Cloudron and YunoHost are both app-store style self-hosting platforms for installing pre-packaged software like WordPress and Nextcloud with automated…
Freemium · From Free (up to 2 apps); Pro from €15/month
Best for: Individuals and small teams who want a polished, supported app catalog with automated backups, SSL, and a built-in email server, and don't mind paying a monthly fee per server.
Best for: Privacy-conscious individuals and communities who want a completely free, Debian-based self-hosting OS with built-in single sign-on across installed apps.
At a Glance
Cloudron
Dokku
YunoHost
Primary category
Hosting
Hosting
Hosting
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Free / Open Source
free
Starting price
Free (up to 2 apps); Pro from €15/month
Free
Free
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Not documented
Not documented
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Standout Differences
Free vs. paid self-hosting
Dokku and YunoHost cost nothing beyond server hosting, while Cloudron charges from 15 euros per month per server once you exceed two apps.
Cloudron, Dokku, YunoHost
App catalog vs. custom code deployment
Cloudron and YunoHost focus on installing pre-packaged apps like WordPress and Nextcloud with one click, while Dokku is built for deploying your own git-based applications.
Cloudron, Dokku, YunoHost
Built-in email server
Cloudron and YunoHost both include automated email server setup with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC configuration, a capability Dokku does not offer natively.
Cloudron, YunoHost
Single sign-on across apps
Cloudron and YunoHost both provide built-in SSO and LDAP so users log in once across installed apps, an area Dokku does not address since it deploys individual custom apps rather than a shared catalog.
Cloudron, YunoHost
Governance model
Cloudron is a commercial company with paid support tiers, Dokku is a community-governed MIT-licensed project with no company behind it, and YunoHost is volunteer-maintained copylefted software.
Cloudron, Dokku, YunoHost
Feature-by-Feature
Deployment Model
Feature
Cloudron
Dokku
YunoHost
One-click app catalog
Available
Unavailable
Available
Git-push custom app deployment
Unavailable
Available
Unavailable
Operations and Security
Feature
Cloudron
Dokku
YunoHost
Automatic SSL/TLS provisioning
Available
Available
Available
Built-in email server
Available
Unavailable
Available
Single sign-on / LDAP
Available
Not documented
Available
Automated backups
Available
Not documented
Available
Pricing
Feature
Cloudron
Dokku
YunoHost
Free tier or fully free
Limited
Available
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Cloudron
Free — €0/month N/A
Pro — €15/month monthly (annual billing available)
Max — €25/month monthly (annual billing available)
Service Provider — €150/month monthly
Dokku
Open Source — Free N/A
YunoHost
Open Source — $0 n/a
Pros & Cons
Cloudron
Pros
Automates the hardest parts of self-hosting: backups, updates, TLS, DNS, and email deliverability
Large, curated app catalog covering popular open-source tools
Free plan available for testing with up to two apps
Runs on infrastructure fully controlled by the user, with no vendor access to the server
Cons
Requires renting and managing your own VPS or server, which is a separate ongoing cost from the Cloudron subscription
Paid tiers are billed per server, which can add up for organizations running multiple deployments
Advanced features like directory server and multi-site backups require the higher Max tier
Not a fully managed SaaS product, so some server/infrastructure knowledge is still useful
Dokku
Pros
Completely free and open-source with no recurring licensing or platform fees.
Near-identical developer experience to Heroku, making migration away from Heroku straightforward.
Lightweight enough to run on a single inexpensive VPS, unlike heavier orchestration platforms.
Large plugin ecosystem covering databases, SSL, and other common infrastructure needs.
Cons
Requires the team to manage, patch, back up, and monitor their own server.
Primarily designed around single-host deployments, with more limited multi-host scaling than Kubernetes.
No official managed hosting or enterprise support contract from a vendor.
Documentation and plugin quality can vary since many plugins are community-maintained.
YunoHost
Pros
Completely free and open source with no subscription cost beyond the hardware or hosting a user provides
One-click app catalog substantially lowers the barrier to self-hosting common services compared to manual Linux setup
Built-in SSO and LDAP integration means users do not need separate logins for every self-hosted app
Automated domain, TLS and email configuration removes some of the most error-prone parts of running a server
Community-driven and ethically focused, appealing to privacy-conscious users who want to avoid third-party SaaS platforms
Cons
As a volunteer-maintained project, there is no paid support option or guaranteed response time for issues
Still requires basic comfort with server administration concepts even though YunoHost simplifies the process
Application quality and maintenance depend on individual community packagers, so not every app in the catalog is equally polished
Running your own server means taking on responsibility for uptime, security patching and backups yourself
Use Cases
Choose Cloudron: Individuals and small teams who want a polished, supported app catalog with automated backups, SSL, and a built-in email server, and don't mind paying a monthly fee per server.
Choose Dokku: Developers and indie hackers who want to git push their own applications to a self-owned VPS with a Heroku-like workflow, for free.
Choose YunoHost: Privacy-conscious individuals and communities who want a completely free, Debian-based self-hosting OS with built-in single sign-on across installed apps.
Cloudron
Self-hosting multiple open-source apps — Run WordPress, Nextcloud, GitLab, and other apps on one server with automated maintenance.
Agency or reseller hosting — Manage Cloudron deployments for multiple clients across several servers under the Service Provider plan.
Private company collaboration tools — Self-host chat, file sharing, and project tools with centralized SSO for a team.
Dokku
Self-hosted app deployment for side projects — Deploy personal or small commercial projects to a single low-cost VPS with Heroku-style simplicity.
Heroku cost migration — Move existing Heroku applications to self-managed infrastructure to eliminate recurring per-dyno platform fees.
Internal tooling platform — Provide an internal, self-hosted deployment target for multiple small internal tools and services without standing up Kubernetes.
YunoHost
Personal cloud and file sync — Individuals self-host Nextcloud through YunoHost to sync and store files privately instead of using third-party cloud storage.
Small community or organization services — Small groups run shared blogs, wikis and email on a single YunoHost server with unified login for members.
Home-lab and self-hosting learning — Hobbyists use YunoHost on a Raspberry Pi or old computer to learn self-hosting without manually configuring every service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dokku a good alternative to Cloudron or YunoHost for self-hosting apps?
Not directly. Dokku is built for developers deploying their own custom application code via git push, while Cloudron and YunoHost are designed to install pre-packaged apps like WordPress and Nextcloud with a few clicks.
Which of these three is completely free?
Dokku and YunoHost are both fully free and open source software. Cloudron offers a free plan limited to two apps per server, with paid plans starting at 15 euros per month for unlimited apps.
Do Cloudron and YunoHost include email hosting?
Yes, both include a built-in email server with automated DKIM, SPF, and DMARC configuration, something Dokku does not provide out of the box.
Which platform is easiest for a non-developer to use?
Cloudron and YunoHost are both built around a web-based interface and one-click app installs, making them more approachable for non-developers than Dokku, which is operated primarily through git and the command line.
Can I run Dokku, Cloudron, and YunoHost on the same server?
No. Each is a full platform that takes over the server's app, proxy, and, for Cloudron and YunoHost, email stack, so a given server should typically run just one of these platforms at a time.