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Hostwares

Hostwares vs Coolify

Fully managed + AI vs self-hosted freedom

Coolify is the leading open-source, self-hostable PaaS: free forever, all features included, deploy anything on your own servers, with an optional Cloud control plane at $5/mo (you still bring your own servers). It's a fantastic project - if you enjoy being your own ops team. Hostwares is the managed path: same class of capabilities (Git deploys, databases, one-click services), but the servers, updates, security patches, backups, and incidents are our problem, and an AI DevOps agent handles yours.

HostwaresHostwares

AI-powered cloud hosting

From $3/mo, all-inclusive

Coolify logo

Coolify

Self-hosted open-source PaaS

Free (self-hosted) or $5/mo Cloud + your servers

Feature by feature

10 dimensions compared, August 2026

6

Hostwares

2

Coolify

FeatureHHostwaresCoolify logo Coolify
Software costFrom $3/mo, all-inclusiveFree (self-hosted) or $5/mo Cloud + your servers
ServersIncluded and managedBring your own (Hetzner/DO etc., ~$5–20/mo)
Who does maintenanceHostwares (updates, security, backups)You
One-click services326+, managedLarge template catalog, self-managed
Managed databasesYes, with backups handledYou deploy and back up your own
AI capabilitiesAI DevOps agent (web + CLI)None
SupportIncluded + AI agentCommunity; limited email on Cloud
Control / data sovereigntyManaged platformTotal - your hardware, your rules
Time costMinutes (deploy and forget)Ongoing - updates, monitoring, incident response
Payment methodsPayPal, Stripe, bKashCard (for Cloud)

Sources: coolify.io pricing page & docs, August 2026. Vendors change pricing - confirm on their site.

Coolify pricing vs Hostwares pricing

Coolify software is genuinely free self-hosted, or $5/mo for Coolify Cloud (a managed control plane for up to 2 of your own servers, +$3/server after). The real cost is the rest: a VPS ($5–20/mo), plus your time for OS updates, Coolify upgrades, SSL/webserver issues, database backups, monitoring, and incident response. Hostwares' $3–18 packs bundle infrastructure and management, and the AI DevOps agent replaces most of the ops labor.

hostwares cost --compare coolify

$ scenario: App + Postgres, run for a year

Coolify logo Coolify

+VPS ~$8/mo
+$0 software
+your ops hours (updates, backups, incidents)
total / month≈ $96/yr + your time

HHostwares

Standard pack ($7)
database pack ($3), fully managed
total / month$120/yr, zero ops hours

- flat. same price in your biggest month.

The honest verdict

Choose Hostwares if…

  • You want zero server administration - no updates, no patching, no 3am pages
  • You value your time - self-hosting's real cost is hours, not dollars
  • You want an AI agent that manages apps for you
  • You want support with an SLA rather than community Discord

Choose Coolify if…

  • You want full control and data sovereignty on your own hardware
  • You enjoy self-hosting and have the ops skills in-house
  • Your budget is genuinely $0 for software (servers still cost money)

Why teams switch from Coolify

The honest math is time

Self-hosting saves ~$2/mo and costs hours every month - updates, backups, SSL renewals, disk-full incidents. If your time is worth anything, managed wins.

Backups you don't think about

On Coolify, database backups exist if you configured them correctly and tested restores. On Hostwares, that's the platform's job.

An ops team in chat form

Hostwares' AI agent watches deployments, reads logs, and fixes failures. Self-hosting means you are the AI.

Same catalog spirit

Love Coolify's one-click templates? Hostwares has 326+ services deployable the same way - with someone else keeping the platform alive.

Frequently asked questions

Should I self-host Coolify or use Hostwares?

Self-host Coolify if you have ops skills, want total control, and enjoy the work - it's excellent software. Choose Hostwares if you want the same capabilities as a managed service: we run the servers and the AI runs the ops, from $3/mo.

Isn't self-hosting cheaper?

On paper: a $8/mo VPS + free Coolify beats $10/mo on Hostwares. In practice you're the one doing OS patches, Coolify upgrades, backup verification, and 3am restarts. One incident usually costs more time than a year of the price difference.

Can I migrate from Coolify to Hostwares?

Easily - your apps are standard Git repos and Docker containers, and databases restore from dumps. The deployment model is very similar, so things map one-to-one.

Does Hostwares offer the same one-click services as Coolify?

Hostwares offers 326+ one-click services covering the same ecosystem (WordPress, n8n, Ghost, Supabase, and more), fully managed with resource guarantees per pack.

What if I want control AND management?

Hostwares also sells dedicated servers/VPS with full root access - you can mix managed packs for production with a raw server for experiments, under one account.

How much does Hostwares cost?

Resource packs are $2/mo for Micro (0.25 vCPU, 256 MB, 5 GB), $3 for Starter (0.5 vCPU, 512 MB, 10 GB), $7 for Standard (1 vCPU, 2 GB, 25 GB), $18 for Performance (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 50 GB) and $35 for Business (4 vCPU, 8 GB, 100 GB). One pack runs one deployment - a site, a database or a service.

