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Cloud · head to head

Dokku vs Portworx

Dokku logo

Dokku

Cloud

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Dokku has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • They diverge on capability: Dokku covers Git push deploy, Portworx covers Container-native volumes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dokku and Portworx actually diverge.

Attributes where Dokku and Portworx differ
AttributeDokkuPortworx
Starting priceFree$0.33/node hour
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer node hour
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Docker, CLI, Self-hostedLinux

Identical on both: 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 Dokku

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

Only in Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

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 Portworx
  • Moving off a managed platform when the monthly bill has grown faster than the traffic hasnot Portworx
  • A consultancy that wants buildpack deployments without teaching every client team Kubernetesnot Portworx
  • Keeping a legacy Procfile application alive on hardware you control after a managed platform deprecates its stacknot Portworx

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot Dokku
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot Dokku
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot Dokku
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot 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.

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

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

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

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 Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx review

Questions people ask

Is Dokku or Portworx better?
Neither clearly leads. Dokku starts at Free and Portworx at $0.33/node hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dokku or Portworx?
Dokku has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Dokku and $0.33/node hour for Portworx.
Does Dokku or Portworx run on more platforms?
Dokku runs on Linux, Docker, CLI, Self-hosted. Portworx runs on Linux.
Can I use Dokku for free?
Yes. Dokku has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
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 Portworx is typically brought in for.
What can Dokku do that Portworx cannot?
Dokku covers Git push deploy, Heroku buildpacks, Datastore plugins, Automatic certificates. Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation.

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.

Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

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.

Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

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.

Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

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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