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Docker vs Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE [EOL] comparison

 

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
7.1
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Container Management (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (1st), AI Software Development (5th)
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

PB
Senior Cloud Engineer - AWS at Bytedance
Time-saving deployment with seamless virtualization for diverse environments
I used Docker to Dockerize Java code. We had a code base, and I needed to create a Docker image from it so that it could be deployed. At the time, we used Docker Compose, which is somewhat similar to Kubernetes Docker allows virtualization at a higher level without the need for a host machine.…
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 deployment is quite fast, which is beneficial."
"Docker is easy to understand and follow. It provides good scalability to the application."
"Docker is very reliable. It's easy to scale, and it's very stable."
"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."
"The current version is quite good with our application."
"The most valuable feature is that it is cost-saving."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is the dedicated QA environment for connecting the team members, and there are many core features available and it is highly secure when we are imaging a client's server."
"Docker creates lightweight applications that are easy to manage and scale."
"We can add some add-ons and plugins to the product if we need to."
"Nutanix is very stable and reliable, based on my experience with many customers, including large banks and telcos."
"My experience with Nutanix's technical support is excellent."
"The product integrates well with our infrastructure."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Karbon is embedded in the hypervisor, there are no deployment costs and the administration is via Prism Central."
"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."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, it can become heavy and cause performance issues."
"In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved."
"We are facing multiple issues with the solution's stability."
"Unfortunately, base images are not currently available."
"We would like to see improvement in adding the node into the Docker Swarm cluster, as at present it is a little tricky and requires a lot of manual steps."
"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."
"I would like to see a single package image orchestration bundled together. Although Docker has ways to implement, it is not as flexible as Kubernetes."
"The product does not have an extensive documentation. The tool does not have good scenarios. We have to go through the GitHub repository and investigate similar scenarios. Also, if you are copying multiple things, then you can jeopardize the copy number. The copying aspect also lacks a UI part. We also need to limit the memory."
"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."
"I would like to have more nodes for availability and storage."
"We need a backup of production clusters."
"In the next release, I would like to have automatic dynamic scaling, both upscaling and downscaling."
"It's mostly for lab purposes; we haven't seen a lot of traction in the market from enterprise customers yet."
"NKE could benefit from additional features that support more advanced Kubernetes functionalities and configurations."
"Areas for improvement in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) include upgrading management capabilities and enhancing the user interface for improved usability."
"GUI lacks sufficient information to help with understanding the installation and process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Docker is a free-to-use solution. However, Docker Enterprise is not free."
"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."
"It's an open-source solution, so it doesn't cost anything"
"There is a license needed to use Docker."
"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"
"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."
"The product is a free open-source tool."
"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."
"While deploying Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix is cost-effective, there may be additional costs for remote branch offices where Kubernetes is less common."
"The platform is averagely priced. I rate the pricing as four out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise35
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
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?
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 Win...
What is your primary use case for Docker?
My main use case for Docker is to package applications into consistent, portable containers and use those images across CI/CD and production environments. I containerize applications so they can ru...
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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