Dokploy alternative
Aria Cloud vs Dokploy. Managed, or do it yourself.
Dokploy is an open-source deployment panel that you install on a server of your own. Aria Cloud is the server and the panel together, set up and run for you, with Aria AI built in and room for your own coding agent.
Head to head
Aria Cloud and Dokploy, side by side
Dokploy is an open-source panel that you install and look after on your own server. Aria Cloud gives you the server and the platform, set up, secured and run for you at one flat price.
| What is compared | Aria Cloud | Dokploy |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A private server plus the platform on it, set up and run by Aria | An open-source deployment panel that you install on a server you provide |
| The server | Included in the plan price, ordered and secured by Aria | Yours to rent, install Linux on, and keep patched |
| How you pay | One flat monthly price per server, £9 to £60 ex VAT | The server you rent, plus Dokploy’s plans: Hobby $4.50 a month per server, Startup from $15, Enterprise on request. The pricing page does not say if these apply to a self-hosted install |
| Setup | Pick a plan; Aria sets up the server, the databases and HTTPS | Run the install script on a server with ports 80, 443 and 3000 free |
| Updates and security | Aria hardens the server and keeps it updated | Yours: the docs tell you to update Dokploy with the script and to secure the panel with a domain and HTTPS |
| Databases | Postgres, Redis and Supabase included, with nightly encrypted backups stored off the server | Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, MariaDB and Redis, with backups to external storage you configure |
| Builds | Railpack or your Dockerfile | Nixpacks, Heroku buildpacks or a Dockerfile; Docker Compose and Swarm |
| Several servers | One server per plan; each project can have its own | Remote servers can be added to one panel |
| Licence | A hosted service | Apache 2.0 for the main code; code in a /proprietary folder needs a commercial agreement for production |
| AI coding agents | Aria AI built in, then MCP for your own coding agent, under approval rules enforced on Aria’s servers | CLI and API; MCP connections are listed on its home page |
| Control | Native Mac app (macOS 26), web dashboard, MCP | Web dashboard |
The reference stack
What does the same stack cost?
The reference stack is one web service (about 1 GB of memory), one background worker (about 0.5 GB), a Postgres database (about 2 GB) and Redis (about 0.25 GB), for a team of three developers with modest traffic. Dokploy does not host anything, so the cost is the server you rent plus whatever Dokploy plan applies. That server's price depends on a company this page does not name, so no total is given.
£9 a month
Starter, ex VAT. Everything on one server, with room for an estimated 3.3 GB of memory.
Your own VPS, plus your time
Open-source panel; you rent and run the server.
| Aria Cloud (£, ex VAT) | Dokploy ($, ex tax) | |
|---|---|---|
| Server for the stack | Included | Your own VPS: not priced by Dokploy; at least 2 GB of RAM for Dokploy itself |
| Dokploy software | Included | Open source; plans listed at $4.50 a month per server (Hobby) and from $15 (Startup) |
| Postgres and Redis | On the same server | Run by Dokploy on your server |
| Securing, patching and backing up | Done by Aria | Done by you |
| Total | Starter (4 GB), £9 a month ex VAT (estimated 3.3 GB of memory) | Your VPS rent, plus any Dokploy plan, plus your time |
Different currencies, nothing converted. The Dokploy pricing page only says whether a plan is hosted or self-hosted for Enterprise, so the Hobby and Startup figures may apply to its hosted cloud rather than to an install on your own server.
What Dokploy is
Dokploy describes itself as an open-source alternative to Heroku, Vercel and Netlify, built on Docker and Traefik. You install it on a VPS with one script; the script installs Docker if it is missing and sets up Dokploy. Its documentation asks for at least 2 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk, lists Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and CentOS as tested, and needs ports 80, 443 and 3000 free.
It deploys from Git with Nixpacks, Heroku buildpacks or a Dockerfile, supports Docker Compose and Docker Swarm, manages databases, reverse proxying with automatic certificates, monitoring and notifications, and can deploy to additional remote servers from one panel. It has a CLI and an API. Its GitHub repository shows a large community and frequent releases.
It is good software, and the software costs little. The cost that matters is the one it does not include: the server.
What you still do yourself with Dokploy
Dokploy runs on a server you provide, so you are the operator of that server. That means choosing and paying for a VPS, installing the operating system, keeping it patched, hardening SSH and the firewall, deciding what happens when the disk fills, watching the host itself and restoring from a backup when something goes wrong. Its installation page tells you to update Dokploy with its script and to secure the panel with a domain and HTTPS, but it does not take over the server. It is the part that goes wrong at night.
There is also a licence detail to read. The main code is under Apache 2.0, but code under a /proprietary folder is under a source-available licence that needs a commercial agreement for production use. The pricing page lists SSO, fine-grained access control and audit logs under its Enterprise plan.
