head to head · open source
Dokploy vs Dokku
Dokploy has 37,356 GitHub stars, 2,975 forks, 668 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dokku has 32,148 stars, 2,076 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped today. Dokploy leads on adoption by 16% (37,356 vs 32,148 stars). Dokploy is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Dokku is written in Shell under MIT. Dokploy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Dokku 6%. Dokku was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (devops, 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
| Dokploy | Dokku | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 32K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Dokploy if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Shell
- You evaluated both and Dokku fits your workflow better
About Dokploy
Dokploy is a free, self hostable Platform as a Service, written in TypeScript, that simplifies the deployment and management of applications and databases on a VPS — aimed at developers and teams who want Vercel style deployment workflows while keeping the servers and the data under their own control.
read the full Dokploy overview →
About Dokku
Dokku is a self hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) that runs on a single server using Docker containers. It enables developers to deploy applications using familiar workflows like git push , mimicking the simplicity of Heroku while running entirely under the user’s control. Dokku lives in the DevOps and infrastructure automation ecosystem, targeting teams that want PaaS convenience without relying on cloud vendor lock in.
read the full Dokku overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Dokploy or Dokku more popular?
Dokploy has 37,356 GitHub stars and Dokku has 32,148. Dokploy has the larger community by that measure.
Are Dokploy and Dokku free?
Both are open source. Dokploy has no licence declared in this registry, and Dokku is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Dokploy and Dokku?
Dokploy is written in TypeScript and Dokku in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Dokploy or Dokku?
Choose Dokploy if you want the larger community (37,356 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Dokku if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.