Alternatives / Heroku
Looking for an open source Heroku alternative? We compared 6 open source self-hosted PaaS tools by license, deployment model, and maintenance. Coolify, Dokploy, and Dokku are the established choices, while /dev/push, Temps, and Stormkit are newer.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Coolify | Deploy to any SSH server, 280+ services | Apache-2.0 |
| Dokploy | Docker Compose and Swarm | Apache-2.0 core + source-available components |
| Dokku | Heroku-style Git push with buildpacks | MIT |
| /dev/push | GitHub deploys with preview URLs | MIT |
| Temps | Deployments plus analytics in one binary | Apache-2.0 |
| Stormkit | CI/CD, environments, and previews | AGPL-3.0 Community Edition |
We looked for open-source platforms that deploy apps from Git with SSL, logs, and databases like Heroku. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Dokku is a Docker-based PaaS that deploys Heroku-compatible apps by Git push using buildpacks, with plugins and no vendor lock-in. Coolify deploys apps and databases to any server over SSH with Git integration, automatic SSL, and 280+ one-click services.
Dokploy manages apps and databases on any VPS with Docker and Traefik, native Docker Compose, and Swarm scaling. Stormkit is a platform with CI/CD, multiple environments, and deployment previews.
/dev/push deploys directly from GitHub with zero-downtime deploys and preview URLs, but PHP, SQLite, and persistent storage are listed as upcoming. Temps is a single self-hosted binary with deployments, error tracking, analytics, session replay, and uptime monitoring, aimed at teams of 2 to 10 developers.
Dokploy's core is Apache-2.0 with some source-available components, and Stormkit's Community Edition is AGPL-3.0. Coolify and Temps are Apache-2.0, and Dokku and /dev/push are MIT.
Coolify, Dokploy, Dokku, Temps, and Stormkit had commits within weeks of this update. /dev/push's last commit was in March 2026.
Heroku is a proprietary platform with usage-based pricing that removed its free tier in 2022. Self-hosted PaaS tools run on servers you pay for, which can be much cheaper, but you handle security updates, backups, and scaling.
Apache-2.0 self-hosted PaaS for deploying applications, databases, and preconfigured services to VPS or bare-metal servers over SSH. Supports Git repositories, Docker images, Compose, buildpacks, automatic HTTPS, custom domains, preview deployments, backups, monitoring, and multiple servers. Deployed services continue running on your infrastructure independently of the control plane.
Pricing: Open-source self-hosted platform; server and infrastructure costs are separate.
Self-hosted PaaS with an Apache-2.0 core and separately licensed code in the /proprietary directory. It provides Git deployments, Docker and Compose, Traefik, SSL, databases, backups, multi-node deployments, monitoring, templates, team permissions, terminal access, and MCP support.
Pricing: Self-hosted core with separate proprietary/source-available functionality.
MIT lightweight PaaS that provides a Heroku-style Git deployment workflow on infrastructure you control. Applications can be built with buildpacks or Docker, with plugins for domains, TLS, databases, and other services. It favors a smaller CLI-first model over a large integrated control panel.
Pricing: Free and open-source self-hosted software.
MIT deployment platform designed as a self-hosted Vercel, Render, and Netlify alternative. Connects to GitHub and builds on branch pushes, with zero-downtime deployments, preview URLs, environments, logs, rollback, teams, encrypted variables, custom domains, automatic Let's Encrypt SSL, and Docker-based builds for Python, Node.js, and PHP.
Pricing: Open-source self-hosted platform; provide the server infrastructure.
Apache-2.0 platform implemented primarily in Rust that combines application deployments with analytics, session replay, error tracking, OpenTelemetry, uptime monitoring, transactional email, AI sandboxes, and an AI gateway. Its CLI exposes many operations for scripted and agent-driven infrastructure workflows.
Pricing: Open-source self-hosted platform.
Deployment platform for modern web applications with automated CI/CD, environment management, custom domains, preview-style deployments, monitoring, and self-hosting. Community Edition code under src/ce is AGPL-3.0; Enterprise Edition functionality under src/ee is commercially licensed.
Pricing: Self-hosted Community Edition with commercial Enterprise functionality and hosted option.
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coolify | Self-hosted PaaS | Apache-2.0 | Yes | Most popular choice |
| Dokploy | Self-hosted PaaS | Apache-2.0 + source-available parts | Yes | Docker users |
| Dokku | Self-hosted PaaS | MIT | Yes | Closest to Heroku |
| /dev/push | Self-hosted PaaS | MIT | Yes | Developers on GitHub |
| Temps | Self-hosted platform | Apache-2.0 | Yes | Small teams |
| Stormkit | Self-hosted PaaS | AGPL-3.0 (Community) | Yes | Frontend teams |
Want the Heroku workflow with Git push
Dokku uses buildpacks and Git push deploys, under MIT.
Want a UI with many one-click services
Coolify offers 280+ services, S3 backups, and team permissions.
Want Docker Compose and multi-node
Dokploy supports Docker Compose and Swarm, with some source-available components.
Want an all-in-one small-team platform
Temps covers deployments, error tracking, analytics, and uptime in one binary.