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What's Up Docker vs Watchtower: catalog facts
What's Up Docker	Watchtower
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free Free and open source.
Web, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Supports Docker, Compose, Swarm, Kubernetes and Nomad Works with most public registries and self-hosted OCI registries	Keeps running containers updated without manual pulls Actively maintained continuation of the original Watchtower
Needs to run as its own container or service Automatic updates can break setups if images change behaviour	Automatic updates can introduce breaking changes without warning Not designed for controlled rollouts in larger production environments
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.