Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Coolify vs Velero

Coolify logo

Coolify

Cloud

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

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.; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: Coolify covers Git push deployments, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Coolify and Velero actually diverge.

Attributes where Coolify and Velero differ
AttributeCoolifyVelero
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, Self-hostedLinux
CategoryCloudBackup

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 Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • File-level backup
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

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 Velero
  • An agency hosting many low-traffic client sites on shared servers with certificates handled automaticallynot Velero
  • Self-hosting analytics, databases and internal tools from the one-click catalogue without writing Compose filesnot Velero
  • Deploying inside a country or jurisdiction where no managed platform operates a regionnot Velero

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot Coolify
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot Coolify
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot Coolify
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot 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.

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

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

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and GitHub

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 Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is Coolify or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Coolify starts at Free and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Coolify or Velero?
Coolify starts at Free and Velero at Free.
Does Coolify or Velero run on more platforms?
Coolify runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Self-hosted. Velero runs on Linux.
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 Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Coolify do that Velero cannot?
Coolify covers Git push deployments, One-click services, Automatic certificates, Managed databases. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

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.

Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

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.

Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

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.

Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Coolify

More on Velero

Keep looking

Other head to heads