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Cloud · head to head

Dokku vs Icinga

Dokku logo

Dokku

Cloud

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Icinga logo

Icinga

Networking

Open source infrastructure monitoring, free at its core, with paid support and modules sold separately by Icinga GmbH

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Icinga the free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • They diverge on capability: Dokku covers Git push deploy, Icinga covers Forever Free core.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dokku and Icinga actually diverge.

Attributes where Dokku and Icinga differ
AttributeDokkuIcinga
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeOpen source core, with paid repository, module and support subscriptions sold separately
PlatformsLinux, Docker, CLI, Self-hostedLinux, Web
CategoryCloudNetworking

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Dokku

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

Only in Icinga

  • Forever Free core
  • Clustering and HA
  • Icinga Web and API
  • Enterprise modules (paid)
  • Integration ecosystem

What people use each for

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

Dokku

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

Icinga

  • An IT team wanting unlimited-scale open source monitoring with no per-host licence fee, running standard Linux distributionsnot Dokku
  • An organisation on RHEL or SLES that wants officially packaged Icinga builds via the repository subscription rather than building from sourcenot Dokku
  • A team wanting an SLA-backed vendor support relationship rather than relying on community forums for a production monitoring systemnot Dokku
  • A company already invested in Prometheus and Grafana wanting to add host and service-level alerting from a compatible open source toolnot Dokku

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Icinga

  • The free core has no vendor SLA, so production incidents are supported through community channels unless a paid support subscription is purchased
  • Repository access for enterprise Linux distributions like RHEL and SLES is not free, so organisations standardised on those distributions face a real recurring cost most open source monitoring buyers do not expect
  • Enterprise modules are gated behind a separate module subscription, so some functionality demonstrated in marketing material is not part of the free core
  • Self-hosting and operating Icinga requires real Linux and monitoring expertise that a commercial SaaS tool would otherwise absorb, so total cost of ownership includes staff time not captured in the licence price
  • Pricing for the paid subscriptions varies by geographic region and is not published as a single global rate card, complicating budgeting for multinational organisations
  • The web interface and configuration language, while capable, are less immediately polished than a fully commercial tool like PRTG, and initial setup takes longer to reach a usable state

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Icinga

Free
  • IcingaFree
    • Unlimited hosts and services
    • Clustering and API
    • Community support
  • Support Subscription$undefined/year
    • Professional support (8x5 or 24/7)
    • Includes module and repository subscriptions

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Icinga if

  • You need forever free core.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want clustering and ha.
Icinga review

Questions people ask

Is Dokku or Icinga better?
Neither clearly leads. Dokku starts at Free and Icinga at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dokku or Icinga?
Dokku starts at Free and Icinga at Free.
Does Dokku or Icinga run on more platforms?
Dokku runs on Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted. Icinga runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Dokku for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dokku best used for?
Dokku is most often used for running a dozen side projects and client applications on one virtual private server with heroku style deployment, moving off a managed platform when the monthly bill has grown faster than the traffic has, a consultancy that wants buildpack deployments without teaching every client team kubernetes, keeping a legacy procfile application alive on hardware you control after a managed platform deprecates its stack. Of those, running a dozen side projects and client applications on one virtual private server with heroku style deployment and moving off a managed platform when the monthly bill has grown faster than the traffic has are not what Icinga is typically brought in for.
What can Dokku do that Icinga cannot?
Dokku covers Git push deploy, Heroku buildpacks, Datastore plugins, Automatic certificates. Icinga covers Forever Free core, Clustering and HA, Icinga Web and API, Enterprise modules (paid).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Icinga: Is Icinga free to run in production?

Yes, the core platform has no licence fee and no limit on hosts or services monitored.

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.

Icinga: What do the paid subscriptions actually add?

A repository subscription provides packages for certain enterprise Linux distributions, a module subscription unlocks enterprise-only add-on modules, and a support subscription bundles both with professional support.

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.

Icinga: Is Icinga related to Nagios?

Yes, it originated as a fork of Nagios but has since diverged into an independently developed platform.

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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