dokploy vs dokku
Two of the top deploy and hosting, side by side: score, setup, license, activity and what each review found.
dokploy
Self-hosted PaaS for deploying apps and databases on your own servers
dokku
Self-hosted mini-Heroku PaaS that deploys apps with git push
| What we compare | dokploy | dokku |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 85, widely used | 31, known |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 84, healthy | 91, healthy |
| Easy to run | 83, very easy | 67, easy |
| Agent-ready | 55, partly | 0, none |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 37.7k | 32.2k |
| License | custom license (read the license) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Docker | Yes | Yes |
| GPU | Not needed | Not stated |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Mentioned |
dokploy
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.
Who it is for: Self-hosters wanting a Heroku/Vercel-style deploy tool on their own VPS
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
dokku
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.
Who it is for: Self-hosters wanting a Heroku-style git-push deploy on one VM
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