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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source self-hosting platforms

The best open source self-hosting platform is Coolify (Apache-2.0, 65,110 GitHub stars, Docker image). Dokploy stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license, and 1Panel follows.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Coolify leads for solo developers.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Coolify

    coollabsio/coolify

    Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Self-hosting PlatformsPHPDocker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Coolify has 65,110 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  2. Rank 2:

    Dokploy

    Dokploy/dokploy

    Self-hostable PaaS to deploy apps and databases with Docker, Traefik and a clean dashboard.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Self-hosting PlatformsTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Dokploy has 38,087 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,831 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  3. Rank 3:

    1Panel

    1Panel-dev/1Panel

    Modern web-based Linux server management panel with app store, files and databases.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Self-hosting PlatformsGoDocker

    1Panel has 37,295 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,483 commits in the last year.

At a glance

Open source self-hosting platforms compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 30 apps in the self-hosting platforms category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Coolifythe most GitHub starsApache-2.065,1105,095Oct 28, 2026Yes
Dokploya permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.038,0872,831Oct 28, 2026Yes
1Panel–GPL-3.037,2951,483Oct 28, 2026Yes
Portainera permissive Zlib licenseZlib38,735772Oct 27, 2026Yes
Dokkua permissive MIT licenseMIT32,2042,156Oct 27, 2026Yes
Rancher–Apache-2.026,0141,209Oct 28, 2026Yes
Cockpit–LGPL-2.115,2891,105Oct 27, 2026Yes
Dockge–MIT24,69819Oct 23, 2026Yes
CapRover–source-available, Apache 2.0 with CapRover appendix15,194321Oct 26, 2026Yes
Umbrel–source-available, PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.012,472524Sep 22, 2026Yes

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 30 apps in the self-hosting platforms category.

  1. 1

    Coolify

    Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Coolify has 65,110 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  2. 2

    Dokploy

    Self-hostable PaaS to deploy apps and databases with Docker, Traefik and a clean dashboard.

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Dokploy has 38,087 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,831 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  3. 3

    1Panel

    Modern web-based Linux server management panel with app store, files and databases.

    1Panel has 37,295 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,483 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    Portainer

    Web UI for managing Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes environments.

    Stands out for a permissive Zlib license. Portainer has 38,735 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license, ships a Docker image and had 772 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Dokku

    Docker-powered mini-Heroku that builds and deploys apps with a git push.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Dokku has 32,204 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,156 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  6. 6

    Rancher

    Multi-cluster Kubernetes management platform.

    Rancher has 26,014 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,209 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    Cockpit

    Web-based graphical interface for administering Linux servers.

    Cockpit has 15,289 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-2.1 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,105 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    Dockge

    Fancy, easy-to-use manager for Docker compose stacks from the creator of Uptime Kuma.

    Dockge has 24,698 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 19 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    CapRover

    Easy-to-use PaaS for Docker with one-click apps, HTTPS and clustering.

    CapRover has 15,194 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Apache 2.0 with CapRover appendix (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 321 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  10. 10

    Umbrel

    A beautiful personal server OS for self-hosting. Install on a Raspberry Pi 4 or Ubuntu/Debian.

    Umbrel has 12,472 GitHub stars, is source-available under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 524 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Which open source self-hosting platform is best for solo developers?

For solo developers, Coolify ranks first (Apache-2.0, 65,110 GitHub stars), followed by Dokploy and 1Panel. Ranked for solo developers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Coolify

    Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.

    Coolify has 65,110 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 5,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Dokploy

    Self-hostable PaaS to deploy apps and databases with Docker, Traefik and a clean dashboard.

    Dokploy has 38,087 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 2,831 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    1Panel

    Modern web-based Linux server management panel with app store, files and databases.

    1Panel has 37,295 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 1,483 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Portainer

    Web UI for managing Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes environments.

    Portainer has 38,735 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 772 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Dokku

    Docker-powered mini-Heroku that builds and deploys apps with a git push.

    Dokku has 32,204 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 2,156 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Coolify free?

Yes. Coolify is open-source software released under the Apache-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these self-hosting platforms with Docker?

Yes, all of them. Coolify, Dokploy and 1Panel publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.

Are all of these self-hosting platforms open source?

8 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 2 are source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy.

Which of these self-hosting platforms is the most actively developed?

Coolify, with 5,095 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v4.5.1, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 30 apps in the self-hosting platforms category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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