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Docker vs Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE [EOL] comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (4th), Container Management (10th), Software Supply Chain Security (4th), AI Software Development (23rd)
Nutanix Kubernetes Engine N...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

ER
Senior QA and Developer
Local container testing has boosted development speed but still needs lower battery and memory use
The main thing that really frustrates me about Docker is how much battery power it consumes on a Macintosh. I really am not a fan of that, which leads me to not want to run Docker 24/7 because I do not want my laptop battery to be exhausted by Docker instances running or even the Docker CLI or UI being booted up. I tend to not have it running until I need it, and then I run it and close it. It would be really nice if it did not consume as much battery as it does currently. Docker can definitely be improved by reducing the battery and CPU load that it impacts on a Macintosh. If it were possible for me to run Docker without panicking about the battery running out, that would be excellent. I believe battery is the biggest issue with Docker. The other issue is memory. It seems to consume a lot of memory, and I am not a fan of that. This means that I need to have a really powerful, high-specification Macintosh with a lot of battery and a lot of memory for it to work reliably. I do not always have access to that. If Docker could consume less battery and less memory, that would be magnificent.
reviewer2741271 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nutanix Administrator at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Has provided seamless upgrade experiences and robust technical support
I have heard there are many features added in NKP that are not available in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE, such as load balancer features. The unified control plane feature is not being used in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE. We are currently using a third-party tool for load balancing, but going forward, NKP will include load balancer, ingress, and egress features, making infrastructure management much easier. There is no auto-scaling feature in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE; however, NKP offers it. In NKE, we created additional worker nodes and increased CPU and RAM capacity, but it required manual intervention. Concerning policy-driven governance in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE, we have the ability to implement RBAC at the cluster level, which helps maintain security by not granting full admin privileges to every end user, thus restricting access effectively.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution offers speed and flexibility."
"Traditional deployments take more time and builds can be inconsistent across different environments. Docker solves these issues."
"The most valuable feature is the simple containerization."
"I think that with Docker, it is easy to deploy it on different platforms."
"The solution's most valuable feature is having containers independent of the operating system or environment."
"Docker packages up an application as a single item that you can then run without the need to install or configure it to work on any specific machine."
"The solution is lightweight which is valuable, and the ease of deploying on any cloud is valuable."
"I think the best feature is to replicate anything in our local machine using a simple command."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The solution is easy to manage. You can get everything in a single platform. It is also easy to work with Terraform as a code."
"The platform is valuable due to its ease of use and quick deployment capabilities."
"The technical support is excellent."
"The solution provides no downtime features. If we face issues, we create a new port, deploy it there, and then drop the existing one. This way, we avoid NKE downtime on our website."
"Nutanix is very stable and reliable, based on my experience with many customers, including large banks and telcos."
"Nutanix's support is really good."
"Karbon is embedded in the hypervisor, there are no deployment costs and the administration is via Prism Central."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, it can become heavy and cause performance issues."
"Enhancing artificial intelligence capabilities and cluster management should be a priority. It should facilitate some security management."
"We are facing multiple issues with the solution's stability."
"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."
"The solution could improve with a GUI instead of only a command line interface. Having to use the command line interface can be a hassle."
"Docker could improve by having more advanced features."
"As for improving Docker, I would like to see enhancements in its user interface and documentation to make it even more user-friendly and accessible. I believe Docker will expand its scope and reduce limitations to support more applications, both online and offline. For instance, in scenarios like deployments on ships or during upgrades, Docker can continue to offer software services and container-based intelligence."
"For the most part, Windows is stable, but sometimes the application crashes and we have to have an error fixed in order for the stability to remain."
"There have been cases where we've deployed with Karbon and haven't seen that it includes errors."
"In the next release, I would like to have automatic dynamic scaling, both upscaling and downscaling."
"I would like to have more nodes for availability and storage."
"It's mostly for lab purposes; we haven't seen a lot of traction in the market from enterprise customers yet."
"Nutanix has limitations compared to VMware, particularly in testing and industry tie-ups with different OEMs. Deploying virtual machines, especially for industrial automation, can be challenging due to compatibility issues."
"I have issues with the product's interoperability."
"NKE could benefit from additional features that support more advanced Kubernetes functionalities and configurations."
"One major issue we faced was that appliances couldn't migrate from VMware to the tool. However, this seems to be a common problem across platforms. We've seen the same issue when migrating from VMware to RHV or other solutions. It's not specifically a Nutanix problem but rather an issue migrating appliances from one VM infrastructure to another. Some kernel-level and storage-level issues impact this process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."
"We use the open-source version."
"The product is not expensive."
"I use the solution's open-source version."
"The solution is an open-source technology and not a commercial product. However, you will have to pay sometimes. The tool's pricing depends on the vendor."
"The pricing of the solution is fairly cheap."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"The product's licenses are included in the software version deployed in our data center."
"I rate NKE's pricing a six out of ten."
"I rate the product price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The platform is averagely priced. I rate the pricing as four out of ten."
"While deploying Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix is cost-effective, there may be additional costs for remote branch offices where Kubernetes is less common."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise35
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker?
The setup cost has balanced out, and I find Docker's pricing reasonable. Docker Engine is free and open source for Linux, and Docker Desktop is free for individual developers and small teams, but a...
What needs improvement with Docker?
Docker could potentially be more straightforward. A more guided approach to using it would be useful.
What is your primary use case for Docker?
My primary use case for Docker is standardizing development and deployment environments across the entire application life cycle, and I rely on Docker to ensure that every component of a project, w...
What needs improvement with Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
In terms of features, I cannot comment technically, but the real value is the consolidated out-of-the-box solution that Nutanix offers. Nutanix has built great branding and a lot of credibility and...
What is your primary use case for Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
I have experience with OpenShift, Kubernetes, and Nutanix, as we are one of the largest Nutanix resellers in the Middle East. We handle Kubernetes on the cloud as well, so we manage most of the Kub...
What advice do you have for others considering Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
I don't have a technical role, but we are a system integrator, so we sell solutions such as OpenShift and Kubernetes as part of the sales team. We are a reseller called eSky IT, and I serve as the ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Nutanix Karbon
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
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