RunCloud vs Dokku
A detailed comparison to help you choose between RunCloud and Dokku.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
RunCloud
0 reviews
4.2/5
Dokku
0 reviews
Dokku is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.0). RunCloud is a server management panel for deploying PHP and WordPress applications on any VPS. Nginx, Apache, and OpenLiteSpeed support. Integrates with DigitalOcean, Vultr, and any cloud. 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.
RunCloud WordPress server management panel | Dokku Self-hosted mini Heroku on your own VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | free |
| Starting price | From $9/mo | Free✓ |
| Best for | Developers and agencies running PHP/WordPress fleets on their own VPS accounts who want a capable management panel without per-server pricing. | 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 optionapi access | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit RunCloud → | Visit Dokku → | |
RunCloud
Pros
- + Flat panel pricing: 50 servers on the $19/month Professional plan
- + Works with any VPS provider (DigitalOcean, Vultr, AWS, GCP, Linode, UpCloud, Hetzner, Azure) and keeps root access
- + NGINX or OpenLiteSpeed stacks with tuned configs, caching, HTTP/3 on OLS, and one-click WordPress
- + Backups with included storage plus unlimited external backups to S3/SFTP and other targets
- + Staging, cloning, Git deployment, log viewer, and metrics in one dashboard
Cons
- - No free plan (7-day trial only) and pricing was restructured sharply in 2026
- - Teams, API, atomic deploys, and WAF are gated at the $49/month Business tier
- - MariaDB/MySQL only — no PostgreSQL; no email hosting; stack choice locked per server
- - Concentrates root-level access in a third-party SaaS run by a small company
- - No published uptime SLA for the panel itself
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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