[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":193},["ShallowReactive",2],{"seo-verification":3,"blog-portainer-vs-dockge-which-one-to-choose-on-your-vps-en":6},{"google":4,"bing":5},"EycwPY2XMyTkVzas3n1ygeNJFGAH513qrMjfDljzsMQ","",{"key":7,"data":8},"blog-portainer-vs-dockge-which-one-to-choose-on-your-vps-en",{"id":9,"slug":10,"slugs":11,"title":15,"excerpt":16,"readTime":17,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":20,"category":21,"categories":26,"featuredImage":28,"bgImage":29,"posterImage":30,"relatedSolution":28,"intro":31,"sections":32,"ctaTitle":131,"ctaBody":132,"ctaButton":133,"ctaUrl":134,"relatedPosts":135},332,"portainer-vs-dockge-which-one-to-choose-on-your-vps",{"fr":12,"en":10,"ar":13,"es":14},"portainer-vs-dockge-gestion-conteneurs-vps","portainer-مقابل-dockge-أيهما-تختار-على-vps-الخاص-بك","portainer-vs-dockge-cual-elegir-en-tu-vps","Portainer vs Dockge: which one to choose on your VPS?","Portainer manages multiple Docker hosts and Swarm clusters. Dockge runs Compose stacks with 80 MB of RAM. The right choice depends on your actual usage.",8,0,false,"2026-09-05T00:00:00+00:00",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24,"color":25,"icon":24},5,"Comparison","comparatif","bg-info\u002F10 text-info",[27],{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24,"color":25,"icon":24},null,"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fbg.svg","\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fportainer-vs-dockge-gestion-conteneurs-vps-poster.svg","You have Docker installed on your VPS, you are accumulating Compose stacks, and the command line is becoming your second job. Portainer and Dockge solve the same surface problem — visualize and control your containers — but they target different use cases. This article compares both tools on the criteria that matter: memory footprint, functional scope, deployment philosophy and edge cases, so you can choose without doing a full tour.",[33,37,47,50,53,56,108,111,114,118,121,128],{"type":34,"title":35,"body":36},"h2","Two tools, two philosophies","Portainer has existed since 2017 and was built around a central idea: **a single control panel for your entire Docker infrastructure**, whether it is a single VPS, a Swarm cluster, or a fleet of remote nodes. It offers a complete interface — image management, volumes, networks, team-based RBAC, REST API and remote agents — with a free Community Edition and a paid Business Edition.\n\nDockge appeared in late 2023, developed by Louis Lam (the author of Uptime Kuma). Its angle is radically different: **focus on Docker Compose stacks**, and only those. No remote agents in the base version, no RBAC, no on-demand image management. In return, it installs quickly, is lightweight on memory, and is designed so that your `compose.yml` files remain readable and accessible on the file system.",{"type":38,"title":39,"items":40},"ul","What both tools have in common",[41,42,43,44,45,46],"Browser-accessible web interface, no heavy client to install","Start and stop containers in one click","Real-time log viewing directly in the interface","Docker Compose stack management (both recognize the `compose.yml` format)","Open source license: Portainer CE under Portainer CE license, Dockge under MIT license","Deployment on a VPS with Docker — no proprietary prerequisites",{"type":34,"title":48,"body":49},"Memory footprint: a 3-to-1 gap","This is the criterion most often underestimated when choosing. On a 2 or 4 GB RAM VPS, every megabyte counts.\n\n**Dockge** consumes approximately 80 MB of RAM at rest — application container included. This is the order of magnitude measured on a 2 GB VPS running about ten active stacks.\n\n**Portainer CE** in its standard configuration — interface + local agent — consumes approximately 256 MB of RAM. The difference comes from the agent, which runs continuously to monitor the Docker socket and synchronize state with the interface, as well as the integrated database (BoltDB).\n\nOn a 2 GB VPS dedicated to multiple services, a 176 MB gap can make the difference between a stack that holds or a swap that activates. On an 8 GB or larger VPS, this gap is negligible.",{"type":34,"title":51,"body":52},"Portainer: what it brings that Dockge doesn't","Portainer is not arbitrarily too heavy: its additional features meet real needs, which you may not have — but which exist.\n\n**Multi-host management.** Portainer can connect remote agents installed on other VPS servers and control them from a central interface. If you manage half a dozen servers, this is a structural feature.\n\n**Docker Swarm.** Portainer CE includes native Swarm support: service deployment, node visualization, replica management. No equivalent in Dockge.\n\n**RBAC and teams.** The Business Edition adds fine-grained user rights — useful in a corporate or agency context with multiple people working on the same server.