TL;DR: Coolify vs Dokploy compared
Coolify and Dokploy are self-hosted control panels: a web app you install on a server you rent, which then deploys your apps, databases and Docker Compose files from Git. Both are free and both are good on one server. They differ most once you add a second.
- Coolify runs plain Docker on each server over SSH, with every feature free under Apache-2.0. It suits a handful of apps on one server, with previews from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Gitea.
- Dokploy runs your servers as a Docker Swarm cluster, with SSO, custom roles and audit logs under a paid licence. It suits teams that already know Swarm and want one app spread across servers.
- Ployz is built for more than one server from the start. Add a server with one command and it joins the others and takes traffic, with no manager server, no Swarm and no load balancer. It's also the easiest place to start small: begin on the cheapest server you can rent and move to a bigger one in a few steps when you outgrow it, not a rebuild.
Pick Coolify if you'll stay on one server and run Docker Compose files. Pick Ployz if you expect a second server or a bigger one.
What is Coolify?
Coolify is an open-source self-hosted PaaS built with Laravel, Postgres and Redis. You install it on a server, and it connects to that server and any others over SSH to run your apps as Docker containers behind Traefik.
It deploys from four Git hosts, runs Docker Compose files, provisions databases in one click, and backs up databases and volumes to S3. Coolify Cloud hosts the dashboard for you from $5 a month for two servers.
What is Dokploy?
Dokploy is a self-hosted PaaS built with Next.js, Postgres and Traefik. Its installer runs docker swarm init, so your server becomes a Docker Swarm node and your apps run as Swarm services.
It deploys from Git, runs Docker Compose files and Swarm stacks, provisions databases, and backs up databases, volumes and itself to S3. Dokploy Cloud hosts the dashboard for you at $4.50 per server.
Coolify vs Dokploy vs Ployz: side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Coolify | Dokploy | Ployz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free self-hosted, every feature | Free self-hosted; SSO and audit logs paid | Free on one server; Pro $19/month for 3 servers |
| Where the dashboard runs | Your server (2 GB RAM), or Coolify Cloud | Your server (2 GB RAM), or Dokploy Cloud | Ployz Cloud, or self-host it |
| One app on several servers | No, rent a load balancer | Yes, through Swarm and a registry | Yes, every server takes traffic |
| Adding a server | Joins, but traffic isn't shared | Joins the Swarm cluster | One command, joins a private network |
| If the main server dies | The dashboard goes with it | Swarm needs 3 managers to survive it | No main server |
| Moving to a bigger server | Clone app settings across; data and databases you copy yourself | No built-in move; redeploy and copy data yourself | Add the new server, move databases across |
| Database backups | To S3 | To S3 | To S3, plus a restore point and a mirror on another server |
| Docker Compose | Yes | Yes, plus Swarm stacks | No, one service at a time |
| Preview deployments | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea | GitHub only, off by default | GitHub, every PR, with its own database |
| Zero-downtime deploys | With a health check; not for Compose apps | After adding a Swarm health check per app | With a health check |
| Coding agent | Official MCP server | Official MCP server |
ployz mcp; deletes wait for a person |
Prices as of 25 October 2026, from Coolify, Dokploy and Ployz. Want to try the third column? Ployz is free on one server.
Why Coolify and Dokploy get awkward past one server
Both were built as one dashboard managing servers. That's simple on one server. On two or more, you start working around the design.
Coolify: servers side by side, not together
Coolify can deploy one app to two servers, but its docs say "adding deployment servers does not distribute traffic by itself" (multiple servers). Visitors still hit one address, so you rent a load balancer, such as Hetzner's LB11 at €6.99 a month. Its multi-server docs list more catches:
- Servers must share a CPU architecture and proxy, and you need an image registry.
- The Servers page "does not support Docker Compose applications".
- Since 4.4, Coolify won't add a second server to an app that stores data on disk.
- Its Docker Swarm support was "never fully implemented" and will be removed in v5 (Swarm).
Ployz runs Caddy on every server, so any server with a public address takes traffic and there's no load balancer to rent.
Dokploy: multi-server means running Swarm
Dokploy's remote servers mode puts each app on one server you pick. To run one app on several servers, Dokploy uses Docker Swarm. That works, but you're now running Swarm:
- Swarm needs an image registry to move your images between servers.
- Swarm's manager servers vote on every change. If more than half are down, nothing "can be started, stopped, moved, or updated", per Docker's docs. One manager is a single point of failure; three is the safe minimum.
- Dokploy "does not perform automatic cleanup of storage for workers" (cluster), so you watch each server's disk yourself.
- Its default deploy stops the old container first, which its docs say "leads to Bad Gateway". You get zero downtime by adding a Swarm health check to each app (zero downtime).
Ployz has no manager servers and no vote, so two servers are enough, and a new server joins with one command and no registry.
Both: the dashboard lives on your server
Self-hosted, each dashboard needs 2 GB of RAM before your apps get any, and it holds root SSH to every server you add. Coolify Cloud and Dokploy Cloud host the dashboard for you instead, from $5 a month. Ployz's dashboard runs on Ployz Cloud, free on one server, so it uses none of your servers' RAM.
Where Coolify and Dokploy do well
Coolify is the best free dashboard for one server. Everything is Apache-2.0, including the single sign-on and team audit log added in 4.4. Previews work on four Git hosts, its Sentinel agent charts server health and traffic, and it has the biggest community, with about 63,700 GitHub stars.
