[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":192},["ShallowReactive",2],{"seo-verification":3,"blog-portainer-3-drops-ce-three-open-source-alternatives-en":6},{"google":4,"bing":5},"EycwPY2XMyTkVzas3n1ygeNJFGAH513qrMjfDljzsMQ","",{"key":7,"data":8},"blog-portainer-3-drops-ce-three-open-source-alternatives-en",{"id":9,"slug":10,"slugs":11,"title":15,"excerpt":16,"readTime":17,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":20,"updatedAt":21,"category":22,"categories":27,"featuredImage":29,"bgImage":30,"posterImage":31,"relatedSolution":32,"intro":35,"sections":36,"ctaTitle":132,"ctaBody":133,"ctaButton":134,"ctaUrl":135,"relatedPosts":136},367,"portainer-3-drops-ce-three-open-source-alternatives",{"fr":12,"en":10,"ar":13,"es":14},"portainer-3-alternative-self-hosted-vps","بورتينر-30-يلغي-النسخة-المجانية-ثلاثة-بدايل-مفتوحة-المصدر","portainer-3-elimina-ce-tres-alternativas-open-source","Portainer 3.0 Drops CE: Three Open Source Alternatives","Portainer 3.0 ends the free Community Edition. Three open source alternatives — Dockge, Coolify, Komodo — you can deploy on your VPS today.",7,0,false,"2026-09-20T00:00:00+00:00","2026-09-20T21:13:51+00:00",{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},3,"Deployment","deploiement","bg-success\u002F10 text-success",[28],{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},null,"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fbg.svg","\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fportainer-3-alternative-self-hosted-vps-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":33,"appSlug":34},"application-deployment-devops","komodo","On September 18, 2026, the Portainer team announced the end of the Community Edition with Portainer 3.0. Hundreds of thousands of users now face a choice: switch to a paid subscription or migrate to a free alternative. This article does not promise a 1:1 replacement — each alternative covers a different scope. It helps you identify which one fits your real situation: a single server, a multi-server fleet, or a GitOps workflow.",[37,41,49,52,55,58,80,125,128],{"type":38,"title":39,"body":40},"h2","What Portainer 3.0 Changes for CE Users","Since its inception, **Portainer Community Edition** allowed managing Docker containers and Compose stacks through a web interface, for free, with no node limits. Portainer 3.0 changes this model: the CE disappears in favor of a unified plan, the **3 Nodes Free** (formerly Business), which limits usage to three nodes at most. For teams exceeding this limit or unwilling to accept a commercial licence even if free (Business Terms of Service), migration is unavoidable.\n\nAs of 18 September 2026, the official announcement covers the imminent transition. For Portainer CE users, three questions arise immediately: will their configuration data be migratable, will their current workflow survive the change, and which alternative fits their constraints — single server, multi-server, or GitOps?",{"type":42,"title":43,"items":44},"ul","The Three Migration Profiles",[45,46,47,48],"**Single server, simplicity first** → Dockge: lightweight interface, Compose stacks, zero dependencies.","**Full app deployment, self-hosted PaaS** → Coolify: integrated reverse proxy, automatic SSL, deploy from Git.","**Multi-server, GitOps, teams** → Komodo: centralised orchestration, Core \u003C 256 MB RAM, available in the ServOrbit catalogue.","All three tools are under open source licences, with no paid tier for core features, and are actively maintained in 2026.",{"type":38,"title":50,"body":51},"Dockge — Compose Management Without the Complexity","**Dockge** is a `docker-compose.yml` stack manager developed by the creator of Uptime Kuma. It does not aim to replace Portainer entirely: it targets a precise scope, managing and deploying Compose files through a clean web interface.\n\nStrengths: it starts with two commands (`git clone` + `docker compose up`), listens on a single port, requires no database, and a single Dockge instance can control **multiple Docker hosts via SSH**. Its interface clearly displays the state of each service, real-time logs, and allows editing a `docker-compose.yml` directly from the browser.\n\nLimitations: Dockge does not handle Kubernetes, does not include an integrated reverse proxy, and does not support managing private Docker registries. If your workflow involves anything beyond Compose stacks on Linux VPS, you will quickly reach its limits.",{"type":38,"title":53,"body":54},"Coolify — Self-Hosted PaaS With Integrated SSL and Reverse Proxy","**Coolify** positions itself as a Heroku or Render that you host yourself. It goes beyond container management: it handles deployment from Git (push-to-deploy), automatically configures the reverse proxy (Traefik), renews SSL Let's Encrypt certificates, and can deploy not only Docker apps but also static sites and Dockerfiles.