Coolify vs Dokku: 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.
| Coolify | Dokku | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Deployment, PaaS & Hosting | Deployment, PaaS & Hosting |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | ~61.3k | ~32.1k |
| Tech stack | PHP, Laravel, Docker | Bash, Docker |
| Replaces | Vercel, Netlify, Heroku | Heroku |
Coolify has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
Coolify
Self-hosted PaaS with a Vercel-like experience, a free alternative.
Pros
- One-click deploy from Git, managed databases and multi-server management from one dashboard
Things to consider
- Installs across the whole server, doesn't fit into a single-app docker-compose
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)
Key features
Coolify
- One-click deploy from Git (like Vercel)
- One-click managed databases
- Manage multiple servers from one dashboard
Dokku
- Deploy with git push, just like Heroku
- Supports buildpacks and Dockerfiles
- Hundreds of community plugins
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