Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Dokku VS Laravel Cloud

Compare Dokku VS Laravel Cloud and see what are their differences

Dokku logo Dokku

Docker powered mini-Heroku in around 100 lines of Bash

Laravel Cloud logo Laravel Cloud

Effortlessly deploy and scale Laravel apps without server management.
  • Dokku Homepage
    Homepage //
    2024-08-26
  • Dokku Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
Not present

Dokku features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Dokku provides simple commands and clear documentation, making it straightforward to deploy, manage, and scale applications using a process similar to Heroku.
  • Heroku Compatibility
    Dokku uses a Heroku-like buildpack system, which allows users to deploy applications with ease if they are already familiar with Heroku.
  • Cost-Effective
    Being an open-source project, Dokku itself is free to use, which can significantly reduce the cost of deploying applications compared to using premium services.
  • Customizability
    As an open-source tool, Dokku allows for extensive customization according to user needs, offering flexibility in deployment settings and configurations.
  • Plugin System
    Dokku supports a wide range of plugins, enabling users to extend its functionality easily, such as adding database support, monitoring capabilities, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Dokku

  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up Dokku for the first time might be challenging, especially for users with limited experience in server management and Linux administration.
  • Limited Built-In Features
    Compared to fully-managed PaaS solutions, Dokku has fewer built-in features, potentially requiring more effort to implement certain functionalities such as load balancing and extensive monitoring.
  • Scalability Challenges
    While Dokku supports basic scaling, it might not handle extensive scaling needs as efficiently as more robust enterprise-level solutions.
  • Resource Management
    Dokku's resource management capabilities are limited compared to dedicated orchestration tools like Kubernetes, making it less suitable for complex and large-scale application deployments.
  • Community Support
    Even though Dokku has a growing community, it is not as large or as active as some of the more popular platforms, which can limit the availability of community-driven support and resources.

Laravel Cloud features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of Dokku

Overall verdict

  • Dokku is a solid option for teams or developers looking for a cost-effective way to deploy and manage applications with the flexibility of a self-hosted solution. While it might not be as polished or feature-rich as commercial PaaS providers like Heroku or AWS Elastic Beanstalk, its open-source nature and community support make it a reliable choice for those who are comfortable with a bit more hands-on management.

Why this product is good

  • Dokku is often hailed as a self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution, which is based on Docker. It simplifies the deployment process by allowing developers to manage applications similar to how they would on Heroku, but with more control and flexibility. Dokku is lightweight, can be scaled easily, and integrates well with various databases and programming languages. It is also open-source and can be installed on any server that supports Docker, making it a cost-effective solution for many projects.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized projects
  • Developers who prefer open-source solutions
  • Teams looking for a Heroku-like experience on their own infrastructure
  • Cost-conscious developers or startups
  • Technical users who are comfortable managing their server environment

Dokku videos

00028 Creating Your Own PaaS with Dokku

More videos:

  • Review - Dokku - An open source PAAS alternative to Heroku. You could save $$$ money!
  • Review - Rise Up and Deploy Your Own Heroku-like Service with Dokku in Minutes! #webdevelopment #tutorial

Laravel Cloud videos

Laravel Cloud vs. Laravel Forge

More videos:

  • Review - I got my first Laravel Cloud Invoice...
  • Review - Laravel Cloud vs Vapor vs Forge | (2025) Which is The ULTIMATE Laravel Host To Use Right Now

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Dokku and Laravel Cloud)
Cloud Computing
93 93%
7% 7
Cloud Hosting
92 92%
8% 8
VPS
0 0%
100% 100
Backend As A Service
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Dokku and Laravel Cloud

Dokku Reviews

35+ Of The Best CI/CD Tools: Organized By Category
Dokku is a great alternative if youโ€™re working with a stringent budget. Itโ€™s a miniaturized self-hosted platform as a service. You can deploy applications to it using Git. Because itโ€™s a Heroku derivative, itโ€™s compatible with Heroku apps.
Heroku vs self-hosted PaaS
CapRover is in many ways similar to Dokku. It uses Docker for deployment just like Dokku but CapRover does not support buildpack deployments as it uses Dockerfiles only. This is not necessarily a bad thing since Dockerfile deployments are great in Dokku as well. You donโ€™t have to write your own dockerfiles however for simple deployments as there are multiple defaults for...
Source: www.mskog.com

Laravel Cloud Reviews

We have no reviews of Laravel Cloud yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dokku seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 24 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Dokku mentions (24)

  • Dokploy is the sweet spot between PaaS and EC2
    Another very similar one is https://dokku.com, have been using it for years and I like that it's a very thin layer on top of Docker. So even if you uninstall it everything keeps running and you can just manage it manually. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains
    I have an old Mac mini in a closet that runs Ubuntu and serves as a Dokku [1] host. My side projects run for free and are accessible inside my network or if I'm on VPN. If the project gets enough love eventually it'll graduate to public hosting and the transition is easy because the app is already built with deployment in mind. I have saved so much money over the years just not having to pay $20/mo * IDEA_QTY. The... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Is selfhosting a good idea?
    Tools like Coolify, CapRover, and Dokku have made selfhosting accessible to developers who don't want to become system administrators. With Coolify, you can:. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Show HN: Wiederhol โ€“ GitHub for Checklists
    Android users can install https://wiederhol.com/ as a PWA (Progressive Web Application). Tech stack: Ruby on Rails, React, PostgreSQL, https://dokku.com/ for hosting on Hetzner, https://pwabuilder.com for the iOS app. PS: Wiederhol means 'repeat' (imperative verb form) in German. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Self-Hosting like it's 2025
    I am going to continue to stan for dokku for hosting web apps, docker images included https://dokku.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
View more

Laravel Cloud mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Laravel Cloud yet. Tracking of Laravel Cloud recommendations started around Jul 2025.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Dokku and Laravel Cloud, you can also consider the following products

Google App Engine - A powerful platform to build web and mobile apps that scale automatically.

Ploi Cloud - Experience lightning-fast deployments with GDPR-compliant infrastructure. Your data stays in Europe, protected by the world's strongest privacy laws.

Salesforce Platform - Salesforce Platform is a comprehensive PaaS solution that paves the way for the developers to test, build, and mitigate the issues in the cloud application before the final deployment.

Onlive Server - Onlive Server offers reliable and fully managed hosting solutions, including dedicated servers, VPS hosting, and cloud infrastructure. With 24/7 support, secure services, and flexible plans, Onlive Server ensures your business runs smoothly.

Google Cloud Functions - A serverless platform for building event-based microservices.

DigitalOcean - Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.