\n\nStrengths: a single install command (`curl -fsSL https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.coollabs.io\u002Fcoolify\u002Finstall.sh | bash`), modern interface, native management of environment variables and secrets, and deployment across multiple servers from a central dashboard. Coolify also supports Laravel, Node.js, Python, and other frameworks without manual proxy configuration.\n\nLimitations: heavier than Dockge (several background services), requires a domain to access the interface by default, and its Git deployment model may be overkill if you only manage Compose stacks.",{"type":38,"title":56,"body":57},"Komodo — Multi-Server Orchestration and GitOps","**Komodo** (formerly Monitor) is the most fully-featured of the three. Under the GPL-3.0 licence, it offers a Core\u002FPeriphery architecture: a central Core orchestrates Periphery agents deployed on each server. It manages Docker and Docker Compose deployments, synchronises stacks from a Git repository, centralises logs and alerts, and exposes an API.\n\nThe Komodo Core consumes less than 256 MB of RAM at idle — it fits on the same entry-level VPS as your apps. It is the closest alternative to Portainer in terms of functional scope, and the only one of the three to natively cover the multi-server case with GitOps.\n\nFor a full installation walkthrough, see the dedicated guide: \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fself-host-komodo-vps\">self-host-komodo-vps\u003C\u002Fa>. Komodo is also available directly from the ServOrbit catalogue.",{"type":59,"title":60,"steps":61},"steps","Deploy Komodo Core on a ServOrbit VPS",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"title":63,"body":64},"Prerequisites","A VPS with root access, Docker and Docker Compose installed. Allow for 1 vCPU and 512 MB RAM minimum for the Core alone (under 256 MB at idle). A domain name or subdomain pointing to your VPS is recommended for HTTPS access.",{"title":66,"body":67},"Create the directory and Compose file","Connect via SSH, then:\n\n```bash\nmkdir -p \u002Fopt\u002Fkomodo && cd \u002Fopt\u002Fkomodo\n```\n\nCreate a `compose.yml` file using the official content from the Komodo documentation. Adapt the `KOMODO_HOST` variable (your domain), `KOMODO_PASSKEY` (a long random string), and volume paths to your setup.",{"title":69,"body":70},"Start the Core","```bash\ndocker compose up -d\n```\n\nCheck that both `komodo-core` and `komodo-mongo` containers are `Up`:\n\n```bash\ndocker compose ps\n```\n\nThe Core listens on port 9120 by default. If you use a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy), create a vhost that proxies to `localhost:9120`.",{"title":72,"body":73},"Configure HTTPS with Caddy or nginx","With **Caddy** (the simplest approach):\n\n```bash\nkomodo.your-domain.com {\n    reverse_proxy localhost:9120\n}\n```\n\nCaddy automatically renews the Let's Encrypt certificate. With **nginx**, create a standard `server` block with `proxy_pass http:\u002F\u002F127.0.0.1:9120;` and manage the certificate via Certbot.",{"title":75,"body":76},"Add your servers (Periphery agents)","On each server to monitor, deploy the Periphery agent:\n\n```bash\ndocker run -d \\\n  --name komodo-periphery \\\n  --restart unless-stopped \\\n  -v \u002Fvar\u002Frun\u002Fdocker.sock:\u002Fvar\u002Frun\u002Fdocker.sock \\\n  ghcr.io\u002Fmoghtech\u002Fkomodo-periphery:latest\n```\n\nIn the Core interface, add the server with its IP and the shared passkey. The agent immediately reports the state of all containers and stacks.",{"title":78,"body":79},"Connect a Git repository for GitOps","In Komodo, go to **Resources → Repos** and add your repository (GitHub, Gitea, Forgejo, or any compatible Git server). Then create a **Stack** pointing to a `compose.yml` path in that repository. On each sync (manual or triggered by a webhook), Komodo applies the diff — exactly the expected GitOps behaviour.\n\nFor further integration with Forgejo\u002FWoodpecker, see \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fdeployer-avec-portainer\">deployer-avec-portainer\u003C\u002Fa> for the reverse proxy and SSL configuration reference, applicable to any container manager.",{"type":81,"title":82,"headers":83,"rows":88},"comparison","Comparison: Dockge, Coolify and Komodo vs Portainer CE",[84,85,86,87],"Criterion","Dockge","Coolify","Komodo",[89,94,99,104,108,113,116,118,123],[90,91,92,93],"Licence","MIT","Apache 2.0","GPL-3.0",[95,96,97,98],"Multi-server","No (1 host)","Yes (SSH nodes)","Yes (Core\u002FPeriphery)",[100,101,102,103],"GitOps \u002F repo sync","No","Yes (push-to-deploy)","Yes (Git Stacks)",[105,106,107,106],"Automatic SSL","No (managed separately)","Yes (integrated Traefik)",[109,110,111,112],"RAM idle (Core)","\u003C 50 MB","~ 300–500 MB","\u003C 256 MB",[114,101,115,115],"RBAC \u002F users","Yes",[117,101,115,115],"REST API",[119,120,121,122],"Primary use case","Single-server Compose","Dev\u002Fagency PaaS","Docker fleet + GitOps",[124,101,101,115],"In ServOrbit catalogue",{"type":38,"title":126,"body":127},"Troubleshooting — Common Migration Errors","**Portainer CE port 9000 conflicts with Komodo.