DDEV
DDEV is an open-source Docker-based local development environment for PHP developers and CMS communities (Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, Laravel, Craft CMS). Governed by the DDEV Foundation (US 501(c)(3) nonprofit), it serves ~17,000-20,000 weekly users and is funded entirely by voluntary sponsorships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DDEV does
DDEV is an open-source Docker-based local development environment primarily serving PHP web developers and the broader PHP CMS ecosystem. Founded around 2016, the project is governed by the DDEV Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and operates under an Apache 2.0 license. Its core product is a CLI-driven containerization layer that abstracts Docker complexity, enabling developers to spin up reproducible local environments for Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, Laravel, Magento, Craft CMS, Backdrop, and Joomla projects in seconds without Docker expertise. The product portfolio extends beyond the core CLI to include a public add-on registry (Redis, Elasticsearch, Solr, Mailpit, FrankenPHP), IDE plugins for JetBrains and VS Code, native Xdebug debugging, Mutagen-based file synchronization for macOS/Windows performance, and the experimental coder.ddev.com cloud workspace service built on Coder.
The technical architecture wraps Docker/Go with an opinionated configuration model (config.yaml), a modular add-on system, lifecycle hooks, a built-in Traefik router for custom domains and SSL, and diagnostic utilities. DDEV supports multiple container runtimes (Docker Desktop, OrbStack, Colima, Rancher Desktop, experimental Podman and Docker Rootless) and is rigorously tested across macOS (M Series and Intel), Windows, Linux, and Cloud Codespaces. Two full-time maintainers (Randy Fay and Stas Zhuk) lead development supported by 300+ GitHub contributors.
DDEV's business model is non-commercial and entirely sponsorship-driven. The project charges nothing for the software, generating revenue through GitHub Sponsors monthly contributions, organizational sponsorship tiers, priority support contracts, and one-time donations. Current monthly sponsorship stands at approximately $10,075 (84% of a $12,000/month goal). The DDEV Foundation completed its trademark transfer from Upsun in May 2026, formalizing independent ownership and governance. Distribution is fully self-serve through GitHub, Homebrew, and official downloads, with go-to-market driven by community engagement (Discord, blog, YouTube, conference presence) and word-of-mouth among PHP developers. The project serves approximately 17,000-20,000 weekly users globally and reports 72% market share among Craft CMS developers.
DDEV firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DDEV
- Legal name
- DDEV Foundation
- Website
- https://ddev.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- DDEV is an open-source Docker-based local development environment for PHP developers and CMS communities (Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, Laravel, Craft CMS). Governed by the DDEV Foundation (US 501(c)(3) nonprofit), it serves ~17,000-20,000 weekly users and is funded entirely by voluntary sponsorships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DDEV industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Tools
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cloud-Native Application Development (Containers/Kubernetes/Serverless) (BPAEAFAE)
Keywords
Where DDEV is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
DDEV business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- GitHub Sponsors: Monthly sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors platform. Organizations and individuals sponsor at various levels. Current monthly support at ~$10,075/month against a $12,000 goal.
- Support Contracts: Priority support contracts available for organizations needing dedicated support while funding the project.
- Custom Invoicing: Organizations can arrange custom invoicing to work with their procurement processes.
- One-time Contributions: One-time financial contributions welcomed from individuals and organizations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Open Source (Free) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Sponsorship Tiers |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
DDEV product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DDEV is a Docker-based open-source local development environment tool primarily for PHP developers, enabling containerized development with zero required Docker skills. It provides consistent, reproducible environments across macOS, Windows, and Linux, supports multiple concurrent projects, and ships with presets and add-ons for popular CMS and framework stacks (Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, Laravel, Craft CMS, Magento, Backdrop, Joomla). The offering is free under Apache 2.0, with paid support contracts and cloud workspaces (coder.ddev.com) provided through the DDEV Foundation.
Product overview
DDEV is a unified, CLI-driven local development environment built on Docker containers, designed primarily for PHP developers working with frameworks and CMS platforms. The core product provides containerized environments that run multiple concurrent projects with zero required Docker knowledge. The product portfolio centers on the DDEV CLI itself, supplemented by coder.ddev.com (cloud-based workspaces via Coder), a public add-on registry for extending functionality with services like Redis, Elasticsearch, Solr, and Mailpit, and community-built GUI tools (ddevbar for macOS, DDEVUI, ddev-ui cross-platform). DDEV integrates deeply with popular IDEs (JetBrains, VS Code) and provides native debugging via Xdebug. The ecosystem includes specialized add-ons for Drupal (ddev-drupal-contrib), TYPO3, Laravel, and other platforms, plus CI/CD integrations via GitHub Actions and WarpBuild.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DDEV Docker-based local PHP development environment that provides containerized, reproducible development with zero required Docker skills, supporting multiple concurrent projects across macOS, Windows, and Linux with built-in presets for popular CMS and framework stacks. Free to use under the Apache 2.0 license.
- DDEV Add-ons Extensible services and customizations for DDEV projects, including Redis, Elasticsearch, Solr, Mailpit, and FrankenPHP. Community-maintained add-ons are published to the public add-on registry and installable via 'ddev add-on get'.
