Dokku vs Peon
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 more popular among developers.
What Actually Matters
No fluff — just the differences that affect your decision
Both are open source under MIT. No lock-in on either side — pick based on fit, not fear.
Dokku lets you self-host with Docker — your data, your rules. Peon? Cloud only. If privacy matters, that's a dealbreaker.
Dokku dominates with 32.2k GitHub stars vs 97. Bigger community = more plugins, more answers on Stack Overflow, faster bug fixes.
Dokku is built in Go, Peon in TypeScript. Matters if you want to contribute, extend, or debug internals.
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
Peon
Open-source, self-hostable deployment platform. Deploy Git apps, Docker Compose, databases, and static sites to your own servers — an open alternative to Vercel/Heroku with project RBAC, audit logs, and MCP.
Why Choose Peon
- ✓Self-hosted Docker PaaS with first-class project RBAC and audit logs
- ✓Deploy Git apps, Compose stacks, databases, and static sites on your own servers
- ✓Built-in MCP server for AI-agent deploys without handing over root
Drawbacks
- ×Younger project with a smaller community than Coolify/Dokku
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