Dokploy and DeployCloud both give you a git-push workflow and a web dashboard, but they split on who runs the infrastructure. DeployCloud is a fully managed cloud platform — you connect a repo, push, and we build, run, scale and monitor your app for you. Dokploy is a tool you install and operate yourself: you provision the machine, patch the OS and Docker, wire up TLS, and stay on call when something breaks. Here is an honest side-by-side.
July 17, 2026·3 min read
Both give you a web dashboard, deploy applications straight from a Git repository, and treat databases as first-class add-ons. Both build with Docker under the hood, so the developer experience of "push and it deploys" feels similar. If you have outgrown stitching deploys together by hand, either one is a real step up.
Procfile with web, worker and release processes, config vars, add-ons and one-click rollback. Nixpacks auto-detects Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP, Rust or Java, or you build from a Dockerfile. Dokploy leans on Docker Compose and application templates — flexible, but a different model than the classic 12-factor app.release phase runs migrations before traffic shifts and health-checks each web replica, and it builds a live preview per branch with a commit status + PR comment back to GitHub — all hosted for you. On Dokploy you describe services in compose and operate the rollout yourself.| DeployCloud | Dokploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting model | Managed cloud, nothing to run | Self-hosted, you run & patch it |
| Setup | Connect Git and push — automatic HTTPS | Provision and secure the host first |
| Deploy model | Git push + Procfile (12-factor) | Git + Docker Compose / templates |
| Preview env per branch | Built in, with GitHub PR feedback | Not the core focus |
| Zero-downtime releases | Health-checked release phase, managed | Yes, you configure it |
| Add-ons (Postgres/Redis/S3) | Managed, one click, wired into env | Databases you host and back up |
| Cost | Free / $19 / $99 flat, predictable | Cloud servers + your ops time |
On top of the git-push workflow, DeployCloud runs the day-2 operations tooling for you — the parts you would otherwise have to build, host and babysit:
Honest take: if you enjoy owning and operating the platform yourself, Dokploy is a capable choice. If you love that git-push simplicity but do not want to provision servers, patch Docker, renew certificates or carry the pager, DeployCloud gives you the same developer experience as a fully managed cloud — Procfile processes, config vars, add-ons, preview apps and rollback, with HTTPS, scaling, backups and monitoring run for you.
DeployCloud has flat, predictable plans: Free at $0 (one app, no credit card), Pro at $19/mo, and Business at $99/mo — with no per-seat, per-dyno or metered add-on surprises. With Dokploy you pay for the cloud servers it runs on and for the time you spend operating and patching them.
No — DeployCloud uses a Heroku-style Procfile process model (web/worker/release) rather than a compose file. You describe processes; DeployCloud builds and runs them for you with health-checked, zero-downtime releases.
Per-branch preview environments with automatic GitHub commit-status and PR comments are a core, fully managed DeployCloud feature; on Dokploy they are not the primary workflow.
Point us at a repo and go — free to start, no credit card, cancel anytime.