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Docker vs Portainer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (6th)
Portainer
Ranking in Container Management
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 2.7%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portainer is 5.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

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.
EB
A GUI solution that helps to administer a docker using a browser
The first time using Portainer involves a learning curve. It takes longer as you're unfamiliar with the processes and might be lazy to consult the manual. Initially, you may rely on intuition within the GUI. However, after repeating the same tasks three or four times, the process becomes much quicker.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to use an image with the software built into it, rather than just the software, is beneficial."
"The scalability of Docker is good."
"We are using Docker to host applications."
"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 stability is excellent."
"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 solution's most valuable feature is having containers independent of the operating system or environment."
"Docker creates lightweight applications that are easy to manage and scale."
"Portainer comes with the ability to take the information of docker definition. Using it, I can visually observe how the container has been created. It allows me to create networks. I can also visually generate volumes and working stacks."
 

Cons

"I would love to have it available on Linux."
"The solution could offer better documentation."
"The security layer is very vulnerable, although they are working to improve the system hardening and email hardening."
"I think Docker can improve as it relates to overall stability."
"They should provide proper documentation to understand the solution's cgroup process."
"Docker could improve by having more advanced features."
"The backup compatibility for legacy window stations is an area of concern where improvement is required, especially since my company has certain legacy tools that we are struggling to move."
"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."
"Portainer needs to be more intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I use the solution's open-source version."
"The solution offers an open-source version that is free and includes a lot of functionality."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"Docker's price is good."
"We are using the open-source version of the solution."
"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."
"Docker is a free tool."
"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Insurance Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about Portainer?
Portainer comes with the ability to take the information of docker definition. Using it, I can visually observe how the container has been created. It allows me to create networks. I can also visua...
What needs improvement with Portainer?
Portainer needs to be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Portainer?
The tool is a GUI that helps to administer a docker using a browser.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), VMware and others in Container Management. Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.