Comparison

Dokku vs Render

On the evidence we track, Render leads this comparison with a composite score of 68/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Dokku full profile →Render full profile →

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Dokku59

★Render68

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Dokku	RenderLeader
vioscaleAI score	59 / 100medium · 54%	68 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	low
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	35	10
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	-	SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	-	✓
Iso27001security.iso27001	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.4	-
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	-	https://render.com/security
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
Content
Faqcontent.faq	6 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Dokku59 / 100medium · 54%

Render68 / 100medium · 73%

Pricing

Free tier

Dokku✓

Render✓

Model

Dokkuopen_source

Renderfreemium

Price level

Dokkufree

Renderlow

Transparent

Dokku✓

Render✓

Integrations

Count

Dokku35

Render10

Security

Certifications

Dokku–

RenderSOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001

Disclosure policy

Dokku–

Render✓

Gdpr

Dokku–

Render✓

Hipaa

Dokku–

Render✓

Iso27001

Dokku–

Render✓

Scorecard

Dokku5.4

Render–

Soc2

Dokku–

Render✓

Trust center

Dokku–

Renderhttps://render.com/security

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

Render–

Reliability

Status page

Dokku–

Render✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Dokku20

Render–

Github stars

Dokku32,157

Render–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Dokku100

Render–

Release

Cadence days

Dokku2

Render–

History

Dokku20 items

Render–

License

Spdx

DokkuMIT

Render–

Language

Primary

DokkuGo

Render–

Market

Availability

DokkuAvailable worldwide

RenderAvailable worldwide

Content

Faq

Dokku6 items

Render7 items

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for PaaS & Hosting
Capability	Dokku	Render
Deploy
Git-push auto-deploy	✓	✓
Deploy arbitrary container image	✓	✓
Per-PR preview environments	✗	✓
Build
Build system	Buildpacks	Dockerfile
Runtime / language breadth	Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection	Node.js, Python, Bun, Docker, and multiple frameworks
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✓

Render✓

Deploy arbitrary container image

Dokku✓

Render✓

Per-PR preview environments

Dokku✗

Render✓

Build

Build system

DokkuBuildpacks

RenderDockerfile

Runtime / language breadth

DokkuMultiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection

RenderNode.js, Python, Bun, Docker, and multiple frameworks

Scale

Autoscaling

DokkuNone

RenderHorizontal

Deployment

Geographic reach

DokkuSingle-region

RenderMulti-region

Hosting

DokkuSelf-hosted only

RenderCloud only

Data

Bundled managed data services

Dokku✓

Render✓

Delivery

Built-in global CDN / edge

Dokku✗

Render✓

Custom domains + automatic TLS

Dokku✓

Render✓

Ops

Env vars & secrets management

Dokku✓

Render✓

Instant rollbacks

Dokku✗

Render✓

Extensibility

CLI + deploy API

Dokku✓

Render✓

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

Render

Leader

A cloud platform where teams deploy applications and infrastructure, from simple prototypes to complex multi-service systems, with built-in scaling, security, and database management.

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 ↗

Render

Leader

HybridFree tier

Free tier available. Enterprise pricing on request. Metered billing for compute, bandwidth, and storage.

FreeFree
- Deploy for free
- Up to 25 services
- 5 GB bandwidth included
- Single-service previews
- Global regions and CDN
- +3 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- Contractual uptime SLAs
- Support Slack channel
- Support response SLAs

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	Render
WebPlatforms	✗	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✗	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

Dokku✗

Render✓

CLI

Dokku✓

Render✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Dokku✗

Render✓

Self-hosted

Dokku✓

Render✗

Integrations

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

In common (2)

GitHub
Slack

Dokku

20 total - 18 not shared

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

Independently observed

Render

Leader

15 total - 13 not shared

GitLab
Bitbucket
AWS
Anthropic
OpenAI
Datadog
Cloudflare
Namecheap
Sentry
Stripe
Terraform
OpenTelemetry
Discord

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Dokku or Render: 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.