Comparison¶
There are great tools to deploy to a VPS. This page explains how versaDeploy is alike and different, so you can pick the one that suits you. If something is out of date, let us know.
| versaDeploy | Laravel Forge + Envoyer | Deployer (PHP) | Kamal | Coolify / Dokploy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT | Monthly subscription | Free, MIT | Free, MIT | Free self-hosted; paid cloud |
| Runs from | Your machine or your CI | Web dashboard (SaaS) | Your machine or your CI | Your machine or your CI | A web dashboard installed on your server |
| What the server needs | Just SSH | SSH (managed by Forge) | Just SSH | Docker | Docker + the platform |
| Agent on the server | No | No | No | No | Yes (the platform) |
| Where it builds | On your machine; uploads only what changed | On the server | On the server | Builds a Docker image | On the server |
| Atomic releases and rollback | Yes, automatic on failure | Yes (Envoyer) | Yes | Yes (containers) | Yes (containers) |
| Sets up the server | Yes (Services view) | Yes (Forge) | Partly | Installs Docker | Yes |
| Languages | PHP, Node, Python, Go | Mostly PHP | Mostly PHP | Anything, in containers | Anything, in containers |
| Interface | CLI + TUI | Web | CLI | CLI | Web |
When to pick versaDeploy¶
- You want to deploy to your own VPS without Docker and without a dashboard running on it: the server only needs SSH.
- Your server is small or old: building on your machine saves the server's CPU and RAM, and deploys work even on CentOS 5.
- You want something to set up the server (nginx, PHP, database, SSL, fail2ban, backups) without a subscription, respecting what's already installed.
- You have apps in several languages (Laravel, Nuxt, FastAPI, Go) and want the same workflow for all of them.
When to pick another one¶
- Forge + Envoyer: you prefer a managed web dashboard with support, and the monthly cost isn't an issue.
- Deployer: your team is all PHP, you like PHP recipes, and you don't need the tool to set up the server.
- Kamal: you already work with Docker and want to deploy images to your servers.
- Coolify / Dokploy: you want a "Heroku-like platform" on your server, with a web dashboard, managed databases and git-push deploys, and don't mind running Docker and the platform on it.
Note
This table summarizes each tool broadly; they all move fast. Check their docs for the details.