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Docker vs NGINX Ingress Controller comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 11, 2025

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

Docker
Ranking in Container Management
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd), AI Software Development (7th)
NGINX Ingress Controller
Ranking in Container Management
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 4.6%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Ingress Controller is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Docker4.6%
NGINX Ingress Controller1.5%
Other93.9%
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2787357 - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
Containerization has standardized deployments and drives faster, more reliable delivery
As Docker is already a very mature tool, there are areas where it can be improved based on real-world usage. One area I consider is the Windows container experience. The pain point here is that Windows containers are heavier and slower than Linux containers because I have worked in both environments and felt that Windows containers are heavier and slower than Linux containers. This also limits the ecosystem and tooling maturity compared to Linux containers. Improvements could include performance optimization and better parity with Linux container features. Apart from that, observability and debugging is another area. The pain point is the limited native metrics available and limited logging and tracing features. Improvements could include adding a good amount of metrics, logging, and tracing, as well as better built-in observability features and easier container introspection. Network complexity is also present. I face issues with Docker networking that can become confusing in complex setups, and debugging container-to-container issues is not always intuitive. Improvements can be made with simpler networking abstractions and better built-in troubleshooting tools. Docker is excellent for containerization and CI/CD, but it can be improved in areas of built-in security, network simplicity, and observability. These points should be kept in mind and worked on.
Ishu Patil - PeerSpot reviewer
Python Developer and Application Analysts at All Solutions
Smart traffic control has improved reliability and has protected critical APIs under heavy load
In my experience, the best features NGINX Ingress Controller offers are its integration systems, which easily connect with other NGINX API gateways, risk limiting, JWT validations, and other NGINX products. The integration with other analytics products enhances our team's capabilities as we use NGINX App Protect with NGINX Ingress Controller to protect the whole site using firewalls from denial of service, while the JWT validation helps protect our site from unauthorized access. NGINX Ingress Controller has positively impacted our organization by saving us a lot of time. Previously, we used the NGINX open source ingress that lacked support and reliability, so when we switched to the official controller, it saved us time, reduced our downtime, and allowed for safe releases.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The capability of the solution to convert an application into a Docker image is a vital functionality"
"The scalability of Docker is good."
"Docker is highly scalable."
"I am impressed with the product's independence. We can also deploy it anywhere."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is that it revolutionized virtualization by providing a new approach with containers that completely nullified the time it used to take to deploy applications on virtual servers, resulting in deployment times that can be as quick as milliseconds, unless it is a heavy application, such as Java. Additionally, resource utilization has greatly improved with Docker, allowing for more resources to be allocated to other tasks. These are a few key features that make Docker a preferred choice."
"Containerization is the most valuable feature. I can communicate to the Docker containers using other containers."
"The most valuable feature is the simple containerization."
"The most valuable features of Docker are its security, detailed documentation, and ease of use, and the Docker Swarm is not as complex as Kubernetes."
"NGINX Ingress Controller has positively impacted our organization by saving us a lot of time, reducing our downtime, and allowing for safe releases."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would like to see better management layers."
"I would love to have it available on Linux."
"Docker needs to improve its pricing."
"The solution’s documentation could improve a bit."
"They should provide proper documentation to understand the solution's cgroup process."
"Docker could improve by having more advanced features."
"I think Docker can improve as it relates to overall stability."
"One improvement I see for NGINX Ingress Controller is that the obvious downside is the cost, as you pay for the license on top of AWS infrastructure and the pricing is not cheap."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since Docker is an open-source solution, it is free of cost."
"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."
"The current cost for us is nothing as an open source."
"We are using the open-source version of the solution."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"There is a license needed to use Docker."
"Docker is a free tool."
"The solution offers an open-source version that is free and includes a lot of functionality."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise35
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Ingress Controller?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was good. The pricing was expensive at first, but throughout the journey, it became feasible.
What needs improvement with NGINX Ingress Controller?
One improvement I see for NGINX Ingress Controller is that the obvious downside is the cost, as you pay for the license on top of AWS infrastructure and the pricing is not cheap. However, compared ...
What is your primary use case for NGINX Ingress Controller?
My main use case for NGINX Ingress Controller is as a smart traffic controller, with the built-in firewalls, DoS protections for our APIs, and better reliability under load. Whenever we need to man...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes and others in Container Management. Updated: December 2025.
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