\n\n**Complete REST API.** Portainer exposes a documented API that allows automating deployments from a CI\u002FCD pipeline. This is the most common use case in teams integrating Portainer with a GitLab or GitHub Actions pipeline.\n\n**Image and registry management.** From the interface, you can pull, tag and manage images directly, as well as connect a private registry.",{"type":34,"title":54,"body":55},"Dockge: what it brings that Portainer doesn't","Dockge is built around a principle that Portainer sacrificed for completeness: **your `compose.yml` files are normal files, on your file system, that you can read and edit without going through the interface**.\n\n**No lock-in.** Dockge stacks live in `\u002Fopt\u002Fstacks\u002F\u003Cstack-name>\u002Fcompose.yml`. If you uninstall Dockge tomorrow, a `docker compose up -d` in that directory is enough to restart your service. No proprietary database to rebuild, no export required.\n\n**Integrated Compose editor.** Dockge offers an online editor with syntax highlighting to edit your `compose.yml` files directly from the browser — without opening a terminal and a text editor.\n\n**Clean, frictionless interface.** The dashboard shows the state of your stacks, their uptime, their containers and their logs. No secondary menus, no administrative panels you never open.\n\n**Multi-instance since v1.4.** Dockge introduced a remote agent mechanism in recent versions, allowing you to manage multiple servers from one central interface. This feature is newer and less mature than the Portainer equivalent, but it reduces the latter's multi-host advantage for simple use cases.",{"type":57,"title":58,"headers":59,"rows":63},"comparison","Portainer CE vs Dockge comparison table",[60,61,62],"Criterion","Portainer CE","Dockge",[64,68,72,76,80,84,88,91,94,96,99,102,104],[65,66,67],"RAM at rest","~256 MB (interface + agent)","~80 MB",[69,70,71],"License","Portainer CE (free)","MIT (free)",[73,74,75],"Compose stack management","Yes","Yes — primary focus",[77,78,79],"Compose files on the FS","Stored in internal database","Native files in \u002Fopt\u002Fstacks\u002F",[81,82,83],"Inline Compose editor","Basic","With syntax highlighting",[85,86,87],"Multi-host \u002F remote agents","Yes, mature","Since v1.4, less mature",[89,74,90],"Docker Swarm","No",[92,93,90],"Kubernetes","Business Edition",[95,93,90],"RBAC \u002F team management",[97,98,90],"REST API","Yes, documented",[100,74,101],"Docker image management","Minimal",[103,74,90],"Private registry connection",[105,106,107],"Installation time","5-10 minutes","2-5 minutes",{"type":34,"title":109,"body":110},"How to install Dockge on a VPS","Starting from a clean VPS with Docker installed, Dockge deploys in three commands:\n\n```bash\nmkdir -p \u002Fopt\u002Fstacks \u002Fopt\u002Fdockge\ncurl https:\u002F\u002Fdockge.kuma.pet\u002Fcompose.yaml --output \u002Fopt\u002Fdockge\u002Fcompose.yaml\ncd \u002Fopt\u002Fdockge && docker compose up -d\n```\n\nThe interface is available on port `5001`. Your stacks will go in `\u002Fopt\u002Fstacks\u002F` — one subdirectory per stack, with a `compose.yml` file readable directly.\n\nTo expose Dockge behind a reverse proxy (nginx or Caddy), point to `127.0.0.1:5001`. There is no TLS certificate to manage inside the container itself.",{"type":34,"title":112,"body":113},"How to install Portainer CE on a VPS","Portainer CE installs via Docker by first creating a persistent volume, then launching the container:\n\n```bash\ndocker volume create portainer_data\ndocker run -d \\\n  -p 8000:8000 -p 9443:9443 \\\n  --name portainer \\\n  --restart=always \\\n  -v \u002Fvar\u002Frun\u002Fdocker.sock:\u002Fvar\u002Frun\u002Fdocker.sock \\\n  -v portainer_data:\u002Fdata \\\n  portainer\u002Fportainer-ce:latest\n```\n\nThe interface is available over HTTPS on port `9443`. Port `8000` is used by the Portainer agent for multi-host connections.\n\nFor complete steps — initial setup, first user creation and remote agent connection — the article \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fdeployer-avec-portainer\">deploying Portainer on a VPS\u003C\u002Fa> covers installation from A to Z.",{"type":115,"title":116,"body":117},"tip","The two can coexist","Portainer and Dockge are not mutually exclusive. A common approach is to use **Dockge on application VPS servers** (those hosting your services) and **Portainer on a central administration node** that aggregates the view of your infrastructure. Both expose different ports and do not interfere with each other's files.",{"type":34,"title":119,"body":120},"Which tool for which profile","**Choose Dockge if:** you manage one or two VPS servers, your services run in Compose stacks, you want to keep control of your `compose.yml` files without depending on a third-party tool to read them, and you do not need team-based access control. Lightness and transparency are its two main assets.