Top 8 Tools to Build Your Own PaaS in 2023

[Last updated on 07/26/2023]

Top 8 Tools to Build Your Own PaaS

There are a number of popular PaaS options on the market today, each with its own unique twist. The tools listed below are eight of the most popular or increasingly popular, projects that engineering teams are using to abstract the complexities of infrastructure management while still embracing the power of the cloud.

1. Qovery

Qovery is a comprehensive PaaS tool that offers a range of features to simplify the deployment and management of applications. With Qovery, you can easily deploy your applications in various cloud environments, eliminating the complexities of infrastructure setup. Its intuitive and developer-friendly interface, Git integration, and automatic scaling capabilities make it a powerful choice for building a custom PaaS. Qovery's seamless integration with popular frameworks and databases further enhances its appeal.

Qovery Key Features

• Automatically installed on your cloud account in 15 minutes!
• User-friendly Interface & Modern UI
• Easy application deployment using Git
• Cronjob, Workers, Custom Domain, TLS, auto-scaling, Environment Variables, Secrets Management, Rollback…
• Preview Environments & Cloning Environments in one click
• Built-in support for AWS
• Advanced Security features (RBAC, Audit Logs, SOC2/HIPAA Compliance)
• Extensibility & Integrations
• Zero maintenance (no infrastructure upgrades, everything is handled by Qovery)
• Business and community support

Qovery is a powerful choice for building your own PaaS on AWS or other cloud providers, allowing you to focus on your applications and accelerate your development processes.

2. Dokku

Dokku is a lightweight and open-source PaaS platform that simplifies application deployment by leveraging Docker. With Dokku, developers can easily push their applications using Git, allowing Dokku to build and run them in isolated containers. Its CLI-only approach and plugin architecture make it highly extensible. Dokku's modular plugins enable features like database integration, Let's Encrypt SSL certificates, and automated Slack notifications, giving developers flexibility and control over their PaaS environment.

Dokku Key Features

• Lightweight and Easy to Set Up
• Language and Framework Agnostic
• Heroku Compatibility
• CLI client for integrating into existing build tools
• Git-Based Deployment
• Built-in Docker support for advanced usage
• Plugin System and Extensibility

3. Cloud Foundry

Cloud Foundry is a mature and widely adopted PaaS solution that uses the scalability of Kubernetes to build a simple yet performant PaaS option. It offers robust features such as built-in scaling, logging, and automation capabilities. With Cloud Foundry, you can easily deploy applications across multiple clouds, enabling portability and flexibility. Its extensive ecosystem and support for various programming languages make it an attractive option for enterprises seeking a powerful PaaS solution.

Cloud Foundry Key Features

• Built-in Scaling and High Availability
• Application lifecycle
• Logging and Metrics
• Automation and DevOps Enablement
• Multiple Language and Framework Support
• Built-in service marketplace for enhancing deployment functionality
• Multi-Cloud Deployment
• Flexible infrastructure support through BOSH stemcells
• Community and Support

4. CapRover

CapRover, a popular open-source PaaS solution, emerged in 2017. Developed using TypeScript, CapRover boasts a user-friendly interface that demands just a few commands to kickstart your journey. Leveraging the power of Docker, CapRover supports the deployment of a wide range of applications with minimal overhead. While CapRover's ease of use sets it apart, its standout feature lies in the built-in marketplace offering one-click deployment of popular applications like WordPress and MySQL. This marketplace simplifies the deployment process, significantly reducing the complexity associated with launching applications on CapRover.

CapRover Key features

• Web GUI for ease of use
• CLI for scripting and automation
• Load balancing with the help of Nginx
• Free SSL certificates using Let’s Encrypt
• Containerization and clustering using Docker Swarm
• Automatic SSL certificate provisioning from Let's Encrypt
• Supports all Docker-based applications
• Built-in marketplace for one-click deploys of other popular open-source applications

5. Coherence

Emerged in 2021, Coherence is a cloud-native PaaS tool focused on providing seamless deployment experiences. It offers intelligent auto-scaling, logging, and monitoring capabilities, ensuring performance and reliability for your applications. Coherence's emphasis on automation and ease of use enables developers to quickly deploy and manage their applications without compromising on quality. Coherence is a relatively young platform that is still evolving, but the product looks promising.

Coherence Key Features

• User-friendly interface
• Automated-infra-as-code
• Managed CI/CD
• Preview Environments
• Auto-Scaling
• Seamlessly integrates with popular DevOps tools and workflows
• Built-in support for AWS

6. Virtuozzo

Virtuozzo is a powerful PaaS tool designed specifically for containers and virtualization. It provides container orchestration capabilities and supports high-density workloads, allowing you to build scalable and efficient PaaS environments. Virtuozzo offers a lite edition that shares most features with its Business and Enterprise counterparts, albeit with certain limitations. But it’s very effective for small applications and saves a lot of costs. Virtuozzo is best suited for e-commerce websites and applications.

Virtuozzo Key Features

• High-Density Workloads
• Automatic vertical and horizontal scaling
• Built-in monitoring and troubleshooting tools
• API, CLI, and SSH access for container management
• Easy integration with popular container ecosystem tools and services
• Container and Kubernetes support
• Support and Expertise

7. Portainer

Portainer is a container management tool that can be leveraged to build a PaaS environment. Its intuitive interface, multi-cloud support, and container orchestration features simplify the management of containers and services. Portainer allows you to monitor resource usage, manage container networks, and deploy applications with ease.

Portainer Key Features

• Intuitive interface
• Multi-cloud support
• Powerful container orchestration tool (supports Kubernetes and Docker Swarm)
• Application templates and stacks
• Automatic stack updates
• Monitoring and logging tools integration
• Extensibility
• Community support

8. Rancher

Rancher is a comprehensive container management platform that offers extensive capabilities for building a custom PaaS environment. It provides advanced container orchestration, networking, and infrastructure management features. With Rancher, you can easily deploy, scale, and manage containerized applications across diverse environments. Its flexibility and scalability make it an excellent choice for organizations looking to create their own PaaS platforms.

Rancher Key Features

• Container Orchestration & Scheduling (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Apache Mesos support)
• Advanced networking capabilities
• Multi-Cluster Management
• Application Catalog
• Resource allocation & Scaling capabilities
• Extensibility and Ecosystem Integration (supports a wide range of third-party integrations)
• Observability & Alerts
• Community and Support

Conclusion

Building your own PaaS using the right tools can revolutionize your application deployment and management processes. From comprehensive solutions like Qovery and Cloud Foundry to lightweight options like Dokku and CapRover, these tools offer a range of features and functionalities to suit different needs. What’s next? Go ahead and try the above tools to build your own PaaS. Most of them are open-source or offer a free plan like Qovery.