# Dokku vs Google App Engine

| Attribute | Dokku | Google App Engine |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 61.1 (42% (low)) | 56.7 (49% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 20 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 32,110 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Dokku allows developers to build and manage application lifecycles through Git-based deployments to a single server. Applications are automatically built using Dockerfiles or language detection with buildpacks, run in isolated containers, and are managed by Dokku's routing and process control systems. | A fully managed serverless platform for deploying web applications across multiple programming languages with automatic scaling and integrated monitoring and diagnostics. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"self","regions":"single","edge_cdn":false,"runtimes":"Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection","rollbacks":false,"autoscaling":"none","cli_and_api":true,"env_secrets":true,"build_system":"buildpacks","git_push_deploy":true,"preview_deploys":false,"container_deploy":true,"managed_databases":false,"custom_domains_tls":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","regions":"multi","runtimes":"Node.js, Java, Ruby, C#, Go, Python, PHP","rollbacks":true,"autoscaling":"horizontal","cli_and_api":true,"env_secrets":true,"custom_domains_tls":true}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | 3 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"Heroku Buildpacks"},{"name":"nginx"}]` | `[{"name":"Cloud Monitoring"},{"name":"Cloud Logging"},{"name":"Cloud Run"}]` |
| language.primary | Shell | - |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Open Source","features":["Git push deployment","Buildpack/Dockerfile support","Docker container management","Environment variables","Domain/SSL configuration","Process management","Cron tasks","Persistent storage","Plugin extensibility"],"description":"Full Dokku platform"}],"summary":"Free open source. Dokku Pro available (pricing not disclosed).","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://dokku.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T22:43:50.078Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"B1","summary":"$0.05/hour after 9 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.05,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Backend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"9"}},{"free":true,"name":"B2","summary":"$0.10/hour after 9 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.1,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Backend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"9"}},{"free":true,"name":"B4","summary":"$0.20/hour after 9 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.2,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Backend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"9"}},{"free":true,"name":"B4_1G","summary":"$0.30/hour after 9 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.3,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Backend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"9"}},{"free":true,"name":"B8","summary":"$0.40/hour after 9 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.4,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Backend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"9"}},{"free":true,"name":"F1","summary":"$0.05/hour after 28 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.05,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Frontend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"28"}},{"free":true,"name":"F2","summary":"$0.10/hour after 28 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.1,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Frontend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"28"}},{"free":true,"name":"F4","summary":"$0.20/hour after 28 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.2,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Frontend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"28"}},{"free":true,"name":"F4_1G","summary":"$0.30/hour after 28 free hours per day","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.3,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Frontend instance","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_hours_per_day":"28"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Outgoing Network Traffic","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"gibibyte"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.138948,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier: 29 hours F1 instances + 9 hours B1 instances per day, 1 GB outbound data per day. $300 free credits available. Usage-based pricing from $0.05–$0.40/hour depending on instance class.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cloud.google.com/appengine","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:06:35.526Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 1 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.27","date":"2026-08-12T09:28:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.26","date":"2026-08-09T06:27:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.26"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.25","date":"2026-07-22T07:42:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.25"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.24","date":"2026-07-18T04:28:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.24"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.23","date":"2026-07-18T01:37:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.22","date":"2026-07-08T22:53:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.22"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.21","date":"2026-07-07T00:21:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.21"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.20","date":"2026-06-28T07:17:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.19","date":"2026-07-07T00:23:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.18","date":"2026-07-07T00:22:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.17","date":"2026-06-03T08:34:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.16","date":"2026-06-01T02:22:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.15","date":"2026-05-31T09:19:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.14","date":"2026-05-31T02:18:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.13","date":"2026-05-30T11:43:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.12","date":"2026-05-30T04:15:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.11","date":"2026-05-30T01:30:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.10","date":"2026-05-29T23:48:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.9","date":"2026-05-28T16:44:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/dokku/dokku/releases/tag/v0.38.8","date":"2026-05-28T16:44:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.38.8"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.3 | - |
| security.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,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (PaaS & Hosting)

| Capability | Dokku | Google App Engine |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deploy** |  |  |
| Git-push auto-deploy | ✓ | - |
| Deploy arbitrary container image | ✓ | - |
| Per-PR preview environments | ✗ | - |
| **Build** |  |  |
| Build system | Buildpacks | - |
| Runtime / language breadth | Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection | Node.js, Java, Ruby, C#, Go, Python, 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 | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:03:08.277Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*