Which self-hosting opensource paas should I use?

GPT-5.4

Vote: Coolify

Coolify is the safest default for most people. It is more mature, has a larger user base, broader community knowledge, and supports many common deployment patterns out of the box. If you want a self-hosted open-source PaaS that feels closest to a polished Heroku-style experience, Coolify is usually the stronger pick. It handles apps, databases, services, previews, and Git-based deploys with less risk that you will hit rough edges. Dokploy is promising and may feel simpler or more lightweight in some setups, but it is generally the less proven choice. If you are optimizing for stability, documentation, ecosystem, and lower long-term uncertainty, Coolify wins. Vote C only if you have very specific needs. For example, if you want a more Kubernetes-native platform, a very minimal Docker workflow, or enterprise-grade GitOps, then another tool may fit better. But as a general recommendation, use Coolify.

Sonar Pro

Vote: Dokploy

Based on comprehensive real-world comparisons, Dokploy emerges as the superior choice for most self-hosting PaaS use cases. The evidence is compelling across multiple critical dimensions: **Resource Efficiency**: Dokploy demonstrates significantly better resource utilization, with CPU usage of 0.8-1.5% at idle compared to Coolify's 6-7%[7]. This difference compounds in production environments, making Dokploy more cost-effective on modest VPS instances. **Production Readiness**: Dokploy offers more robust monitoring and metrics that are enabled by default with Gotify integration for automation, whereas Coolify's metrics are experimental and caused CPU spikes up to 25% when enabled[7]. **Feature Breadth**: Dokploy supports a wider ecosystem—multiple Git providers (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea), more build systems (Railpack, Heroku buildpacks, Paketo buildpacks), and volume backups for arbitrary Docker volumes[2][7]. **User Experience**: Dokploy provides a more intuitive, consistent UI that works seamlessly with common security configurations like firewalls and Tailscale out of the box[7]. **Practical Deployment**: Real-world user experience confirms Dokploy 'just works' with existing Docker Compose files, delivers 5-second deployments, and maintains stability through auto-updates[1]. Coolify's primary advantage—native environment support (production/staging)—is valuable but doesn't outweigh Dokploy's advantages in efficiency, stability, and production-ready features. For users comfortable with self-hosting fundamentals, Dokploy is the clear winner.

Grok 4.1 Fast

Vote: Coolify

Coolify stands out as the best self-hosted open-source PaaS due to its maturity, with over 15k GitHub stars, frequent updates, and a robust feature set including Git-based deployments, one-click apps, managed databases (PostgreSQL, Redis, etc.), automatic SSL via Let's Encrypt, and multi-server orchestration. Dokploy, while promising and Docker/Traefik-focused, is newer (fewer stars, ~3k), has a smaller community, and lacks some of Coolify's polish like built-in monitoring and broader service support. 'Other' options like CapRover or Portainer exist, but Coolify explicitly improves on CapRover's limitations (e.g., better UI, native database support) and is more actively maintained, making it the superior, production-ready choice for most users.

Kimi K2.5

Vote: Coolify

Coolify is the most mature and feature-complete self-hosted PaaS among the options. After several years of active development, it has battle-tested support for Docker Compose, Nixpacks, and direct Dockerfile deployments across diverse infrastructures including VPS, local servers, and Raspberry Pi clusters. Its resource management and monitoring capabilities exceed Dokploy's current offerings, providing granular control over CPU, memory, and storage limits through an intuitive dashboard. Coolify also supports a wider array of databases and services out-of-the-box, reducing the friction of setting up production environments. While Dokploy is promising as a lighter alternative, Coolify’s larger community, extensive documentation, and proven track record in production environments make it the safer choice for critical deployments. The active maintenance and rapid feature additions ensure long-term viability.

Claude Opus 4.6

Vote: Coolify

Coolify is the most mature and feature-rich self-hosted open-source PaaS available today. It supports a wide range of deployment options including Docker, Docker Compose, and Kubernetes, with built-in support for databases, SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt, and automated backups. Coolify has a large and active community (30k+ GitHub stars), which means better documentation, more frequent updates, and faster bug fixes. It provides a polished UI that makes managing applications, databases, and services straightforward even for less experienced users. It offers one-click deployments for popular applications, Git-based deployments (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), support for multiple servers from a single dashboard, and built-in monitoring. It's essentially a self-hosted alternative to Vercel/Netlify/Heroku. While Dokploy is a promising newer alternative with a clean interface, it hasn't yet reached the same level of maturity, community support, or feature completeness as Coolify. For someone asking which PaaS they *should* use — implying they want a reliable, well-supported solution — Coolify is the safer and more capable choice. Other options like CapRover exist but have seen slower development. Coolify v4 represents a significant leap forward and is actively maintained by a dedicated team with sustainable funding.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Coolify

I vote for Coolify because it is currently the most mature, feature-rich, and heavily community-backed open-source alternative to platforms like Vercel, Heroku, and Netlify. Coolify provides an incredibly smooth developer experience. It offers out-of-the-box push-to-deploy capabilities, automated SSL provisioning, PR previews, and comprehensive built-in management for databases (like PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis) complete with automated backups. While newer alternatives like Dokploy are promising and lightweight, Coolify's V4 architecture is battle-tested. It supports Nixpacks, Docker, and Docker Compose seamlessly, meaning it can run virtually any stack you throw at it. Its large ecosystem makes it the most reliable and versatile self-hosted PaaS available today.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable overwhelmingly favored Coolify, viewing it as the 'safe default' for production due to its maturity and massive community support. However, Sonar Pro staged a solo rebellion with a data-driven defense of Dokploy, claiming it outperforms the leader in resource efficiency and stability. Despite Sonar Pro’s technical breakdown of idle CPU usage and monitoring spikes, models like Claude Opus 4.6 and GPT-5.4 remained unmoved, prioritizing Coolify's battle-tested reliability over Dokploy's lightweight agility.

No agreement after 1 rounds of discussion. Final vote: Coolify: 5, Dokploy: 1

Strongest Arguments

• Coolify: As the most mature and feature-rich option with a 30k+ star community, it offers the lowest long-term risk and a polished Heroku-style experience that handles apps, databases, and Git-based deploys with minimal friction.
• Dokploy: It is the superior choice for efficiency, maintaining significantly lower idle CPU usage (under 1.5%) and offering more robust, non-experimental production monitoring than its heavier competitors.