head to head · open source
Coolify vs Dokku
Coolify has 65,550 GitHub stars, 5,910 forks, 649 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dokku has 32,222 stars, 2,098 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Coolify leads on adoption by 103% (65,550 vs 32,222 stars). Coolify is written in PHP under Apache-2.0; Dokku is written in Go under MIT. Coolify has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Dokku 7%. Coolify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docker), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Coolify | Dokku | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 32K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Coolify if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Dokku if
- You want the Dokku feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Dokku fits your workflow better
About Coolify
Coolify An open source & self hostable Heroku / Netlify / Vercel alternative. About the Project Coolify is an open source & self hostable alternative to Heroku / Netlify / Vercel / etc. It helps you manage your servers, applications, and databases on your own hardware; you only need an SSH connection. You can manage VPS, Bare Metal, Raspberry PIs, and anything else. Imagine having the ease of a cloud but with your own servers. That is Coolify . No vendor lock in, which means that all the configurations for your applications/databases/etc are saved to your server. So, if you decide to stop using Coolify (oh…
read the full Coolify overview →
About Dokku
Dokku Docker powered mini Heroku. The smallest PaaS implementation you've ever seen. Sponsors Become a sponsor and get your logo on our README on GitHub with a link to your site. [Become a sponsor] Backers Support us with a monthly donation and help us continue our activities. [Become a backer] [ ](
read the full Dokku overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Coolify or Dokku more popular?
Coolify has 65,550 GitHub stars and Dokku has 32,222. Coolify has the larger community by that measure.
Are Coolify and Dokku free?
Both are open source. Coolify is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Dokku under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Coolify and Dokku?
Coolify is written in PHP and Dokku in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Coolify or Dokku?
Choose Coolify if you want the larger community (65,550 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Dokku if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.