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Docker vs Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.0
Docker boosts ROI by reducing time, staffing, and costs, while improving efficiency, productivity, and simplifying deployment and collaboration.
Sentiment score
2.8
Users saw up to 70% savings in costs with OpenShift, benefiting security, usability, and time savings for government organizations.
I can do containerization and share it with every computer, making it work for everyone.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.2
Docker provides strong support with thorough documentation, community resources, and additional SLA features for paid users.
Sentiment score
5.2
Red Hat OpenShift support receives mixed reviews, with users citing both exceptional service and delays, resulting in varied satisfaction.
From what I gather, customer support is great; they are quick and always available to support or help.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
They should prioritize skilled engineers for urgent issues.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Docker provides scalable container management with Kubernetes, suitable for cloud environments, though needing automation improvements for broader efficiency.
Sentiment score
6.9
Red Hat OpenShift excels in scalability and flexibility, supporting diverse environments with efficient resource management and robust support.
A realistic metric I observe is that I can scale services from two to over 20 containers without code changes.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
Previously, only one or two applications could run on a server, but now it can handle hundreds of applications, scaling up or down as needed.
Senior Cloud Engineer - AWS at Bytedance
I rate the scalability of Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform as a nine, as I haven't encountered any issues with scaling a cluster or applications.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
Scalability is rated nine out of ten.
It Team Lead at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Docker is favored for its stability and effective container management, despite minor issues like memory and Windows compatibility.
Sentiment score
7.3
Red Hat OpenShift is stable and robust, with some bugs and dependencies on support, rated 7-9 for stability.
Docker has been very stable in my environment, especially once best practices and proper organization were in place.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
There haven't been any issues so far; it remains stable with no downtime or crashes, and even the upgrades are handled seamlessly without issues.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
 

Room For Improvement

Docker requires improved documentation, stability, user interfaces, and performance, alongside easier cloud integration and better community support.
Red Hat OpenShift needs better security, pricing, integration, documentation, UI, automation, and features for cloud migration and management.
Docker is excellent for containerization and CI/CD, but it can be improved in areas of built-in security, network simplicity, and observability.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
Docker is a time-tested, proven solution with industry-wide applications.
Senior Cloud Engineer - AWS at Bytedance
In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Currently, it is a clear text method allowing anyone in the namespace to see the username and password, which should be controlled in that way.
Open Shift Lead at Al Rajhi Bank
The solution itself doesn't require a high learning curve; it is actually quite good to manage.
Infrastructure Architect & CEO at Tirzok Private Limited
I would like to see advanced cluster management added in future releases, such as a single pane of glass to manage multiple clusters.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
 

Setup Cost

Docker offers scalable open-source and enterprise options with flexible pricing, starting at $5 per user, impacting overall costs.
Red Hat OpenShift's enterprise features justify its cost for large organizations, offering flexible licensing and discounts for long-term usage.
Docker Desktop is free for individual developers and small teams, but a paid subscription is required for large enterprises.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
I consider Docker's pricing to be affordable.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Regarding whether Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is expensive or if the price is reasonable for my customers, to me, the services it provides should incur some costs, but based on market feedback, it is quite expensive.
Infrastructure Architect & CEO at Tirzok Private Limited
The current licensing cost for this solution is around $23,000 per year, per month.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
 

Valuable Features

Docker offers secure, flexible, and easy containerization with fast deployment, automation, cost savings, and seamless integration across platforms.
Red Hat OpenShift optimizes resource management with auto-scaling, user-friendly interfaces, Kubernetes integration, and robust security for enterprises.
It allows the software to run on various machines without compatibility issues, saving a lot of time.
Senior Cloud Engineer - AWS at Bytedance
Good security capabilities are included as well, providing image scanning, non-root containers, and minimal base images that reduce the attack surface.
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
The most valuable feature is the simple containerization.
Software Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform's policy-based governance has helped my organization maintain application security at scale because ACS is also there, and Red Hat is always maintaining things with hardening methods, always coming with hardened images, and we are frequently upgrading the minor and major versions, so it will be mitigated in that way.
Open Shift Lead at Al Rajhi Bank
In terms of features in Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, I find the orchestration itself quite useful for my customers because it integrates with lots of tools.
Infrastructure Architect & CEO at Tirzok Private Limited
The cluster scaling features, such as the auto-scaling of cluster nodes and application replicas using horizontal and vertical pod auto-scaling, significantly impact our operations.
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
 

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)
Red Hat OpenShift Container...
Ranking in Container Management
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
52
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 Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is 18.9%, down from 23.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform18.9%
Docker4.6%
Other76.5%
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.
NM
Solaris UNIX Systems Engineer at Standard Bank South Africa
Consistent performance impresses users while technical support needs improvement
I definitely recommend Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform to other organizations due to its high availability, security, ease of use, and all the built-in features it offers. We do no maintenance for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform since ROSA is fully managed, and that's why it is a bit more expensive than EKS. The fully managed service includes 24/7 support, scheduling, and upgrades; we only need to inform Red Hat support about upgrades, and they manage the process end to end. Overall, I rate Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform as a nine; although I would say ten, I think it's important to allow room for improvement.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

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 Business14
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise40
 

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.
Which is better - OpenShift Container Platform or VMware Tanzu Mission Control?
Red Hat Openshift is ideal for organizations using microservices and cloud environments. I like that the platform is auto-scalable, which saves overhead time for developers. I think Openshift can b...
What do you like most about OpenShift Container Platform?
The tool's most valuable features include high availability, scalability, and security. Other features like advanced cluster management, advanced cluster security, and Red Hat Quay make it powerful...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenShift Container Platform?
Regarding whether Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform is expensive or if the price is reasonable for my customers, to me, the services it provides should incur some costs, but based on market feed...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Edenor, BMW, Ford, Argentine Ministry of Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Docker vs. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.