** If you run Portainer in parallel during migration, check that Komodo listens on a different port (9120 by default). Adjust `KOMODO_PORT` in Komodo's Compose file if needed.\n\n**`docker.sock` refused by the Periphery agent.** On some distributions (Ubuntu 22.04+), the socket belongs to the `docker` group. Add the current user to that group (`usermod -aG docker $USER`) or run the agent with `--user root` — only if you understand the security implications.\n\n**Compose stacks imported from Portainer fail to start.** Portainer stores some environment variables in its own vault (Secrets). Check that each migrated `compose.yml` has a complete `.env` file, or declare the variables in Komodo's **Variables** section.\n\n**Coolify cannot find the `Dockerfile` after connecting Git.** The \"Build path\" field must point to the directory containing the `Dockerfile`, not the repository root if the file is in a subdirectory. Also verify that the configured branch actually exists on the remote.\n\n**Dockge shows \"Compose file not found\" after a restart.** The volume mount must point to the **parent** directory of the project, not to the `compose.yml` file directly. Dockge's convention is `\u002Fopt\u002Fstacks\u002F\u003Cstack-name>\u002Fcompose.yml` — follow this layout.",{"type":129,"title":130,"body":131},"tip","Progressive migration strategy","Do not cut Portainer CE before validating your alternative. Deploy Komodo (or Dockge) in parallel on the same server, import your stacks one by one, test each deployment, then stop Portainer. The two tools do not interfere: Komodo accesses the Docker socket without conflicting with Portainer on a different port. A one-night migration for a fleet of ten stacks is realistic.","Komodo is available on ServOrbit","Deploy Komodo from the ServOrbit catalogue in a few clicks. The Core runs under 256 MB of RAM — compatible with entry-level VPS plans. No manual reverse proxy configuration required.","Deploy Komodo on VPS","\u002Fmarketplace\u002Fapplication-deployment-devops\u002Fkomodo",[137,155,176],{"id":138,"slug":139,"slugs":140,"title":144,"excerpt":145,"readTime":146,"views":147,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":148,"updatedAt":149,"category":150,"categories":151,"featuredImage":29,"bgImage":30,"posterImage":153,"relatedSolution":154},191,"self-host-komodo-on-a-vps-multi-server-docker-and-gitops",{"fr":141,"en":139,"ar":142,"es":143},"self-host-komodo-vps","استضافة-komodo-على-vps-تنسيق-docker-وgitops-للخوادم","alojar-komodo-en-un-vps","Self-Host Komodo on a VPS: Multi-Server Docker and GitOps","Deploy Komodo on a ServOrbit VPS to manage Docker stacks and GitOps pipelines across servers from one dashboard — Rust binary, open-source Portainer alternative.",9,2,"2026-07-25T00:00:00+00:00","2026-09-10T13:10:43+00:00",{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},[152],{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fself-host-komodo-vps-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":33,"appSlug":34},{"id":156,"slug":157,"slugs":158,"title":162,"excerpt":163,"readTime":164,"views":165,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":166,"updatedAt":167,"category":168,"categories":173,"featuredImage":29,"bgImage":30,"posterImage":175,"relatedSolution":29},104,"portainer-vs-dokploy-which-docker-management-interface",{"fr":159,"en":157,"ar":160,"es":161},"portainer-vs-dokploy","portainer-مقابل-dokploy-أي-واجهة-لإدارة-docker","portainer-vs-dokploy-interfaz-de-gestion-docker","Portainer vs Dokploy: Which Docker Management Interface?","Portainer or Dokploy on your VPS? A concrete comparison to choose the Docker management interface suited to your deployments.",4,1,"2026-03-08T00:00:00+00:00","2026-09-07T11:26:10+00:00",{"id":169,"name":170,"slug":171,"color":172,"icon":171},5,"Comparison","comparatif","bg-info\u002F10 text-info",[174],{"id":169,"name":170,"slug":171,"color":172,"icon":171},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fportainer-vs-dokploy-poster.svg",{"id":177,"slug":178,"slugs":179,"title":183,"excerpt":184,"readTime":164,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":185,"updatedAt":167,"category":186,"categories":187,"featuredImage":29,"bgImage":30,"posterImage":189,"relatedSolution":190},35,"deploy-your-applications-with-portainer-on-a-vps",{"fr":180,"en":178,"ar":181,"es":182},"deployer-avec-portainer","انشر-تطبيقاتك-باستخدام-portainer-على-خادم-vps","desplegar-aplicaciones-con-portainer-en-un-vps","Deploy your applications with Portainer on a VPS","Manage Docker visually with Portainer on your VPS: containers, stacks, volumes and networks managed from a clear web interface.","2026-05-16T00:00:00+00:00",{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},[188],{"id":23,"name":24,"slug":25,"color":26,"icon":25},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fdeployer-avec-portainer-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":33,"appSlug":191},"portainer",1789939181162]