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Coolify vs Dokku

Coolify and Dokku let you deploy apps on your own server, and both publish their code under open-source licenses. Both are listed on Forkshelf as alternatives to Heroku. Coolify is under the Apache-2.0 license [S2]. Dokku is under the MIT license [S5]. We checked every figure on this page against the projects' own pages on 16 Oct 2026.

Coolify vs Dokku at a glance

Coolify and Dokku compared, from the vendors' own pages and the GitHub API
CoolifyDokku
LicenseApache-2.0 [S2]MIT [S5]
Self-hosted priceNo software fee; the pricing page lists self-hosted as "Free forever" [S1]MIT license, granted "free of charge" [S5]
Managed optionCoolify Cloud, US$5 a month base price for 2 servers [S1]Not documented on the pages we read
Server needs2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB disk [S3]1GB of system memory, or add swap, for the Docker scheduler [S6]
Supported OSUbuntu LTS such as 20.04, 22.04 or 24.04 [S3]Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04, or Debian 11+ x64 [S6]
Deploy methodNot documented on the pages we readGit push, built from a Dockerfile or Buildpacks [S6]
GitHub stars65,761 on 8 Nov 2026 [S4]32,220 on 8 Nov 2026 [S7]

What are Coolify and Dokku?

Coolify is on GitHub at coollabsio/coolify under the Apache-2.0 license, with 65,761 stars on 8 Nov 2026 [S2][S4]. You can self-host it, or pay for Coolify Cloud [S1].

Dokku is on GitHub at dokku/dokku under the MIT license, with 32,220 stars on 8 Nov 2026 [S5][S7]. Its install guide describes "building apps on the fly from a git push via either Dockerfile or by auto-detecting the language with Buildpacks" [S6].

Coolify vs Dokku pricing

Self-hosted Coolify has no software fee [S1]. Coolify Cloud costs US$5 a month as a base price, which covers 2 connected servers [S1]. Each extra server adds US$3 a month [S1]. Pricing is as of 16 Oct 2026.

Dokku is free software under the MIT license [S5]. A paid hosted Dokku plan is not documented on the pages we read. With either tool, your main cost is the server you run it on.

Server requirements

Coolify's install guide says: "Coolify needs 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, and 10 GB disk space to run." [S3] On Ubuntu, it asks for an LTS release such as 20.04, 22.04 or 24.04 [S3].

Dokku's install guide lists "Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/26.04 or Debian 11+ x64" [S6]. For the Docker scheduler it asks for "1GB of system memory, or add swap memory" [S6].

In our reading, Dokku can start on a smaller server. Coolify's stated minimum is 2 GB of RAM [S3]. Dokku's is 1 GB, with swap as an option [S6].

Coolify is the better fit when

  • You want a managed option later. Coolify Cloud starts at US$5 a month for 2 servers [S1].
  • You want the code under the Apache-2.0 license [S2].

Dokku is the better fit when

  • Your server has 1 GB of memory, or you can add swap [S6].
  • You want to deploy with a git push and a Dockerfile or Buildpacks [S6].
  • You run Debian 11 or newer [S6].

Other Heroku alternatives

See the Heroku alternatives page for every open-source option we list.

FAQ

Is Coolify free?
The self-hosted version has no software fee [S1]. Coolify Cloud costs US$5 a month for 2 servers, plus US$3 a month for each extra server [S1].

Is Dokku free?
Dokku is under the MIT license [S5]. You pay for the server it runs on.

How much RAM does Coolify need?
2 GB, with 2 CPU cores and 10 GB of disk [S3].

How much RAM does Dokku need?
1GB of system memory for the Docker scheduler, or you can add swap [S6].

Does Coolify run on Debian?
Debian support is not documented on the Coolify install page we read. The page names Ubuntu LTS releases [S3].

Self-host guides

Sources (all fetched 16 Oct 2026)