Stop Overengineering: Docker Compose on a $5 VPS Handles More Than You Think

You don't need Kubernetes. You don't need microservices. You don't need a service mesh. For most projects, a single server with Docker Compose handles everything. The Setup That Handles 10,000 Users # docker-compose.yml services : app : build : . ports : [ " 3000:3000" ] environment : - DATABASE_URL=postgres://app:secret@db:5432/myapp - REDIS_URL=redis://cache:6379 depends_on : [ db , cache ] restart : always deploy : resources : limits : memory : 512M db : image : postgres:16 volumes : [ " pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data" ] environment : - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret - POSTGRES_DB=myapp restart : always cache : image : redis:7-alpine restart : always caddy : image : caddy:2 ports : [ " 80:80" , " 443:443" ] volumes : - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile - caddy_data:/data restart : always volumes : pgdata : caddy_data : That's your entire infrastructure. App + database + cache + automatic HTTPS. The Caddyfile (Automatic SSL) yourdomain.com { reverse_proxy app : 3000 } Two lines. Caddy hand