Dokku

✓ Verified FOSSMIT

Top open-source alternative to Heroku

⭐ 32,175 Stars Official Website ↗

A docker-powered PaaS that helps you build and manage the lifecycle of applications

Tech StackShell, Docker, Go

Self-Host DifficultyEasy

License ModelMIT

GitHub Repositorydokku/dokku

Recommended VPS & Hardware Sizing

Estimated Hosting: $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean)

Min RAM:1 GB

Rec RAM:2 GB

Compute:1 vCPU

Disk Space:10 GB SSD

Dokku vs Heroku Comparison Matrix

Evaluation Criteria	Dokku (Open Source)	Heroku (Proprietary)
Monthly Dyno Bill	Run dozens of apps on single $10/mo VPS	$7 - $250+ per dyno/app per month

INTERACTIVE TCO MODELEstimated Rate: $129/user/mo

Financial Impact: Migrating from Heroku to Self-Hosted Dokku

Detailed Stack Calculator →

Active Team Members / Seats: 25 Users

5 Users (Early Startup)50 Users (Scaleup)200 Users (Enterprise Org)

Heroku (Cloud SaaS)Per-Seat Tax

$38,700per year ($3,225/mo)

3-Year Spend:$116,100

* Excludes enterprise SSO add-ons & usage overages

Dokku (Self-Hosted)Zero Per-Seat Fee

$120per year ($10/mo Linux VPS)

3-Year Compute:$360

* Commodity Hetzner / DigitalOcean compute instance

Cumulative 3-Year ROI+$115,740Net savings across 36 months (100% reduction)

Annual Free Cash:+$38,580/yr

Need C-Level Buy-In? Generate an instant ROI proposal memo to present to your CTO or CFO.

HEAD-TO-HEAD BATTLES // SIDE-BY-SIDE AUDIT

Compare Dokku Head-to-Head

Custom Comparison Engine →

★ PRIMARY REPLACEMENTFOSS vs SaaS

Dokkuvs

Heroku

Comprehensive benchmark comparing Dokku against proprietary Heroku licensing and features.

View Full Battle Report→

Core Capabilities & Features

✓Git Push to Deploy Workflow

✓Automatic Free Let's Encrypt SSL

✓Zero-Downtime Rolling Deploys

✓Plugins for Postgres, Redis, MySQL

Self-Host Dokku with Docker Compose

Tweak configuration ports, secrets, and volumes live. Download or copy your ready-to-run container file:

1-Click Docker Compose Generator

Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.

Select Open-Source Project:

DokkuMIT

The smallest PaaS implementation you've ever seen: Docker powered mini-Heroku

Difficulty: Easy32,175 ⭐

docker-compose.dokku.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  dokku-manager:
    image: dokku/dokku:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "3022:22"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - dokku_data:/var/lib/dokku

volumes:
  dokku_data:

Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosting Dokku

How do I self-host Dokku using Docker Compose?

You can deploy Dokku (dokku/dokku) on any Linux server by copying the docker-compose.yml template on this page, configuring your desired host port and persistent volume directory, and running 'docker compose up -d'.

How does Dokku compare to Heroku?

Dokku is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Heroku built with Shell, Docker, Go. Unlike Heroku ($7 - $250+ / dyno / month), Dokku has zero per-user licensing fees and keeps 100% of your data on your own infrastructure.

What are the minimum VPS RAM and CPU requirements for Dokku?

For production self-hosting (Easy difficulty tier), we recommend at least 2 GB RAM (minimum 1 GB), 1 vCPU, and 10 GB SSD storage, which typically costs $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean).

Is Dokku free for commercial business use under the MIT license?

Yes. Distributed under the MIT license, Dokku can be self-hosted internally by businesses and engineering teams of any size without per-seat royalties.

README INTEGRATION // REPO EMBED

Embed Official Dokku Badge in GitHub README

Served locally from OSSMatrix with Cloudflare global edge caching. Real-time verified alternative status, zero third-party dependencies, sub-5ms load time.

Live Preview:

Markdown Embed (GitHub / GitLab)

[![OSSMatrix Alternative](https://ossmatrix.com/api/badge/dokku)](https://ossmatrix.com/project/dokku)

HTML Embed (Docs / Landing Pages)

<a href="https://ossmatrix.com/project/dokku" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://ossmatrix.com/api/badge/dokku" alt="Dokku on OSSMatrix" /></a>

SIMILAR REPOSITORIES // PEER COMPARISON