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Amazon ECR vs Harbor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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

Amazon ECR
Ranking in Container Registry
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Harbor
Ranking in Container Registry
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Container Registry category, the mindshare of Amazon ECR is 17.7%, up from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Harbor is 27.1%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Registry
 

Featured Reviews

Rikin Parekh - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps to store Docker containers and images but deployment can be complex
If there were a way to use containers as tasks directly, that would simplify things. Currently, when we use EC2 instances, scaling horizontally means increasing the instance count by five times, which might not be cost-effective. Maybe using containers directly for tasks could be a better option. Setting up this product initially does take quite a bit of time, and maintaining it also requires effort. Doing it via command line would be challenging, so I find it easier to manage through the interface.
reviewer2584182 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhance security with automated vulnerability detection and private registry support
We use Harbor for Docker containers to build from our GitLab CI/CD pipeline. This pipeline then automatically pushes to our Harbor instance. We are still working on storing Helm charts in the Harbor instance as well Harbor has improved our organization's security and stability in our container…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ECR provides robust security features, including image scanning and vulnerability assessment, supported by AWS identity and access management for fine-grained access control."
"The most tool's valuable feature is image scanning."
"The Docker compatibility that ECR offers is probably the most beneficial aspect of the solution."
"It is easy to use compared to other container registries."
"The integration with AWS services is very easy, and the deployment and initial setup are pretty straightforward."
"The solution is very stable."
"The most valuable aspect of ECR is its user-friendliness."
"The autoscaling functionality is the main beneficial feature of Amazon ECR. It simplifies management, but some configurations can complicate things a bit."
"Right now this is the leading product in this category."
"The most valuable feature of Harbor is its security scanning capability."
 

Cons

"I suggest making it more aligned with the Docker registry version two API specification."
"Amazon ECR's manipulation capability of tags needs to be improved."
"There were some initial connectivity issues, especially when accessing ECR from our on-prem setup."
"Providing more ways to scan the image integrated with ECR would enhance security in the software development life cycle."
"There is no room for improvement mentioned; it's good as is."
"One area for improvement in Amazon ECR is its complexity. It's pretty complex for newbies, particularly learning about private repositories, including how to access Amazon ECR through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)."
"Amazon ECR needs to improve its downtime."
"It would be great if they could also provide a reference to fix the errors or vulnerabilities in the images rather than just notifying us about them."
"The product should integrate better with other storage options."
"There is a need for more support for public repositories, like the Google Cloud GTR, which is not as integrated as desired."
"The GUI needs to improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company currently has Amazon ECR under the pay-as-you-go model. The tool is more affordable than Azure Container Registry, and it's worth the money."
"The main difference between Amazon ECR and other solutions, like Google Kubernetes Engine, is that I haven't personally used GKE. However, I know that GKE costs around $60 per month, which is quite cost-effective."
"The solution's prices are high in India as compared to the US."
"Amazon ECR does not have a high cost."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution's price is reasonable compared to its competitors"
"The cost of the product is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon ECR?
One feature of Amazon ECR that I find particularly useful is its web interface, which makes management easy. The ability to manage and support token image updates is crucial for us. Moreover, utili...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon ECR?
I haven't observed the costs associated with Amazon ECR services in detail.
What needs improvement with Amazon ECR?
I would appreciate a feature in Amazon ECR that allows direct image downloads from open source into ECR, bypassing the current need to first pull the image to my server. This would streamline the p...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Harbor?
Harbor is open source and part of the graduated Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) landscape, making it a cost-effective solution.
What needs improvement with Harbor?
There is a need for more support for public repositories, like the Google Cloud GTR, which is not as integrated as desired. Additionally, more example implementations for installation using Ansible...
What is your primary use case for Harbor?
We use Harbor for Docker containers to build from our GitLab CI/CD pipeline. This pipeline then automatically pushes to our Harbor instance. We are still working on storing Helm charts in the Harbo...
 

Also Known As

Amazon Elastic Container Registry
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
AXA, Talking Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon ECR vs. Harbor and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.