head to head · open source
Dokku vs Bear
Dokku has 32,220 GitHub stars, 2,098 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Bear has 6,534 stars, 372 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dokku leads on adoption by 393% (32,220 vs 6,534 stars). Dokku is written in Shell under MIT; Bear is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. Dokku has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Bear 6%. Bear was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Dokku | Bear | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 372 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Dokku if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Bear if
- You want the Bear feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Bear fits your workflow better
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 →
About Bear
ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ Build EAR =============== Bear gives you working code navigation, autocomplete, and diagnostics on any C/C++ project, whatever the build system. Prefix your build command with bear and it produces the compile commands.json file that Clang tooling (clangd, clang tidy, and friends) needs to understand your code. The [JSON compilation database][JSONCDB] describes how each translation unit is compiled. Bear captures the compiler invocations while your build runs and writes the database for you no changes to your build system required. [JSONCDB]: When to use Bear Bear is the tool of choice when the build system…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dokku or Bear more popular?
Dokku has 32,220 GitHub stars and Bear has 6,534. Dokku has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dokku and Bear free?
Both are open source. Dokku is licensed under MIT and Bear under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Dokku and Bear?
Dokku is written in Shell and Bear in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Dokku or Bear?
Choose Dokku if you want the larger community (32,220 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Bear if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.