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Amazon Linux vs Docker on Ubuntu comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.9
Amazon Linux enhances ROI by reducing costs, boosting efficiency, and optimizing AWS integration for improved operations across industries.
Sentiment score
4.6
Docker on Ubuntu enhances efficiency with faster builds, reduced costs, streamlined processes, and improved deployment and productivity.
With Amazon Linux, selecting and launching instances on a public cloud provider means the machine spins up in fewer than ten seconds, making it efficient.
Cloud Solution Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
By switching the compute fleet from a paid distribution to Amazon Linux, we have reduced our OS-related overhead cost by 100%.
System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Some wins commonly seen after switching, particularly when moving from general-purpose distributions such as Ubuntu, include approximately twenty to forty percent better price-performance ratio.
configuration and management deployment at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The main return is time-saving, as it provides less setup time, fewer errors, and improved developer productivity.
DevOps at Chill Flow
You need some type of operating system and a container engine, and these two are best in class.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
There is a pipeline for it, and the time saving occurs because whenever a developer pushes anything, that goes into the Docker container and builds it.
DevOps Engineer at Elevenxcapital
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Amazon Linux customer support is praised for quick responses, expert assistance, and 24/7 availability with comprehensive resources.
Sentiment score
5.9
Docker on Ubuntu requires minimal support due to excellent documentation, community resources, and positive user reviews.
Amazon has the best expertise and they are available 24/7.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
Timely and helpful responses for performance, updates, or AWS integration issues.
QA Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Customer support provided excellent assistance, resolving the issue and getting the setup back to working order fast.
Software Engineer at cypherox technologies pvt. ltd
The customer service for Docker on Ubuntu and their technical support are pretty good, especially since the documentation is pretty robust.
Founder at Asynka
Amazon's customer support is brilliant, with very quick response times.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The documentation is good, especially when using AI tools that utilize Docker's information for support.
Chief Technology Officer at ML Cloud LLC
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Amazon Linux offers seamless scalability and performance in AWS environments, excelling in quick scaling and stable performance across regions.
Sentiment score
5.6
Docker on Ubuntu is scalable and efficient, complementing continuous integration, despite some challenges with complex applications and cloud costs.
Since it is tightly integrated with AWS services, I can easily scale instances up or down based on demand using EC2 auto-scaling and load balancing.
Team Lead, Technical Content Security at Valuepoint Systems
Automatic scaling adds or removes servers based on CPU traffic, which is optimal for production applications, while load balancing helps distribute traffic across servers, preventing overloads and delivering stable performance.
Software Engineer at cypherox technologies pvt. ltd
The compatibility of container scalability with Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS, along with performance optimizations and low latency for workloads.
Technical Trainer at DIEMS Chh.Sambhajinagar
In some cases, Docker on Ubuntu is not enough for all the complexity of the applications, and I have to go to the next level with Kubernetes.
Founder at Asynka
Ubuntu is very stable as an operating system, and Docker scales well when used properly across projects and environments.
DevOps at Chill Flow
Using Docker on Ubuntu together is a common configuration, and you can deploy it directly on server hardware using virtual machines or in the cloud, scaling however you wish.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Amazon Linux excels in stability and reliability with predictable updates, seamless scalability, and effortless AWS integration for production environments.
Sentiment score
8.1
Docker on Ubuntu is praised for stability and security, even with the open source version, despite occasional implementation-specific issues.
Combined with AWS managed infrastructure, it provides enterprise-grade reliability suitable for production workloads.
Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
Since it is purpose-built for the cloud, it lacks the bloat of traditional desktop-focused distributions, which leads to fewer crashes and higher uptime.
System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Compared to other Linux distributions, Amazon Linux is significantly more stable for AWS workloads because it is pre-optimized for EC2 hypervisor and includes integrated AWS tools out of the box.
FullStack Developer at EnactOn Technologies
Docker on Ubuntu is very stable.
Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
Docker is continually optimized by the Docker company, and Ubuntu is also continually optimized.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Docker on Ubuntu is very much stable; it is one of the most stable solutions that you can find.
DevOps Engineer at Elevenxcapital
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon Linux needs better third-party support, enhanced documentation, improved integration, and expanded features to boost flexibility and usability.
Users seek improved Docker on Ubuntu features: UI, networking, documentation, installation ease, security, storage, and orchestration integration.
Documentation explaining the differences between Ubuntu and Amazon Linux would be valuable.
full stack developer at 71Lbs
Since we are working in a real-time manner and need to scale things immediately, the time it takes to boot an instance and then deploy things is preventing me from giving it a perfect rating.
Senior Data Engineer at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees
My advice for others looking into using Amazon Linux is to make sure the command line is easy and that Amazon Linux has more performance than other Linux environments and is more secure than other Linux environments as well.
DevOps Engineer at Wissen infotech
Code sharing ability exists in GitHub and other tools, but in Docker on Ubuntu, other users we are sharing with do not have options like edit and update the code.
Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
While Docker itself has no cost, the Docker repository and Docker Hub could improve their pricing, especially for startup companies.
Chief Technology Officer at ML Cloud LLC
It is completely complex to understand the networking in Docker on Ubuntu and Kubernetes clusters, as well as the ephemeral nature of the network and storage.
