A Coolify Alternative Without Docker, on Your Own VPS

If you like what Coolify does but do not want Docker on your server, ox is one alternative: it deploys your GitHub repo as a plain systemd service behind Caddy, with no containers and no panel running on the server. Coolify stays the better pick when you deploy Docker images or Compose files, or want an open-source panel you run entirely yourself.

This post compares the two as of October 2026. Facts about Coolify come from its official docs and pricing page, linked inline. Facts about ox come from ox's own docs.

In this post:

• What does Coolify do?
• Why would you want to skip Docker?
• How does ox deploy without Docker?
• How do Coolify and ox compare?
• When is Coolify the better pick?
• Frequently asked questions

What does Coolify do?#

Coolify describes itself as an "open source, self-hostable platform for deploying and managing applications, databases, and services on servers you control". It is a control plane: it connects to each server over SSH, prepares the server to run Docker, and runs your apps there as Docker containers. A proxy on each server routes your domains to the right container and handles HTTPS.

As of October 2026, its docs list five ways to build an app: Nixpacks, Railpack (in beta), Static, Dockerfile and Docker Compose. It can also pull a prebuilt image from a registry, run databases with backups, and launch one-click services from maintained Compose templates. It supports preview deployments for pull requests. Its code is under the Apache 2.0 license.

You can run Coolify yourself for free, or pay for Coolify Cloud. As of October 2026, Coolify's pricing page lists Cloud at $5 a month for two connected servers, plus $3 a month for each extra server, with teams on an extra subscription. Either way your apps run on your own servers. To self-host it, the install guide asks for at least 2 CPU cores, 2 GB of memory and 10 GB of disk for the install script.

Why would you want to skip Docker?#

Docker is the right tool for many teams. Some people still prefer a server without it, for these reasons:

• Less on the server. A panel, a container runtime and a proxy container all use memory before your app starts. On a $5 server, that is a real share of the machine.

• One less layer to debug. When an app runs as a systemd service, its logs are in journalctl, its files are on disk, and its process shows in ps. There is no image, volume or container network between you and the problem.

• Fewer things to update. Base images, the Docker engine and the panel all need updates on top of the operating system.

• Your app never had a Dockerfile. Many Django, Rails, Laravel and Node apps run fine from their lockfile. Writing and maintaining a Dockerfile only to deploy them is extra work.

If none of these bother you, Docker and Coolify are a good setup.

How does ox deploy without Docker?#

ox has two parts. The dashboard and the logic that decides what to run are a hosted service at deploywithox.com. Your server runs only the ox agent and Caddy. The agent opens the connection to ox, so your server needs no extra open port, and ox holds no SSH key for it. On a server with no apps yet, the agent stays under 40 MB of memory and Caddy under 50 MB. Caddy grows a little with each site it serves: our own servers measured 52 to 58 MB with 1 to 21 sites.

When you deploy, ox reads your repo: the lockfile, the version files, and an ox.toml if there is one. It installs the right toolchain with mise, builds a new release on your server, and runs the app as a systemd service under its own Linux user. Caddy sends traffic to it and gets the HTTPS certificate. The new release starts beside the old one, and traffic moves only after its health check passes, so a failed deploy leaves the old release serving (how that works with systemd and Caddy).

Databases are services on the same server, installed from Ubuntu's packages or as pinned builds, not containers. A Django app with PostgreSQL and Redis looks like this:

domains = ["example.com"]

[app]
start = "uv run gunicorn config.wsgi --bind 127.0.0.1:$PORT"

[build]
migrate = "uv run python manage.py migrate --noinput"

[services]
postgres = {}
redis    = {}

ox has eight built-in services: PostgreSQL, Redis, MySQL (served by MariaDB), Neo4j, Qdrant, ClickHouse, Meilisearch and RabbitMQ. You can also run your own service with a run command. The ox.toml reference has every key, and ox check shows what ox will run before you deploy.

How do Coolify and ox compare?#

Both keep your apps and data on your own servers, and in both cases you pay your server provider separately.

When is Coolify the better pick?#

• You deploy containers. If your app ships as a Docker image or a Compose file, Coolify runs it as is. ox cannot deploy an image.

• You host open-source apps. Coolify's one-click services start popular apps from templates. ox deploys repos you connect, one at a time.

• You want everything under your control. Self-hosted Coolify needs no outside service at all. ox's dashboard is a service ox runs, and while it is down, deploys and backups wait (your apps keep serving).

• You want open source. You can read and change Coolify's code. ox is closed source.

• You need a team or another OS. Coolify supports many Linux families and has teams. ox is one person per account for now, on Ubuntu LTS only.

ox fits better when you deploy your own apps from GitHub, want nothing extra running on the server, and would rather have daily backups, alerts and security setup done for you than run a panel.

What ox does not do#

ox runs one project on one server, with no autoscaling and no spreading an app over several machines. It has no Docker support and no app catalog. It is in beta and promises no uptime for its own service. The page on leaving ox says what pauses while ox is down and how to take your data with you.

Frequently asked questions#

Can I use Coolify without Docker?#

No. Coolify's docs describe its workloads as standard Docker resources on your servers, and it prepares each server to run Docker. If you want a dashboard and push-to-deploy with no containers, you need a tool built around plain services, such as ox, or a by-hand setup with systemd and Caddy.

Can I move an app from Coolify to ox?#

Yes, if the app builds from its own source and not only from a Docker image. Connect the repo to ox on a fresh Ubuntu LTS server, set your variables, and restore your PostgreSQL dump from a file of up to 95 MB, or from your S3 bucket if it is bigger. A Compose-only stack needs changes.

Can Coolify and ox share one server?#

It is not a good idea. Both want to own ports 80 and 443 for their proxy, and ox expects a fresh Ubuntu LTS server when you add it. Use a separate small server for ox while you try it, and keep your Coolify server running until you have moved what you want.

Is ox cheaper than Coolify?#

Self-hosted Coolify is free, so ox costs more if you only count software. ox is free for one project and $10 a month for all of them. The difference is what runs on your server and who keeps the panel updated: with ox, nothing but the agent and Caddy, and ox runs the panel.

Next step#

Pick one app that builds from source, rent a small Ubuntu LTS server, and follow the quickstart. The stack guides show a working ox.toml for Django, Next.js, Rails and more.

New to running apps on your own server? How ox self-hosts your apps shows what ox sets up on your server.