Codespaces vs Docker comparison

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Codespaces

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 14, 2024

Codespaces and Docker are robust tools designed for software development. Users tend to favor Docker for its versatility and broad feature set, but Codespaces is preferred for its smooth cloud integration and streamlined workflows.

Features: Codespaces offers excellent cloud integration, seamless collaboration features, and straightforward remote work and project sharing. Docker supports numerous environments, integrates well with various CI/CD tools, and has a broad feature set that suits larger teams and complex projects.

Room for Improvement: Codespaces could enhance its performance speed and customization options. Docker has a steep learning curve and would benefit from more user-friendly documentation and tutorials. The complexity of Docker is a common concern among users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Codespaces users praise its straightforward deployment process and supportive customer service. Docker users find the deployment process more challenging but appreciate the extensive online community and resources. Codespaces is more approachable for smaller teams, while Docker’s support networks help experienced developers navigate its complexities.

Pricing and ROI: Codespaces is recognized for lower initial setup costs and quicker ROI due to reduced setup time and ease of use. Docker requires a higher upfront investment in training and setup but is worth the price for its powerful features and adaptability, delivering substantial ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Codespaces vs. Docker Report (Updated: July 2025).

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Codespaces vs. Docker

July 2025

Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

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

Codespaces

Ranking in Development Platforms

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IDE (1st)

Docker

Ranking in Development Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Container Management (5th), Software Supply Chain Security (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Codespaces is 11.8%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 43.4%, up from 40.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Development Platforms

Featured Reviews

Zishan Sayyed Yunus

Assistant manager at Interactive avenues

Smooth workflow with deployment and validation efficiency

I think there should be a scheduler option if you want to run it, similar to Google Cloud, where you can specify how long you want to keep your scheduling active. If you want to use it as a server or for a temporary time duration, you should be able to schedule it so the server will be activated between specific durations and auto-deactivate to save costs. Sometimes, at the initial stages, there is a lack of instances. It takes more time to create the instance, but now it's much faster to activate your Codespaces and delete it. The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging.

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Sunny Nair

Solution Architect and Senior Consultant at Keysight Technologies

Offers application conversion to Docker image and a mature environment

The learning curve with Docker is huge and extensive. Adopting Docker is a bit difficult because it requires a lot of expertise and background, including an understanding of networking and security concepts. Many professionals are facing issues with the different architectures that interact with each other in Docker. Whenever in our company, we are working with the production environment, professionals are hesitant to adopt Docker due to the extensive learning curve, and most of the team members in our company are more accustomed to an environment like VMware instead of Docker. Docker runs on scripts, so if AI can automate most of the scripting process in Docker, it would be a great advantage in the future version of Docker. As of now, we can create scripts utilizing most of the functions within Docker, but that initial planning phase wherein to understand exactly how you will plan for the resources, how you will convert applications into a Docker-based image, and similar tasks needs to be simplified so that more professionals can adopt Docker.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The developer experience is consistent, and its pricing makes sense since it optimizes the resources."

"The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security."

"The integration with Visual Studio Code offers a good and fast user experience that feels like a local experience."

"Codespaces' most valuable feature is the repository, which helps the developers to work together. Its data commands are also useful."

"The product allows us to implement feature-related changes or improvements on time. Whenever I write a section of the code or create a new code, it automatically integrates with the former code."

"I am impressed with the product's independence. We can also deploy it anywhere."

"The tool helps us in code versioning. I think it's pretty much easy to use and very straightforward. Even if someone is new to the tool, they can easily start using it with a little guidance or theoretical knowledge. Go through the tool and start using it without much struggle."

"We are using Docker to host applications."

"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."

"The lift and shift creates a lightweight image."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its sandbox environment. It makes it very easy to run and test applications without needing configurations, which is the core advantage of containerization. Kubernetes and Helm are helpful as they provide high-level metrics, making tracking the status of all the containers and applications running easier."

"Docker is very reliable. It's easy to scale, and it's very stable."

"The most valuable feature is that it is cost-saving."

More Docker pros

Cons

"The product indicates incorrect statistics."

"The main issue is related to state preservation on a disconnection. When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands."

"When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands. This context switch affects productivity."

"The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging."

"The technical support could respond faster."

"We get merge conflict errors and need to resolve them."

"I would like to see better management layers."

"I have encountered network issues while connecting with microservices. I want to optimize the application layers over the bucket. It should also have better documentation."

"I think Docker can improve as it relates to overall stability."

"Docker could improve by providing the ability to use the GPU for parallel processing. If there was the capability of using the GPU it would improve the machine learning that I want to use."

