Cresdock vs CasaOS: a friendly, honest comparison
CasaOS is lovely — a clean, free dashboard for your own home server. The catch: it’s built for one person. If you want to share your server with other people (and keep them separate), here’s how the two stack up.
Side by side
| Cresdock | CasaOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Several people sharing one server, each with their own space | One person’s home server / dashboard |
| Multiple users | Yes — private, separated spaces per person | No — built for a single user |
| Per-person limits | Yes — disk, apps, speeds | No |
| Price | Free for 1 person, one flat license to add more | Free & open source |
| Keeping people apart | Yes — walled-off networks + quotas so tenants can’t see each other | Not really — it’s all one user |
| Media & seedbox apps | Deep — torrents, *arr, Jellyfin, VPN, pre-wired together | Basic app store |
| Sell it to customers | Yes — billing hooks built in | No |
| Runs on | Any Ubuntu/Debian server | x86 or ARM (great on a Raspberry Pi) |
We've tried to be fair here. CasaOS is a good tool — it's just built for a different job. Prices and features change, so double-check their site for the latest.
When CasaOS is the better pick
- It’s just you
For a personal home server with one user, CasaOS is simple and does the job nicely.
- You want 100% free and open source
CasaOS is free with no license at all — hard to beat if budget is the priority.
- You’re on a Raspberry Pi or old PC
CasaOS runs happily on small ARM boards; it’s a favourite for tiny home setups.
When Cresdock is the better pick
- More than one person will use it
Give each person their own private space — they can’t see or touch each other’s apps or files.
- You want to set limits per person
Disk, number of apps, and speeds — so one person can’t hog the whole server.
- You’re into media / seedboxes
Torrents, *arr automation, Jellyfin/Plex and a per-user VPN come pre-wired and ready.
- You might charge for it
Cresdock has billing hooks so you can sell spaces to customers; CasaOS isn’t built for that.
Common questions
Can I use Cresdock just for myself, like CasaOS?
Absolutely. Out of the box it runs one user — perfect for a personal setup. The multi-user parts only kick in if you invite people.
Is Cresdock free like CasaOS?
Free for one person, yes. CasaOS is fully free and open source; Cresdock charges one flat license only when you add more people.
Does Cresdock run on a Raspberry Pi?
Cresdock is happiest on a normal x86 server (a cheap VPS or a mini-PC). For a single-user Pi dashboard, CasaOS is the lighter choice; for multiple people on a proper server, Cresdock is built for it.
Do I need to be technical?
No. One command installs everything, and apps are one-click. Our setup guide walks you through it in plain English.
See also: Cresdock vs Cloudron → · vs QuickBox · vs Swizzin