Self-Hosted Deployment

5 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	52.1k	—	PHP	Apache License 2.0	82
Dokku Docker-powered PaaS for app lifecycle management	31.9k	+21/wk	Shell	MIT License	79
CapRover Scalable PaaS with automated Docker+nginx	14.9k	+17/wk	TypeScript	—	67
zane-ops	1.3k	—	Python	—	46
swiftwave	797	—	Go	—	42

Our Analysis

Coolify52.1k★

Coolify is the self-hosted Vercel/Netlify/Heroku that's actually good. Deploy from Git, automatic HTTPS, database provisioning, Docker Compose support — all from a polished UI on your own server. It's the PaaS that respects your wallet and your data. If you're spending $20+/month on Vercel or Railway and have a VPS sitting around, Coolify pays for itself immediately. CapRover does similar things but feels dated. Dokku is CLI-only and less approachable. Render and Railway are managed but not self-hosted. Kubernetes is overkill for most indie projects. Best for indie hackers who want one-click deployments on their own hardware. The managed database provisioning (Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB) from the UI is a killer feature. The catch: you need a server with decent specs (2GB+ RAM). Self-hosted means you're responsible for security updates and backups. The project moves fast — updates occasionally break things. And complex setups (microservices, custom networking) still need Docker Compose knowledge.

Dokku31.9k★

Dokku is Heroku on a $5 VPS — git push to deploy, automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt, built-in Postgres/Redis/MySQL plugins, and a CLI that handles the entire app lifecycle. One server, unlimited apps, zero monthly platform fees. It's been doing this for 13 years. If you're an indie hacker deploying side projects or early-stage SaaS, Dokku is the sweet spot. Coolify is the modern alternative with a slick web UI and 50K+ GitHub stars, but Dokku is leaner and more battle-tested. Fly.io and Railway are managed alternatives if you'd rather not own the server. Heroku still works but the free tier is gone and pricing hurts. The catch: Dokku is single-server only. No horizontal scaling, no multi-region, no zero-downtime deploys without extra work. The CLI-only interface means no dashboard for quick status checks. And if your VPS dies, your apps die — you need to handle backups and disaster recovery yourself. Scale past one server and you're migrating.

CapRover is the PaaS you can run on a $5 VPS. Deploy apps with git push, get automatic HTTPS, manage Docker containers from a web UI — it's Heroku on your own server. One-click app installs for databases, WordPress, monitoring tools, and more. If you want Heroku-style deployments without Heroku pricing, CapRover is the DIY answer. Coolify is the modern competitor — prettier UI, more integrations, actively developed. Dokku is command-line-only but rock-solid. Railway and Render are the managed alternatives. Fly.io is somewhere in between. Best for indie hackers who want simple deployments on their own servers without learning Kubernetes. The Dockerfile-based deployment works with any language or framework. The catch: CapRover development has slowed compared to Coolify. Single-server by default — horizontal scaling requires manual cluster setup. The web UI feels dated. And you're responsible for server security, backups, and updates. "Self-hosted PaaS" still means you're the ops team.