Founder at Asynka
 

Setup Cost

Amazon Linux provides a cost-effective, flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model with no licensing fees, ideal for enterprises.
Enterprise users find Docker on Ubuntu cost-effective, though costs may arise from server deployment and skilled personnel needs.
With Amazon Linux itself, there is no cost associated with using it, so I would say it is very good from a pricing perspective.
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
If I am a new AWS customer, the AWS Free Tier typically includes, for the first six months, micro instances such as t2.micro or t3.micro for free.
Software Engineer at INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
I am paying around $300 to $400 per month because I use many services.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
99.9% of people will be happy with the open source version, which is open source and free.
SRE at Akamai
I find the pricing for Docker on Ubuntu is not expensive because basically, it is zero.
Founder at Asynka
Docker does not have licensing.
Cloud Operations Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Amazon Linux enhances deployment with security, AWS optimizations, and tools, ensuring efficiency, scalability, and reliability for cloud-native environments.
Docker on Ubuntu offers process isolation, portability, and integration, enhancing deployment, CI/CD speed, and efficient application containerization.
Amazon Linux handles this automatically. It is optimized for EC2, AWS hardware and software, mostly secure and stable, and there is no additional cost.
Senior AWS Consultant at Quantum Integrators
In terms of service security, there are many constraint security protocols and policies that help me create our own networks, security groups, and inline policies.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Amazon Linux's security updates have been helpful in general because I have had to be more specific in using the Identity Access Management (IAM) service so that we can have role-based permissions in preference to just keeping it open.
Fullstack Developer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Docker is the heart of many AI tools that are used, and I have an AI workstation that uses Docker to package up certain capabilities for AI engineering.
Chief Technology Officer at ML Cloud LLC
The best features that Docker on Ubuntu offers are container isolation, fast startup time, portability, and strong integration with the Ubuntu Linux ecosystem, making it easy to package applications with their dependencies and run them consistently across systems.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
Docker on Ubuntu has positively impacted my organization by making our CI/CD pipeline faster because of the multi-stage build, multi-arch build, and the strategy of layering.
DevOps Engineer at Elevenxcapital
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Docker on Ubuntu
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
16th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 1.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker on Ubuntu is 0.6%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Amazon Linux1.2%
Docker on Ubuntu0.6%
Other98.2%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Yatin Parmar - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at cypherox technologies pvt. ltd
Cloud platform has boosted secure web hosting, automation, and rapid backend deployment
To improve Amazon Linux, optimizing performance by choosing the right instance type for Amazon EC2, utilizing load balancers such as ELB, and monitoring with CloudWatch can lead to faster applications and better user experiences while reducing costs. Stopping unused EC2 instances and employing reservation spots as needed for storage on S3 saves money for clients and companies. It is also crucial to improve security through IAM roles without root access and properly configuring security settings. Implementing backups and encryption results in enhanced data safety and trust. Automation is key; using CI/CD pipelines allows for quicker deployments and reduced errors. Moreover, employing scalable architectures with auto-scaling and using microservices to distribute traffic effectively can effortlessly manage high traffic scenarios. By leveraging managed services such as RDS, S3 for storage, and Lambda for serverless computing, maintenance requirements are reduced and my organization can focus more on development. The ultimate goal of improving AWS usage must center around optimizing performance, minimizing costs, enhancing security, and automating deployments to build efficient cloud architecture.
reviewer2795433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Ops Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Built a reliable cloud foundation that has supported flexible web applications and smooth scaling
Docker on Ubuntu can be improved because Ubuntu is not minimalist at all; it comes with a lot of software by default. This has led some individuals, including myself, to try using Alpine, which is more lightweight, allowing the container to run on a more lightweight operating system that potentially uses fewer resources and reduces costs. If Ubuntu were a little more minimalist, that would be good, but it's not really aiming for that since it intends to be the baseline. Also, Ubuntu moves very fast, possibly faster than other operating systems like Debian, which could demand operational heavy upgrades to major versions every couple of years if there are many applications running.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
24%
Construction Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Outsourcing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?
I believe there is no need to improve Amazon Linux. It is definitely working in a very progressive and highly scalable way.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?
My use case for Amazon Linux includes web and application hosting, microservices, container, database management, and virtual desktop services. I use Amazon Linux as a lightweight base image for Do...
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?
I will provide a rating of eight for Amazon Linux. I am using a long-term support version of Amazon Linux, so there is no need for any other features. Amazon Linux provides different types of servi...
What needs improvement with Docker on Ubuntu?
One area where Docker on Ubuntu can be improved is networking, as sometimes the containers don't have network access or experience network-related issues, which definitely needs to be addressed. Ot...
What is your primary use case for Docker on Ubuntu?
My main use case for Docker on Ubuntu is that I'm working at a product-based company that has its own app, so we have to check and deploy this app on a containerized base system using Ubuntu as a b...
What advice do you have for others considering Docker on Ubuntu?
I would rate Docker on Ubuntu an eight overall. I chose 8 out of 10 because Docker includes a service and a daemon that require specific configurations, similar to other services such as httpd; it'...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Linux vs. Docker on Ubuntu and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.