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Sproobo vs Dokploy.
Containers, two ways.

We agree on the premise: your apps and databases belong in containers, on servers you already pay for, not on a metered platform. Where we part company is everything underneath. Dokploy installs its control plane on a box you then operate, orchestrates with Docker Swarm, and reaches other servers over SSH. Sproobo runs the control plane for you and reaches your servers through an agent that only dials out, so no inbound ports are opened at all.

Point by point

Sproobo vs Dokploy.

We describe Dokploy as fairly as we'd want to be described. Where it does something well, we say so.

Sproobo compared with Dokploy
 SprooboDokploy
Apps run in DockerAlwaysYes
Backing services in DockerAlwaysYes
Pinned, choosable versionsApps + DBsBy image tag
Data on inspectable host pathsYesNamed volumes
Agent connectivityOutbound-onlySSH in
Inbound ports requiredNoneSSH port
Off-box buildsYesOptional build server
Blue-green + health gate + rollbackBuilt-inOpt-in, Swarm
Telemetry stored by vendorNoneNone if self-hosted
AI connectors (claude.ai / ChatGPT)Built-inNo
MCP server + coding-agent skill + CLI on one audited APIYesREST API
Lock-out possibleNo, by designNo if self-hosted

Dokploy capabilities described from public documentation and change over time. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

Being fair

Where Dokploy genuinely shines.

Open source with real momentum

Apache 2.0 outside its proprietary directories, tens of thousands of GitHub stars, and a release pace that shows. Free to run on as many servers as you like.

Swarm clustering built in

Extra servers can join the Dokploy host's Docker Swarm as worker nodes and Traefik load-balances replicas across them. Few tools at this price offer multi-node orchestration at all.

Optional build servers

Builds can be pointed at a separate machine that compiles the image and pushes it to a registry, so production never compiles. That is the same principle we build on, and it is good to see it offered.

Honest advice

Stay with Dokploy if…

We'd rather you pick the right tool than the wrong Sproobo.

You want Swarm placement

Dokploy will join machines into a Docker Swarm and let the orchestrator decide which node runs which replica. Sproobo deploys one built image across up to four servers behind a load balancer you bring, which is a deliberately simpler shape. If you want a scheduler, that is Dokploy today and not us.

The control plane must be yours

If policy or preference says no managed components at all, self-hosted Dokploy answers that directly: panel, database and proxy all on your hardware. Sproobo's control plane is always managed, and that's the trade.

Zero is the only acceptable price

Self-hosted Dokploy is free on as many servers as you like. Sproobo is free on your first server, then priced by plan. If the budget is genuinely zero and your time is not billed, that's a real argument and we won't pretend otherwise.

Switching

Migrate one server at a time.

There's no big-bang cutover and no all-or-nothing bet. Enroll a single box, move one app across, run it side by side with your Dokploy setup, and expand only when you're convinced.

01

Enroll

One command adds a server. Your other hosts are untouched.

02

Move an app

Containerize and deploy one workload. Compare it against the old one.

03

Expand at your pace

Bring the rest across when the difference is obvious, not before.

side-by-side · during migration
olddokploy · app-a · swarm service · named volumes
newsproobo · app-a · pinned container
dns10% traffic → sproobo · rest → dokploy
gatehealth parity confirmed · widen when ready
Coolify vs DokployDokploy alternativesSproobo vs CoolifyCoolify alternativesAll comparisons
Straight answers

Sproobo vs Dokploy questions.

No, and Dokploy is not entirely open source either. Dokploy publishes most of itself under Apache 2.0, applies a source-available license to its proprietary directories, and keeps single sign-on, audit logs and custom roles behind an enterprise license key. Sproobo isn't open source today. What runs on your server is deliberately boring and inspectable: standard Docker containers, a standard Caddy proxy, and data on plain host paths.
Both run the control plane for you, so the differences are underneath. Dokploy Cloud connects to your servers over SSH using a key you give it, so every managed box keeps an inbound path open. Sproobo's agent dials out to us over mutual TLS, so we hold no SSH keys and you open no inbound ports. We also always build off-box and keep durable data on plain host paths rather than Docker named volumes.
On Sproobo, your databases and uploads live on bind-mounted host paths under a directory you can open, back up with ordinary tools and copy off the machine. They are excluded from pruning and soft-deleted before any removal. Dokploy's docs recommend Docker named volumes for databases, and its built-in volume backup works only with named volumes, so the same files are reachable but through Docker rather than your filesystem.
Not on Sproobo. Every deploy is a blue-green swap: the new container starts alongside the old one, a health gate has to pass before anything moves, the proxy upstream switches atomically, and a failed gate rolls back on its own. Dokploy's documented default is to stop the running container and start the new one, with zero-downtime available once you configure a Swarm health check on the service.
Off your servers, always. Sproobo builds the image in a separate builder and your server only pulls it, so production never compiles. Dokploy can do this too through its build servers feature, which needs a second machine and a container registry every deployment server can pull from. The difference is that it is opt-in there and the only option here.
Yes. Enroll one server, bring a single app across, and run it beside your Dokploy setup until you're convinced. Nothing about Sproobo requires the rest of your fleet to move, and your Dokploy hosts keep working untouched while you evaluate.
Get started

Try it on one server. Keep the rest.

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