Dokku vs Porter
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Dokku and Porter.
Dokku Self-hosted mini Heroku on your own VPS | Porter Kubernetes deployments for teams without DevOps | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.7 (251 reviews) | 4.8 (52 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Starting price | Free | Free tier available |
| Best for | Developers who want Heroku-style deployments at VPS pricing on infrastructure they own and control | Growing engineering teams who need Kubernetes scalability but don't have dedicated DevOps resources |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | free tiermanaged optionteam featureskubernetes supportapi access |
| Visit Dokku → | Visit Porter → | |
Dokku
Pros
- + Free and open source — just need a VPS
- + Heroku buildpack compatible
- + Full control over your data and costs
Cons
- - Self-managed — you handle updates and maintenance
- - Requires Linux server knowledge
Porter
Pros
- + Kubernetes power with Heroku simplicity
- + PR preview environments
- + Your own cloud account — data stays with you
Cons
- - Requires AWS/GCP/DO account
- - More setup than Render or Railway
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