Coolify vs Dokploy: which one to choose in 2026 for your servers?

The right choice depends on your app

• Do you want fully open-source software, with no paid features at all? Choose Coolify: everything is free there, on your own servers¹.
• Do your apps need to be spread across several machines? Choose Dokploy: it spreads them out by itself, with Docker Swarm².
• Would you rather have no server to rent, update or watch? Choose while: your AI agent deploys, your databases are backed up every day, and everything runs in France.

Try while on your app, without an account. Copy the instructions

The comparison

Host	The license	Several servers	Your AI agent	The database
Coolify	Everything is open source and free1	As many servers as you want, connected over SSH1	A built-in MCP server, with limited-permission tokens3	On your server, with backups you set up yourself
Dokploy	The core is open source. SSO and advanced controls are paid4	Your apps spread across several machines2	An MCP server with 508 tools, connected with an API key5	On your server, copied to your S3 storage6
while	Nothing to install: it’s a service	No server to run	An MCP server with OAuth: sensitive actions wait for your approval	PostgreSQL backed up every day, point-in-time recovery over 14 days9

Coolify, open source all the way

Coolify is open source and free, with no paid features, and deploys on any server connected over SSH, with more than 360 one-click services¹.

Dokploy, designed for several machines

Dokploy spreads your apps across several machines with Docker Swarm², and exposes its whole API to your agent through its MCP server⁵.

while, the same comfort with no server to run

No server to rent, update or watch: your AI agent deploys over MCP, your databases are backed up every day, and a production backup is tested every day. Sensitive actions wait for your approval, and everything runs in France.

Next steps

• Compare Coolify and while
• Compare Dokploy and while
• VPS or PaaS: should you rent a server?