Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Dokku VS UpdraftPlus

Compare Dokku VS UpdraftPlus and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Dokku logo Dokku

Docker powered mini-Heroku in around 100 lines of Bash

UpdraftPlus logo UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is aย WordPress backup plugin.
  • Dokku Homepage
    Homepage //
    2024-08-26
  • Dokku Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • UpdraftPlus Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-23

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.

UpdraftPlus features and specs

  • Comprehensive Backup Solution
    UpdraftPlus offers a complete backup solution for WordPress sites, allowing users to back up files, databases, and more, ensuring comprehensive protection against data loss.
  • Cloud Integration
    It supports various cloud storage options like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and more, enabling users to store backups externally and securely.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The plugin features an intuitive and straightforward UI, making it easy for users of all technical levels to navigate and perform backups and restores with minimal hassle.
  • Scheduled Backups
    UpdraftPlus allows users to set up automated backup schedules, reducing the risk of forgetting to perform regular backups and ensuring data is always current.
  • Migration Feature
    The migration feature allows users to easily clone and migrate their WordPress sites, which is beneficial for website developers and managers during upgrades or server changes.

Possible disadvantages of UpdraftPlus

  • Limited Free Version
    While the free version is feature-rich, some advanced functionalities like incremental backups, multisite support, and more require purchasing the premium version.
  • Potential Complexity for Beginners
    Although the interface is user-friendly, beginners may find the setup process complex due to the numerous options and settings available.
  • Restore Speed Limitations
    Some users have reported slower restore times, especially for larger websites, which can be inconvenient during critical restoration needs.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Occasional compatibility issues may arise with certain WordPress themes or plugins, requiring additional troubleshooting or support actions.

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

UpdraftPlus videos

Updraftplus Setup Tutorial - Best Free WordPress Backup Plugin

More videos:

  • Tutorial - The Ultimate Guide to UpdraftPlus: How to Backup, Restore, or Migrate Your WordPress Website

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Dokku and UpdraftPlus)
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Backup & Restore
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0
WordPress Plugins
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Dokku and UpdraftPlus. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

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

Dokku Reviews

Heroku Free Tier Gone โ€” 10 Alternatives Still Free in April 2026
Dokku is an open-source Heroku clone you can run on any VPS. It supports Heroku buildpacks and gives you complete control. Requires server administration skills.
Source: snapdeploy.dev
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

UpdraftPlus Reviews

We have no reviews of UpdraftPlus yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dokku should be more popular than UpdraftPlus. It has been mentiond 29 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 (29)

View more

UpdraftPlus mentions (4)

  • The Complete WordPress Security Guide for Small Business Owners (2026)
    Important: Always backup before major updates. Use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BlogVault. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Fix 105 Common WordPress Issues Using Simple Code Snippets
    Restore the site using backups from your hosting provider or a plugin like UpdraftPlus. Always test backups on a staging environment before applying them to the live site. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • 5 WordPress page builders from a web developer's perspective
    Make a backup! UpdraftPlus is a good tool as its backups can be used for cloning WordPress websites, including purchased plugins, to development and staging systems. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Webmaster needed or go with Wix?
    First, run a site backup -- both the database and static files on the server (e.g., theme files, image uploads). Ideally you'll also know or figure out how to restore the site with said backup. The plugin UpdraftPlus has a free tier you might start with. I use it on a personal site to run daily backups automatically, and have used it on employer websites in the past. You should be running daily backups if you... Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

Wise Data Recovery - Wise Data Recovery is a professional data recovery tool, it helps you quickly recover deleted photos, documents, videos, email, etc. from local drives, external drive, USB drive, SD card, mobile phone and other removable devices.

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.

Jottacloud - Safe cloud storage

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

GetDataBack - Free technical support for Runtime Data Recovery programs including GetDataBack, DiskExplorer, RAID Reconstructor and Captain Nemo.