Pick Coolify if
small teams who will self-host the OSS control plane at $0 while they deploy a first git app, or start Cloud at $5/month (2 servers included, then $3/server) when they do not want to maintain Coolify itself.
Read the Coolify pageCoolify vs Encore
Our take
Pick Coolify if small teams who will self-host the OSS control plane at $0 while they deploy a first git app, or start Cloud at $5/month (2 servers included, then $3/server) when they do not want to maintain Coolify itself. Pick Encore if backend teams who will stay on Starter $0 (2 Encore Cloud envs, 1M traces, Discord) while they Call API on a first urlshortener, then start the 14-day Pro trial and land on
Encore
backend-as-code desk
Best for
Coolify Deploys you start at $5 Cloud or OSS $0
Encore A backend you start at $0
Free plan
Coolify $0 · open source. You install and maintain Coolify. Unlimited servers and deployments on hardware you own
Encore $0 · email only. Local development with automated infra (no Terraform/YAML). 2 free Encore Cloud dev environments. 1M tracing events/month, 7-day retention. CI/CD and automated testing. Discord community support
Lowest paid
Coolify Not published by the vendor
Encore Not published by the vendor
Runs where
Coolify Local; you host it
Encore Local; you host it
Watch out
Coolify $5 Cloud is the control plane, not the VPS
Encore Starter is 2 Encore Cloud envs and 1M traces
Last checked
Coolify 2026-10-22 · coolify.io/pricing
Encore 2026-10-22 · encore.dev/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Encore if
backend teams who will stay on Starter $0 (2 Encore Cloud envs, 1M traces, Discord) while they Call API on a first urlshortener, then start the 14-day Pro trial and land on $49/member + $99/env + $2.50/resource when they need AWS/GCP and preview environments.
Read the Encore page