TL;DR — Pick Dokploy if PR preview environments, Docker Swarm clustering, or a cleaner multi-server UX are the priority. Its native preview deployment support is the most cited reason to choose it over Coolify in 2026. The trade-offs: a mixed Apache 2.0/proprietary license, a smaller template catalog, and a memory regression in recent builds that can push idle usage past 630 MB. Core self-hosted functionality is free forever. [3] [9] [4]
What is Dokploy
Dokploy ⭐ 34.6k (Jun 2026) is an open-source PaaS launched April 2024 as a self-hostable alternative to Vercel, Netlify, and Heroku. [1] It wraps Docker Compose and Docker Swarm with a Next.js/TypeScript dashboard, Traefik reverse proxy, and an auto-generated REST API. As of v0.29.7 (June 2, 2026) it has 160+ releases across two years of rapid development. [18]
Core Features
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Build methods | Nixpacks, Heroku Buildpacks, Paketo Buildpacks, Dockerfile, Docker Compose [2] |
| Languages | Any (Node.js, PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, etc.) via Nixpacks/Buildpacks |
| Databases | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MariaDB, LibSQL, Redis; automated S3 backups + volume backups [2] |
| Git providers | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea, Git Generic (5 total) [12] |
| SSL | Automatic Let’s Encrypt via Traefik |
| Multi-server | Docker Swarm clusters; replica management built-in [2] |
| Monitoring | Real-time CPU/memory/network; alerting enabled by default [12] |
| Access control | RBAC (Admin/Developer roles from Startup tier); 2FA [7] |
| AI (v0.29.0) | MCP server (508 tools / 49 categories), CLI (449 commands), AI log analysis [5] |
PR Preview Deployments
Preview deployments are Dokploy’s clearest differentiator in the homelab/PR-workflow context. [9]
How it works:
- Triggered automatically when a PR is opened against the configured target branch [3]
- Redeploys on every new commit to the PR; cleans up on merge or close [3]
- Default URL pattern:
preview-${appName}-${uniqueId}.traefik.me(free, no DNS setup needed) [3] - Custom wildcard domain: point
*.yourdomain.com→ server IP and configure in app settings [3] - Label filtering: only trigger previews for PRs bearing specific labels [3]
- Max previews per app is configurable (default 3) [3]
- Inherits production app’s security rules and redirects [3]
Caveat: Only available for apps using a Git provider (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket/Gitea) — direct Docker image deployments do not get previews. [3]
Resource Requirements & Known Issues
Minimum recommended: 2 GB RAM, 1 CPU, 30 GB disk. [9] In practice, idle footprint is non-trivial:
| Condition | Dokploy container RAM |
|---|---|
| Fresh install (pre-v0.27) | ~464 MiB |
| v0.27.1+ (regression) | ~630–640 MiB |
| Full stack (+ n8n + PG) | 1.1–1.3 GB total |
A memory regression introduced in v0.27.1 roughly doubled idle usage — suspected cause: health checks spawning a curl process every 10 seconds (~360/hr) for database queries. [11] The GitHub issue was closed without a confirmed fix. On a 2 GB Proxmox VM with one app and a database, this leaves limited headroom; 4 GB is the practical minimum for comfortable single-node use.
Proxmox-specific note: The install script detects LXC containers and applies --endpoint-mode dnsrr automatically for Docker Swarm compatibility. Finalize your server’s IP before running the installer — changing the host IP after Swarm initialization breaks the cluster. [16]
AI Features (v0.29.0)
Two new surfaces in the June 2026 release: [5]
- AI log analysis — on deploy failure, trigger analysis from the dashboard to get a summary of errors and remediation steps.
- MCP server — 508 auto-generated tools covering the full Dokploy API; works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed.
- CLI — 449 commands for terminal-driven management and CI/CD pipelines.
These are generated from the OpenAPI spec, so they track the API surface automatically. Dokploy added this shortly after Coolify shipped its own MCP server in May 2026. [14]
Licensing
| Component | License | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Core codebase | Apache 2.0 | Free to use, modify, redistribute, resell |
| Enterprise tier | Proprietary/source-available | Requires paid access for SSO, white-labeling, HA, advanced monitoring |
Dokploy committed that no existing features will migrate to the paid tier. [4] Coolify, by contrast, is 100% Apache 2.0. [10] For homelab use the distinction is largely academic — all core deployment and preview features are free.
Pricing (Managed Cloud)
Self-hosted: free. Managed cloud tiers if you want hosting offloaded: [7]
| Tier | Price | Servers | Orgs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $4.50/mo | 1 | 1 | 2 environments, 1 user |
| Startup | $15/mo | 3 | 3 | Unlimited envs, RBAC, 2FA |
| Enterprise | Custom | ∞ | ∞ | SSO/SAML, audit logs, SLA |
Extra servers: $4.50/mo each. Annual billing: 20% discount.
Dokploy vs Coolify at a Glance
| Dimension | Dokploy | Coolify |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ⭐ 34.6k | ⭐ 55.7k |
| One-click templates | Limited (~dozens) | 280+ |
| PR preview deployments | ✓ Native | Partial (requires config) [9] |
| Docker Swarm | ✓ Native, init on install | ✓ Supported |
| Idle RAM (platform) | ~630 MB (v0.27+) [11] | ~800 MB–1.2 GB [8] |
| License | Apache 2.0 + proprietary | 100% Apache 2.0 [10] |
| MCP server | ✓ v0.29.0 (508 tools) [5] | ✓ v4.0 May 2026 [14] |
| ARM support | ⚠ Not officially documented | ✓ Native [9] |
| DB restore via UI | ✓ | Manual |
| S3 volume backups | ✓ | ✗ [10] |
| Git providers | 5 (incl. Generic) | 4 [12] |
| Community age | April 2024 | 2022 |
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Native PR preview deployments with auto cleanup — best-in-class for this use case [9]
- Docker Swarm initialized at install time; multi-node expansion is low-friction [17]
- 5 Git providers including generic Git; good for self-hosted Gitea setups [12]
- S3 volume backups and database restore UI [10]
- Rapid release cadence (160+ releases in 2 years) [18]
- AI log analysis and MCP server as of v0.29.0 [5]
Cons:
- Memory regression since v0.27.1 — idle footprint 630+ MiB, unstable on 2 GB servers [11]
- Mixed Apache 2.0/proprietary license (enterprise features gated) [4]
- Smaller template catalog vs Coolify’s 280+ one-click services [8]
- Smaller community (34.6k vs 55.7k stars); younger project [14]
- Docker familiarity assumed; not beginner-friendly [15]
- ARM architecture not officially documented [9]
- Swarm-only scaling (no Kubernetes path) [17]