Side by side
Dory vs Vessel
Both stand on container development environments. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Mac
Dory brings container, Kubernetes, VM, and agent-sandbox workflows into a local system for Apple Silicon Macs. Its privacy defaults, read-only MCP mode, and ARM64 Linux support are clearly defined, while guest-platform support remains limited.
Visit Dory Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted
Vessel packages common Laravel development services into project files and provides commands for everyday PHP and frontend work. Its macOS and Linux support, persistent data, and customization options are useful, but Windows users and projects needing default queues have limitations.
Visit VesselThe facts
| Dory | Vessel | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Mac | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Not published |
| Plans published | None | None |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | usedory.dev | vessel.shippingdocker.com |
| On container development environments | #32 of 40 | #36 of 40 |
Dory: what it does well
- Free plan with no account required
- Docker 29, Compose v2, BuildKit, and Buildx
- Local k3s Kubernetes workflow
- Agent VMs use non-root execution
- No telemetry or cloud control plane
What to know first
- macOS and Windows guests have no roadmap date
- Custom ARM64 ISO support is Preview
- Docker data disk defaults to 128 GiB ceiling
Vessel: what it does well
- Free Laravel Docker environment
- No global installation beyond Docker
- Includes PHP, MySQL, Redis, and Node.js
- Persistent database and Redis data
- Supports PostgreSQL and Beanstalkd customization
What to know first
- Windows is not currently supported
- Docker must be installed separately
- Defaults to ports 80 and 3306
- Queue technology is not included by default