Coolify: the 63.5k-star open-source self-hosted PaaS that undercuts Vercel on a $5 VPS
thisguyknowsai · x · 2026-10-23
What Coolify is
An open-source, self-hostable PaaS positioned as an alternative to Vercel / Heroku / Netlify, with 63.5k GitHub stars, 5.7k forks, latest release 4.0.0.
What you get out of the box
- Deploy static sites, Next.js, Node, Python, PHP, Docker apps and more
- 280+ one-click services (databases, WordPress, AI tools, monitoring)
- Git-based deploys, preview environments, automatic SSL; manage multiple servers from one UI
- Zero vendor lock-in — all configs live on your own server
- Runs on VPS, bare metal, Raspberry Pi or old laptops; one-line install in under 2 minutes
Cost comparison
The author contrasts Vercel's bandwidth/function fees, Heroku dyno pricing and Netlify build minutes with Coolify's model: unlimited deploys on a $5 VPS, with no one able to throttle you, change pricing overnight, or shut you down.
Related event: Open-source Coolify gains traction as self-hosted Vercel alternative(3 posts)→
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