Coolify vs CapRover vs Dokku: The Self-Hosting Platform Showdown

You’ve got a VPS. You want to deploy apps on it. But the idea of manually wrangling Docker Compose files, Traefik configs, and SSL certificates makes you want to go back to Heroku.

Good news: there are platforms that handle all of this for you — on your own server. The big three in 2026 are Coolify, CapRover, and Dokku.

But which one should you pick? After deploying dozens of apps on all three, here’s our definitive comparison.

The Quick Verdict

	Coolify	CapRover	Dokku
Best for	Most people	Tinkerers	CLI lovers
UI	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	❌ (CLI only)
Ease of setup	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
One-click apps	100+	50+	Via plugins
Resource usage	~300 MB	~200 MB	~100 MB
Multi-server	✅	✅	❌
Git push deploy	✅	✅	✅
Docker Compose	✅	❌	❌
Active development	Very active	Moderate	Stable
License	Apache 2.0	Apache 2.0	MIT

TL;DR: Coolify if you want the best overall experience. Dokku if you love the CLI and want minimal overhead. CapRover if you want something in between.

Now let’s dig deeper.

Coolify: The Modern PaaS

Coolify has emerged as the most popular self-hosting platform, and for good reason. It’s essentially a self-hosted Vercel/Netlify/Heroku that runs on your own servers.

What Makes Coolify Special

The UI is gorgeous. This isn’t some dusty admin panel — it looks and feels like a modern SaaS product. Dark mode, responsive design, real-time logs, and an intuitive flow for deploying apps.

Docker Compose support is a game-changer. Unlike CapRover and Dokku, Coolify can deploy entire Docker Compose stacks. Got a docker-compose.yml? Paste it in, and Coolify handles the rest — networking, SSL, routing, and all.

One-click services let you deploy databases, caches, and popular apps without writing any configuration. Need PostgreSQL? One click. Redis? One click. Plausible Analytics? One click.

Setting Up Coolify

Installation is a single command:

curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash

That’s it. After about 2 minutes, you have a full PaaS running on your server, accessible at http://your-ip:8000.

Coolify Strengths

Multi-server management — Manage multiple VPS instances from a single dashboard
Docker Compose support — Deploy complex multi-container stacks
Automatic SSL via Let’s Encrypt
Built-in monitoring with resource usage graphs
Scheduled backups for databases
Webhook deployments from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket
S3-compatible backups built in
Very active development — New features weekly

Coolify Weaknesses

Resource hungry — The platform itself uses ~300-500 MB RAM
Young project — Occasional bugs (though rapidly improving)
Opinionated — Less flexibility than raw Docker for edge cases

Who Should Use Coolify

Coolify is the right choice for most people. If you want a beautiful, modern platform that just works, and you don’t mind the resource overhead, go with Coolify. It’s especially good if you:

Want to deploy from Git repositories
Need Docker Compose support
Manage multiple servers
Want a team-friendly UI
Are coming from Vercel/Heroku/Railway

CapRover: The Middle Ground

CapRover has been around since 2017 (originally called CaptainDuckDuck) and occupies a solid middle ground between Coolify’s polish and Dokku’s minimalism.

What Makes CapRover Special

Simplicity. CapRover does one thing well: it takes your code or Docker image and deploys it with SSL. The web interface is functional if not fancy, and the one-click app library covers most common use cases.

Custom Dockerfile support works great. Point CapRover at a repo with a Dockerfile, and it builds and deploys automatically.

Setting Up CapRover

# Install CapRover
docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 3000:3000 \
  -e ACCEPTED_TERMS=true \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v captain-data:/captain \
  caprover/caprover

Then configure it via the CLI:

npm install -g caprover
caprover serversetup

CapRover Strengths

Lower resource usage (~200 MB) than Coolify
Stable and battle-tested — Been around since 2017
One-click apps with a decent library
Cluster mode — Scale across multiple servers with Docker Swarm
Custom Nginx configs per app
CLI and web UI for flexibility

CapRover Weaknesses

No Docker Compose support — Apps are single-container only (a significant limitation)
Dated UI — Functional but not pretty
Slower development pace — Updates are less frequent
Docker Swarm dependency (while the industry moved to Kubernetes or plain Docker)
Limited database management compared to Coolify

Who Should Use CapRover

CapRover is good for you if:

You want a simpler, lighter alternative to Coolify
Your apps are single-container (no complex stacks)
You need cluster/swarm capabilities
You prefer a more mature, stable platform
You don’t mind a less polished UI

Dokku: The Heroku Clone

Dokku calls itself “the smallest PaaS implementation you’ve ever seen,” and that’s accurate. It’s a CLI-only tool that gives you a Heroku-like git push deployment experience on your own server.

What Makes Dokku Special

Minimal overhead. Dokku is essentially a collection of shell scripts. It barely uses any resources on its own (~100 MB), leaving maximum capacity for your actual apps.

Heroku compatibility. If you’ve ever used Heroku, you already know Dokku. Same buildpacks, same git push workflow, same Procfile format.