- coder.ddev.com Free experimental cloud-based DDEV workspaces powered by Coder, providing browser-based VS Code, VS Code Desktop via SSH, and CLI access to a full DDEV environment without requiring a local Docker installation.
- mayfly.live Zero-config DDEV-based online preview environments, an open beta service for sharing development environments online.
- DDEV JetBrains IDE Integration Plugin Official JetBrains IDE integration plugin for DDEV that provides project management and command integration within PhpStorm, WebStorm, and other JetBrains IDEs, including zero-configuration debugging support.
- DDEV VS Code Extension VS Code extension (DDEV Manager) that enables visual project management and DDEV integration within Visual Studio Code.
- ddev-drupal-contrib DDEV add-on for Drupal contrib module and theme development that handles project symlinking, coding standards enforcement (phpcs), static analysis (phpstan), and testing setup for contributors.
Quantifiable outcome
- 72% market share among Craft CMS developers
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use DDEV
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
DDEV technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration36 records
Feature7 records
DDEV partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- JetBrainsminorJetBrains provides sponsored licenses and IDE integration support. DDEV has official IntelliJ plugin (ddev-intellij-plugin) and JetBrains is listed as a featured sponsor.
- TheDropTimesminorAnoop John at TheDropTimes created live sponsorship tracker displays for DDEV and continues featuring sponsorship banners, driving community awareness and contributions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
DDEV competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- XAMPP: XAMPP is a free, open-source cross-platform Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl. It overlaps with DDEV as a legacy local PHP development environment, though it predates container-based stacks and lacks DDEV's CMS presets and Docker orchestration.
- MAMP: MAMP is a long-standing local server stack (Apache, MySQL, PHP) for macOS and Windows used by PHP developers for local development. It is comparable to DDEV as a local PHP dev environment but pre-dates the Docker-based generation of tools.
- LocalWP (Local by Flywheel): LocalWP is a free local WordPress development environment originally built by Flywheel and now owned by WP Engine. It overlaps with DDEV on WordPress local development but is WordPress-only and ships its own non-Docker architecture.
Broad incumbents
- GitHub Codespaces: GitHub Codespaces is GitHub's cloud-hosted development environment service. As a broad incumbent in cloud-based dev environments, it competes with DDEV's local-Docker approach for PHP developers and teams that prefer cloud over local development.
- Docker Desktop: Docker Desktop is the dominant container runtime for macOS and Windows developers. While DDEV sits on top of Docker rather than competing directly, Docker's own developer-experience investments overlap with the simplified-containerization value DDEV provides.
- Gitpod: Gitpod provides automated, cloud-based development environments that launch from any Git repository. It is comparable to DDEV's coder.ddev.com cloud offering and competes for the same 'standardized reproducible dev environment' use case at the enterprise level.
Others
- Coder: Coder is the open-source cloud development platform that powers coder.ddev.com. It is an enabling/infrastructure peer rather than a direct competitor, since DDEV's cloud workspace product is built on Coder's runtime and templates.
Direct peers
- Lando: Lando is a Docker-based local development environment tool primarily serving Drupal and WordPress developers. It is the closest direct competitor to DDEV, with overlapping CMS presets, plugin ecosystems, and target personas.
- Devilbox: Devilbox is a Docker-based local LAMP/MEAN development stack supporting PHP, MySQL, and dozens of other services. It is comparable to DDEV as an open-source, Docker-orchestrated local development environment for PHP and web developers.
- Docksal: Docksal is a Docker-based local development environment originally built for Drupal and adopted by other PHP CMS communities. It competes head-to-head with DDEV on containerized local dev for the same PHP/CMS target audience.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DDEV social profiles
Digital presenceDDEV financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DDEV leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
DDEV funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DDEV M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DDEV
What does DDEV do?
DDEV is a Docker-based open-source local development environment tool primarily for PHP developers, enabling containerized development with zero required Docker skills. It provides consistent, reproducible environments across macOS, Windows, and Linux, supports multiple concurrent projects, and ships with presets and add-ons for popular CMS and framework stacks (Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, Laravel, Craft CMS, Magento, Backdrop, Joomla). The offering is free under Apache 2.0, with paid support contracts and cloud workspaces (coder.ddev.com) provided through the DDEV Foundation.
Is DDEV a public or private company?
DDEV is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was DDEV founded?
DDEV was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is DDEV based?
DDEV is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does DDEV make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. GitHub Sponsors are the primary driver. The others are support Contracts, custom Invoicing and one-time Contributions.
Who are DDEV's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are XAMPP, MAMP and LocalWP (Local by Flywheel). Broad incumbents are GitHub Codespaces, Docker Desktop and Gitpod. Coder is listed as an others. Direct peers are Lando, Devilbox and Docksal.
Does DDEV have an API?
No public API is recorded for DDEV.
What industry is DDEV in?
DDEV's product category is Developer Tools. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAFAE, Cloud-Native Application Development (Containers/Kubernetes/Serverless). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.