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Open-source alternatives to Heroku

The highest-scoring open-source projects in Deploy and hosting. They are picks, not exact replacements, so read the weaknesses before you switch.

Open-source alternatives to Heroku
RankProjectScore
1dokploySelf-hosted PaaS for deploying apps and databases on your own serversDeploy and hosting, 37.7k stars, custom license85 out of 100
2dokkuSelf-hosted mini-Heroku PaaS that deploys apps with git pushDeploy and hosting, 32.2k stars, MIT65 out of 100

Reviews

185 out of 100

dokploy

Self-hosted PaaS for deploying apps and databases on your own servers

37.7k stars, custom license, last commit Oct 2026

Dokploy deploys applications (Node.js, PHP, Python, Go, Ruby and others) and Docker Compose stacks to a VPS, with Traefik handling routing and load balancing. It also creates MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MariaDB, libsql and Redis databases, with scheduled backups to external storage. Multi-node scaling uses Docker Swarm, and remote servers can be managed from one instance. It has no AI-specific features; it is a general hosting layer.

Strengths

  • Installs on a VPS with a single curl script
  • Built-in database provisioning and automated backups to external storage
  • Multi-node via Docker Swarm and remote server management
  • CLI and API, plus notifications via Slack, Discord, Telegram and Email

Weaknesses

  • Not AI-specific; no model serving or LLM features
  • License is not identified by GitHub (NOASSERTION); check the license file
  • Requires Docker; Swarm clustering adds operational overhead
  • Minimum RAM and web port are not stated in the README
  • no GPU
  • Docker
  • Needs Docker, Docker Swarm, Traefik
Documentation ↗ (opens in a new tab)Website ↗ (opens in a new tab)Repository on GitHub ↗ (opens in a new tab)
265 out of 100

dokku

Self-hosted mini-Heroku PaaS that deploys apps with git push

32.2k stars, MIT, last commit Oct 2026

Dokku is a small Platform-as-a-Service that runs on a single Ubuntu or Debian VM and builds and runs applications in Docker containers. Applications are deployed over SSH, and the server is managed through the `dokku` command line, including domains and SSH keys. The README describes it as a Docker-powered mini-Heroku and does not mention any AI features.

Strengths

  • Installs on a single VM with one bootstrap script
  • Supports Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/26.04 and Debian 11+ on amd64 and arm64
  • MIT license, with an active release history and Ubuntu and Arch packages
  • Written in Go, with documentation and a Slack support channel

Weaknesses

  • Not an AI project; the README has no AI or model features
  • Targets one server; the README describes no multi-node setup
  • Only Ubuntu and Debian are listed as supported operating systems
  • Deployment and management are CLI and SSH based; the README mentions no web UI
  • Docker
  • Needs Docker, SSH keypair
Documentation ↗ (opens in a new tab)Website ↗ (opens in a new tab)Repository on GitHub ↗ (opens in a new tab)