Pier vs CapRover
Updated
CapRover and Pier both give you a web UI for deploying apps and one-click databases on your own servers with HTTPS. CapRover is built in TypeScript on Docker Swarm, and its docs note that 512 MB of RAM may not be enough for builds. Pier is a single Rust binary that idles at 20–40 MB RAM, runs on a plain Docker daemon and is designed to fit a 512 MB / 1 vCPU VPS.
curl -fsSL https://pier.team/install | sudo bash GitHub At a glance
| Pier | CapRover | |
|---|---|---|
| Language / runtime | Rust, single static binary | TypeScript |
| Container orchestration | Plain Docker daemon | Docker Swarm |
| Minimum server | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU minimum (1 GB recommended) | 1 GB RAM suggested (512 MB may not be enough for builds) |
| Platform database | Embedded SQLite (WAL) | No external database |
| Deploy sources | Docker image, Dockerfile, Compose, Git, auto-build with Railpack | captain-definition / Dockerfile, Docker image, Git webhooks, CLI |
| Multi-server | Lightweight agents with heartbeat and metrics | Docker Swarm nodes |
| Alerts | 10 preset rules → Telegram, Discord, Slack, email | Not built in |
| Scheduled backups | DB and volume backups to S3-compatible storage | Backup of CapRover configuration |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 with an appendix covering paid features |
Pick Pier if
- You want to run on a 512 MB–1 GB VPS and keep almost all of it for your apps.
- You'd rather not run Docker Swarm.
- You want built-in alerts, scheduled database backups to S3 and per-project roles.
Pick CapRover if
- You already use Docker Swarm or want Swarm clustering.
- You like CapRover's captain-definition files and its large one-click app list.
- You want a project with many years of production use.
Architecture
CapRover runs as a Docker Swarm service with nginx in front and manages apps as Swarm services; adding servers means joining Swarm nodes.
Pier is one Rust binary under systemd with an embedded SQLite database and Traefik for routing and HTTPS. Extra servers run a small Pier agent instead of joining a Swarm.
Workflow
Both offer the same core loop in a browser: deploy an app, attach a domain, enable HTTPS, add a database from a template. Pier adds alert rules, scheduled database and volume backups to S3 and load-balanced replicas out of the box.
Where CapRover is the better fit
CapRover is mature and widely used, with a big catalog of one-click apps. If you are comfortable with Swarm and have the RAM to spare, it is a proven option.