12 picks · data-backed ranking
Best open source apps written in PHP
The best self-hosted apps written in PHP are Coolify, Appwrite and Firefly III. Coolify leads with 62,628 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 200 apps whose main GitHub language is PHP.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Coolify
coollabsio/coolify
Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.
Self-hosting PlatformsPHPDockerCoolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 4,939 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.
- Rank 2:
Appwrite
appwrite/appwrite
End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.
Low-code & BackendPHPDockerAppwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.
- Rank 3:
Firefly III
firefly-iii/firefly-iii
Firefly III is a modern financial manager. It helps you to keep track of your money and make budget forecasts. It supports credit cards, has an advanced rule engine and can import data from many…
Finance & BudgetingPHPDockerFirefly III has 24,832 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 2,574 commits in the last year; it replaces YNAB and Mint.
Full ranking
All 12 picks, ranked
Ranked by GitHub stars and recent activity. Open any pick for live stats and licence details.
- 1
Coolify
Self-hostable Heroku, Netlify and Vercel alternative that deploys apps, databases and services to your servers.
Self-hosting PlatformsDockerCoolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 4,939 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.
- 2
Appwrite
End to end backend server for web, native, and mobile developers 🚀.
Low-code & BackendDockerAppwrite has 57,577 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 10,376 commits in the last year; it replaces Firebase and Supabase.
- 3
Firefly III
Firefly III is a modern financial manager. It helps you to keep track of your money and make budget forecasts. It supports credit cards, has an advanced rule engine and can import data from many…
Finance & BudgetingDockerFirefly III has 24,832 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 2,574 commits in the last year; it replaces YNAB and Mint.
- 4
NextcloudFeatured
Access and share your files, calendars, contacts, mail and more from any device, on your terms.
File Sync & StorageNextcloud has 37,003 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, is written in PHP and had 7,289 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox.
- 5
Krayin
CRM solution for SMEs and Enterprises for complete customer lifecycle management.
CRMDockerKrayin has 23,970 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 483 commits in the last year; it replaces Salesforce and HubSpot.
- 6
Bagisto
Leading Laravel open source e-commerce framework with multi-inventory sources, taxation, localization, dropshipping and more exciting features.
E-commerceBagisto has 28,212 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in PHP and had 1,283 commits in the last year; it replaces Shopify.
- 7
BookStack
Simple, self-hosted, easy-to-use platform for organising and storing information.
Wikis & Knowledge BasesDockerBookStack has 19,075 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 435 commits in the last year; it replaces Confluence.
- 8
FreshRSS
Self-hostable RSS feed aggregator.
Feed ReadersDockerFreshRSS has 16,237 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 658 commits in the last year; it replaces Feedly.
- 9
Matomo
Web analytics that protects your data and your customers' privacy (alternative to Google Analytics).
AnalyticsMatomo has 21,925 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, is written in PHP and had 954 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Analytics.
- 10
WordPress
World's most-used blogging and CMS engine.
CMSWordPress has 21,450 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, is written in PHP and had 2,047 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium.
- 11
Leantime
Lean project management system for small teams and startups helping to manage projects from ideation through delivery.
Project ManagementDockerLeantime has 11,730 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in PHP and had 678 commits in the last year; it replaces Jira and Asana.
- 12
koel
Personal music streaming server that works.
Music Streamingkoel has 17,272 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in PHP and had 554 commits in the last year; it replaces Spotify and Last.fm.
What are the best self-hosted apps written in PHP?
The best self-hosted apps written in PHP are Coolify, Appwrite and Firefly III. Coolify leads with 62,628 GitHub stars. Candidates: the 200 apps whose main GitHub language is PHP.
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 apps with Docker?
Yes, 7 of the 12 picks. Coolify, Appwrite and Firefly III publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.
Are all of these apps open source?
All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
Which of these apps is the most actively developed?
Appwrite, with 10,376 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 2.3.0, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
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