Is there a free tier?

No. Entry is $2/mo for a Micro pack. There is no free tier and no signup bonus - if a competitor's free tier covers your project, use it.

Do you charge for bandwidth?

No. Packs are a flat monthly price and traffic is not metered, so a busy month costs the same as a quiet one.

Are there per-seat fees?

No. You pay for resources, not for people. Adding teammates does not change the bill.

What is your refund policy?

Resource packs carry a 7-day money-back guarantee on first purchase. cPanel hosting is a pro-rated refund within the first 7 days if the account has not been used. Servers are a full refund within 48 hours if not provisioned, pro-rated within 7 days. Domains are non-refundable per ICANN policy. Full terms are on the refund policy page.

How do I pay?

PayPal, Stripe (card) and bKash, invoice-based. AI credits are a separate balance and are only used for the AI agent, never for hosting.

Does the price change at renewal?

No. The price you buy at is the price you renew at. There is no introductory rate that steps up later.

How do I deploy an application?

Connect a GitHub repository and Hostwares detects the framework and builds it. Next.js, React, Vue, Svelte, Node, Python, Go, Ruby, PHP and static sites are detected without configuration. You can also deploy any Docker image or upload a ZIP.

Can I deploy from a private repository?

Yes. Connect your GitHub account and private repositories become selectable in the deploy panel.

Do you support Docker?

Yes. Deploy any public or private Docker image with a tag and a port, or let a Dockerfile in your repository drive the build.

What databases can I run?

Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Redis and MongoDB from $3/mo, with automated backups and a connection string. Each database occupies its own pack.

Do I get shell access?

You get a shell into your own container. You do not get root on the host - if you need kernel modules or arbitrary system packages, an unmanaged VPS is the right tool rather than a managed platform.

Can I run background workers and cron jobs?

Yes. A worker or scheduled job is a separate deployment from the same repository with a different start command, so it needs its own pack.

How long does a deployment take?

Most applications build and go live in about 60 seconds. Larger stacks - Supabase runs 14 containers - take a few minutes.

Are custom domains and SSL included?

Yes. Custom domains are included on every pack and SSL certificates are issued and renewed automatically once DNS resolves to us. There is no per-domain charge.

Can I register domains through Hostwares?

Yes, from $9.58/yr for a .com, with DNS management included for domains in your account.

Do you offer email hosting?

Email mailboxes come with cPanel hosting, which is a separate product from container packs and starts around $1.25/mo equivalent. Container packs do not include mailboxes.

How do I migrate an existing application?

Push the project to GitHub, connect the repository, move your environment variables across, and dump and restore any databases. For most standard applications this is under an hour. Detailed guides exist for Heroku, Vercel and Railway.

Will you help me migrate?

Ask through a support ticket. The AI DevOps agent can also perform much of the work directly - connecting the repository, setting environment variables, provisioning a database and diagnosing failed builds.

What is the AI DevOps agent?

An AI that operates your infrastructure through conversation - deploying from GitHub, reading build logs, diagnosing failures, setting environment variables, configuring domains and provisioning databases. It is available in the dashboard, from a CLI, and as an MCP server for editors such as Cursor and Claude Desktop.

Does the AI agent cost extra?

It uses AI credits, which are a separate balance from hosting. Chat starts at $0.10 and task execution at $0.50. Billing and support questions are free regardless of balance.

What support do you offer?

Support tickets from the dashboard, with the AI agent available for technical troubleshooting at any hour. We are a small team - if you need a contractual enterprise SLA with named contacts, we do not offer that today.

Are backups included?

Managed databases have automated backups. Verify a restore before you rely on it - that advice applies to any provider, ours included.

Where are your servers located?

Deployments run in a single region per container rather than across a global edge network. If your application needs multi-region placement or edge delivery close to users on several continents, a platform built for that is the better choice.

Do you have a status page?

Yes, at /status, showing real-time platform and infrastructure status.

Are you SOC 2 certified?

No. We have not completed a SOC 2 audit. If your procurement process requires one, that is a genuine reason to choose a larger provider.

How long has Hostwares been running?

Hostwares LLC was incorporated in Wyoming in 2026, so we are a new platform. If a long uptime track record is your main criterion, an established provider is the honest answer.

Can I export my data and leave?

Yes. Deployments are standard containers built from your own repository, and databases can be dumped with the usual tools. There is no proprietary format holding your application in place.

What happens if I do not pay an invoice?

Invoices are raised ahead of the due date so you can pay early. After the due date a grace period runs before services are suspended, and suspended services are terminated after 30 days of non-payment. You are emailed at each stage.

Deploy in 60 seconds.
From $1/mo, flat.

Connect GitHub, pick a pack, and let the AI DevOps agent handle the rest - deploys, debugging, and fixes included.