Plugin ecosystem. Dokku’s functionality comes from plugins — databases, caching, cron jobs, Let’s Encrypt, and more are all plugins you install as needed.

Setting Up Dokku

# Install Dokku
wget -NP . https://dokku.com/bootstrap.sh
sudo DOKKU_TAG=v0.35.0 bash bootstrap.sh

Then configure via the web installer or CLI:

# Add your SSH key
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | dokku ssh-keys:add admin

# Create an app
dokku apps:create myapp

# Add a domain
dokku domains:set myapp myapp.yourdomain.com

# Deploy
git remote add dokku dokku@your-server:myapp
git push dokku main

Dokku Strengths

Minimal resource usage — ~100 MB overhead
Heroku-compatible buildpacks and workflows
Rock solid — One of the oldest self-hosting platforms
Plugin architecture — Install only what you need
Simple mental model — Apps, domains, config, done
Great documentation

Dokku Weaknesses

CLI only — No web interface at all
Single server only — No built-in multi-server support
No Docker Compose — Like CapRover, single-container apps only
Learning curve — You need to be comfortable with the command line
Buildpack limitations — Some apps don’t fit the buildpack model

Who Should Use Dokku

Dokku is perfect if:

You love the terminal and hate web UIs
Resource efficiency is your top priority
You deploy simple apps (not complex multi-container stacks)
You come from a Heroku background
You want the most battle-tested option

Head-to-Head Comparisons

Deployment Workflow

Coolify: Connect your GitHub/GitLab repo → configure build settings in the UI → deploy. Or paste a docker-compose.yml. Supports webhooks for auto-deploy on push.

CapRover: Connect your repo or upload a tarball → CapRover builds your Dockerfile → deploy. CLI (caprover deploy) or web UI.

Dokku: git push dokku main. That’s the core workflow. Buildpacks auto-detect your app type, or use a Dockerfile.

Winner: Coolify for flexibility, Dokku for simplicity.

Database Management

Coolify: One-click PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and more. Built-in backup scheduling to S3. Connection strings auto-configured.

CapRover: One-click apps for databases, but management is more manual. No built-in backup scheduling.

Dokku: Plugin-based. dokku postgres:create mydb creates a database. dokku postgres:link mydb myapp connects it. Backup plugins available but not built-in.

Winner: Coolify, by a wide margin.

SSL/TLS

All three support automatic Let’s Encrypt certificates. Coolify and CapRover handle it out of the box. Dokku requires the dokku-letsencrypt plugin.

Winner: Tie.

Monitoring

Coolify: Built-in resource monitoring with graphs per app and per server.

CapRover: Basic monitoring in the dashboard.

Dokku: No built-in monitoring. Use external tools like Uptime Kuma.

Winner: Coolify.

Community and Support

Coolify: Very active Discord community. Active GitHub with quick issue responses. Sponsored development (sustainable).

CapRover: Moderate community activity. GitHub-based support.

Dokku: Large, established community. Excellent documentation. Slack channel.

Winner: Tie between Coolify and Dokku for different reasons.

Resource Usage Comparison

We tested all three on a fresh Hetzner CAX11 (2 vCPU ARM, 4 GB RAM) with the same app deployed (a Node.js API + PostgreSQL):

Metric	Coolify	CapRover	Dokku
Platform RAM (idle)	380 MB	210 MB	95 MB
Platform RAM (1 app)	520 MB	310 MB	140 MB
Platform disk usage	1.2 GB	800 MB	300 MB
Boot time	~45s	~30s	~15s
First deploy time	~3 min	~4 min	~2 min

If you’re on a tight-resource VPS (1-2 GB RAM), Dokku gives you the most room for actual apps.

Our Recommendation

Choose Coolify if…

You’re new to self-hosting
You want the best overall experience
You need Docker Compose support
You manage multiple servers
You want built-in database management and backups

Choose CapRover if…

You want a lighter alternative to Coolify
Docker Swarm clustering matters to you
You prefer a more mature, stable platform
Your apps are simple (single container)

Choose Dokku if…

You love the command line
Resource efficiency is critical
You have a Heroku background
You deploy simple apps
You want maximum control with minimum overhead

The 2026 Pick: Coolify

For most readers of this site, Coolify is the best choice in 2026. It’s the most feature-rich, actively developed, and beginner-friendly option. Yes, it uses more resources, but a 4 GB Hetzner VPS costs €6/month and gives you plenty of room.

The Docker Compose support alone puts it ahead of the competition for anyone running multi-container applications (which is most real-world apps).

That said, all three are excellent projects. The best platform is the one you’ll actually use and maintain.

Getting Started

Ready to pick one? Here are the quick-start links:

Coolify: coolify.io — One-command install
CapRover: caprover.com — Docker-based install
Dokku: dokku.com — Shell script install

And if you’re starting from scratch, check out our How to Self-Host Everything: A 2026 Beginner’s Guide for the full VPS setup walkthrough.

Happy self-hosting! 🚀