Dokku
A lightweight, open-source platform-as-a-service for running applications on your own infrastructure
- Also known as
- dokku
Available worldwide
What is 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.
Dokku pricing
Plans, per-tier features and add-ons, dated and linked to live pricing. Pricing changes often; always verify at source before you rely on it.
Free open source. Dokku Pro available (pricing not disclosed).
Open Source
FreeFull Dokku platform
- Git push deployment
- Buildpack/Dockerfile support
- Docker container management
- Environment variables
- Domain/SSL configuration
- Process management
- Cron tasks
- Persistent storage
- Plugin extensibility
What Dokku does
The capabilities that matter for paas & hosting, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Git-push auto-deploy
- ✓
- Deploy arbitrary container image
- ✓
- Per-PR preview environments
- ✗
- Build system
- Buildpacks
- Runtime / language breadth
- Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection
- Autoscaling
- None
- Geographic reach
- Single-region
- Hosting
- Self-hosted only
- Bundled managed data services
- ✓
- Built-in global CDN / edge
- ✗
- Custom domains + automatic TLS
- ✓
- Env vars & secrets management
- ✓
- Instant rollbacks
- ✗
- CLI + deploy API
- ✓
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- Linux
- On-premise
- Self-hosted
Integrations (9)
Independently observed- GitHub
- Slack
- Airbrake
- Tailscale
- Docker
- Heroku Buildpacks
- nginx
- Heroku•
- Git•
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Dokku FAQ
Common questions about Dokku, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is 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. It is indexed under PaaS & Hosting.
Source: https://dokku.com
Is Dokku free to use?
Dokku is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://dokku.com
What platforms does Dokku support?
Dokku supports Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Source: https://dokku.com
Can Dokku be self-hosted?
Yes. Dokku can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://dokku.com
What does Dokku integrate with?
We have confirmed 7 integrations for Dokku, including Docker, Heroku Buildpacks, nginx, Git, Slack, Airbrake and Tailscale. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.
Source: https://dokku.com
Is Dokku open source?
Yes. Dokku is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
Source: https://github.com/dokku/dokku
Dokku alternatives
Other paas & hosting we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- NetlifyDeploy and manage modern web applications instantly with integrated AI capabilities and global infrastructuremedium · 73%
- VercelDeploy and manage web applications and AI agents with built-in infrastructure for preview environments, serverless compute, and global deliverymedium · 73%
- Koyebmedium · 71%
- RailwayA unified cloud platform that streamlines application deployment and scalingmedium · 61%
- Fly.ioHost applications on containerized infrastructure distributed worldwidemedium · 63%
- Clever CloudA git-push-based platform for deploying applications with automated scaling, monitoring, and maintenancemedium · 73%
Compare Dokku
Side by side against other paas & hosting, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Dokku, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development activity | 63 | 0.09 | 5.9 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 99 | 0.05 | 5.2 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 81 | 0.06 | 5.1 | ✓ |
| Security score | 54 | 0.04 | 2.3 | ✓ |
| Stars | 85 | 0.03 | 2.2 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 26 | 0.07 | 1.9 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 22 | 0.06 | 1.4 | ✓ |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.12 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.14 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 100 | mediumsource · 2026-09-07 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 6 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 66% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Hosting: self · Regions: single · Edge cdn: No · Runtimes: Multiple languages via Heroku buildpack auto-detection · Rollbacks: No · Autoscaling: none | mediumsource · 2026-09-07 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 7 | mediumsource · 2026-09-07 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Shell | highsource · 2026-09-07 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | MIT | highsource · 2026-09-07 · 95% |
Market
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | PrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: … | highsource · 2026-08-14 · 75% |
Pricing
Release
Security
Is Dokku the right choice for you?
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