Personal Self-Hosted Infrastructure Expansion with Coolify
> A multi-VPS environment comparing deployment approaches across Dokploy (Hetzner) and Coolify (DigitalOcean) in real-world conditions.
> Overview
I recently expanded my self-hosted infrastructure setup beyond a single VPS to realistically compare different deployment approaches side by side.
My first server runs on Hetzner with Dokploy, where I built a strong base in multi-service deployments, Docker-based workloads, custom domains with HTTPS, persistent databases, and self-hosted app operations. To test a different self-hosted PaaS workflow, I created a second VPS on DigitalOcean using student credits and deployed Coolify. I redeployed a similar multi-service setup so I could compare platform behavior under real conditions.
The goal of this ongoing exercise is to understand how platform choices fundamentally impact developer experience, service management, database workflows, infrastructure flexibility, and long-term operational control. Next steps include testing real projects (like IssueSight) on both platforms and evaluating Ubicloud for bare-metal possibilities.
> Key Features
- Dokploy on Hetzner: Direct, Docker-oriented self-hosted workflow
- Coolify on DigitalOcean: Smoother, productized multi-service platform experience
- Ubicloud Consideration: Exploring options for deeper infrastructure experiments on bare metal
- Real-World Evaluation: Testing real projects over setup impressions
? What I Learned
- >> Dokploy feels more direct and Docker-oriented
- >> Coolify feels more productized and smoother for multi-service management
- >> Database provisioning and internal service connectivity felt easier in Coolify during testing
> Tech Stack
Links & Resources
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