Caddy vs Coolify
| Tagline | Automatic HTTPS web server and reverse proxy with zero config TLS | Self-hostable Heroku/Netlify alternative for apps, databases, and services |
| Category | Self-Hosting Platforms & PaaS | Self-Hosting Platforms & PaaS |
| Replaces | Heroku, Netlify, Render | Heroku, Vercel, Netlify, Render |
| GitHub stars | 73k | 57k |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | One-Click Docker Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | today | 2 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Caddy
- Not a full PaaS; no git push deploy, build pipelines, or app lifecycle management
- No built-in CI/CD integration; needs to be combined with other tools for deployments
- Dashboard and metrics require third-party tools (Prometheus, Grafana) — none built-in
- No managed database provisioning or environment variable secrets management
Coolify
- No managed global edge/CDN network; you run on your own VPS so global latency and DDoS protection are your responsibility.
- Scaling is largely single-server by default; multi-node clustering is less mature than cloud autoscalers.
- Built-in observability (logs/metrics/tracing) is basic compared to Heroku/Render dashboards.
- Some advanced features and polish still in flux; occasional breaking changes between releases.
Bottom line
Choose Coolify if you want the lower-effort setup; choose Caddy for the larger community and ecosystem. Caddy has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Coolify
Self-hostable Heroku/Netlify alternative for apps, databases, and services