Self-host Coolify
- You want to touch, update and extend the panel.
- Web and Postgres are enough; stores are someone else’s problem.
Coolify alternative if you do not want to patch the panel
Coolify deploys to your VPS with no licence. Updates, restores, the dashboard that will not start after an upgrade — that stays yours. We run the control plane. You keep the servers.
- No Coolify upgrade on a Sunday night
- The project arrives with a repo and a pipeline, not only a compose click
Run the panel or only the apps
Keep the servers, not the panel
- SSH onto your box. The control plane is not a hobby on the same machine.
Docker
Databases
Reverse proxy
SSL
Backups
Firewall
- Coming soon
Kubernetes
- Coming soon
Monitoring
Coolify is the honest self-hosting answer to Vercel and Heroku. What gets lost: you then operate a platform. Updates, tokens, a dashboard that will not boot — that is work, not a preference.
A Coolify alternative here means the same servers, less instance.
Coolify and Application Platform side by side
This reflects the typical scope of both approaches. Coolify moves quickly, so check its current documentation when a detail matters.
| Criterion |
Application Platform
|
Coolify
|
|---|---|---|
| Deploying web applications | Fully covered: Container deployments through prepared GitLab CI pipelines | Fully covered: Core feature, Docker based, many applications available in a few clicks |
| Databases and server baseline | Fully covered: Docker, databases, reverse proxy, SSL, firewall and backups are set up for you | Fully covered: Docker, reverse proxy, SSL and databases can be provisioned directly |
| Operating the control plane | Fully covered: The platform is operated and updated for you while you work on your project | Partly covered: When self-hosted you install, update and secure the instance yourself |
| Project scaffolding from templates | Fully covered: Next.js, NestJS, Laravel, FastAPI, Flutter, Expo, Astro and Hugo as a ready project base | Not offered: Builds on an existing repository, does not create the project itself |
| CI/CD in the repository | Fully covered: GitLab CI configuration lives readably in the repository and can be changed | Partly covered: Builds happen inside the Coolify instance, custom pipelines are yours to bring |
| Building mobile apps | Fully covered: Flutter, Expo and native iOS and Android projects including build environments | Not offered: Not part of the product |
| Publishing to App Store and Play Store | Fully covered: Metadata, screenshots and versions through Fastlane, driven from the platform | Not offered: Not part of the product |
| Remote development environments | Fully covered: Ubuntu workspaces with VS Code, JetBrains, RDP and VNC. iOS builds on the pipeline’s macOS machines | Not offered: Not part of the product |
| Secrets, roles and audit log | Fully covered: Credentials, roles, access rights and a log of relevant changes belong to the project | Partly covered: Environment variables and team features exist, without an end-to-end audit concept |
| Support and responsibility | Fully covered: Looked after by the platform team, data processing agreement, operated in the EU | Partly covered: Active community and documentation, no support contract in open source operation |
| Cost model | Partly covered: Platform fee plus your servers, free to start without a credit card | Fully covered: Open source, so in practice you pay for your servers |
Green means fully covered, amber partly, grey not offered. Coolify is strong at plain self-hosting – the difference is how much work stays on your side.
As of 9 September 2026. Based on the publicly documented feature scope of the providers named. Details can change; the provider’s current documentation takes precedence. Logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the product.
Where Coolify wins
- Price of the software Coolify itself has no licence fee. You pay the VPS and your time. If that is the point, you do not need us.
- Catalogue One-Click-Dienste sind bei Coolify breiter. Wir richten das Projekt und den Server ein, nicht 280 Catalogue-Apps.
Pricing model
Self-hosted Coolify is the software plus your server. Coolify Cloud is a separate offer. Numbers are at Coolify.
-
Maria K. Role changedDeveloper → Admin · org/acme
-
Tom S. Domain addedstaging.customer-app.de
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System Deployment triggeredprod · 0.15.6-80
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Julia R. Server createdprod-server-01
Moving from Coolify to the Application Platform
The migration touches the control plane, not your code.
-
Connect your server
Attach your existing machine over SSH or book a managed server. Docker, reverse proxy, SSL, firewall and backups get configured.
-
Create the project
Set up the project in the wizard and pick your stack. Repository, structure and CI/CD pipeline are created along with it.
-
Move services over
Bring applications and databases across one at a time. Environment variables and secrets are managed centrally instead of per container.
-
Switch the domains
Domain and certificates are part of the setup. Once the pipeline is green you point DNS over and retire the old instance.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't Coolify simply better because it is free?
The licence is free, running it is not. You install the instance, keep it patched, harden it and verify that backups actually restore. If your team has that time and wants the control, Coolify is a genuinely good choice.
Can I keep my existing servers?
Yes. The platform connects your own server over SSH and configures Docker, reverse proxy, SSL, firewall and backups on it. Alternatively you book a managed server. Either way the access stays with you and the code remains yours.
Do I have to move away from Docker?
No. Your applications keep running in containers. What changes is how they get there: instead of clicking through a UI, environments and deployments are described as configuration that stays traceable in your Git history.
What about my mobile app?
That is where Coolify stops. The Application Platform builds Flutter, Expo and native iOS and Android projects, handles signing and publishes through Fastlane to the App Store, Play Store and Microsoft Store. Metadata stays under version control.
Am I locked in afterwards?
You own your code completely, along with the repositories, servers and deployment configuration. Everything runs on standard tooling: Git, Docker and GitLab CI. Moving somewhere else later does not mean rewriting your product.
Keep the servers, hand over the panel
If you like patching Coolify yourself, you do not need us. If Sunday night is the problem, you do.