Dokku vs Dokploy: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Heroku. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| Dokku | Dokploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Deployment, PaaS & Hosting | Deployment, PaaS & Hosting |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub stars | ~32.1k | ~19k |
| Tech stack | Bash, Docker | Node.js, PostgreSQL, Docker Swarm, Traefik |
| Replaces | Heroku | Heroku, Vercel |
Dokku has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
Dokku
Open source mini-Heroku, deploy with git push.
Pros
- The simplest and most minimal of the whole PaaS group
Things to consider
- No official web dashboard (third-party plugins exist)
Dokploy
Self-hosted Heroku-like PaaS on Docker Swarm, an alternative to Heroku.
Pros
- Much simpler onboarding than running your own Kubernetes
- Very active development and fast-growing community
Things to consider
- Dokploy Cloud (the managed version) is paid; self-hosting requires your own server
- Younger project than Coolify or CapRover, with less time in production
Key features
Dokku
- Deploy with git push, just like Heroku
- Supports buildpacks and Dockerfiles
- Hundreds of community plugins
Dokploy
- Deploy apps, databases and Docker services with a Heroku-like workflow
- Native Traefik integration for domains and automatic HTTPS
- One-click templates for dozens of open source apps
Already know which one you prefer?
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