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AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs Docker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 14, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

AWS Cloud Development Kit (...
Ranking in Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Docker
Ranking in Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (5th), Software Supply Chain Security (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) is 9.9%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 43.9%, up from 37.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Asif  Meem - PeerSpot reviewer
An easy-to-deploy solution that can be used to write code to provision infrastructure
We use AWS CDK for defining infrastructure as code You can use AWS CDK to write code to provision infrastructure. The solution has a significant quality of life improvement for software developers who can code to spin up infrastructure on AWS. Using AWS CDK requires some knowledge of popular…
Rikin Parekh - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful to create sandbox environments to run applications and makes it easy to test them
Overall, setting up the Docker environment is quite easy. Many methods exist, such as using Docker Compose and Docker networks to communicate between containers. The main challenge lies in designing the architecture and integrating different frameworks and microservices. I would rate the ease of setting up the tool at around nine out of ten. The time it takes to deploy depends on the scale of the system. For the early-stage startup I'm currently working with, it doesn't take much time. It's just me handling the deployment. In our early-stage startup, we have a couple of teams with around four to five backend APIs and two front-end services. Deploying these doesn't take much time. My focus is more on minimizing costs due to our lean startup structure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment."
"The setup process is very straightforward."
"You can use AWS CDK to write code to provision infrastructure."
"AWS CDK has notably streamlined the deployment process compared to other methods, primarily by defining cloud infrastructure as code."
"One of the most valuable aspects of CDK is its ability to integrate various components seamlessly, such as Lambda functions, API Gateway, DynamoDB, and EventBridge."
"AWS CDK offers seamless integration, which was a significant factor in choosing it for cloud computing."
"We use Docker to facilitate deployment, updates, and management."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is automation. When I deploy the solution I am confident it will work anywhere. It is reliable and easy to use."
"In our line of work, we've been involved in various sectors, such as industrial products, transportation, client engineering, telecom, and medical. For instance, we're currently developing an IT platform. One key use case we're tackling is device management."
"We find the auto scaling and auto healing functionality of this solution very good."
"We are using Docker to host applications."
"The most valuable feature is Docker has a fast learning curve."
"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Docker creates lightweight applications that are easy to manage and scale."
 

Cons

"The primary issue we've encountered is pricing. Some customers find the pricing to be somewhat high. Additionally, there's a discrepancy between the promised resource utilization and the actual utilization. The resource utilization calculations don't align with the provided guidelines. So, the pricing and resource utilization calculations could be refined."
"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"They could allow combining multiple languages, such as JavaScript and Python for the platform. At present, we can use only one language."
"Using AWS CDK requires some knowledge of popular programming languages."
"There are some issues with different plugins."
"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"I want to see if new architectures have been incorporated in Docker or if we have to wait for another release."
"Owing to a few shortcomings in its stability, I would say that its stability can be improved."
"The solution could offer better documentation."
"If you install Docker on a host, it creates its own firewalls. It can become an issue. Usually, when you want to install Docker, you need to restart the firewall or restart the active tables on the machine, but this is not the case with Kubernetes. It uses the default set up by the next administrator, but with Docker, you have to restart the firewall and restart Docker before the firewall on the system will be okay. If you do not the rules will not be created."
"Deployment could be quicker."
"I would like to see a single package image orchestration bundled together."
"We'd like knowledge transfer to be easier."
"One item that could be improved is the overall stability of Docker."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since AWS CDK is an open-source solution, it's free to use."
"Docker is a free open-source solution. However, there is the Docker Enterprise which is a paid solution."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"We use the open-source version."
"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."
"The offering and service are quite free."
"It's free."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"Customers pay for the license through a yearly subscription model, where they pay per license. This means that the license is based on a subscription, and the customer pays annually for each license they use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
17%
Insurance Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS CDK?
The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CDK?
Over time, I expect AWS to become more cost-efficient and resilient. Although the pricing is currently high, I hope they continue to improve their system, which will lead to cost reductions.
What needs improvement with AWS CDK?
There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging. The IAM policies could be simplified to make the setup process more straightfor...
What do you like most about Docker?
We are using Docker to host applications.
What needs improvement with Docker?
In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved.
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs. Docker and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,589 professionals have used our research since 2012.