Dockpeek vs Homer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Dockpeek
Dashboard that auto-discovers Docker container links
VS
Homer
Static, fast and simple service dashboard
| Feature | Dockpeek | Homer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,116 | ★ 11,617 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Dockpeek and Homer?
Dockpeek
Dockpeek inspects running Docker containers and builds a dashboard of their published ports and web links automatically. It removes manual upkeep of homepage links.
- Auto-discovers containers
- Port and link listing
- Live container state
- Zero manual upkeep
Homer
Homer is a very simple static dashboard for your services, configured with a single YAML file and served as static assets. It targets users wanting the lightest possible start page. It is deployed via Docker or any static host.
- Single YAML configuration
- Pure static, no backend
- Themes and search
- Tiny resource use
Dockpeek vs Homer: key differences
Dockpeek is written in JavaScript, while Homer is built with Vue. Licensing differs — MIT for Dockpeek versus Apache-2.0 for Homer. Homer is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Dockpeek. Homer is the more established project (first released 2019), while Dockpeek arrived in 2024. Homer has the considerably larger community, at 11,617 GitHub stars versus 2,116.
Why pick each one
Choose Dockpeek if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
Choose Homer if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Trivial to host
- Fast
Watch out for
- No dynamic widgets
- Manual config edits
Frequently asked questions
Is Dockpeek or Homer better?
Neither is universally better. Homer has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dockpeek and Homer free and open-source?
Yes. Dockpeek is licensed under MIT and Homer under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dockpeek and Homer with Docker?
Dockpeek: yes. Homer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dockpeek or Homer?
Homer has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Dockpeek. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.