Deployment/PaaS

3 open source tools compared. Sorted by stars — scroll down for our analysis.

Tool	Stars	Velocity	Language	License	Score
Coolify Self-hostable PaaS alternative to Vercel/Heroku	52.3k	—	PHP	Apache License 2.0	82
Dokku Docker-powered PaaS for app lifecycle management	31.9k	+25/wk	Shell	MIT License	79
swiftwave	799	+4/wk	Go	Apache-2.0	62

Our Analysis

Coolify52.3k★

If you want to deploy web apps, databases, and services without paying Vercel or Heroku — and you have a VPS — Coolify is your self-hosted PaaS. Point it at a server, connect your Git repos, and it handles builds, deployments, SSL certificates, and reverse proxying. Think of it as your own private Heroku that runs on a $5/mo server. Self-hosting is free under Apache 2.0. You get automatic deployments from Git, built-in database provisioning (Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB), wildcard SSL via Let's Encrypt, and a clean dashboard. It's genuinely impressive how much it covers. The catch: you're trading money for ops time. When a deployment fails at 2 AM, there's no support team — it's you and the Docker logs. The managed cloud option starts at $5/mo per server but you're still managing the underlying infrastructure decisions. And Coolify itself needs updates, which occasionally break things if you're not careful with the upgrade path.

Dokku31.9k★

If you want your own Heroku — push code with git, have it automatically build and deploy — but on a $5/mo VPS instead of Heroku's $25/mo per dyno, Dokku does exactly that. It's a single-server PaaS (platform-as-a-service) that turns any Linux box into a deployment platform. Git push, automatic Docker build, zero-downtime deploys, SSL via Let's Encrypt, and plugin support for databases. This is the tool for developers who want the simplicity of Heroku without the cost, and who have one server (not a Kubernetes cluster). Perfect for side projects, MVPs, internal tools, and small production apps. 31.9K stars, MIT, battle-tested for years. The most popular self-hosted PaaS. The catch: single server only. When you outgrow one box, Dokku doesn't scale horizontally — you graduate to Kubernetes, Coolify, or a managed platform. Also, you're the ops team. SSL renewals, server security patches, database backups, monitoring — all on you. Dokku makes deployment easy but doesn't make operations disappear.

If you want to deploy your apps on your own server without learning Kubernetes or Docker Compose — Swiftwave handles it. Point it at a VPS, push your code, and it builds, deploys, and manages SSL certificates automatically. Think Coolify or Dokku but written in Go with a focus on simplicity over features. Everything is free under Apache 2.0. No paid tier, no hosted cloud version. You get Git-based deployments, automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt, a web dashboard, and built-in support for Postgres, MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB. The setup is straightforward — single binary, minimal dependencies. The catch: at 800 stars, this is early-stage. The community is small, documentation has gaps, and you're betting on a project that hasn't proven long-term sustainability. Coolify has 10x the community and more features. Swiftwave's advantage is simplicity — fewer moving parts, less config — but that also means fewer escape hatches when you need something custom.