No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
4.8
Amazon Linux boosts ROI with cost savings, improved performance, scalability, rapid deployment, and enhanced AWS integration ensuring reliability.
Sentiment score
4.6
Companies achieve cost and time savings with Docker on Ubuntu via faster builds, deployments, and reduced storage and resource needs.
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.
Senior Dev Ops Engineer at 11 East Capital
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Amazon Linux support is highly rated for its fast response, knowledgeable engineers, and comprehensive documentation and resources.
Sentiment score
5.8
Most Ubuntu Docker users rely on strong documentation and community support, requiring minimal direct support from Canonical.
Amazon has the best expertise and they are available 24/7.
IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy
Timely and helpful responses for performance, updates, or AWS integration issues.
QA Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It offers specific advantages and constraints depending on the use case.
Cloud Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
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
7.1
Amazon Linux efficiently scales workloads via AWS integration, offering reliable performance and quick response to traffic spikes.
Sentiment score
6.0
Docker on Ubuntu provides scalable, flexible integration with Kubernetes, suitable for diverse applications and seamless CI pipeline integration.
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.
Technical Team Lead - Content Security at Valuepoint Systems
Its real scalability comes from its seamless integration with AWS tools like CloudFormation, Auto Scaling, and user data scripts, which allow me to deploy and configure hundreds of identical ready-to-use instances automatically.
Student at Unemployed at the moment
The beauty here is that we can scale it immediately, which also saves cost.
IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy
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
8.5
Amazon Linux offers exceptional stability, reliability, and security, seamlessly integrating with AWS services for highly available, resilient performance.
Sentiment score
8.0
Docker on Ubuntu provides stable, reliable performance for container deployment, with minor connection challenges and differences in version settings.
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.
Senior Dev Ops Engineer at 11 East Capital
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon Linux enhancements focus on documentation, package availability, migration support, and improved usability for broader adoption and engagement.
Docker on Ubuntu requires UI, networking, and storage simplifications with improved documentation, security, and Kubernetes 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 offers cost-effective, scalable solutions without licensing fees, making it a budget-friendly choice for enterprises.
Enterprise users find Docker on Ubuntu cost-effective, with potential expenses mostly related to staff training and infrastructure.
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 only pay for the EC2 instance and any other AWS resources I use, but the operating system itself has no licensing fees, which is a significant advantage over commercial operating systems like Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Windows servers, which incur extra hourly charges.
Student at Unemployed at the moment
99.9% of people will be happy with the open source version, which is open source and free.
SRE II at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
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, optimized for AWS, offers robust security, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration, enhancing deployment confidence and reducing overhead.
Docker on Ubuntu enhances scalability, efficiency, and deployment with process isolation, portability, YAML configuration, and strong community support.
Amazon Linux handles this automatically. It is optimized for EC2, AWS hardware and software, mostly secure and stable, and there is no additional cost.
IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy
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 software engineer at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
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.
Senior Dev Ops Engineer at 11 East Capital
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Linux
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
47
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
5.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Amazon Linux is 1.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker on Ubuntu is 0.8%, 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 Linux1.7%
Docker on Ubuntu0.8%
Other97.5%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Saurab Gnagurde - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Analyst | Aws Cloud Ops | Dev Ops | Fin Ops at Tata Consultancy
“Amazon Linux delivers automated security updates— including live kernel patching in AL2023—ensuring protected workloads with minimal manual effort and zero-downtime patching.”
One improvement for Amazon Linux would be stronger support for running it outside AWS. Although Amazon provides local VM images for VirtualBox and VMware, they are intended mainly for development and testing. Unlike Ubuntu, Debian, or Red Hat, Amazon Linux is not designed or fully supported as a production OS in on-prem or hybrid environments. Expanding official support outside AWS would offer more flexibility for teams that maintain mixed infrastructure. Another area for improvement is the community ecosystem. Compared to Ubuntu or Red Hat, Amazon Linux has a smaller community and fewer third-party resources or tutorials. A larger ecosystem would make troubleshooting and adoption easier. Finally, improving backward compatibility between Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux 2023—especially around package management (DNF vs yum) and updated toolchains—would simplify upgrades for teams managing large fleets.
AnilKumar13 - PeerSpot reviewer
Devops Engineer at EDAG
Containerization has streamlined testing workflows and reduces server resources for our builds
The best features that Docker on Ubuntu offers in my experience are ease of usability and performance. Ease of usability and performance with Docker on Ubuntu have helped me because Ubuntu is a Debian-based OS that can operate in both server and desktop modes, so when using Docker on Ubuntu on a server base, I need to install a few packages to convert the machine to GUI mode, making Docker on Ubuntu easy to use. While I think security is not a standout feature, ease of usability and performance remain the main highlights for me since it's only environment-specific and involves local testing along with monitoring only internal servers. Docker on Ubuntu has positively impacted my organization through resource savings, as for our NOC server, we are using a dedicated 30-core server with 256 GB of RAM, but with the help of Docker on Ubuntu, we can run multiple containers on the same server. In terms of resource savings, we reduced the number of servers from around 100 to 70 after using Docker on Ubuntu within our private cloud, where we have numerous servers located in multiple locations in the US.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Operating Systems (OS) for Business solutions are best for your needs.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
22%
Construction Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Amazon Linux?
I do not feel there are any major improvements needed for Amazon Linux at this time.
What is your primary use case for Amazon Linux?
Amazon Linux is primarily used for development and operating services. I operated a real estate transaction site and also ran a used car parts sales website on this platform.
What advice do you have for others considering Amazon Linux?
I give Amazon Linux an overall rating of 9 on a scale from 1 to 10. The reason for that score is that it is comparable to general Linux distributions, and in addition, it can be used in good integr...
What needs improvement with Docker on Ubuntu?
Since we have everything in-house, we are using self-managed solutions. We are using this operating system for deployment purposes. Docker on Ubuntu and the Kubernetes cluster provide deployment sp...
What is your primary use case for Docker on Ubuntu?
Docker on Ubuntu is installed on our Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. Our infrastructure is running on a Linux-based operating system where Docker on Ubuntu and Kubernetes are working because w...
What advice do you have for others considering Docker on Ubuntu?
I would like to suggest to people who are going to be in Docker on Ubuntu-based applications that since it is lightweight, it does not cause any trouble to use or any performance level or any kinds...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Linux vs. Docker on Ubuntu and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.