Coolify vs Dokploy: a fact-based comparison
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Both are self-hosted PaaS panels that deploy your apps with Docker. This comparison sticks to what the projects document — no subjective scoring.
Side by side
| Coolify | Dokploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum server | 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, 10 GB free disk[1] | 2 GB RAM, 30 GB disk[2] |
| Smallest documented | 1 core / 512 MB / 4 GB is possible but not recommended[1] | — |
| OS / architecture | Debian-, RHEL-, SUSE-, Arch- and Alpine-based distros and Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit; amd64 or arm64[1] | Tested distros: Ubuntu 18.04–24.04, Debian 10–12, Fedora 40, CentOS 8–9[2] |
| What gets installed | 4 services: coolify, postgres, redis, soketi[3] | dokploy and dokploy-postgres Swarm services plus a dokploy-traefik container[4] |
| Orchestration | Docker (compose)[3] | Docker Swarm (installer runs docker swarm init)[4] |
| Ports | Dashboard on 8000[1] | 80, 443 and 3000 must be free[2] |
| License | Apache-2.0[5] | custom (GitHub reports NOASSERTION)[6] |
| GitHub stars (2026-10-21) | 63,367[5] | 37,913[6] |
| Hosted option | Coolify Cloud[1] | Dokploy Cloud[2] |
Dokploy's license is reported by GitHub as NOASSERTION (custom); read the LICENSE file in the repository for terms.
Remember: the panel is only the start
Both minimums cover the panel itself. Every app you deploy needs its own resources — e.g. n8n's sizing example goes up to 2 GB[7], Immich needs 6 GB[8].
Plans that meet Coolify's minimum
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Disk | Price (checked October 2026) | Meets Coolify minimum | Meets recommended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger — KVM 2 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $8.79/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $14.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 4 | 4 | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | $12.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $28.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 8 | 8 | 32 GB | 400 GB NVMe | $25.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $49.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hetzner — CX23 (Cost-Optimized) | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB NVMe | from €5.99/mo excl. VAT; hourly billing with monthly cap; listed as not available in some locations at check time[10] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute Regular 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $20.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $24.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 4 vCPU / 8 GB | 4 | 8 GB | 180 GB NVMe | $48.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 4 GiB / 2 vCPU | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $24.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 8 GiB / 4 vCPU | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB SSD | $48.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 16 GiB / 8 vCPU | 8 | 16 GB | 320 GB SSD | $96.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
“Meets” is a mechanical comparison of the plan's listed vCPU/RAM/disk against the published figures cited on this page — not a performance test. Your apps, users and data add load on top. GiB (DigitalOcean) and GB are treated as equal here.
Plans that meet Dokploy's minimum
| Plan | vCPU | RAM | Disk | Price (checked October 2026) | Meets Dokploy minimum | Meets recommended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger — KVM 1 | 1 | 4 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $6.49/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $11.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 2 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $8.79/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $14.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 4 | 4 | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | $12.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $28.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hostinger — KVM 8 | 8 | 32 GB | 400 GB NVMe | $25.99/mo promo, paid upfront; renews at $49.99/mo[9] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Hetzner — CX23 (Cost-Optimized) | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB NVMe | from €5.99/mo excl. VAT; hourly billing with monthly cap; listed as not available in some locations at check time[10] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 1 vCPU / 2 GB | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $12.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute Regular 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $20.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 2 vCPU / 4 GB | 2 | 4 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $24.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| Vultr — Cloud Compute High Performance 4 vCPU / 8 GB | 4 | 8 GB | 180 GB NVMe | $48.00/mo[11] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 2 GiB / 1 vCPU | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB SSD | $12.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 4 GiB / 2 vCPU | 2 | 4 GB | 80 GB SSD | $24.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 8 GiB / 4 vCPU | 4 | 8 GB | 160 GB SSD | $48.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
| DigitalOcean — Basic 16 GiB / 8 vCPU | 8 | 16 GB | 320 GB SSD | $96.00/mo GiB as listed[12] | Yes | n/a | View plan |
“Meets” is a mechanical comparison of the plan's listed vCPU/RAM/disk against the published figures cited on this page — not a performance test. Your apps, users and data add load on top. GiB (DigitalOcean) and GB are treated as equal here.
Other deployment tools: self-hosting solutions.
FAQ
Which needs more resources, Coolify or Dokploy?
Both ask for 2 GB of RAM. Coolify also specifies 2 CPU cores and 10 GB of disk; Dokploy specifies 30 GB of disk.
Does Dokploy use Docker Swarm?
Yes. Its install script initialises Docker Swarm and creates the dokploy and dokploy-postgres services.
Can Coolify run on 512 MB RAM?
Coolify's docs say 1 core, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB disk is possible but not recommended.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Coolify docs: Self-hosted installation — https://coolify.io/docs/get-started/installation
- Dokploy docs: Installation — https://docs.dokploy.com/docs/core/installation
- Coolify production docker-compose — https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/docker-compose.prod.yml
- Dokploy install.sh — https://dokploy.com/install.sh
- GitHub: coollabsio/coolify — https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify
- GitHub: Dokploy/dokploy — https://github.com/Dokploy/dokploy
- n8n docs: Prerequisites (sizing example) — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration/prerequisites
- Immich docs: Requirements — https://docs.immich.app/install/requirements
- Hostinger VPS hosting pricing — https://www.hostinger.com/vps-hosting
- Hetzner Cloud Cost-Optimized plans — https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/cost-optimized
- Vultr pricing — https://www.vultr.com/pricing/
- DigitalOcean Droplet pricing — https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets