Dokku

The smallest PaaS implementation you've ever seen

Also known as
dokku

What is Dokku?

An open source Platform as a Service that runs on a single server, supporting Git-push deployment of Heroku-compatible applications via buildpacks or Dockerfiles, with automatic container lifecycle management.

Independently observed

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.

Pricing as of verify at live pricing ↗Independently observed
Open sourceFree tier

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

Open Source

Free
Free

Full 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.

Deploy
Git-push auto-deploy
Deploy arbitrary container image
Per-PR preview environments
-
Build
Build system
-
Runtime / language breadth
Multiple languages via buildpacks and buildpack detection
Scale
Autoscaling
-
Deployment
Geographic reach
Single-region
Hosting
Self-hosted 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
Independently observed

Platform & deployment

Independently observed
Platforms
  • CLI
  • Linux
Deployment
  • Hybrid
  • Self-hosted

Integrations (3)

Independently observed
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab CI
  • Woodpecker CI

Dokku alternatives

Other paas & hosting we track, ranked by the same independent score.

Independent · unbought · dated

The Vioscale 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.

Balanced composite 68 / 100
low · 21%
Signal contributions to the composite score
SignalScoreWeightContributionEvidence
Github Activity6318.001135.8
Release Cadence9910.00994.4
Pricing Transparency8012.00960.0
Capabilities7512.00896.7
Price Level1008.00800.0
Github Stars855.00425.0
Integrations1716.00277.0
Reliability030.000.0-
Security Posture022.000.0-
Package Downloads026.000.0-
Stackoverflow Activity012.000.0-

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

AttributeValueEvidence
Commits last 30d100mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 65%

Adoption

AttributeValueEvidence
Github stars32,087highsource · 2026-08-03 · 90%

Features

AttributeValueEvidence
Capabilities{"hosting":"self","regions":"single","runtimes":"Multiple languages via buildpacks and buildpack detection","cli_and_api":true,"env_secrets":true,"git_push_deploy":true,"container_deploy":true,"custom_domains_tls":true}mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Integrations

AttributeValueEvidence
Count3mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Language

AttributeValueEvidence
PrimaryShellhighsource · 2026-08-03 · 90%

License

AttributeValueEvidence
SpdxMIThighsource · 2026-08-03 · 95%

Pricing

AttributeValueEvidence
Free tierYesmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
Modelcommerciallowsource · 2026-08-03 · 40%
Price levelfreemediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
TransparentYesmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Release

AttributeValueEvidence
Cadence days1mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 70%