VCloud vs Cloudron

These are different categories of product. Cloudron is software you install on a server you own and operate: it makes installing and updating apps far easier, but the server, its OS patches, its disk and its uptime remain yours. VCloud is a managed service where nobody on your side touches a server - and that is the design, not a limitation. Because no tenant holds shell access to the underlying host, VCloud can commit to an uptime figure and to the security controls it publishes; the operations that would normally need a terminal are exposed as actions in each app's menu instead. If you want root and have someone willing to be on call, Cloudron is excellent and we will not try to talk you out of it. If you want the apps without the server, that is what VCloud sells.

How Cloudron works

Cloudron is a self-hosted platform: you provision a server from any provider, install Cloudron on it, and it manages app installation, updates, backups, and certificates for you. Licensing is free for a limited number of apps, with a paid licence above that.

VCloud vs Cloudron side by side

DimensionVCloudCloudron
Who operates the serverVCloudYou
Who is paged at 3amVCloudYou
OS patching and kernel updatesHandledYour responsibility
Host accessNo tenant gets a shell on the underlying host. This is the design: it is what makes the uptime commitment and the published security controls underwritableFull root access
Tasks that normally need a terminalExposed as buttons in the app's menu - generating request IDs, validating connection tokens, restarting a serviceYou run them yourself over SSH
What actually gets deployedThe upstream app extended by VCloud - single sign-on even on apps with no native auth, secure tunnels, automated backupsThe upstream app, installed and kept updated
Cost structureOne monthly plan including infrastructureCloudron licence plus your own server bill
Catalogue sizeSmaller and growing - a focused set of business applications, each extended with enterprise features rather than installed as-isLarge catalogue

Choose VCloud if

  • Nobody on your team wants to own server uptime, OS patching, or disk capacity.
  • You want single sign-on across every app without configuring an identity integration app by app.
  • You want a single bill rather than a licence plus separate infrastructure costs.
  • You want an uptime commitment from a provider rather than owning the outcome yourself.

Choose Cloudron if

  • You want root on the host. We do not offer it to anyone, deliberately, so this is a clean reason to choose Cloudron rather than a gap we intend to close.
  • You already run servers competently and the marginal operational cost is genuinely near zero for you.
  • You want to run on very cheap infrastructure and are happy to trade your own time for the saving.
  • You need an app in their catalogue that is not in ours.

Other comparisons

See the plans for yourself

Fixed monthly pricing with unlimited user seats, automated backups, and an uptime SLA on every plan.

See pricing