The Coolify Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Coolify in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Coolify
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source platform to deploy apps and databases to your own servers
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among web hosts, read from Coolify’s own pages.
Made by Coolify · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Coolify’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Coolify’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade
Coolify is an open-source, self-hostable platform for deploying websites, applications, databases and one-click services to servers you connect over SSH, positioned as an alternative to Vercel, Heroku, Netlify and Railway. It is free to run on your own server, and a managed Cloud edition runs the dashboard for a monthly fee while you bring the servers.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Coolify, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Needs servers reached over SSH and self-hosting, with community support.
- 1
Best for self-hosting your own apps and databases
It supplies no servers, and self-hosting means you install, update and back it up yourself.
- 2
Paid plans start at $5 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $5 per month for up to 2 connected servers (Cloud), or free to self-host.
- 3
There is a free plan
The self-hosted edition is free forever with every feature and no restrictions; you run it on your own infrastructure.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Deploy from Git
Integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Gitea give push-to-deploy and separate deployments for pull requests.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 99 of 122
That is against the other web hosts we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Your call
Coolify sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
Coolify at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $5 per month for up to 2 connected servers (Cloud), or free to self-host
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Coolify
- Category
- Web Hosting
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for self-hosting your own apps and databases
Coolify deploys apps from Git to servers you bring, free if you self-host and $5 a month on its Cloud. It supplies no servers, and self-hosting means you install, update and back it up yourself.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Free 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. |
| Free plan and trial | B | The self-hosted edition has every feature with no restrictions, once you have a server. Cloud has no trial on record. |
| Features | B | Git 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. |
| Ease of use | D | Needs servers reached over SSH and self-hosting, with community support. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | A web dashboard with an API, an MCP server and several integrations. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Coolify is for
- Fits if you have your own servers and want a deploy dashboard
- Works for developers comfortable with SSH and Docker
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Developers who want a Heroku or Vercel style workflow on their own servers
- Teams that want to run databases and many small apps on cheap VPS hardware
- Self-hosters who like open-source tooling
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$5
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Coolify has a free plan. Paid plans start at $5 per month for up to 2 connected servers (Cloud), or free to self-host.
Free software, but only free if you host it yourself on a server you pay for.
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.
The free plan
The self-hosted edition is free forever with every feature and no restrictions; you run it on your own infrastructure.
Read from coolify.io on Nov 13, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on coolify.io
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source platform to deploy apps and databases to your own servers. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, databases.
Git deploys, builds, one-click databases and services, SSL, backups, monitoring, an API and an MCP server.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Bitbucket
- Gitea
- Cloudflare
- Docker
Coolify is made by Coolify.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
99/122
Other web hosts it is graded above
Coolify's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 14.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 99 of 122) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 31 of the 107 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 123 web hosts we grade, cut by the letter each got. Coolify’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 13 of 122
- BFree plan and trialAbove 99 of 122
- BFeaturesAbove 86 of 122
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 122
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 57 of 122
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 111 web hosts. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Coolify is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Your call
Coolify sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. It costs $60 a year. Coolify is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.
What you could not
- Databases with views, filters and links between them.
- It plugs into other products, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Coolify’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Dokploy, CapRover, Dokku, Render and Railway
The 5 tools Coolify is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Dokploy
Free trial · from $4.50/mo
Open-source platform to deploy apps and databases on your own servers.
- Coolify has a free plan. Dokploy does not, though it has a free trial.
- 2.0GPA
CapRover
Free
Free, self-hosted platform for deploying apps with Docker.
- Coolify is open source, according to its own site.
- 1.8GPA
Dokku
Free plan · from $849 one-time
Open-source, single-server platform as a service you run yourself.
- Only Coolify lists a web app.
- Only Dokku lists a Linux app.
- 2.4GPA
Render
Free plan · from $25/mo
Cloud hosting for web services, databases and workers.
- Coolify is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Render also covers workflow automation.
- 2.6GPA
Railway
Free trial · from $5/mo
App and database hosting billed by the second for usage.
- Coolify has a free plan. Railway does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Railway lists iOS and Android apps.
- Coolify is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Coolify free?
Coolify has a free plan. The self-hosted edition is free forever with every feature and no restrictions; you run it on your own infrastructure.
How much does Coolify cost?
Coolify lists 2 plans. Self-hosted: $0.
What platforms does Coolify work on?
Coolify is available on Web.
Does Coolify offer any discounts?
Coolify publicly lists the following: 20% off Cloud with annual billing.
Does Coolify have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Coolify is listed for Web.
Does Coolify have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Coolify is listed for Web.
Is Coolify open source?
Yes. Coolify is open source, according to its own site.
Does Coolify have an API?
Yes. Coolify offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Coolify integrate with?
Coolify's listing names GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea, Cloudflare and Docker.
Who makes Coolify?
Coolify is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Coolify?
The closest alternatives to Coolify in our directory are Dokploy, CapRover, Dokku, Render and Railway.
How does Coolify compare with other web hosts?
Coolify's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 99 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 14.
Is Coolify good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Coolify C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $5 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 31 of the 107 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Coolify?
Coolify sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Coolify’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Coolify's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Coolify. Prices change, so check coolify.io before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Coolify, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/coolify
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Coolify: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/coolify
Know someone choosing between web hosts?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/coolify/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded web hosts after Coolify, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Web Hosting Insider's GuideEvery one of the 123 web hosts we grade, compared
- Cloudflare Pages Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for static sites and full-stack apps2.8 GPA
- GitHub Pages Insider's GuideStatic site hosting built into GitHub repositories2.8 GPA
- Netlify Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for sites and web apps, priced by monthly credits2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Coolify’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Coolify is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Coolify. Prices and plans change: check coolify.io before you buy.