Coolify vs Tsuru
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosting platforms (paas) options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Coolify
Self-hosted platform-as-a-service alternative to Heroku
VS
Tsuru
Extensible open-source application platform
| Feature | Coolify | Tsuru |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Self-Hosting Platforms (PaaS) | Self-Hosting Platforms (PaaS) |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | kubernetes, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,162 | ★ 5,311 |
| First released | 2021 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Heroku, Netlify, Vercel | Heroku |
What are Coolify and Tsuru?
Coolify
Coolify is an open-source, self-hostable platform for deploying applications, databases, and services from Git repositories. It provides automatic builds, SSL, and management for any server you own.
- Git-based deployments
- Automatic SSL certificates
- Database and service management
- Bring your own server
Tsuru
Tsuru is an open-source platform-as-a-service that manages the full application lifecycle across Docker and Kubernetes backends. It supports buildpacks, autoscaling, and a pluggable architecture.
- Full app lifecycle management
- Buildpack support
- Pluggable provisioners
- Autoscaling
Coolify vs Tsuru: key differences
Coolify is written in PHP, while Tsuru is built with Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Coolify versus BSD-3-Clause for Tsuru. Tsuru is the more established project (first released 2012), while Coolify arrived in 2021. Coolify has the considerably larger community, at 62,162 GitHub stars versus 5,311.
Why pick each one
Choose Coolify if…
- One-command installation
- Automatic SSL certificates
- No vendor lock-in
Watch out for
- Needs capable server
- Docs lag rapid releases
Choose Tsuru if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 5.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Coolify or Tsuru better?
Coolify is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Tsuru if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Coolify and Tsuru free and open-source?
Yes. Coolify is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tsuru under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Coolify and Tsuru with Docker?
Coolify: yes. Tsuru: yes.