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Cloudron Review

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Should I use Cloudron?

Cloudron is a complete solution for running apps on your server and keeping them up-to-date and secure. - cloudron.io

· 1 month ago

Buy it if you self-host several apps (Nextcloud, WordPress, email) and want updates, backups, and admin automated without a sysadmin. Skip it if you run one simple site, need clustering, or balk at a $15+/mo license stacked on your VPS bill.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources: Reddit/forum reviews, CVE databases, pricing threads, and official pages. No named enterprise customers found.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Paid (per server)~$15–17/mo

Best for

  • Self-hosters running many apps
  • Small teams bundling Nextcloud + email
  • Solo admins with no sysadmin time
  • Privacy users replacing SaaS subscriptions

Not for

  • One-app owners — a cheap VPS script does the same
  • Teams needing high availability or clustering
  • Purists wanting fully open-source tooling
  • Anyone unwilling to pay per-server monthly fees

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

License is per server, billed monthly forever — costs stack with your VPS bill

medium

Long-time users report grandfathered $15/mo rates; pricing has changed — verify current tier before subscribing

medium

Source-available, not open source — expect packaging lock-in; migrating apps off Cloudron takes work

medium

No clustering: single server means backups are your only safety net

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Automates nearly all server admin: updates, backups, installs
  • One-click apps including Nextcloud and WordPress
  • Reported more stable than competing panels
  • Security updates applied automatically
  • Ships with built-in firewall and email

Cons

  • Users call $17/mo pricing too high, on top of VPS costs
  • No longer fully open source, drawing community backlash
  • Single-server design; high availability is DIY
  • Rivals list 1,000+ apps via Softaculous

Sources & method

- 8 sources - One CVE (2021 reflected XSS, since patched); automated security updates are a core feature.

official x2review x4security x1news x1
  • CVE-2021-40868 — reflected XSS in Cloudron 6.2 'returnTo' parameter, Listed on NVD and Exploit-DB (Sept 2021); affects Cloudron 6.2.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Repeated 'pricing too high' complaints on official forum
  • Ease of use: 5/5. Automates nearly all admin; one-click app installs
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Apps, email, backups, firewall; rivals list more apps
  • Support quality: 4/5. Active official forum with staff replies
  • Security posture: 3/5. One 2021 XSS CVE; automated security updates
  • ~$15/mo Starting price per server, community-reported
  • Yes Free tier free version, app count capped
  • 1 Known CVEs reflected XSS (2021), patched
  • $171.5K Projected revenue Cloudron UG, per Crunchbase

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Self-hosted
  • Limited app installs
  • Community support

Paid (per server)

~$15–17/mo

  • All apps
  • Automated updates, backups, email
  • Rates vary for grandfathered users

Security

One CVE (2021 reflected XSS, since patched); automated security updates are a core feature.

  • CVE-2021-40868 — reflected XSS in Cloudron 6.2 'returnTo' parameterListed on NVD and Exploit-DB (Sept 2021); affects Cloudron 6.2.⁵
Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources: Reddit/forum reviews, CVE databases, pricing threads, and official pages. No named enterprise customers found.

Great turnkey app server if you run many self-hosted apps; overkill and pricey for one site.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources: Reddit/forum reviews, CVE databases, pricing threads, and official pages. No named enterprise customers found.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Cloudron — AWS Marketplace reviewsaws.amazon.com
    review
  2. Cloudron Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  3. Cloudron vs Yunohost — Reddit r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  4. Pricing too high — Cloudron forumforum.cloudron.io
    review
  5. CVE-2021-40868 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  6. Cloudron Pricingcloudron.io
    official
  7. Cloudron Security docsdocs.cloudron.io
    official
  8. Cloudron UG — Crunchbasecrunchbase.com
    news

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