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Amazon EKS vs Docker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 13, 2024

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
6.9
Amazon EKS provides cost-effective, secure, and flexible cloud services, leading to significant savings and operational benefits over on-premises solutions.
Sentiment score
8.0
Docker offers cost savings by enhancing efficiency, reducing complexity, and enabling faster deployment with consistent environments and smaller hardware.
We have cost explorer available, and a bill forecast based on usage allows us to determine whether resources are underutilized or overutilized.
It's a fast deployment, with very good documentation, and it's really helpful.
I can recommend using it to save costs and for faster deployment, better performance, security, and easy clustering.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Amazon EKS offers efficient support, especially for paying users, though some experience delays or issues with non-priority service.
Sentiment score
4.1
Docker's customer service is praised for documentation, though many use community resources; support averages 7-8/10 in ratings.
We have a paid subscription that provides priority support.
Amazon's technical support is quite good, especially for those who purchase support services.
Having to know what questions to ask is essential.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Amazon EKS is praised for its scalability, flexibility, efficient cluster management, and automated scaling tools, meeting diverse business demands.
Sentiment score
7.5
Docker efficiently scales applications, especially with Kubernetes and Terraform, despite limitations in disk space and local machine scalability.
The ability to scale based on requirements by deploying additional containers is a strong point for Kubernetes.
This allows us to scale our applications or APIs as needed, offering reliability through the automation of scaling processes.
It can scale very well according to needs, and it doesn't have any issues with scalability.
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.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Amazon EKS is highly reliable and stable, especially with proper configuration, despite occasional network issues, often scoring 8-10.
Sentiment score
7.9
Docker is highly regarded for stability and reliability, despite minor issues with Windows compatibility and occasional resource concerns.
Amazon EKS is very stable, and when properly configured, I rate it ten out of ten.
Amazon EKS is stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Amazon EKS requires improvements in stability, user interface, integrations, support, pricing, automation, and configuration to enhance user experience.
Docker needs improvements in stability, security, documentation, user interface, pricing, and support to enhance adoption and usability.
Simplifying these will enable more people, not just those with strong foundational knowledge, to work effectively with these services.
Amazon EKS can be improved by having the maintenance of Kubernetes versions managed better, as everything is handled by the Kubernetes team and possibly a separate team at AWS.
Adding logging would be a valuable improvement.
Docker is a time-tested, proven solution with industry-wide applications.
In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved.
 

Setup Cost

Amazon EKS uses pay-as-you-go pricing, viewed as cost-effective by some but expensive by startups, with mixed affordability reviews.
Docker's open-source version is free, but licensing for Enterprise users starts at $24 per user monthly, prompting alternatives.
The pricing structure is beneficial for large companies who pay for what they use, but it is not affordable for startups.
Now, it stands at six or seven due to optimizing our workload.
That's the only reason that we're using it continuously because otherwise, we would have moved somewhere else.
I consider Docker's pricing to be affordable.
 

Valuable Features

Amazon EKS provides scalable, managed Kubernetes deployment with integration, serverless options, and enhanced security, focusing on business efficiency.
Docker's key benefits are security, ease of use, portability, quick deployment, and efficient resource management with extensive features and documentation.
The most beneficial aspect of Amazon EKS is that it helps manage the Kubernetes master node, so I don't need to maintain the master node, including tasks like upgrading.
The main benefits that I received from using Amazon EKS are that it is a managed cluster and offers simplicity.
By default, if you just install Amazon EKS, you can deploy your application, but to have it enterprise-ready, you have to configure a number of other things that will boost productivity.
It allows the software to run on various machines without compatibility issues, saving a lot of time.
The most valuable feature is the simple containerization.
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon EKS
Ranking in Container Management
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (19th)
Docker
Ranking in Container Management
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Amazon EKS is 11.8%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 2.6%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

Rock Wang - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing complex environments effortlessly while focusing on growth
The most beneficial aspect of Amazon EKS is that it helps manage the Kubernetes master node, so I don't need to maintain the master node, including tasks like upgrading. This allows me to focus on business code. If using services like Fargate, I only need to maintain my workload, simply uploading code that will be deployed to the Kubernetes cluster. This is especially beneficial for startup companies that lack the technical resources to manage the Kubernetes cluster. Furthermore, Amazon EKS allows me to utilize Kubernetes cluster-level expansion. If there’s insufficient resource on a machine, the cluster can automatically expand to add new nodes.
GurpreetSingh4 - PeerSpot reviewer
It's beneficial in bridging the gap between monolithic and serverless platforms, making it easier to scale and manage applications
As for improving Docker, I would like to see enhancements in its user interface and documentation to make it even more user-friendly and accessible. I believe Docker will expand its scope and reduce limitations to support more applications, both online and offline. For instance, in scenarios like deployments on ships or during upgrades, Docker can continue to offer software services and container-based intelligence.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon EKS?
The product's most valuable features are scalability, observability, and performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon EKS?
My experience with pricing for Amazon EKS is limited as there's a separate team for that, and I do not have much knowledge of specifics. However, the pricing is based on the instance type we use in...
What needs improvement with Amazon EKS?
We usually get deployed and only need to tweak the source code; however, I think the monitoring part and observability part could be improved.
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.
 

Also Known As

Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GoDaddy, Pearson, FICO, Intuit, Verizon, Honeywell, Logicworks, RetailMeNot, LogMeIn, Conde Nast, mercari, Trainline, Axway
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon EKS vs. Docker and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.