Dokploy vs Coolify vs ox: Which One Fits Your VPS?

Dokploy and Coolify are open-source panels that run your apps as Docker containers on your own servers, and you can host the panel yourself for free. ox is a hosted service that runs your apps on your server as plain systemd services with no Docker, so pick Dokploy or Coolify for containers and full control, and ox for a lighter server with less to maintain.

All three put your apps on servers you rent, and all three give you push-to-deploy, HTTPS and database backups. The differences are in how apps run, where the panel lives, and what you have to look after. Facts about Dokploy and Coolify come from their official docs and pricing pages as of October 2026, linked inline. Facts about ox come from ox's docs.

In this post:

• What is the short answer?
• What is Dokploy?
• What is Coolify?
• What is ox?
• How do they compare side by side?
• What do they cost?
• Which one should you choose?
• Frequently asked questions

What is the short answer?#

• Dokploy if you want an open-source Docker panel with build servers, several servers and Docker Swarm options.

• Coolify if you want an open-source Docker panel with one-click services from Compose templates and support for many Linux distributions.

• ox if you deploy your own apps from GitHub, want no Docker and no panel on the server, and want backups, alerts and server hardening set up for you.

What is Dokploy?#

Dokploy's docs call it "a open source alternative to Heroku, Vercel, and Netlify" that builds on Docker and Traefik. You install it on a server with one script, which installs Docker if it is missing. The install guide asks for at least 2 GB of memory and 30 GB of disk, and lists Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and CentOS releases it was tested on.

It deploys apps, Docker Compose files and databases. As of October 2026, its build types are Nixpacks (the default), Railpack, Dockerfile, Heroku and Paketo buildpacks, and Static. Its remote servers feature deploys apps to other machines, and it can use separate build servers. Its code is under Apache 2.0, apart from a proprietary folder, as its repository's license explains.

What is Coolify?#

Coolify is an "open source, self-hostable platform for deploying and managing applications, databases, and services on servers you control". It connects to each server over SSH and runs your apps there as Docker containers. It builds with Nixpacks, Railpack (in beta), Static, Dockerfile and Docker Compose, can pull prebuilt images, and launches one-click services from maintained Compose templates. It has pull request previews.

Its install guide asks for 2 CPU cores, 2 GB of memory and 10 GB of disk, and supports many Linux families, from Debian and Ubuntu to Red Hat-based systems, Alpine and Raspberry Pi OS. Its code is under the Apache 2.0 license.

What is ox?#

ox is a hosted deploy service. Its dashboard runs at deploywithox.com, and your server runs only the ox agent and Caddy. You add a fresh Ubuntu LTS server with one command, connect a GitHub repo, and ox shows a plan of what it will run before anything starts. It does not use Docker: each app is a systemd service under its own Linux user, with Caddy in front for HTTPS. 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.

ox reads your repo's lockfile and version files, and an ox.toml when you need to say more. It sets up the databases you list (eight are built in, including PostgreSQL, MySQL through MariaDB, and Redis), backs them up daily, keeps the last three releases for rollback, and moves traffic to a new release only after its health check passes. Adding a server also turns on a firewall, fail2ban, automatic security updates and key-only SSH. The security page lists everything ox changes on the server.

How do they compare side by side?#

What do they cost?#

In all three you pay your server provider for the machines, usually about $5 to $24 a month for a small server. Software prices as of October 2026:

• Dokploy: the open-source version runs on your own server. Dokploy Cloud is $4.50 a month per server on Hobby, and Startup starts at $15 a month. The Hobby plan has one user and limits on backups and scheduled jobs.

• Coolify: self-hosting is "Free forever". Coolify Cloud is $5 a month for two servers, plus $3 a month for each extra server.

• ox: free for one project, with every feature. ox Pro is $10 a month or $80 a year for every project on every server you connect. There is no self-hosted version.

If the lowest software bill is what matters most, a self-hosted Dokploy or Coolify costs nothing. The price is your time to run and update the panel, and the memory it uses on your server.

Which one should you choose?#

Choose Dokploy when#

You work with containers and want separate build servers, Swarm settings for spreading work over nodes, and buildpack support, from an open-source panel.

Choose Coolify when#

You want one-click services for open-source apps, run something other than Ubuntu, or want a fully self-hosted panel with no outside service at all.

Choose ox when#

Your apps build from source on GitHub, such as Django, Next.js, Laravel or Rails, and you want the server to hold only your apps, their databases, Caddy and a small agent. You get daily backups, alerts, branch previews and a staging copy without running a panel yourself.

ox is the wrong fit if you need Docker images, an app catalog, autoscaling, one app over several servers, teams, or an operating system other than Ubuntu LTS. One person signs in to each account for now. ox's dashboard is a hosted service in beta: while it is down, your apps keep serving, but deploys and backups wait (what pauses, and how to leave).

Frequently asked questions#

Which of the three works without Docker?#

Only ox. Dokploy builds on Docker and Traefik, and Coolify runs its workloads as Docker resources on your servers. ox runs each app as a systemd service under its own Linux user, with Caddy in front, so the server needs no container runtime. The trade is that ox cannot deploy a Docker image or a Compose file.

Which is easiest for a beginner?#

All three have a dashboard and deploy from GitHub. Dokploy and Coolify ask you to install and update the panel and understand some Docker. ox asks you to paste one command on a fresh Ubuntu server, then works from the dashboard, so there is less to learn, but less you can change about how it runs.

Can I self-host ox like Dokploy or Coolify?#

No. ox's dashboard runs only on ox's own servers, and your server runs only the agent and Caddy. That keeps your server small, but it means you rely on ox's service for deploys, backups and alerts. If you need a panel you run yourself, choose Dokploy or Coolify.

Can I switch between them later?#

Yes, with some work. Your code and databases are yours in all three. Moving to ox means a fresh Ubuntu LTS server, your variables, and a PostgreSQL dump restored from a file of up to 95 MB; a bigger dump goes through your S3 bucket. Leaving ox keeps your apps running, and its backups are standard PostgreSQL dumps.

Next step#

Read the Coolify alternative without Docker post for a closer look at the no-Docker setup, or try ox on one app with the quickstart.

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