Nextweb vs Coolify vs Dokploy: deploying without Docker

"Coolify vs Dokploy" is a question about two platforms that run your applications in Docker and take care of the rest. This page answers it in their own words, adds Dokku because it comes up in the same searches, and then describes the one thing none of them is: a deploy tool with no Docker in it. Every claim about another project is quoted from its home page or documentation as read on 17 October 2026, and linked.

Coolify

Coolify describes itself as "an open-source and self-hostable alternative to Vercel, Heroku, Netlify and Railway", "open source and free forever" with "no paywalled features", and offers a hosted Cloud version beside self-hosting. It runs what Docker runs: "you can deploy any service you want that is compatible with Docker", including a prebuilt image from a registry. It deploys from Git: "Coolify builds every commit and ships it to any server you connect over SSH", from GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea and others. It manages more than one machine, "a single server or multiple servers according to your requirements", and "takes care of automatically setting up and renewing Let's Encrypt SSL certificates for your custom domains".

Dokploy

Dokploy says it lets you "manage containerized deployments and AI-built apps across multiple servers", "with self-hosting and open-source deployment", and sells Dokploy Cloud as a managed option. It is built on Docker: "full Docker Compose integration", "built-in Docker Swarm support", and Traefik in front, which you can "manage via File Editor to configure your own domain names, certificates, and more". Its domains documentation has an HTTPS toggle and a certificate setting with two choices, "letsencrypt" or "None". Its home page does not describe deploying from a Git push, so that is left out here.

Dokku

Dokku is "an open source PAAS alternative to Heroku", "powered by Docker", that you install on one machine and "push Heroku-compatible applications to it via Git"; the page calls it a "single-host version of Heroku" and mentions a Pro version. Certificates come from its official letsencrypt plugin, which "retrieves and installs free TLS certificates from Let's Encrypt" with dokku letsencrypt:enable myapp.

Nextweb

Nextweb is one binary that runs from a folder on Linux x64. There is no Docker in it, under it or beside it: it brings its own web server, installs PHP and MariaDB as packages into its folder when a site needs them, and gives each site its own port, database and PHP processes. A site is WordPress, installed by name, or a Node.js application of your own, built into an encrypted package with pkg create and installed by name. Four commands deploy it:

nextweb:/> deploy company-site to www.example.com using wordpress
nextweb:/> commit "Deploy company website"
nextweb:/> apply -y
nextweb:/> verify company-site

...
Site: company-site (www.example.com)
  Allocated site listen port 4001 for company-site
  Provisioning database for site company-site...
...
  php-cgi listening on 19100 (2 processes, opcache off)
...
Visit: http://127.0.1.10:4001/
...
All checks passed.

Nextweb is not open source. It is free to try, checks its license each time it starts, and does not start offline. It does not get certificates: a site answers on an address on the machine, and you put nginx in front to take it public, which Self-host WordPress on Linux without Docker shows step by step. It deploys from a package or by name, not from a Git push. It runs on Linux x64; the program also runs on Windows x64 and FreeBSD x64, without the packages. What it has that the others do not is the packaging: the file you ship is encrypted, the key is released only to licenses allowed to install it, and Node.js source can stay encrypted on disk after install (Package DRM).

Side by side

Who should pick which

If you want to run many kinds of services from Docker images, deploy them with a push and have certificates taken care of, Coolify and Dokploy are built for that, and Dokku does it on one machine. If you want WordPress or a Node.js application on a machine with no Docker on it, in one folder you can read, and you want to package and license what you ship, Nextweb is built for that, and asks you to put nginx in front and to accept the license check.

Next step

The first lesson deploys WordPress with the four commands above, with every line of output, in about fifteen minutes.

Questions

Does Nextweb use Docker?

No. It is one binary with its own web server, and PHP and MariaDB are packages it installs into its folder. There is no container, image or daemon anywhere in it.

Can Nextweb deploy from a git push?

No. A site is WordPress installed by name, or a Node.js application you build into a package with pkg create and install by name. Coolify builds every commit, and Dokku takes a push via Git.

Which gets me HTTPS with the least work?

Coolify sets up and renews Let's Encrypt certificates for you, Dokploy has a letsencrypt option per domain, and Dokku has an official letsencrypt plugin. Nextweb does not get certificates yet; you put nginx and certbot in front.

Is Nextweb open source?

No. Nextweb is free to try and not open source, and it checks its license each time it starts. Coolify, Dokploy and Dokku describe themselves as open source.