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Self-hosted PaaS · by coolLabs

Coolify

Open-source (Apache 2.0), self-hostable PaaS with a web dashboard that deploys apps, databases and 280+ one-click services to any server you can reach over SSH.

Visit coolify.io ↗ Alternatives Open source Open source Self-hostable EU region
Coolify homepage
§1

Overview

Coolify is an open-source application platform you install on a server with one script. From its web dashboard you connect servers over SSH (a VPS, bare metal, a Raspberry Pi, EC2 and so on) and deploy applications from Git, Docker images or Docker Compose files, plus databases and 280+ one-click services. It handles reverse proxying, Let's Encrypt certificates, pull request deployments, webhooks for CI, notifications and a browser terminal.

The self-hosted edition has no paid tier and no feature limits. Coolify Cloud costs $5 a month for a managed, highly available control panel with two connected servers and $3 for each additional server, and adds email alerts and limited email support; your apps still run on servers you rent.

Because configuration lives on your servers, you can stop using Coolify and keep the running containers. The trade-off is operations: patching the OS, watching disks, testing backups and planning for a single server failing are your job. The project is very active, with over 61,000 GitHub stars.

§2

Pricing and plans

Free tier · no card

Self-hosted Coolify is free forever with all features and no limits; you pay only for the servers it runs on.

At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.

Plan Price What you get
Self-hosted $0 All features, unlimited servers, community support
Cloud $5/mo Managed control plane, 2 servers included; +$3/mo per extra server; 20% off yearly

Coolify itself is free; the real cost is the servers (a VPS of about $4-5/month per Coolify's README) and your own time for updates, backups and security. Coolify Cloud does not include servers; you connect your own. Each extra team on Cloud needs its own subscription. euRegion is true because you choose where the servers are.

Source: coolify.io/pricing/ · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Push to deploy
Integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Gitea, with separate deployments for pull requests.
One-click services
280+ ready-made services and databases that run as Docker containers.
Automatic SSL
Let's Encrypt certificates are issued and renewed for custom domains.
Database backups
Scheduled backups to any S3-compatible storage with restore from the dashboard.
Multi-server
Manage many servers from one dashboard and deploy to one or several.
API and webhooks
Automate deployments from GitHub Actions, GitLab CI or other pipelines.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Free and open source (Apache 2.0) with no paywalled features.
  • Runs on cheap VPS providers, so hosting costs stay low.
  • No lock-in: configuration stays on your servers.
  • Modern UI that non-specialists can use.

Limitations

  • You are responsible for server uptime, OS updates, security and backups.
  • A single-server setup has no failover.
  • Coolify Cloud still requires you to bring and pay for your own servers.
  • Support is community-based on self-hosted; Cloud adds only limited email support.
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • Developers hosting many small apps on one or two VPSs
  • Side projects that need databases without managed-DB prices
  • Teams that want data on their own hardware

Look elsewhere if

  • Teams without anyone to maintain servers
  • Workloads that need managed high availability and SLAs
§6

Alternatives to Coolify

Tool From Free option Stages
Sevalla Managed PaaS
$5/mo Free tier
Zeabur Deployment platform on dedicated servers
$5/mo Free tier
Cloudflare Workers (incl. Pages) Edge serverless platform
$5/mo Free tier
Railway Usage-billed PaaS
$5/mo Free tier
$5/mo Free tier
alwaysdata European managed hosting
€5/mo Free tier

All app hosting and PaaS →

§7

Questions

Is Coolify free?

Yes. Self-hosted Coolify is free forever with all features. Coolify Cloud, a managed control panel, costs $5/month for 2 servers plus $3 per extra server.

Does Coolify Cloud include servers?

No. You connect your own servers; Coolify Cloud only hosts the dashboard and automation.

What can Coolify deploy?

Static sites, applications in any language, Docker images and Compose files, databases such as Postgres, MySQL and Redis, and 280+ one-click services.

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