A server for Coolify or Dokploy

Why more than the minimum: the platform builds your apps on the same server, and a Node or Next.js build can take a gigabyte or two of memory for a minute, on top of the apps already running. Docker images, build caches and database volumes fill the disk faster than you expect, which is why 80 GB is the starting point here. For more than five or six apps, raise the memory filter to 8 GB, or let Coolify build on a second server.

What it replaces on the bill: a platform-as-a-service charges per app, per database and often per seat. Here you pay one server, with the IPv4 address, any setup fee and the renewal price included in the monthly figure, and run as many small apps as it holds. The trade is that updates, backups and the server itself are yours to look after.

Before you buy: both tools need ports 80 and 443 free and a public IPv4 address for most visitors, so keep the IPv4 address on. Coolify runs on x86 and Arm servers alike, and Arm plans are often the cheapest way to get the memory. Turn on backups, and keep database dumps somewhere else as well.