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# Introduction
I’m Vibe coding my stable coin payment platform, running everything locally with my own server setup using Docker Compose.
But at some point, I realized something important: There really is no simple self-hosted platform that can handle scaling, deployment, and multi-service Docker management without turning it into a full-time DevOps job.
This inspired me to start exploring Versal style alternatives that were easy to use while still giving me the freedom and control I want.
The self hosting platforms I’m going to share come directly from my own experience and struggle to find tools that actually work for vibe coders.
If you want better pricing, more control, stronger security, and real scalability, these platforms can help you take your side project and turn it into something that feels much closer to a real startup.
The best part is that it doesn’t require anything complicated to get started. All you really need is a cheap Hetzner server. Install one of these platforms, many of which are designed to simplify deployment so you can focus on building rather than managing infrastructure, and you’ll be ready to deploy production-ready applications with confidence.
# 1. Docploy
Dokploy is a stable, easy-to-use deployment solution designed to simplify application management. It serves as a free, self-hosted alternative to platforms like Heroku, Vercel, and Netlify, leveraging the power of Docker and the flexibility of traffic to make deployment smooth and efficient.
key features:
- Simplicity: Easy setup and intuitive management of deployment.
- resilience: Supports a wide range of applications and databases.
- open source: Completely free and open source for anyone to use.
# 2. To cool down
chill is an open-source, self-hosted PaaS that lets you easily deploy applications, databases, and services, such as WordPress, Ghost, and Appreciable Analytics, on your infrastructure.
It serves as a DIY alternative to platforms like Heroku, Vercel, and Netlify, enabling you to run static sites, full-stack apps, and one-click services on any server using simple, automated tooling.
key features:
- Deploy anywhere: Supports deployment to any server, including VPS, Raspberry Pi, EC2, Hetzner and others via SSH, giving complete flexibility over infrastructure.
- Comprehensive Technology Support: Works with virtually any language or framework, enabling deployment of static sites, APIs, backends, databases, and many popular app stacks like Next.js, Nuxt.js, and SvelteKit.
- Integrated Git and Automation: Offers push‑to‑deployment with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Gitea, as well as automated SSL, server setup automation, and pull request deployment for smooth CI/CD workflows.
# 3. Appwrite
appwrite is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform that now offers full-stack capabilities thanks to its Sites feature, which lets you deploy websites directly with its backend services.
Since full-stack development means handling both frontend and backend components and AppWrite now supports website hosting plus API, auth, database, storage, messaging, and functions, it provides everything needed to build, deploy, and scale entire applications within a single platform.
key features:
- End-to-End Full-Stack Platform: With frontend hosting for sites and robust backend tools like auth, databases, functions, storage, messaging, and realtime, AppWrite covers the entire web stack.
- Flexible integration methods: The SDK supports REST, GraphQL, and Realtime APIs, allowing seamless integration with any language or framework.
- Data ownership and easy transfer: Firebase offers migration tools from SupaBase, nHosted, and self-hosted setups so developers can easily move projects while keeping full control over their data.
# 4. Dokku
dokku Cloud as a Service is an extensible, open-source platform that runs on a single server of your choice, working like a self-hosted mini-Heroku. It automatically builds applications from a simple git push using language autodetection via Dockerfiles or buildpacks, then runs them inside separate containers.
Dokku also integrates technologies like nginx and cron to route web traffic and manage background processes, giving developers a lightweight but powerful way to deploy and operate apps on their own infrastructure.
key features:
- Git-powered deployment: Push code via Git to quickly build apps using Dockerfiles or Buildpacks, similar to Heroku’s workflow.
- Lightweight Single-Server PaaS: Runs on any Ubuntu/Debian server and uses Docker to manage the app lifecycle, making it easy to self-host a Heroku-like environment on minimal hardware.
- Extensible and plugin-friendly: Supports a wide ecosystem of community and official plugins, allowing developers to add databases, storage, monitoring, and more to their deployments.
# 5. Juno
Juno is an open-source serverless platform that lets you build, deploy, and run applications in secure WASM containers while maintaining full self-hosting control and zero DevOps. It offers a full backend stack, including key-value data storage, authentication, file storage, analytics, and serverless functions, so developers can build modern apps without managing infrastructure.
Juno also supports hosting static sites, building full web apps, and running tasks with the privacy and sovereignty of self-hosting, providing a familiar, cloud-like developer experience.
key features:
- Full Serverless Stack with Self-Hosting Control: It includes datastore, storage, auth, analytics, and serverless functions running in secure WASM containers, giving you full ownership of your apps and data.
- Zero-setup developer experience: Use local emulation for development and deploy to isolated containers (“satellites”), with no DevOps required and a workflow similar to modern cloud platforms.
- Built for web developers: Use your favorite frontend framework and write serverless functions in Rust or TypeScript with templates and tools that simplify building full-stack apps.
# comparison table
This comparison table highlights what each platform is best for, how you deploy it, and what types of applications it can run so you can quickly choose the right self-hosted option for your workflow.
| platform | best for | Deploy Workflow | what goes on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dokploy | Simple “Heroku-style” self-hosting with strong Docker Compose support | UI-driven deployment + Docker Compose | Write containers, apps |
| chill | The closest experience to self-hosted Vercel/Netlify, plus lots of prebuilt services | Git push for deployment (GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket/Gitea) + automation | Static Sites, Full-Stack Apps, Services |
| Appwrite (with sites) | One platform for backend (auth/db/storage/functions) and frontend hosting | Connect Git repo or use templates for sites | Frontend + Backend Services |
| dokku | Lightweight “mini-Heroku” on a single server. | Git push deploys via buildpack or Dockerfile | containerized apps |
| Juno | Serverless-style apps with self-hosting controls and minimal ops | CLI or GitHub Actions deployed on “satellites” | Static sites, web apps, WASM-based serverless functions |
abid ali awan (@1Abidaliyawan) is a certified data scientist professional who loves building machine learning models. Currently, he is focusing on content creation and writing technical blogs on machine learning and data science technologies. Abid holds a master’s degree in technology management and a bachelor’s degree in telecommunication engineering. Their vision is to create AI products using graph neural networks for students struggling with mental illness.
