Cloud · head to head
Dokku vs Rev
Dokku
Cloud
Single-server platform that accepts a git push and runs Heroku buildpacks on Docker
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
Rev
AI
Human and AI transcription, captions and subtitles priced per minute
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
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.; Rev human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
- They diverge on capability: Dokku covers Git push deploy, Rev covers Human transcription.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Dokku and Rev actually diverge.
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 Rev
- Human transcription
- AI transcription
- Captions and subtitles
- Legal transcripts
- File analysis
- Clio integration
- Rev API
- Speaker identification
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 Rev
- Moving off a managed platform when the monthly bill has grown faster than the traffic hasnot Rev
- A consultancy that wants buildpack deployments without teaching every client team Kubernetesnot Rev
- Keeping a legacy Procfile application alive on hardware you control after a managed platform deprecates its stacknot Rev
Rev
- A law firm that needs a deposition transcript in a court-acceptable page format with a fixed turnaround and a published per-page price it can bill to a matter.not Dokku
- A documentary or podcast producer costing a project in advance, because human transcription at a published per-minute rate makes the transcription line item a known number.not Dokku
- A broadcaster needing compliant human captions rather than machine captions, where accuracy is a regulatory requirement and not a convenience.not Dokku
- A team with high AI volume and occasional high-stakes files, using the subscription for the bulk and paying the discounted human rate only where accuracy matters.not 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.
Rev
- Human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
- AI minutes are allocated per seat per month and do not roll over, so bursty workloads, which is how most media production actually behaves, waste allowance in quiet months and run out in busy ones.
- The product direction has moved towards legal and investigative use, so a newsroom or media buyer is choosing a tool whose roadmap priority sits elsewhere.
- Foreign-language subtitles are priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, an order of magnitude above transcription, which makes multi-language localisation of any volume of video expensive enough to change the plan.
- Human turnaround is stated in hours rather than guaranteed contractually on the published plans, so a hard broadcast or filing deadline needs an agreement beyond the standard terms.
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
Rev
Free- FreeFree
- 45 AI transcription and caption minutes per month
- Up to 5 files analysed
- No human transcription included
- Essentials$25.49/month
- 5,000 AI minutes per seat per month
- Up to 3 seats
- 10 per cent discount on human transcription, captions and subtitles
- Pro$47.99/month
- 10,000 AI minutes per seat per month
- Up to 5 seats
- 15 per cent discount on human work
- Unlimited$undefined/month
- Unlimited AI minutes
- Up to 500 files analysed at once
- Dedicated account specialist
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.
Choose Rev if
- You need human transcription.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- You also want ai transcription.
Questions people ask
- Is Dokku or Rev better?
- Neither clearly leads. Dokku starts at Free and Rev at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Dokku or Rev?
- Dokku starts at Free and Rev at Free.
- Does Dokku or Rev run on more platforms?
- Dokku runs on Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted. Rev runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- 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 Rev is typically brought in for.
- What can Dokku do that Rev cannot?
- Dokku covers Git push deploy, Heroku buildpacks, Datastore plugins, Automatic certificates. Rev covers Human transcription, AI transcription, Captions and subtitles, Legal transcripts.
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.
Rev: How much is human transcription?
1.99 US dollars per minute with a stated accuracy target above 99 per cent, typically returned within 12 hours. Subscribers get 10 to 15 per cent off.
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.
Rev: Is there a free tier?
Yes, 45 AI minutes per month and up to 5 files analysed, with no human transcription included.
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.
Rev: Do unused AI minutes roll over?
No. The allowance is per seat per month and resets, which penalises irregular workloads.
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.
Rev: Can it do subtitles in other languages?
Yes, across seventeen languages, priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, considerably more than transcription.
Rev: Is Rev still a good choice for newsrooms?
It works, but the subscription tiers are now positioned around legal and investigative workflows, so a newsroom should compare it against a tool built specifically for journalism.
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- Rev vs Deepgram
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- Rev vs Ideogram
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- Rev vs DeepSeek
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