Pier vs Dokploy
Updated
Pier and Dokploy are both open-source, self-hosted alternatives to Heroku and Vercel with a web UI, Docker Compose support, one-click databases and Traefik for HTTPS. Dokploy is built in TypeScript on Docker Swarm and asks for at least 2 GB RAM and 30 GB of disk. Pier is a single Rust binary that idles at 20–40 MB RAM and runs on a 512 MB / 1 vCPU server without Swarm.
curl -fsSL https://pier.team/install | sudo bash GitHub At a glance
| Pier | Dokploy | |
|---|---|---|
| Language / runtime | Rust, single static binary | TypeScript |
| Minimum server | 512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU minimum (1 GB recommended) | 2 GB RAM, 30 GB disk |
| Container orchestration | Plain Docker daemon | Docker Swarm |
| Platform database | Embedded SQLite (WAL) | Separate database service |
| Reverse proxy / HTTPS | Traefik + Let's Encrypt | Traefik + Let's Encrypt |
| Deploy sources | Docker image, Dockerfile, Compose, Git, auto-build with Railpack | Docker image, Dockerfile, Compose, Git, Nixpacks / buildpacks |
| Multi-server | Lightweight agents with heartbeat and metrics | Remote servers |
| Database backups | Scheduled DB and volume backups to S3-compatible storage | Scheduled DB backups to external storage |
| Notifications | 10 preset alert rules → Telegram, Discord, Slack, email | Deploy notifications → Slack, Discord, Telegram, email |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 (with a separately licensed proprietary directory) |
Pick Pier if
- Your server has 512 MB–2 GB of RAM and you want it spent on apps, not the platform.
- You don't want Docker Swarm in the picture — Pier works on a single plain Docker daemon.
- You want resource alerts (CPU, RAM, disk, crashed containers, expiring SSL) and load-balanced replicas built in.
Pick Dokploy if
- You prefer a TypeScript codebase you can read and extend.
- You already run Docker Swarm or want Swarm-based scaling.
- You want a larger community: Dokploy has a much bigger user base than Pier today.
Architecture
Dokploy runs its web app as a set of Docker services on top of Docker Swarm, with Traefik in front. Its installation docs ask for 2 GB of RAM and 30 GB of disk before you deploy your own apps.
Pier is one Rust binary that runs as a systemd service, keeps its state in an embedded SQLite database and serves a server-rendered UI. The only extra container is Traefik. There is no Swarm to initialise and no platform database to back up separately.
Workflow
Both tools cover the same day-to-day loop: create a project, deploy from an image, a Dockerfile, a Compose file or a Git repo, attach a domain and get HTTPS automatically, add a database in one click and schedule backups.
Where Pier is behind
Dokploy has a bigger community, more templates contributed by users and a longer release history. If those matter more to you than footprint, Dokploy is a solid choice.