API, HTTP(S) app push, management tools, scaling, logs, team management, and email support.