CasaOS vs SUI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
CasaOS
Simple, easy-to-use home cloud system and dashboard
VS
SUI
Archived
Minimal startpage for your server and services
| Feature | CasaOS | SUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 45 · Fair | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,254 | ★ 1,574 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Google homepage | Google homepage |
What are CasaOS and SUI?
CasaOS
CasaOS is a community-based open-source home cloud operating system and dashboard built on Docker. It provides an elegant app store and dashboard for managing self-hosted applications.
- Elegant app store
- Drag-and-drop dashboard
- File management
- Docker app management
SUI
SUI is a simple startpage for self-hosted services. It shows app links and bookmarks defined in plain config files, offers search across multiple providers, and runs as a lightweight JavaScript app with no database, deployable via Docker. The project is archived.
CasaOS vs SUI: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: SUI's repository is archived and no longer developed, while CasaOS is actively maintained. CasaOS is written in Go, while SUI is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for CasaOS versus MIT for SUI. SUI is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 512 MB for CasaOS. SUI is the more established project (first released 2018), while CasaOS arrived in 2021. CasaOS has the considerably larger community, at 37,254 GitHub stars versus 1,574.
Why pick each one
Choose CasaOS if…
- Very beginner-friendly
- Polished interface
Watch out for
- Best on dedicated hardware
- Less control than raw Docker
Choose SUI if…
- Dead simple setup
- Tiny footprint
Watch out for
- Limited widgets
- Manual config edits
Frequently asked questions
Is CasaOS or SUI better?
Neither is universally better. CasaOS has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are CasaOS and SUI free and open-source?
Yes. CasaOS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SUI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CasaOS and SUI with Docker?
CasaOS: yes. SUI: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, CasaOS or SUI?
SUI has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for CasaOS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.