Heroku charges $25/mo for one hobby dyno. Dokku gives you unlimited apps on a $5 VPS with the same git push workflow.
What Is Dokku?
Dokku is the smallest PaaS implementation you’ve ever seen. It’s an open-source Heroku alternative that runs on any Linux server.
# Install on your VPS (Ubuntu)
wget -NP . https://dokku.com/install/v0.34.x/bootstrap.sh
sudo DOKKU_TAG=v0.34.8 bash bootstrap.sh
The Heroku Workflow
# On your server
dokku apps:create my-app
# On your local machine
git remote add dokku [email protected]:my-app
git push dokku main
That’s it. Dokku detects your language (Node, Python, Go, Ruby, etc.), builds it, and deploys it. Same buildpacks as Heroku.
Configuration
# Environment variables
dokku config:set my-app DATABASE_URL=postgres://...
dokku config:set my-app SECRET_KEY=my-secret
# Domains
dokku domains:add my-app myapp.com
dokku domains:add my-app www.myapp.com
# SSL (automatic Let's Encrypt)
dokku letsencrypt:enable my-app
# Scale
dokku ps:scale my-app web=2 worker=1
# Databases
dokku postgres:create mydb
dokku postgres:link mydb my-app
# DATABASE_URL is automatically set
Plugins for Everything
# PostgreSQL
dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-postgres.git
# Redis
dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-redis.git
# MySQL
dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-mysql.git
# Let's Encrypt
dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-letsencrypt.git
Cost Comparison
| Setup | Monthly Cost | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Heroku | $25/app | 1 |
| Dokku on DigitalOcean | $5 total | Unlimited |
| Dokku on Hetzner | $4 total | Unlimited |
| Railway | $5/app | 1 |
A $5 VPS with 1GB RAM can run 3-5 small web apps with databases. A $12 VPS with 2GB handles 10+.
Why Dokku
- git push deploy — same workflow as Heroku
- $5/month — unlimited apps on one server
- SSL — automatic Let’s Encrypt
- Docker support — deploy Dockerfiles too
- Zero lock-in — standard Linux server, standard Docker
Building deployment infrastructure? Check out my developer tools or email [email protected].