Coolify vs Dokku vs CapRover: Best Self-Hosted PaaS?
Coolify vs Dokku vs CapRover for self-hosting in 2026: features, ease, SSH vs Git deploys, backups and which one to pick for small projects.
The three self-hosted “heroku alternatives” compared for a 2026 solo dev: where each shines, where each hurts, and a concrete recommendation per use case.
The three in one line
- Coolify — a real product with a UI, backups, and teams; the closest to a modern managed PaaS that runs on your own box.
- Dokku — a batteries-included wrapper around Docker, driven by
git push; it feels like heroku from 2015 and is gloriously simple. - CapRover — an older, web-UI PaaS with an app store; easy to start, aging in 2026.
Feature comparison (verified 2026)
| Feature | Coolify | Dokku | CapRover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deploy method | Git + direct | git push |
Web + git |
| Web UI | Excellent | None (CLI) | Good |
| SSL (Let’s Encrypt) | Auto | dokku letsencrypt |
Auto |
| Backups | Built-in (S3, SFTP, local) | DIY (plugins) | Manual |
| Teams/multi-user | Yes | Basic | Yes |
| Database add-ons | One-click (Postgres, MySQL, Redis) | Plugins | App store |
| Docker Compose support | Excellent | Via buildpacks/extras | Limited |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium (CLI) | Low |
| Actively maintained (2026) | Very active | Active, stable | Quiet |
When Dokku wins
- You live in the terminal —
dokku apps:create myapp && git remote add dokku dokku@vps:myapp && git push dokku mainis the whole onboarding. - Zero-surprise deploys — no UI to click wrong, no abstraction hiding your containers.
- Stability culture — it had a Heroku-shaped zen years before Coolify appeared, and it still works.
Dokku’s pain: adding Postgres/Redis requires plugins and the config surface is sprawling compared to Compose.
When Coolify wins (2026 default)
- You want Compose semantics with a UI — paste a compose file, watch it run, get a backup button.
- You run multiple projects/servers — Coolify manages everything from one panel.
- You want managed-feel backups — one-click restores for both the app and its database.
Coolify’s risk: it moves fast and its breaking changes ship quicker than you’d like — pin versions and keep the DB dump.
When CapRover still makes sense
- Legacy installs you already run — it’s fine and stable.
- App-store simplicity — one-click deploy small utilities (Gitea, Portainer, etc.) without YAML.
New projects in 2026 should pick Coolify over CapRover; the app store feature that made CapRover great is now just a weak version of what Coolify does natively with Compose.
Migration cost between them
All three produce standard Docker containers, so moving is mostly: docker compose up somewhere else. Dokku → Coolify = export .env + re-create apps. That’s the real resilience prize: none of these owns your containers.
Our recommendation
Our recommendation for a solo dev in 2026
Coolify on a Hetzner CX22: run it from a Docker Compose file, enable built-in backups to B2/S3, and let one panel own app + databases + TLS.
Choose Dokku instead if you’re terminal-native and want the “it can’t break in a UI” guarantee. Keep CapRover only if it’s already running somewhere.
Cost
All three are $0 software on your existing VPS — the only cost is the box:
- CX22 (Coolify + app + DB): $4.49/month
- Add staging as a second Compose project: still $4.49
Common problems
- Coolify updates break apps: pin the Coolify version and test restores.
- Dokku + Docker Compose friction: some apps assume Compose-native features (networks aliases) — read the plugin docs first.
- Let’s Encrypt rate limits: use the PaaS’s built-in issuer instead of manual certbot.