Dokku is an open-source, Heroku-style platform you install on your own server and deploy to with git push. CloudPloy deploys to a server you own or rent at cost, on a flat plan, and lets your AI agent deploy over MCP.
| Topic | Dokku | CloudPloy |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An open-source, Heroku-style platform you install on your own server and deploy to with git push. | A hosted deploy control plane. Deploy from git or from your AI agent to servers you own or rent at cost |
| Pricing | Free (MIT). Dokku Pro web UI is a one-time paid license | Free plan, then $9.99, $19, or $39 per month. Compute billed separately at the provider rate |
| Where apps run | Your own Ubuntu or Debian server | Any server you own over SSH, or one you take from CloudPloy at the provider rate |
| Frameworks | Heroku buildpacks, Cloud Native Buildpacks, Dockerfile, Nixpacks | Node, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, Java, PHP, and static sites via Nixpacks, plus Laravel and WordPress presets |
| Managed or self-hosted | Self-hosted; you install and maintain it | Hosted control plane; nothing to install or maintain on your side beyond your servers |
| Scaling | Process scaling on one host; multi-server through the K3s scheduler | Up to 10 replicas of an app on its server; load balancing across servers is coming soon |
| Databases | Official plugins for Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis, Mongo, and more | Run databases such as MySQL on your server next to your apps |
| AI agent access | CLI over SSH; JSON API only in Dokku Pro; no official MCP server | HTTP MCP server on every plan, with OAuth sign-in and scoped tokens |
| Free tier | Core Dokku is free | Free forever: 1 server, 1 app, up to 2 vCPU and 2 GB RAM |
Dokku details checked in October 2026 on dokku.com, pro.dokku.com, github.com/dokku/dokku. They change; verify on Dokku's site. CloudPloy numbers match our pricing page.
Dokku is an open-source, Heroku-style platform you install on your own server and deploy to with git push. CloudPloy is a hosted control plane: you connect a server you own, or take one at the provider rate, and deploy from git or from Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Best fit for Dokku: Developers who want a Heroku-like git push workflow with database plugins on a server they run. Best fit for CloudPloy: teams that want a flat plan, no markup on compute, and an AI agent that can deploy for them.
Connect your git repo to a CloudPloy server, copy your environment variables, deploy, then move your database and switch DNS.
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