Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Dokku

Caddy logo

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Dokku logo

Dokku

Cloud

Single-server platform that accepts a git push and runs Heroku buildpacks on Docker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer; Dokku one maintainer accounts for nearly all human commit activity and the project records roughly 10,500 US dollars of annual income on Open Collective, which is not enough to fund a maintainer, so continuity rests on one person continuing to volunteer.
  • They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Dokku covers Git push deploy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Dokku actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Dokku differ
AttributeCaddyDokku
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, DockerLinux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted

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

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 Caddy

  • Automatic HTTPS
  • Caddyfile
  • Reverse proxy
  • Single binary

Only in Dokku

  • Git push deploy
  • Heroku buildpacks
  • Datastore plugins
  • Automatic certificates
  • Zero downtime deploys
  • Pluggable schedulers

What people use each for

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

Caddy

  • Sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages beforenot Dokku
  • Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Dokku
  • Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Dokku

Dokku

  • Running a dozen side projects and client applications on one virtual private server with Heroku style deploymentnot Caddy
  • Moving off a managed platform when the monthly bill has grown faster than the traffic hasnot Caddy
  • A consultancy that wants buildpack deployments without teaching every client team Kubernetesnot Caddy
  • Keeping a legacy Procfile application alive on hardware you control after a managed platform deprecates its stacknot Caddy

Where each one falls short

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

Caddy

  • Smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer
  • Adding plugins means rebuilding the binary rather than loading a module
  • Under very high throughput Nginx generally still benchmarks ahead
  • Automatic certificate issuance needs outbound internet access, which complicates air-gapped deployments

Dokku

  • One maintainer accounts for nearly all human commit activity and the project records roughly 10,500 US dollars of annual income on Open Collective, which is not enough to fund a maintainer, so continuity rests on one person continuing to volunteer.
  • Dokku Pro asks 849 US dollars for a lifetime licence from a project with no disclosed legal entity behind the promise and no published refund terms, while the product is still described as in development at early bird pricing.
  • Dokku is single-server by design, and the k3s scheduler that provides multi-node support is missing log retrieval, process inspection and content-based health checks, with a post-run hook the documentation says does not consistently fire.
  • Supported operating systems are limited to Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 and Debian 11 or later, so organisations standardised on Red Hat, Rocky or Alma Linux cannot run it on their approved base image.
  • Backups are separate commands per datastore plugin that you schedule yourself, with no unified snapshot, no point-in-time recovery and no tested restore path, so verifying that a restore works is entirely your responsibility.

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Free
  • CaddyFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Dokku

Free
  • DokkuFree
    • MIT licensed, no usage limits
    • Command line and SSH only
    • All datastore and certificate plugins
  • Dokku Pro$849/one-time
    • Lifetime licence with free upgrades and no subscription
    • Covers 1 production and 2 pre-production servers
    • Web dashboard and JSON REST API

Which should you pick?

Choose Caddy if

  • You need automatic https.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want caddyfile.
Caddy review

Choose Dokku if

  • You need git push deploy.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted.
  • You also want heroku buildpacks.
Dokku review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Dokku better?
Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Dokku at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Dokku?
Caddy starts at Free and Dokku at Free.
Does Caddy or Dokku run on more platforms?
Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Dokku runs on Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted.
Can I use Caddy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Caddy best used for?
Caddy is most often used for sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before, small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants, reverse proxying internal services with tls without a certificate workflow. Of those, sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before and small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants are not what Dokku is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Dokku cannot?
Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Dokku covers Git push deploy, Heroku buildpacks, Datastore plugins, Automatic certificates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

Yes, open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, free for commercial use.

Dokku: Is Dokku still maintained?

Yes. Version 0.38.27 shipped in August 2026 with roughly six releases in the preceding two months. The caveat is that one maintainer writes nearly all of it.

Caddy: What does automatic HTTPS mean?

Caddy obtains certificates from Let’s Encrypt or ZeroSSL on first request and renews them before expiry, with no cron job or configuration.

Dokku: What does Dokku Pro give me over the free edition?

A web dashboard, a JSON REST API, git push over HTTPS, browser log tailing, team management and email support from the maintainers. It costs 849 US dollars once for one production and two pre-production servers.

Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

Caddy is dramatically simpler to configure and removes certificate management. Nginx has the larger ecosystem and better peak throughput.

Dokku: Can Dokku run across multiple servers?

Only through the k3s or Nomad schedulers. The k3s path is missing several commands and health check types, and the older Kubernetes scheduler is deprecated and no longer developed.

Dokku: Will my Heroku application run on it unchanged?

Usually. Dokku runs the same buildpacks and reads a Procfile, so the application layer normally moves across. Add-ons, scaling behaviour and backups are the parts you have to rebuild.

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