Top pick · highest health
Cosmos
Run server applications securely and with built-in privacy features. It acts as a secure gateway to your application, as well as a server manager.
DockerGo
Self-hosting Solutions
Open source alternatives to Heroku
We track 3 open-source Heroku alternatives, of which 1 currently score 70 or above on Repoly's GitHub health scale and 3 ship a Docker image. Cosmos leads on health at 95/100 with 34 commits in the last 90 days; across all 3 projects you are choosing between Apache-2.0, Commons-Clause, ⊘ Proprietary.
updated Oct 2026 3 alternatives best health 95 ★ 6.2k combined 323 commits / 90d 3 with Docker
Top picks to replace Heroku
Showing 3 of 3 tools
All 3 Heroku alternatives, ranked by health
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Cloudron
Open-core software allowing you to effortlessly self-host web apps on your server.
DockerNodejs -
Easypanel
Modern server control panel powered by Docker.
Docker
Heroku alternatives compared
Cosmos edges Cloudron 95 to 61, and most of the difference is release recency: v0.23.4 from 2 months ago against no tagged release. Cloudron is the busier codebase, though, with 289 commits in 90 days to 34. Cosmos also has the largest following, at 6.2k stars.
The most recent release is Cosmos v0.23.4, published 2 months ago. Cloudron publishes no tagged releases, which costs up to 25 of the 100 points. None of the measured options scores under 40. By stack, Go (1) and Nodejs (1) are the most common. Cosmos, Cloudron and Easypanel are source-available rather than open source, which limits commercial reuse. Easypanel is not hosted on a forge Repoly can read, so it has no measured score yet.
3 of these 3 also appear among the Cloudron Cloud alternatives, which lists 3 more.
| Tool | Health | Stars | Licence | Last commit | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos Steady at 95 since 11 Sep | 95 | 6.2k | Apache-2.0 | 9 days ago | Yes |
| Cloudron Steady at 61 since 11 Oct, no tagged release | 61 | 34 | ⊘ Proprietary | yesterday | Yes |
| Easypanel | 20 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | Yes |
Heroku alternatives: common questions
What is the most maintained open source alternative to Heroku?
Cosmos scores highest at 95/100, with 34 commits in the last 90 days, 6.2k stars on GitHub and its latest release (v0.23.4) published 2 months ago. Cloudron has the most raw commit activity at 289 commits in 90 days.
Which Heroku alternatives use a permissive licence?
None of the 3 tracked alternatives use a permissive licence; 0 are copyleft (GPL, AGPL or similar), which requires publishing changes to any modified version you distribute.
Which Heroku alternatives run in Docker?
3 of 3 publish a Docker image or Compose file: Cosmos, Cloudron, Easypanel. Docker support contributes 10 of the 100 available health points, because it is the clearest signal that self-hosting is a supported path rather than an afterthought.
Is Cosmos or Cloudron the better Heroku alternative?
On measured health Cosmos leads, 95 to 61. Cosmos has 34 commits in 90 days, 6.2k stars and v0.23.4 from 2 months ago; Cloudron has 289 commits in 90 days, 34 stars and no tagged release. Cosmos is ahead or level on every term Repoly measures.
Are the Heroku alternatives still maintained?
1 of the 2 measured options score 70 or above. Every measured option had commits in the last 90 days. None scores under 40.
What languages are the Heroku alternatives written in?
Go: Cosmos. Nodejs: Cloudron. The stack matters if you plan to extend or patch the tool yourself.
