Comparison

Dokku vs Heroku

On the evidence we track, Heroku leads this comparison with a composite score of 67/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Dokku full profile →Heroku full profile →

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Dokku59

★Heroku67

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Dokku	HerokuLeader
vioscaleAI score	59 / 100medium · 54%	67 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	high
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	-	$500
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	35	6
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	-	✓
Iso27001security.iso27001	-	✓
Pcisecurity.pci	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.4	-
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	-	https://www.heroku.com/blog/security-rails-active-storage/
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fdokku%2Fdokku%2Fplugins%2Fcommon&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0	-
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	20	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	32,157	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	-
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	2	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Go	-
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	Available worldwide · Popular in US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	6 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Dokku59 / 100medium · 54%

Heroku67 / 100medium · 73%

Pricing

Free tier

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Model

Dokkuopen_source

Herokufreemium

Price level

Dokkufree

Herokuhigh

Starting price

Dokku–

Heroku$500

Transparent

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Integrations

Count

Dokku35

Heroku6

Security

Disclosure policy

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Hipaa

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Iso27001

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Pci

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Scorecard

Dokku5.4

Heroku–

Soc2

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Trust center

Dokku–

Herokuhttps://www.heroku.com/blog/security-rails-active-storage/

Vulnerabilities

DokkuCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fdokku%2Fdokku%2Fplugins%2Fcommon&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Heroku–

Reliability

Status page

Dokku–

Heroku✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Dokku20

Heroku–

Github stars

Dokku32,157

Heroku–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Dokku100

Heroku–

Release

Cadence days

Dokku2

Heroku–

History

Dokku20 items

Heroku–

License

Spdx

DokkuMIT

Heroku–

Language

Primary

DokkuGo

Heroku–

Market

Availability

DokkuAvailable worldwide

HerokuAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

Content

Faq

Dokku6 items

Heroku6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for paas & hosting. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for PaaS & Hosting
Capability	Dokku	Heroku
Deploy
Git-push auto-deploy	✓	✓
Deploy arbitrary container image	✓	✓
Per-PR preview environments	✗	✓
Build
Build system	Buildpacks	Buildpacks
Runtime / language breadth	Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection	Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Go, Scala, PHP
Scale
Autoscaling	None	Horizontal
Deployment
Geographic reach	Single-region	Multi-region
Hosting	Self-hosted only	Cloud only
Data
Bundled managed data services	✓	✓
Delivery
Built-in global CDN / edge	✗	-
Custom domains + automatic TLS	✓	✓
Ops
Env vars & secrets management	✓	✓
Instant rollbacks	✗	✓
Extensibility
CLI + deploy API	✓	✓

Deploy

Git-push auto-deploy

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Deploy arbitrary container image

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Per-PR preview environments

Dokku✗

Heroku✓

Build

Build system

DokkuBuildpacks

HerokuBuildpacks

Runtime / language breadth

DokkuMultiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection

HerokuNode.js, Python, Ruby, Java, Go, Scala, PHP

Scale

Autoscaling

DokkuNone

HerokuHorizontal

Deployment

Geographic reach

DokkuSingle-region

HerokuMulti-region

Hosting

DokkuSelf-hosted only

HerokuCloud only

Data

Bundled managed data services

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Delivery

Built-in global CDN / edge

Dokku✗

Heroku-

Custom domains + automatic TLS

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Ops

Env vars & secrets management

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Instant rollbacks

Dokku✗

Heroku✓

Extensibility

CLI + deploy API

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Dokku

Dokku is a self-hosted deployment platform that enables you to build, deploy, and scale applications using Docker and Heroku-compatible buildpacks. You can push code via Git to your own Dokku server, and it will automatically build and run your application in isolated containers, providing a Heroku-like experience on hardware you control.

Independently observed

Heroku

Leader

A cloud-based application platform that enables developers to build, run, and scale web applications using managed infrastructure and integrated deployment tools. Supports multiple programming languages and frameworks with Git-based deployment.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Dokku

Open sourceFree tier

Free open source. Dokku Pro available (pricing not disclosed).

Open SourceFree
- Git push deployment
- Buildpack/Dockerfile support
- Docker container management
- Environment variables
- Domain/SSL configuration
- +4 more

as of 2026-08-03verify ↗

Heroku

Leader

from $500/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $7/month for hobby tier, with free tier available

freeFree
hobby$7/dyno/mo
standard-1x$25/dyno/mo
standard-2x$50/dyno/mo
performance$500/mo

as of 2026-10-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Dokku	Heroku
WebPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

Dokku✗

Heroku✓

CLI

Dokku✓

Heroku✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Dokku✗

Heroku✓

Self-hosted

Dokku✓

Heroku✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)

GitHub
RabbitMQ

Dokku

20 total - 18 not shared

Docker
Heroku Buildpacks
nginx
Heroku
Git
Slack
Airbrake
Tailscale
PostgreSQL
MySQL
Redis
CouchDB
Elasticsearch
RethinkDB
MongoDB
MariaDB
Clickhouse
Varnish

Independently observed

Heroku

Leader

7 total - 5 not shared

Twilio
Salesforce
Travis CI
Apigee
Heroku Postgres

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Dokku or Heroku: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.