\n\n**Choose Portainer if:** you administer multiple Docker hosts or a Swarm cluster, you want an API to automate your deployments from a CI\u002FCD pipeline, or you work in a team with different access levels. Portainer is also the right choice if you plan to migrate to Kubernetes in the Business Edition.\n\n**If you are starting with Docker on a single VPS:** start with Dockge. You can migrate to Portainer later without losing your stacks — your `compose.yml` files in `\u002Fopt\u002Fstacks\u002F` remain usable as-is.",{"type":38,"title":122,"items":123},"What neither tool replaces",[124,125,126,127],"A Docker volume backup solution — to be set up separately with a dedicated tool","A TLS reverse proxy like Caddy or nginx to expose your services — Portainer and Dockge manage containers, not your certificates","A monitoring tool like Uptime Kuma for availability alerts — both interfaces show current state but do not send notifications","Application secrets management — environment variables in `compose.yml` remain in plain text on disk",{"type":34,"title":129,"body":130},"The trend in 2026: Dockge rises, Portainer remains the enterprise reference","Since its release, Dockge has gained rapid adoption in the self-hosting community. Discussions on r\u002Fselfhosted and selfh.st during the summer of 2026 place Dockge among the most recommended tools for individual VPS use cases — its lightness and Compose file readability explain the enthusiasm.\n\nPortainer remains the reference in team environments and contexts where multi-host or Swarm management is required. Both tools target different use cases, and Dockge's rise does not mean Portainer is outdated — it simply reflects that simple use cases do not need all of Portainer's complexity.\n\nIf your current use case is 'start, stop and read logs of ten Compose stacks on one VPS,' Dockge covers that need with a fraction of the complexity. If your infrastructure grows tomorrow, migrating to Portainer is a configuration question, not a rewrite.","A VPS ready for Docker, with Portainer or Dockge pre-installed","Manage your Docker containers with ease — deploy Portainer or Dockge in a few clicks from the ServOrbit Marketplace, no manual setup required.","View Cloud VPS","\u002Fvps-cloud",[136,158,179],{"id":137,"slug":138,"slugs":139,"title":143,"excerpt":144,"readTime":145,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":146,"category":147,"categories":152,"featuredImage":28,"bgImage":29,"posterImage":154,"relatedSolution":155},35,"deploy-your-applications-with-portainer-on-a-vps",{"fr":140,"en":138,"ar":141,"es":142},"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.",4,"2026-05-16T00:00:00+00:00",{"id":148,"name":149,"slug":150,"color":151,"icon":150},3,"Deployment","deploiement","bg-success\u002F10 text-success",[153],{"id":148,"name":149,"slug":150,"color":151,"icon":150},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fdeployer-avec-portainer-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":156,"appSlug":157},"application-deployment-devops","portainer",{"id":159,"slug":160,"slugs":161,"title":165,"excerpt":166,"readTime":145,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":167,"category":168,"categories":174,"featuredImage":28,"bgImage":29,"posterImage":176,"relatedSolution":177},161,"how-to-self-host-dockge-on-a-vps-visual-docker-compose-manager",{"fr":162,"en":160,"ar":163,"es":164},"self-host-dockge-vps","استضافة-dockge-على-vps-مدير-مرئي-لـ-docker-compose","alojar-dockge-en-un-vps","How to Self-Host Dockge on a VPS: Visual Docker Compose Manager","Deploy Dockge on your VPS: a lightweight open-source visual manager to create, edit and monitor your Docker Compose stacks from a clean web UI, no command line.","2026-07-03T00:00:00+00:00",{"id":169,"name":170,"slug":171,"color":172,"icon":173},7,"Self-hosting","self-hosting","bg-indigo-500\u002F10 text-indigo-400","cloud",[175],{"id":169,"name":170,"slug":171,"color":172,"icon":173},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fself-host-dockge-vps-poster.svg",{"categorySlug":156,"appSlug":178},"dockge",{"id":180,"slug":181,"slugs":182,"title":186,"excerpt":187,"readTime":145,"views":18,"isPinned":19,"publishedAt":188,"category":189,"categories":190,"featuredImage":28,"bgImage":29,"posterImage":192,"relatedSolution":28},104,"portainer-vs-dokploy-which-docker-management-interface",{"fr":183,"en":181,"ar":184,"es":185},"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.","2026-03-08T00:00:00+00:00",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24,"color":25,"icon":24},[191],{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24,"color":25,"icon":24},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcovers\u002Fportainer-vs-dokploy-poster.svg",1789046176937]