Dokku vs CapRover
Both are alternatives to Heroku. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as CapRover vs Dokku — same comparison, one verdict.
Dokku
The original self-hosted PaaS — small, stable, unglamorous.
Dokku has been doing this since 2013 and describes itself accurately as the smallest PaaS implementation you have seen: Git-push deployment via Docker, Heroku buildpack support so existing apps often deploy unchanged, and a plugin system for databases and TLS. MIT, around 32k stars. It has no web interface — everything is the command line — and that is deliberate. For someone comfortable in a terminal it is the most dependable option here, and it has outlived several better-funded competitors.
CapRover
Self-hosted PaaS with a proper web UI and one-click apps.
CapRover sits between Dokku's command line and Coolify's polish: a web dashboard, one-click installers for around a hundred common applications, automatic TLS and Docker Swarm underneath for multi-node scaling. Around 15k stars. Its distinguishing feature is that Swarm foundation — of the self-hosted options it has the most straightforward path from one server to several. Development is steady rather than fast, which shows next to Coolify's pace.
Side by side
| Dokku | CapRover | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 95 | 93 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing | Free and open source. You supply the server. | Free and open source. You supply the server. |
Dokku edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Dokku
Strengths
- +Over a decade of stability; genuinely mature
- +Heroku buildpack support means many apps deploy unchanged
- +MIT and very light — runs on a small VPS
- +Extremely well documented for command-line use
Trade-offs
- −No web interface at all
- −Single-server by design
- −Assumes comfort with the command line
- −Fewer batteries included than Coolify
CapRover
Strengths
- +Clean web UI with one-click installs for common applications
- +Docker Swarm underneath — the clearest multi-node path here
- +Apache-2.0 and mature
- +Automatic TLS and simple domain handling
Trade-offs
- −Development pace is slower than Coolify's
- −Swarm is a fading technology relative to Kubernetes
- −Fewer integrations than Coolify
- −Interface feels dated
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Facts verified 2026-08-05. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.