Kubernetes vs Portainer comparison

Kubernetes and Portainer are both solutions in the Container Management category. Kubernetes is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while Portainer is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. Kubernetes holds a 6.1% mindshare in CM, compared to Portainer’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Kubernetes users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Portainer users who would recommend it.

Kubernetes

Read 79 Kubernetes reviews

2,696 Views
2,669 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Portainer

Read 1 Portainer review

1,340 Views
1,340 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Kubernetes

Portainer

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Kubernetes and Portainer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Container Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Container Management

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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

Kubernetes

Ranking in Container Management

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Portainer

Ranking in Container Management

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Kubernetes is 6.1%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portainer is 4.8%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Kubernetes	6.1%
Portainer	4.8%
Other	89.1%

Container Management

Featured Reviews

Leonardo Brito

Site Reliability Engineer at Tiendanube

Migration to managed containers has accelerated microservice deployments and reduced downtime

I am using add-ons for EKS Kubernetes that stand out to me. The useful add-ons help with administrating multiple clusters and accounts in AWS. My company uses Kubernetes for microservices within the organization. I advise others to look into using Kubernetes and not to pursue other options. Kubernetes is something I want to emphasize before we wrap up. I have given this review an overall rating of 80.

Read full review

Elio-Bonazzi

Developer with 1-10 employees

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use it for various large microservice-based architectures and web services. That's the ideal use case, but it's suitable for any kind of service that can be decomposed and needs to be scaled. Of course, it's much easier to deploy services that are stateless. It"

"The cloud-managed Kubernetes allow us to take care of a big system and deployment and container management without having a big operational team."

"The most valuable features of Kubernetes are the integration with Docker and there is plenty of documentation available. We work with Docker as a container, and it is more integrated with Docker than VMware Tanzu."

"The autoscaling feature is the most valuable. Kubernetes itself is an orchestration tool. It automatically detects the load, and it automatically spins up the new Pod in the form of a new microservice deployment."

"The solution has many valuable features but the most impressive is the ability to scale an application and continuously monitor if all the components of the application are functioning correctly."

"Offers automated rollouts and storage orchestration"

"Kubernetes has everything. Its design structure is quite advanced, and its offerings are extensive. The practical feature was the seamless failover."

"Provision of a managed platform as a service."

More Kubernetes pros

"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

"It would be nice if they could make it easier for developers and infrastructure staff to automate some of the pieces that they have to do manually at the moment."

"Kubernetes could improve by having better integration with VMware solutions."

"The plugins could be better. That is one pain point we had, and we had to get in with many other open standards, like Calico networking and more."

"One thing I noticed is when you have multiple deployments and your node count increases beyond eight or nine, the container creation process doesn't copy properties correctly."

"They should update Kubernetes more regularly."

"In the financial service sector, I'd rate scalability an eight out of ten. But do it in a controlled manner, not auto-scaling. If your application has a bug and you enable the autoscaler, it will spike your costs. If someone deploys an application with a bug, that's automatically a problem."

"Currently, in Kubernetes, all of the health deployments or monitoring, and the discrete tools need to be configured. Changing this would make it much easier. Otherwise, we have to rely on a external tool to implement the monitoring."

"It would be very interesting if they could introduce a template engine to set dynamic values in the deployment time. It would be ideal if it could be native in Kubernetes as it would be much easier."

More Kubernetes cons

"Portainer needs to be more intuitive."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you have a solid AKS and a solid DevOps process, you'll automatically get an ROI, not just in terms of cost but also in how quickly you can see your business application progress."

"I would say the solution is worth the money, but it depends on the required workloads, the type of workload, and the scaling requirements etc."

"In addition to Kubernetes, you have to pay for support."

"Kubernetes is free; it's open-source software."

"It's an affordable solution"

"The solution is open source and has no fees."

"If you're using a public cloud, the cost depends on the number of nodes you are planning to deploy Kubernetes on."

"There is no licensing fee."

More Kubernetes pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Container Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	47

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kubernetes?

There are many good features. I feel that the scale-out features, like replica sets, are very good. The number of running containers can be autoscaled.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kubernetes?

I have had a good experience with pricing, but the setup costs are high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Kubernetes?

Kubernetes can be improved, though I cannot specify exactly how at this time.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Portainer?

Portainer needs to be more intuitive.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Portainer?

The tool is a GUI that helps to administer a docker using a browser.

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Kubernetes

Compared 19% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) vs Kubernetes

Compared 12% of the time

HashiCorp Nomad vs Kubernetes

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs Kubernetes

Compared 7% of the time

HPE Ezmeral Container Platform vs Kubernetes

Compared 7% of the time

More Kubernetes Competitors

Komodor vs Portainer

Compared 51% of the time

Docker vs Portainer

Compared 15% of the time

HashiCorp Nomad vs Portainer

Compared 8% of the time

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Portainer

Compared 5% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs Portainer

Compared 4% of the time

More Portainer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Kubernetes

January 2026

Download Kubernetes product report

Buyer's Guide

Container Management

December 2025

Download Portainer product report

Also Known As

No data available

Overview

Kubernetes (K8s) is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery. Kubernetes builds upon 15 years of experience of running production workloads at Google, combined with best-of-breed ideas and practices from the community.

Kubernetes

Portainer offers a robust platform for managing Docker environments, streamlining containerized application deployments and simplifying complex processes. It provides scalability and efficiency for IT operations.

Portainer facilitates comprehensive management of containerized environments, increasing operational efficiency. Known for its intuitive interface and broad functionality, Portainer minimizes time spent on mundane management tasks. Users benefit from resource optimization and improved visibility in container orchestration. As organizations continue to embrace cloud-native technologies, Portainer becomes a reliable choice for those looking to harness the full potential of Docker while maintaining easy control and oversight of container workloads.

What key features does Portainer offer?

Container Management: Simplifies handling of Docker containers with an easy-to-use interface.
Application Templates: Provides pre-defined templates for faster deployment of applications.
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures secure access through detailed permission settings.
Support for Multi-Cluster: Allows managing multiple clusters from a single point.
Monitoring and Logging: Offers detailed insights and logging for efficient resource monitoring.

Which benefits should be expected from Portainer?

Time Savings: Reduces time spent on manual configurations with its streamlined processes.
Cost Efficiency: Maximizes resource utilization, potentially lowering operational costs.
Enhanced Security: Provides secure management of access and deployments.
Scalability: Supports growth with features that accommodate expanding infrastructures.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Portainer is deployed to manage sensitive data workflows, ensuring compliance and security. It's used in manufacturing for optimizing IoT integrations and in the tech industry to manage microservices efficiently, aligning with modern agile development practices.

Portainer

Sample Customers

China unicom, NetEase Cloud, Nav, AppDirect

Information Not Available

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

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Container Management vendors.

We monitor all Container Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.