"The volumes for persistent storage could be more user friendly right out of the box."

"The security layer is very vulnerable, although they are working to improve the system hardening and email hardening."

"Deployment could be quicker."

"Marketing of Docker is one area that needs to improve."

More Docker cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am using the product’s free version."

"From what I've seen, the solution doesn't seem like it's overly expensive for what you get."

"Docker is a free tool."

"We are using the open-source version of the solution."

"Docker is a free open-source solution. However, there is the Docker Enterprise which is a paid solution."

"The solution offers an open-source version that is free and includes a lot of functionality."

"Regarding pricing, we primarily use AWS for our deployments since we have funding for it. We don't spend much on Docker-specific services, just the containerization product. Docker Hub isn't particularly expensive either, so overall, the pricing is pretty reasonable."

"There is a license needed to use Docker."

"For commercial use, it's about $30 per month. The license itself isn't expensive, but if there are many users, the price becomes high."

"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"

More Docker pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Codespaces?

The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Codespaces?

It's not expensive. It's very cheap compared to others such as Google. Google's same service is much more expensive because it will install the pre-dependencies and takes a longer time to activate....

What needs improvement with Codespaces?

What do you like most about Docker?

We are using Docker to host applications.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker?

Regarding the cost, Mirantis Container Cloud is cheaper than other solutions like Red Hat. The license costs around 10,000 Indian rupees per year.

What needs improvement with Docker?

Mirantis Container Cloud should have AI integration tools, which are not available right now. These tools should assist in app scalability and deployment error handling.

SonarQube for IDE (formerly SonarLint) vs Codespaces

Comparisons

AWS Cloud9 vs Codespaces

Compared 53% of the time

Replit vs Codespaces

Compared 27% of the time

Compared 4% of the time

JetBrains IDEs vs Codespaces

Compared 3% of the time

RStudio vs Codespaces

Compared 3% of the time

More Codespaces Competitors

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Docker

Compared 16% of the time

Mirantis Container Runtime vs Docker

Compared 8% of the time

Portainer vs Docker

Compared 8% of the time

Minimus vs Docker

Compared 7% of the time

Rancher Labs vs Docker

Compared 6% of the time

More Docker Competitors

Product Reports

Download Codespaces product report

Codespaces

August 2025

Download Docker product report

August 2025

Overview

Your instant dev environment
Get the full Visual Studio Code experience without leaving GitHub.

Code without compromise
Code, build, test, debug, and deploy with a complete development environment in your browser.

Simplify your workflow
Automatically set up dependencies and SSH keys. Go from code to commit faster on any project.

Extend and customize
Configure your editor with dotfiles and VS Code extensions to create a consistent environment in every codespace.

Develop from anywhere, anytime
With your development in the cloud, you can contribute code from any device, using VS Code or your browser.

Dependencies, decluttered
Contribute to projects without complicating your local setup. Spin up dev environments with a click—even for projects you haven't worked on before—and switch between them with ease.

GitHub

Docker is a versatile container platform used for running and deploying applications in isolated environments, ensuring consistency across development, testing, and production.

Docker offers solutions for containerizing applications, automating deployments, and managing infrastructure through its robust platform. It supports CI/CD workflows, provides a development platform for container management, and simplifies the setup by using streamlined tools. Organizations leverage Docker for building microservices, running UI applications, deploying web services, and setting up secure environments. It also facilitates managing containers via Kubernetes and creating development stacks for enhanced productivity.

What are Docker's key features?

Security: Offers containment and isolation of applications.
Easy Use: Simplifies the deployment and management of applications.
Documentation: Extensive resources to aid in understanding and implementation.
Customization: Flexible environment configurations.
Scalability: Efficiently handles applications irrespective of scale.
Internal DNS: Manages network configurations within the container ecosystem.
Overlay Networks: Facilitates seamless inter-container communication.
Resource Efficiency: Optimizes usage of system resources.

What benefits should users look for?

Consistency: Ensures homogeneous environments across development, testing, and production stages.
Portability: Allows applications to run consistently on any platform.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces overhead costs associated with application deployment.
Speed: Accelerates the build, test, and deployment cycles.
Flexibility: Supports various tools and integrations to adapt to different workflows.

Industries implement Docker for CI/CD pipelines, scaling services, and improving resource utilization. Tech companies use Docker for building and deploying their software in isolated environments. Finance and healthcare sectors deploy applications securely, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Educational institutions set up consistent development environments for coding labs and training students in advanced technologies.