Pantheon vs Dokku
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Pantheon and Dokku.
Quick Verdict
3.6/5
Pantheon
0 reviews
4.2/5
Dokku
0 reviews
Dokku is rated higher (4.2 vs 3.6). Pantheon is a WebOps platform for Drupal and WordPress with Git-based workflows, multi-environment (dev/test/live), autopilot updates, and a global CDN. Used by publishers and agencies. Dokku is an open source PaaS you deploy on any VPS. Heroku-compatible buildpacks, Git push deployments, Let's Encrypt SSL, and Docker support. Run your own Heroku on a $5 Hetzner server.
Pantheon WebOps platform for Drupal and WordPress | Dokku Self-hosted mini Heroku on your own VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.6 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | Agencies and publishers running portfolios of Drupal or WordPress sites where updates, regressions and deployments are the real cost. | Developers comfortable with Linux who want Heroku-style deployments at VPS pricing on infrastructure they own and control |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ✓ | |
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optionus datacentereu datacenterteam features | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit Pantheon → | Visit Dokku → | |
Pantheon
Pros
- + Workflow is the product: dev/test/live Git deploys, Multidev, Autopilot with visual regression
- + Free sandbox sites and a $0 Silver workspace for small teams
- + Site regions in US, EU, Canada and Australia — EU keeps data and backups in-region
- + Automatic nightly/weekly backups on paid sites, backed by Terminus CLI and API
- + Google Cloud infrastructure with Fastly global CDN included
Cons
- - Workspace fee plus per-site plans gets expensive across a portfolio
- - Uptime SLA (99.95%) only on Elite; Performance tiers sold with no SLA
- - Opinionated CMS-only platform — no root, no arbitrary runtimes
- - Migration lock-in: Multidev, Autopilot and backups tooling must be rebuilt elsewhere
Dokku
Pros
- + Free MIT-licensed software — you only pay for the underlying server
- + Heroku-compatible buildpacks and git push workflow make migration from Heroku straightforward
- + Mature project (since 2013) with 353 releases and a large plugin ecosystem
- + Full control over data, costs and where your apps physically run
- + Optional Dokku Pro is a one-time $849 lifetime license, not a subscription
Cons
- - Self-managed: OS updates, security, backups and monitoring are your responsibility
- - Single-host design — no built-in failover, autoscaling or multi-host scheduling
- - Support is community-only (GitHub issues, Slack) unless you buy Dokku Pro
- - Plugin quality and upgrade compatibility vary across the community ecosystem
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