Kamal vs Deno Deploy for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Kamal Overview

Kamal is a deployment tool that ships Docker containers to servers you own. Built by the Rails team, it handles zero-downtime deployments using Traefik as the load balancer. You write a deploy.yml config, run kamal deploy, and your application is built, pushed, and deployed to your server without a single second of downtime.

Everything is explicit. The config file specifies your server IP, Docker image, health checks, environment variables, and any accessories like databases or Redis. It's all version-controlled, reviewable, and predictable. When you run kamal deploy, you know exactly what's going to happen because you wrote the configuration.

Kamal isn't a hosting platform. It's a deployment pipeline that deploys to any server reachable via SSH. Use it with Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS, or a server under your desk. The deployment logic is the same regardless of where the server lives.

Deno Deploy Overview

Deno Deploy takes the opposite approach: no servers, no Docker, no SSH, no configuration files. Write your TypeScript code, push to GitHub, and it runs on V8 isolates across 35+ global edge locations. The platform handles everything: building, distributing, scaling, SSL, and routing.

The Deno runtime runs JavaScript and TypeScript natively. Built-in Deno KV provides a globally distributed key-value database. The free tier gives you 100,000 requests per day and 100 GiB of bandwidth per month. Cold starts are measured in milliseconds because V8 isolates are lightweight compared to containers.

For TypeScript-first applications, the developer experience is clean. No Dockerfile, no build pipeline, no infrastructure configuration. Push code, it runs everywhere.

Key Differences

Deployment philosophy. Kamal deploys containers to servers you control. You decide where your code runs, what hardware it uses, and how the network is configured. Deno Deploy deploys code to a global edge network you don't control. You write the code, the platform handles everything else.

Language and runtime. Kamal deploys any Docker container, which means any language or framework. Python Django apps, Ruby Rails apps, Go services, Rust binaries, anything. Deno Deploy only runs JavaScript and TypeScript in the Deno runtime. This is the biggest differentiator for most developers.

Infrastructure cost. Kamal is free but requires a VPS (from EUR 3.79/month on Hetzner). Deno Deploy has a free tier for light usage and a $20/month Pro plan. For always-on applications, Kamal + cheap VPS is cheaper. For low-traffic or spiky workloads, Deno Deploy's free tier might cost nothing.

Zero-downtime deployments. Kamal does zero-downtime deploys by design. It starts the new container, runs health checks, switches traffic, then stops the old container. Deno Deploy handles deployments atomically at the platform level, so there's no downtime either. Both deliver seamless updates.

Data persistence. Kamal deploys databases (PostgreSQL, Redis, etc.) as accessories alongside your application. Direct connections, no latency overhead. Deno Deploy offers Deno KV for key-value storage and requires external databases for relational data, adding latency and complexity.

Scaling model. Kamal scales by adding more servers to your deployment targets. You manually provision and manage capacity. Deno Deploy scales automatically across its edge network. You don't think about capacity at all.

Operational complexity. Kamal requires Docker knowledge, SSH access, and server management. Deno Deploy requires only TypeScript knowledge. For a solo developer who just wants to ship code, Deno Deploy has less operational overhead.

When to Choose Kamal

• You're deploying a full-stack application with a database and background jobs
• Your backend is Python, Ruby, Go, Rust, or anything non-JavaScript
• You want to own your infrastructure and avoid vendor lock-in
• You prefer explicit, version-controlled deployment configuration
• You already have servers and want a reliable deployment tool

When to Choose Deno Deploy

• You're building APIs or web applications in TypeScript
• You want global edge performance without managing infrastructure
• Your data needs fit a key-value model (Deno KV)
• You want the simplest possible deployment workflow (just push code)
• Your application doesn't need long-running background processes

The Verdict

Kamal and Deno Deploy are tools for completely different workflows. Kamal is for developers who want to own their servers and deploy Docker containers with zero downtime. Deno Deploy is for developers who want to write TypeScript and never think about servers.

If you're building a traditional web application with a relational database, background workers, and a non-JavaScript backend, Kamal is your tool. It deploys reliably to affordable infrastructure and gives you full control.

If you're building a TypeScript-first application that fits the serverless model, Deno Deploy is simpler and faster. No Docker to learn, no servers to manage, no SSL to configure.

Most solo developers building SaaS products will gravitate toward Kamal because most SaaS products need databases and background processing. But if your project is an API service, a webhook handler, or an edge-rendered site built entirely in TypeScript, Deno Deploy eliminates operational complexity that would otherwise slow you down.