A detailed comparison of Kamal and Dokku to help you choose the right tool for your needs.
| Plan | Kamal | Dokku |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | ✓ Fully open source | ✓ Fully open source |
| Lowest Paid | Free | Free |
| Enterprise | Free | Free |
| Feature | Kamal | Dokku |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-Downtime Deploy | ✓ | — |
| Docker-Based | ✓ | — |
| Multi-Server | ✓ | — |
| Rolling Updates | ✓ | — |
| Traefik Integration | ✓ | — |
| Accessory Management | ✓ | — |
| Git Push Deploy | — | ✓ |
| Buildpack Support | — | ✓ |
| Docker Support | — | ✓ |
| Let's Encrypt | — | ✓ |
| Plugins | — | ✓ |
| Process Management | — | ✓ |
| Open Source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rating | ⭐ 4.3 | ⭐ 4.3 |
Choose Kamal if: You need small teams deploying to their own servers. Kamal excels with its simple and focused and deploy anywhere.
Choose Dokku if: You need developers wanting heroku-like deployments on their own server. Dokku stands out with its simple and focused and heroku-like experience.
Best free option: Both Kamal and Dokku offer free tiers. Kamal offers "Fully open source" while Dokku offers "Fully open source".
It depends on your needs. Kamal is better for small teams deploying to their own servers, while Dokku is better for developers wanting heroku-like deployments on their own server. Both are excellent tools rated 4.3 and 4.3 respectively.
Kamal starts at Free while Dokku starts at Free. Both offer free tiers.
Most tools offer import/export features to help you migrate. We recommend trying Dokku's free tier before fully committing to a switch.
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