An open source PaaS alternative to Heroku. - dokku.com
· 1 month ago
Use it if you're a developer or small team happy to admin your own VPS and want free Heroku-style git deploys. Avoid it if you want managed hosting, vendor support, or zero-ops.
Confidence
Medium. Based on ~15 unique public sources; no named corporate users found.
Ratings
Value for money
Ease of use
Feature depth
Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
Security postureNo security page found; no findings either
Pricing
Free
Self-hosted
ModelSelf-hosted
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Best for
→Solo developers and indie hackers
→Small teams wanting git-push deploys
→Cost-sensitive projects on one VPS
→Heroku refugees watching costs
Not for
×Teams wanting managed, zero-ops hosting
×Companies needing vendor support or SLAs
×Non-technical teams — you admin the server
×Anyone unwilling to own patching and backups
Gotchas - check before you buy
medium
You inherit all server ops: upgrades, backups, monitoring. Budget engineering time, not just money.
medium
No official security page — vet the platform yourself before hosting anything sensitive.
medium
Guess: typical setups run on one VPS, so that server is a single point of failure.
low
Savings vs managed PaaS ($500–2,000/mo) are paid back in your own time.
Pros and cons
Pros
+Free and open source — pay only for your VPS
+Heroku-style workflow: build, deploy, and scale from git
+Reviewers find it extremely easy to get started with
+Praised as an affordable Heroku alternative
+Extensible via plugins for added capabilities
Cons
−Self-hosted only — you are the ops team
−No published security page
−Managed PaaS alternatives cost $500–2,000/mo — that buys back your ops time
Sources & method
- 10 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
official x2review x3security x1news x4
Key stats
Value for money: 5/5
Rating
Free
Starting price
10
Sources
Analyzed
Value for money: 5/5. Free; reviewers cite affordability vs Heroku
Ease of use: 5/5. G2: 'extremely easy to get started with'
Feature depth: 3/5. Minimal by design; extensible via plugins
Support quality. No support evidence in sources
Security posture. No security page found; no findings either
$0 Price Open source; you pay only for your VPS
Self-hosted Hosting model Docker-powered; you supply the server
2013 First release Created by Jeff Lindsay as a mini-Heroku
v0.38.28 Latest release Actively maintained per dokku.com
Pricing
Self-hosted
Free
Full PaaS, open source
You supply and pay for the VPS
Optional plugins
Security
No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
What users say
Reviewers consistently praise Dokku's ease of use and affordability as a self-hosted Heroku alternative.
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