Looking for a self-hosted Coolify alternative? Both AppCrane and Coolify run your apps in Docker on a server you own, with no cloud vendor in the middle. Coolify is the mature, community-favorite generalist — open source, ~60k GitHub stars, 280+ one-click services. AppCrane takes a different angle: it's agent-first and built for enterprise governance, so an AI agent drives deploys over MCP while SSO, RBAC, per-user audit, and a secret hard-wall keep the whole thing compliant. Here's the honest head-to-head.
| AppCrane | Coolify | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting model | Self-hosted, 1 box | Self-hosted |
| Data ownership | Yours entirely | Yours entirely |
| Agent / MCP-native control | ✓ | ✗ |
| Enterprise SSO (SAML/OIDC/SCIM) | ✓ | ✗ |
| RBAC + per-user audit | ✓ | ✗ |
| Secret hard-wall (operator can't read) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Docker container isolation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sandbox + production envs | ✓ | ~ |
| One-click service templates | ~ | ✓ |
| Whole-system + scheduled S3 backup | ✓ | ~ |
| Community size / maturity | ~ | ✓ |
| Open source / license | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing model | Flat — your server | Free — your server |
| No vendor lock-in | ✓ | ✓ |
Coolify genuinely wins in a few places, and it's a great tool. Choose it when those strengths matter most to you.
AppCrane is the self-hosted Coolify alternative for teams where an AI agent does the driving and where governance is non-negotiable.
An AI agent drives 35 appcrane_* MCP tools via npx appcrane-mcp — create apps, deploy sandbox to prod, read logs, manage secrets. Coolify has no MCP-native control; it's built for humans clicking a UI.
SAML/OIDC/SCIM SSO, four-role RBAC, and per-user token-bound audit ship in the box. Coolify has no equivalent enterprise SSO/RBAC/audit layer.
The platform operator physically can't read an app's secrets or model API keys — a boundary that matters when one box hosts many teams' apps and compliance is in scope. Coolify has no operator-side secret wall.
Yes. Both are self-hosted and Docker-based on a server you own. AppCrane differs by being agent-first over MCP and by shipping enterprise SSO (SAML/OIDC/SCIM), four-role RBAC, per-user audit, and a secret hard-wall — governance features Coolify doesn't offer.
Community and catalog. Coolify has ~60k GitHub stars, 280+ one-click service templates, and more years of maturity. If you want a large catalog of one-click services with a polished human-first UI, Coolify is the stronger pick.
No. Coolify is human-first and has no MCP-native or agent-first control. AppCrane is designed around an AI agent driving deploys and lifecycle through MCP tools.
No. AppCrane enforces a secret hard-wall — the platform operator can't read an app's secrets or model API keys. Coolify enforces no equivalent operator-side boundary.
One command on your own Ubuntu server. Your infra, your data, your keys.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gitayg/appCrane/main/install.sh | sudo bash
View AppCrane on GitHub ↗
Comparison reflects typical default capabilities as of mid-2026; every product evolves, so verify specifics against each vendor's current docs. "~" marks features that exist but require add-ons, extra configuration, or aren't part of the core product.