Skip to content
appsgit

10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source self-hosting platforms

The best open source self-hosting platform is Coolify, with 62,628 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dokploy and 1Panel are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Coolify leads for solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 29 apps in the self-hosting platforms category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Coolify

    coollabsio/coolify

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

    Self-hosting PlatformsPHPDocker

    Coolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,939 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.

    Self-hosting PlatformsTypeScriptDocker

    Dokploy has 37,670 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,764 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.

    Self-hosting PlatformsGoDocker

    1Panel has 37,108 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,487 commits in the last year.

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 29 apps in the self-hosting platforms category, ranked 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 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,939 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.

    Dokploy has 37,670 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,764 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 37,108 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,487 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    Portainer

    Web UI for managing Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes environments.

    Portainer has 38,621 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license, ships a Docker image and had 789 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Dokku

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

    Dokku has 32,169 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,086 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  6. 6

    Rancher

    Multi-cluster Kubernetes management platform.

    Rancher has 25,957 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,146 commits in the last year.

  7. 7

    Cockpit

    Web-based graphical interface for administering Linux servers.

    Cockpit has 15,183 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-2.1 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,050 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    CapRover

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

    CapRover has 15,179 GitHub stars, is source-available under the Apache 2.0 with CapRover appendix (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 269 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.

  9. 9

    Umbrel

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

    Umbrel has 12,285 GitHub stars, is source-available under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 490 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku.

  10. 10

    Dockge

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

    Dockge has 24,552 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 18 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for solo developers

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 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. 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 37,670 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 2,764 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 37,108 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 1,487 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 38,621 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 789 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 32,169 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 2,086 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.

What is the best open source self-hosting platform?

The best open source self-hosting platform is Coolify, with 62,628 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dokploy and 1Panel are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Coolify leads for solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 29 apps in the self-hosting platforms category of the appsgit catalog.

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.

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

Coolify ranks first for solo developers, with 62,628 GitHub stars, the Apache-2.0 license and a Docker image; Dokploy and 1Panel follow. The solo developers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

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 4,939 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v4.3.23, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

The weekly digest

New self-hosted apps, every week

Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.

One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.