How Aria Cloud differs
Aria Cloud is the server and the platform. A plan is one private VPS, from Starter (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB disk) at £9 a month to Scale Plus (16 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 400 GB disk) at £60 a month, ex VAT, in pounds. Aria orders it, hardens it, keeps it updated and watches memory, CPU and disk every minute. Aria is responsible for the machine.
Backups are nightly, encrypted and stored off your server, kept 30 days by default. One server runs up to 5 apps, and one aria.yaml holds up to 12 services and 6 databases.
Agents and approvals
Dokploy lists a CLI, an API and MCP connections. Aria AI, built into the Mac app and the web dashboard, writes aria.yaml, sets things up, reads logs and fixes things. A coding agent outside Aria connects over MCP. The same rules apply to both, and Aria enforces them on its own servers, not in a prompt. Reading (status, logs) runs straight away. With a read key, every change waits for your approval. With an operate key, routine deploys run straight away, while environment variables, launches, DNS, GitHub pushes and anything destructive always wait for you. Deleting needs your approval, or the typed name in the app.
What changes when you move
Write an aria.yaml that lists the same applications and databases as your Dokploy projects. Aria AI or your coding agent can do this from the repository. Aria recommends the smallest plan before you pay. Move Postgres with a dump and a restore, add your environment variables once, launch, and point your domain. If you used Docker Compose or Swarm features, check that each service maps to a service in aria.yaml.
What Dokploy does best
Dokploy is flexible and open. You choose the server and the provider, you can inspect and change the software, it supports Docker Compose and Swarm, remote servers, many database types and one-click templates, and it costs little. Having the source available matters to many teams.
Our recommendation
Choose Aria Cloud when
- You want the server set up, secured, updated and watched for you.
- You want one price for the server and the platform.
- You want nightly encrypted backups stored off the server without configuring them.
- You want Aria AI or your own coding agent to deploy under rules enforced on the server.
Moving from Dokploy to Aria Cloud
Describe your stack
Ask Aria AI or your coding agent to write aria.yaml from your Dokploy projects.
See the server that fits
Aria recommends the smallest server that fits the whole stack.
Bring your data
Move databases with a dump and a restore, and add your variables once.
Launch
Launch, then point your domain.
Questions
What people ask when they compare Aria Cloud with Dokploy.
Is Aria Cloud a Dokploy alternative?
If you want the same outcome without running the server, yes. Aria is a managed private server with the platform on it. Dokploy is software you install on a server of your own.
Is Dokploy free?
Its main code is open source under Apache 2.0, and the documentation describes it as free to use. Its pricing page also lists paid plans, from $4.50 a month per server, and does not say whether they apply to a self-hosted install. Code in a /proprietary folder needs a commercial agreement for production use.
Who looks after the server on Aria?
Aria does. It sets up the server, hardens it, keeps it updated, watches it and backs it up. You work through aria.yaml, the Aria app, the aria command line, Aria AI and MCP.
Does Aria run Docker Compose?
Aria describes a stack in one aria.yaml, built with Railpack or your Dockerfile. Aria AI or your coding agent can translate a Compose file into aria.yaml.
Which is cheaper?
Dokploy’s software costs little, and the VPS rent is yours to pay. It costs more in time, because patching, hardening and backups are yours. On Aria the price covers the server and the running of it.
How much does Aria cost compared with Dokploy?
Aria charges one flat monthly price per server, from £9 a month ex VAT, in GBP, with no charges per seat, per app, per database or per request. Dokploy’s pricing is on its own pricing page (https://dokploy.com/pricing); the figures on this page were read on 31 October 2026 and are in US dollars, while Aria’s are in pounds, so nothing is converted.
Sources and what could not be checked
Read on 31 October 2026
What could not be checked
Dokploy’s pricing page does not say whether the Hobby and Startup plans apply to a self-hosted install. Which features live in the proprietary folder, and how Dokploy handles rollbacks and host-level security, were not stated on the pages read.
Aria Cloud publishes this page. Prices change, so check each source for current figures. Aria’s own figures come from the pricing page and its sizing estimate for the reference stack, which is an estimate and not a measurement. Logos are trademarks of their owners, shown only to name each platform.
How the price works
No charges per seat, app, database or request
- No charge per seat
- No charge per app
- No charge per database
- No charge per request
One server. One price.
An Aria plan is one monthly price for one private VPS. Run several apps, workers and databases on it, up to the server’s memory, and invite your agents too: there are no charges per seat, per app, per database or per request. Sending email with Aria Mail is the one usage add-on.
Your own server. Your AI runs it.
Choose Aria Cloud. Aria AI writes aria.yaml, or your coding agent does it over MCP, and you see which server fits your stack.