Dokku vs Heroku
Is it time to switch? We break down the differences so you can stop bleeding money.
Choose Dokku.
If you want to own your data, save money, and avoid vendor lock-in, Dokku is open source and community-driven.
What Actually Matters
No fluff — just the differences that affect your decision
Dokku is open source (MIT). Heroku isn't. You can fork it, audit it, host it yourself — no permission needed. That matters.
Dokku lets you self-host with Docker — your data, your rules. Heroku? Cloud only. If privacy matters, that's a dealbreaker.
Dokku dominates with 32.2k GitHub stars vs 0. Bigger community = more plugins, more answers on Stack Overflow, faster bug fixes.
Dokku is built in Go — you can read the source, contribute, or fork it. Heroku is closed-source, so you're trusting their engineering.
Try both — most offer free tiers. The right pick depends on your stack size, team, and tolerance for DevOps.
Dokku
A docker-powered PaaS that helps you build and manage the lifecycle of applications
Why Choose Dokku
- ✓Rock-solid stability — battle-tested since 2013
- ✓Heroku-compatible buildpacks and Procfile workflow
- ✓Zero-downtime deploys with simple git push
Drawbacks
- ×CLI driven
Heroku
Platform as a service.
Why Choose Heroku
- ✓Dead-simple deployment (git push)
- ✓Great for prototypes and MVPs
- ✓Managed Postgres included
Drawbacks
- ×Eliminated free tier in 2022
- ×Expensive at scale vs VPS
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