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Dokku vs Heroku
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Dokku and Heroku.
Last reviewed:
| Feature | Dokku | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Open Source | Freemium |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost (Solo) | $0 | $5-12 |
| Target Audience | developers, solopreneurs, solopreneurs | developers, solopreneurs, startups |
| Verified | No | No |
| Solo-Friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | Yes | No |
| Editorial Rating | 4.1/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Categories | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Key Features | Git push deployment, Buildpack support, Docker container management, Plugin system, SSL via Let's Encrypt | Git-based deployment, Add-on marketplace, Auto-scaling, Managed PostgreSQL, Redis add-on |
| Free Tier Quality | excellent | None |
Pricing Breakdown
Dokku
Free forever. Open-source. Server costs: $4-10/month (VPS).
Heroku
Eco: $5/month. Basic: $7/month/dyno. Standard: $25/month/dyno. Performance: $250/month/dyno. Postgres: from $5/month.
Integration Overlap
Shared Integrations (2)
PostgreSQLRedis
Only in Dokku (6)
GitDockerHeroku BuildpacksLet's EncryptMySQLMongoDB
Only in Heroku (7)
GitHubGitLabSalesforceNew RelicPapertrailSendGridCloudflare
Use Case Fit
Dokku
- * Personal app hosting
- * Side project deployment
- * Simple production hosting
- * Learning DevOps
- * Cost-effective web hosting
Heroku
- * Rapid app deployment
- * Prototype and MVP hosting
- * Side project hosting
- * Managed database hosting
- * CI/CD pipelines
Dokku
Pros
- + Simplest self-hosted PaaS
- + Heroku buildpack compatible
- + Extremely lightweight
- + Mature and stable project
Cons
- - Single-server only
- - CLI-only (no web dashboard)
- - Limited scaling options
- - Requires Linux server knowledge
Heroku
Pros
- + Simplest deployment workflow (git push)
- + Huge add-on marketplace
- + Managed Postgres is excellent
- + Great for prototyping
Cons
- - Expensive at scale vs AWS/GCP
- - Free tier removed in 2022
- - Dynos sleep on cheaper plans
- - Vendor lock-in for add-ons
Editorial Verdict
Dokku takes the lead for solo founders — it offers better value and is explicitly solo-friendly. Heroku may still be the right pick if you need deep Developer Tools features or plan to scale to a larger team.
SaaSLens Editorial Team
Editorial Team