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Cloud · head to head

Coolify vs Radix UI

Coolify logo

Coolify

Cloud

Open source self-hosted platform that deploys applications and databases to servers you already own

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Radix UI logo

Radix UI

Web Development

Unstyled, accessible React component primitives

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Coolify commit history since June 2026 shows one maintainer at 73 commits and a second at 15 with nobody else above one, and the same two people also ship four other coolLabs products, so the project depends on a very small number of individuals.; Radix UI you write all the styling, so time to a finished interface is much longer than with a styled library
  • They diverge on capability: Coolify covers Git push deployments, Radix UI covers Unstyled primitives.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Coolify and Radix UI actually diverge.

Attributes where Coolify and Radix UI differ
AttributeCoolifyRadix UI
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryCloudWeb Development

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Coolify

  • Git push deployments
  • One-click services
  • Automatic certificates
  • Managed databases
  • Docker Compose support
  • Notifications

Only in Radix UI

  • Unstyled primitives
  • Accessibility built in
  • Composable API
  • Controlled or uncontrolled

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Coolify

  • Replacing a managed platform bill with a single Hetzner or DigitalOcean instance running a dozen small applicationsnot Radix UI
  • An agency hosting many low-traffic client sites on shared servers with certificates handled automaticallynot Radix UI
  • Self-hosting analytics, databases and internal tools from the one-click catalogue without writing Compose filesnot Radix UI
  • Deploying inside a country or jurisdiction where no managed platform operates a regionnot Radix UI

Radix UI

  • Design systems that need correct accessibility without inherited visual opinionsnot Coolify
  • Replacing hand-built dropdowns and dialogs that have accessibility bugsnot Coolify
  • Teams with a designer whose output should not be constrained by a library’s themenot Coolify

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Coolify

  • Commit history since June 2026 shows one maintainer at 73 commits and a second at 15 with nobody else above one, and the same two people also ship four other coolLabs products, so the project depends on a very small number of individuals.
  • Multi-server support is documented as experimental, load balancer configuration is manual, every server must share the same CPU architecture, and moving images between hosts requires you to run your own Docker registry.
  • In self-hosted mode the Coolify machine holds every SSH key and secret with no documented high availability, so the dashboard host is a single point of failure that the paid Cloud tier fixes and self-hosting does not.
  • Scheduled S3 backups cover PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB only, so application persistent volumes are your responsibility and a restore is untested unless you test it yourself.
  • Release cadence is fast enough that six patch versions shipped inside ten days in August 2026 against several hundred open issues, and because instances can update themselves a regression can reach a production host before you have read the changelog.

Radix UI

  • You write all the styling, so time to a finished interface is much longer than with a styled library
  • Composable part-based APIs are more verbose than a single component with props
  • Covers primitives rather than complex widgets, so data grids and date pickers come from elsewhere

Pricing, plan by plan

Coolify

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Apache-2.0, no features held back
    • Unlimited servers, applications and users
    • You run, update and back up the dashboard yourself
  • Cloud$5/month
    • Connects 2 servers, then 3 US dollars a month per extra server
    • Managed and updated Coolify dashboard with high availability
    • Managed backups of the Coolify instance itself

Radix UI

Free
  • Radix UIFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Coolify if

  • You need git push deployments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, Self-hosted.
  • You also want one-click services.
Coolify review

Choose Radix UI if

  • You need unstyled primitives.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want accessibility built in.
Radix UI review

Questions people ask

Is Coolify or Radix UI better?
Neither clearly leads. Coolify starts at Free and Radix UI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Coolify or Radix UI?
Coolify starts at Free and Radix UI at Free.
Does Coolify or Radix UI run on more platforms?
Coolify runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Self-hosted. Radix UI runs on Web.
Can I use Coolify for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Coolify best used for?
Coolify is most often used for replacing a managed platform bill with a single hetzner or digitalocean instance running a dozen small applications, an agency hosting many low-traffic client sites on shared servers with certificates handled automatically, self-hosting analytics, databases and internal tools from the one-click catalogue without writing compose files, deploying inside a country or jurisdiction where no managed platform operates a region. Of those, replacing a managed platform bill with a single hetzner or digitalocean instance running a dozen small applications and an agency hosting many low-traffic client sites on shared servers with certificates handled automatically are not what Radix UI is typically brought in for.
What can Coolify do that Radix UI cannot?
Coolify covers Git push deployments, One-click services, Automatic certificates, Managed databases. Radix UI covers Unstyled primitives, Accessibility built in, Composable API, Controlled or uncontrolled.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Coolify: Is anything held back for the paid tier?

No. Coolify Cloud hosts, updates and backs up the dashboard and gives it high availability. Every feature that touches your applications is in the Apache-2.0 build you can run yourself.

Radix UI: Is Radix UI free?

Yes, open source under the MIT licence.

Coolify: What does Coolify Cloud cost?

Five US dollars a month connects two servers, and each additional server is three dollars a month, with 20 per cent off for annual billing. You still supply and pay for the servers themselves.

Radix UI: Why use unstyled components?

Because accessibility is the hard part and visual design is the part teams want to own. Radix gives the first and stays out of the second.

Coolify: Does it back up my application data?

It backs up PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB to S3 on a schedule. Application persistent volumes are not covered, so anything stored outside a managed database needs your own backup plan.

Radix UI: What is the relationship with shadcn/ui?

shadcn/ui is built on Radix primitives, adding Tailwind styling and copy-paste distribution on top.

Coolify: Can I run it across several servers?

Yes, but the documentation calls multi-server experimental. Load balancing is not configured for you, all nodes must share a CPU architecture, and you need to run your own Docker registry.

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