Compared

Dockup and Netlify solve different halves of the problem.

Netlify is a frontend platform that added functions. Dockup is a backend platform that will also serve a frontend. That difference decides most of this table.

The short answer

If you are deploying a static site or a frontend framework and nothing else, Netlify is the better tool and this comparison is not close — its edge network, build pipeline and form handling exist for exactly that. Dockup becomes the right answer when there is a process that has to stay running behind the frontend: an API, a queue worker, a database. Netlify has no equivalent, and running that elsewhere means paying two bills and reasoning about two platforms.

Line by line

Compared on	Dockup	Netlify
Free tier	Yes, $10 infrastructure credit, does not sleep	Yes, 300 credit limit
Entry paid plan	$5 · Hobby	$9 · Personal, 1,000 credits
The plan most teams buy	$20 · Pro, first $20 usage included	$20 · Pro, 3,000 credits, unlimited members
How usage is priced	Per vCPU-hour, GB-hour, GB-month, GB egress	Credits — 20 per GB bandwidth, 15 per production deploy
Charged per team member	No	No, unlimited members on Pro
Static sites and frontend frameworks	Yes	Yes, with a global edge network
Always-on backend process	Yes	No — functions are short-lived
Managed databases	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis	No
Persistent volumes	Yes, $0.10 / GB-month	No
Form handling and identity built in	No	Yes
Linux and Windows VMs	Yes	No
Deploy to servers you own	Yes, over SSH	No

Netlify figures are their published list prices, checked on 22 August 2026. They change without notice — verify before deciding. Ours are on the pricing page, per unit, so you can redo this arithmetic yourself.

Choose Netlify if

The thing you are deploying is a frontend and stays a frontend. Netlify is built for it, and a global edge network is not something a container behind one region replicates.
You use Netlify Forms or Identity. Both are genuinely convenient and neither has a drop-in equivalent here — replacing them is application work.
Your team is large and you are on Pro. Unlimited members at a flat $20 is a good deal that per-seat platforms do not match.

Choose Dockup if

Something has to keep running. An API, a worker, a scheduled job, a websocket server — Netlify Functions are short-lived by design and this is the wall people hit.
You want a database next to the application rather than a third-party connection string. Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB and Redis, private by default.
You would rather read a bill in gigabytes and vCPU-hours than in credits. Both are legitimate; only one of them can be checked against a cloud invoice.
You need a machine rather than a container — Linux with root or Windows over RDP — or you have servers of your own that have to stay in the pipeline.

Questions this page gets asked

Is Dockup cheaper than Netlify?

For a static site, no — Netlify’s free tier covers it and nothing beats free. For an application with a backend and a database, Dockup is usually cheaper because the alternative is a Netlify plan plus a separate host for the parts Netlify does not run. The entry paid plan is $5 against $9, and the $20 tier is level.

What are Netlify credits?

Netlify’s unit of usage. The Free plan carries a 300-credit limit, Personal 1,000 and Pro 3,000, with bandwidth at 20 credits per GB and production deploys at 15 credits each. Published rates, checked 22 August 2026. Dockup prices the same consumption in gigabytes and vCPU-hours instead, which is easier to check and harder to compare across platforms.

Can Dockup host a Next.js or Astro site?

Yes, as a container built from the same repository. What you do not get is Netlify’s edge network, so a purely static site served to a global audience is genuinely faster there. A Next.js app with server-side rendering, a database and an API is the case where Dockup makes more sense.

Can I keep the frontend on Netlify and run the backend on Dockup?

Yes, and for a lot of teams that is the right answer rather than a compromise. Netlify serves the frontend it is good at, Dockup runs the API and the database, and the two talk over HTTPS. You pay two bills, but each platform is doing what it is built for.

Does Netlify charge per team member?

Not on Pro — it includes unlimited members at a flat $20 a month, which is better than the per-seat pricing common elsewhere in the category. Dockup does not charge per member either.

Compare something else

Try it against your own workload.

The free plan grants $10 of infrastructure credit at signup, needs no card, and does not sleep.

Start free with $10 credit See the rates