Coolify vs Hatchbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Coolify grades higher than Hatchbox: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Coolify grades higher on the free plan and features. Hatchbox grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Coolify
Open-source platform to deploy apps and databases to your own servers
Hatchbox
Deploy Rails and Ruby apps to servers you own, billed per server
Which one is for you
Pick Coolify if
- Fits if you have your own servers and want a deploy dashboard
- Works for developers comfortable with SSH and Docker
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you do not have a server, as neither edition supplies one
- Not for you if you want someone else to handle updates and backups when self-hosting
- Tight if you want fast support, as it is community plus limited email on Cloud
- Pricey if you add many servers on Cloud, at $3 a month each past two
Pick Hatchbox if
- Fits if you run Rails and want servers in your own DigitalOcean or Hetzner account
- Works for people with several apps who want a flat fee per server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, since there is none
- Tight if you dislike giving a card first: the 7-day trial needs a payment method
- Watch out: the cloud server is billed separately at the provider's list price on top of $15
- Not for you if you want hands-off hosting, as you still run your own servers
- Watch out: the pricing page has a Yearly toggle but lists no yearly plan
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACoolifyFair | 2.0GPAHatchboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree software, but only free if you host it yourself on a server you pay for. Cloud is $5 a month for 2 servers, then $3 each. | C$15 a server a month with unlimited apps, level with the $10.99 middle of hosting. The server itself is billed by your cloud provider on top. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe self-hosted edition has every feature with no restrictions, once you have a server. Cloud has no trial on record. | DA 7-day free trial that needs a payment method, with billing starting after day 7. No free plan. |
| Features | BGit deploys, builds, one-click databases and services, SSL, backups, monitoring, an API and an MCP server. The listing shows no gap in the core job. | CServer setup, Rails-aware zero-downtime deploys, workers, cron, databases, SSL and a beta MCP server. The vendor says it is not a hands-off replacement for Heroku. |
| Ease of use | DNeeds servers reached over SSH and self-hosting, with community support. | CNo store rating on record. You connect a cloud account or Ubuntu server and keep SSH access to run it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web dashboard with an API, an MCP server and several integrations. | BWeb dashboard with DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, Linode, Vultr, AppSignal, Honeybadger and Sidekiq. No desktop or phone apps. |
| Best for | self-hosting your own apps and databases | deploying Rails apps to your own cloud servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Coolify and Hatchbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Coolify starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Hatchbox starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Coolify starts $10 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 1 scores higher than Coolify for less, and 5 score higher than Hatchbox for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Coolify is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
At a glance
| Coolify | Hatchbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per month for up to 2 connected servers (Cloud), or free to self-host | $15 per server / month |
| Free plan | The self-hosted edition is free forever with every feature and no restrictions; you run it on your own infrastructure. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial; a payment method is required at checkout and billing starts after day 7. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Coolify | Hatchbox |
| Price read from | coolify.io | hatchbox.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Coolify
- Coolify does not supply servers: both editions need servers you bring, and Cloud charges $3 a month for each server beyond the first two.
- Self-hosting means you handle installation, updates and backups, with community support.
- Cloud support is described as community plus limited email support.
- Some pricing FAQ answers, including trial and discount questions, were not readable on the page, so no trial is recorded.
Hatchbox
- The server is paid separately to the cloud provider at its list price, on top of $15 a month per server Hatchbox manages.
- There is no free plan, and the trial needs a payment method.
- The vendor says it is not a hands-off replacement for Heroku: you still run your own servers.
- The pricing page has a Yearly toggle but lists no yearly plan.
Key features
Coolify
- Deploy from Git
- Integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Gitea give push-to-deploy and separate deployments for pull requests.
- Flexible builds
- Applications can be built with Nixpacks, Railpack, a Dockerfile or Docker Compose, served as static sites, or run from a prebuilt Docker image.
- One-click databases and services
- PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis, KeyDB, Dragonfly and ClickHouse start in seconds, alongside a catalog of 360+ one-click services.
- Any server over SSH
- Resources can be deployed to your own server, a VPS, a Raspberry Pi or providers such as Hetzner and DigitalOcean, across one or many servers.
- SSL, backups and monitoring
- Let's Encrypt certificates renew automatically, databases back up to S3-compatible storage, and servers and deployments are monitored with notifications.
- API and MCP server
- An API automates deployments and resources, and an MCP server lets AI clients list resources, deploy and read logs with the same API tokens.
Hatchbox
- Your own servers
- Servers are created in your DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, Linode or Vultr account, or you can bring an Ubuntu server, and you keep full SSH access.
- Rails-aware deploys
- Rails is detected from the Gemfile; the Ruby version comes from the repo and Puma runs behind Caddy, with zero-downtime deployments.
- Workers and cron
- Sidekiq or Solid Queue workers, other processes, cron jobs, environment variables and streaming logs are managed in the dashboard.
- Databases
- PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis and SQLite can run on the server, or managed databases can be connected with environment variables.
- Automatic SSL
- Caddy handles SSL redirects, and On-Demand TLS issues certificates for custom domains.
- MCP server (beta)
- A beta MCP server lets Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another MCP client ask what is deployed and investigate failing jobs.
Plans
Coolify
Self-hosted$0
Install Coolify yourself on your own infrastructure with all features and unlimited servers and teams. Support comes from the community, and you handle updates and backups.
Cloud$5
per month for up to 2 servers, then $3 per extra server
Coolify hosts the dashboard at app.coolify.io; you bring your own servers. Unlimited deployments, email alerts, and limited email support.
Hatchbox
Standard$15
per server / month
Unlimited apps and team members, zero-downtime deployments, hosted Hatchbox domains, custom domains with SSL and human support.
Ways to pay less
Coolify
- Annual discount
20% off Cloud with annual billing
The pricing page's billing toggle marks annual billing as 20% cheaper than monthly for Coolify Cloud.
Hatchbox
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Coolify or Hatchbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Coolify is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $15 a month for Hatchbox. Coolify starts at $5 per month for up to 2 connected servers (Cloud), or free to self-host, and Hatchbox starts at $15 per server / month.
Which has a free plan, Coolify or Hatchbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Coolify has a free plan. Hatchbox does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.