I tried Dokku quite a while ago and used it for some of my smaller apps for a while. I can't quite remember why I stopped using it. I think there was some limitation with regards to Postgres versions or something and once you want something they don't offer out-of-the-box, things get complicated.
These days I use Render for my largest app that require stability and where I can afford some higher price, and Kamal + Digital Ocean (and their hosted PostgreSQL instances) for some of my smaller apps that are all share the same servers, etc.
Kamal works for me, but took a while to figure out and get running consistently.
They are all different trade-offs. But if costs are important to you, I think Kamal is a decent option. Just prepare having to learn how it works, how Docker works, etc.
Good to know, thanks! Yeah, cost is the most important right now as many products are just getting off the ground.
I'm already familiar with Docker, just need to learn about Kamal. I take it you were able to configure Kamal to host everything on the same VPS for your smaller apps?
Yes, all the (small) websites are hosted on the same server. People say Kamal isn't optimized for that, but it works fine for me.
I do host all databases separately using their managed services. You can include those in your Kamal server if you prefer, but for me I prefer having it managed for me so I have automatic backups, can easily login remotely via TablePlus, etc.
I tried Dokku quite a while ago and used it for some of my smaller apps for a while. I can't quite remember why I stopped using it. I think there was some limitation with regards to Postgres versions or something and once you want something they don't offer out-of-the-box, things get complicated.
These days I use Render for my largest app that require stability and where I can afford some higher price, and Kamal + Digital Ocean (and their hosted PostgreSQL instances) for some of my smaller apps that are all share the same servers, etc.
Kamal works for me, but took a while to figure out and get running consistently.
They are all different trade-offs. But if costs are important to you, I think Kamal is a decent option. Just prepare having to learn how it works, how Docker works, etc.
Good to know, thanks! Yeah, cost is the most important right now as many products are just getting off the ground.
I'm already familiar with Docker, just need to learn about Kamal. I take it you were able to configure Kamal to host everything on the same VPS for your smaller apps?
Yes, all the (small) websites are hosted on the same server. People say Kamal isn't optimized for that, but it works fine for me.
I do host all databases separately using their managed services. You can include those in your Kamal server if you prefer, but for me I prefer having it managed for me so I have automatic backups, can easily login remotely via TablePlus, etc.