Dokploy has the larger template catalogue (569 one-click apps to Coolify's 386) and backs up its own database and settings. If you already know Swarm, its multi-server mode will feel familiar.
Both run Docker Compose files as they are. If your app is a Compose file you don't want to split into services, either one fits better than Ployz.
Ployz: start small, grow to several servers
I build Ployz, so weigh this section with that in mind. Ployz runs apps and databases on servers you rent, and it's built for coding agents. Instead of one dashboard server in charge of the rest, every server you add joins the others as an equal, with no manager server and no quorum.
Start on the smallest server, move up without a rebuild
Most people rent a bigger server than they need, because moving later is painful. Coolify's own migration guide says to "plan a maintenance window" and "stop writes or stop the source application before the final database dump", then transfer the dump and restore it on the new server. Your app is down for the whole copy, and the bigger the database, the longer that takes.
On Ployz you start on the cheapest box you can rent. When it gets tight, add a bigger server and move each database to it. Ployz copies the volume with ZFS while the database keeps running, then sends only what changed since. The database stops just for that last small copy, which takes seconds, not the size of your data. Move your services, then drain and remove the old server. Moving down to a smaller server works the same way.
Several servers with no quorum
A new server joins an encrypted private network with your others. Services find each other at NAME.internal, every server runs Caddy for HTTPS, and you run up to 50 replicas per service. If a server dies, replicas on the other servers keep serving (what to do when a server goes down).
There's no quorum because there's no group of managers that has to agree. Every server keeps its own copy of the cluster's state and syncs it with the others, using data structures (CRDTs) built so that changes made on different servers always merge the same way. If a server goes offline, or the network splits your servers into two groups, each side keeps running, and they heal on their own when they can reach each other again. Nothing waits for a majority. More on adding servers.
Your apps keep running without the dashboard
The dashboard is hosted on Ployz Cloud, so there's nothing for you to patch. If Ployz Cloud is unreachable, your apps keep running, and you can self-host the dashboard if you'd rather.
Coding agents that can't wipe production
Claude Code or Codex connects through ployz mcp, and each step it would do by hand over SSH is one Ployz call. Deleting a service, a volume or a domain is held on the server until a person approves it, and no setting turns that off (coding agents).
Database recovery
Every database has a restore point on its server, you can keep a mirror on a second server, and backups go off your servers to S3 on every plan, Free included. If the server holding a database dies, restore it from the mirror onto another server, or from S3 if you lose both.
Everything else comes with it
Every pull request gets an HTTPS preview with its own database, which starts empty and fills from a setup command like pnpm db:seed. Metrics for every service and server, searchable logs, uptime checks and email alerts for downtime, failed deploys and crashes are included.
What it costs
Ployz is free on one server, custom domains included. A second server means Pro, $19 a month for up to 3 servers and $5 per extra server.
| Two servers, one app on both | Monthly cost on top of the servers |
|---|---|
| Coolify, self-hosted | $0, plus a load balancer (€6.99 at Hetzner) and 2 GB of RAM for the dashboard |
| Coolify Cloud | $5, plus a load balancer |
| Dokploy Cloud | $9, plus Swarm and a registry to share traffic |
| Ployz Pro | $19 for up to 3 servers; no load balancer, registry or dashboard on your servers |
Start on Free with one server and move to Pro when you add a second. If you'll stay on one or two servers and don't need traffic shared between them, Coolify is cheaper. Ployz's $19 also covers uptime checks, searchable logs and metrics, which people often pay a separate service for.
One command installs Ployz on a Linux server, builds your app and gives it an HTTPS address:
ployz up --server root@your-server
Which should you pick?
- One server, a few apps, Docker Compose files: Coolify.
- You already run Docker Swarm, or know it well: Dokploy.
- Two servers with different apps on each, no shared traffic: Coolify.
- Starting small and expecting a bigger server or one app on several: Ployz.
- Your coding agent does the deploys: Ployz.
FAQ
Is Coolify better than Dokploy?
On one server, yes: every feature is free and previews work on four Git hosts. Dokploy is better if you want one app across several servers and you're comfortable running Docker Swarm.
Can Coolify run one app on several servers?
Not on its own. Coolify deploys an app to several servers but doesn't split traffic between them, so you need a load balancer in front.
Does Dokploy need Docker Swarm for multiple servers?
Yes, for one app across servers. Dokploy's cluster mode is Docker Swarm with an image registry. Its remote servers mode runs each app on one server you pick.
What is quorum, and why does it matter?
Quorum means a majority of manager servers must be up before a cluster accepts changes. Docker Swarm and Kubernetes both use it, which is why they want three managers. Ployz has no manager servers: every server keeps a copy of the cluster's state and they sync with each other, so there's no majority to keep alive, and a server that drops off catches up when it's back.
What size server should I start with?
The smallest one that runs your app today. On Coolify or Dokploy, add 2 GB of RAM for the dashboard. On Ployz there's no dashboard on your server, and you move to a bigger server later without rebuilding.
Can Claude Code deploy to Coolify or Dokploy?
Yes, both have an official MCP server that can deploy, so limit what the API key you give it can do. On Ployz, deletes wait on the server for a person to approve.
What are the best alternatives to Coolify and Dokploy?
Ployz for one or more servers without Swarm, Uncloud for a command-line tool that also skips the control plane, and Dokku for git push on one server. See the full Coolify vs Dokploy comparison, with a cost calculator and every source linked.
Top comments (0)