Comparison
Pushify vs Dokploy
Two open-source ways to deploy apps on servers you own: where each one fits.
| Feature | Pushify | Dokploy |
|---|---|---|
| Open source, free to self-host | Yes | Yes |
| Hosted control plane with a free plan | Yes | No |
| Deploy to your own servers over SSH | Yes | Yes |
| Servers from the dashboard, no provider account | Yes | No |
| Docker Compose | Yes | Yes |
| Databases with scheduled backups | Yes | Yes |
| Preview deployments for pull requests | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-node clusters (Docker Swarm) | No | Yes |
| CPU-based autoscaling | Yes | No |
| Idle apps sleep and wake on request | Yes | No |
| Zero-downtime deploys without extra setup | Yes | No |
| Single sign-on (OIDC) on every plan | Yes | No |
| 500+ one-click templates | No | Yes |
| Large, established community | No | Yes |
When to pick which
Which one fits you?
Choose Pushify if…
- You want a hosted control plane you can start on for free.
- You want a server from the dashboard, billed by the hour, without a Hetzner account.
- You want apps to add containers under CPU load, or sleep when nobody uses them.
- You want zero-downtime deploys and SSO without extra setup or an enterprise plan.
Choose Dokploy if…
- You want the larger, more proven project, with a big community.
- You need a multi-server Docker Swarm cluster.
- You want 500+ templates, more notification channels or MariaDB.
Differences
Key differences
Hosted control plane
Pushify’s has a free plan. Dokploy Cloud is $4.50 per server a month, after a 7-day trial, and you still bring the servers.
Scaling
Pushify adds and removes containers on CPU and can sleep idle apps. Dokploy sets replicas by hand; scale to zero is an open request.
Maturity
Dokploy has about 37,500 stars and 370+ contributors, Swarm clusters and 500+ templates. Pushify is newer and smaller.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
In short: how do Pushify and Dokploy differ?
Both deploy Docker apps to servers you connect over SSH, and both are free to self-host. Dokploy is older and far larger: about 37,500 GitHub stars, 500+ templates, Docker Swarm clusters. Its hosted control plane costs $4.50 per server a month after a 7-day trial. Pushify’s hosted control plane has a free plan, it can rent Hetzner servers from the dashboard, and it scales apps on CPU and puts idle apps to sleep, which Dokploy does not do today.
Is Dokploy open source?
Mostly. The code is Apache-2.0, except a /proprietary folder (SSO, custom roles, audit logs, white-labeling) under the Dokploy Source Available License since January 2026; using those in production needs a commercial agreement. Pushify is MIT throughout.
Does Dokploy Cloud include servers?
No. Dokploy Cloud hosts the control plane only; you connect your own servers. Pushify can also rent a Hetzner server for you from the dashboard, billed hourly from a prepaid balance.
Does Dokploy have zero-downtime deploys?
Yes, once you add a health check in the app’s Swarm settings. By default it stops the old container and then starts the new one. Pushify health-checks the new container before switching traffic on every deploy.
Can I move from Dokploy to Pushify?
There is no importer. Both run standard Docker workloads from a Git repo, so you connect the same server, point a project at the same repository, set its environment variables and deploy.
Explore more
Other comparisons and guides
Try it on your own server
Start free, connect a server over SSH, and deploy from Git.