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AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs Docker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 14, 2024

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

AWS Cloud Development Kit (...
Ranking in Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Docker
Ranking in Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (5th), Software Supply Chain Security (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) is 7.0%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 42.8%, up from 40.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Docker42.8%
AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK)7.0%
Other50.2%
Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Jigneshkumar Gadhavi - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy and quick to deploy but plugins could be improved
The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment. We can quickly deploy infrastructure by writing code At the beginning, there were some issues regarding different plugins. We have been using AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) for 6-8 months.…
Sunny Nair - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers application conversion to Docker image and a mature environment
The learning curve with Docker is huge and extensive. Adopting Docker is a bit difficult because it requires a lot of expertise and background, including an understanding of networking and security concepts. Many professionals are facing issues with the different architectures that interact with each other in Docker. Whenever in our company, we are working with the production environment, professionals are hesitant to adopt Docker due to the extensive learning curve, and most of the team members in our company are more accustomed to an environment like VMware instead of Docker. Docker runs on scripts, so if AI can automate most of the scripting process in Docker, it would be a great advantage in the future version of Docker. As of now, we can create scripts utilizing most of the functions within Docker, but that initial planning phase wherein to understand exactly how you will plan for the resources, how you will convert applications into a Docker-based image, and similar tasks needs to be simplified so that more professionals can adopt Docker.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most valuable aspects of CDK is its ability to integrate various components seamlessly, such as Lambda functions, API Gateway, DynamoDB, and EventBridge."
"The setup process is very straightforward."
"AWS CDK has notably streamlined the deployment process compared to other methods, primarily by defining cloud infrastructure as code."
"AWS CDK offers seamless integration, which was a significant factor in choosing it for cloud computing."
"The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment."
"You can use AWS CDK to write code to provision infrastructure."
"The ability to use an image with the software built into it, rather than just the software, is beneficial."
"Docker allows you to run multiple virtual machines independently."
"The most valuable feature is that it is cost-saving."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is the dedicated QA environment for connecting the team members. Additionally, there are many core features available and it is highly secure when we are imaging a client's server."
"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 solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature is Docker has a fast learning curve."
"The solution helps save costs."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"They could allow combining multiple languages, such as JavaScript and Python for the platform. At present, we can use only one language."
"There are some issues with different plugins."
"Using AWS CDK requires some knowledge of popular programming languages."
"The primary issue we've encountered is pricing. Some customers find the pricing to be somewhat high. Additionally, there's a discrepancy between the promised resource utilization and the actual utilization. The resource utilization calculations don't align with the provided guidelines. So, the pricing and resource utilization calculations could be refined."
"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved."
"The Kubernetes blocks need improvement since Docker has many holes in it."
"Docker volumes. When I integrated volumes, I faced challenges. I have not essentially used add volumes to the existing instances."
"The vendor should release a monitoring tool or include monitoring capabilities in Docker"
"Management can be improved with the necessary tools for orchestration."
"Owing to a few shortcomings in its stability, I would say that its stability can be improved."
"Docker needs to improve its pricing."
"I think Docker can improve as it relates to overall stability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since AWS CDK is an open-source solution, it's free to use."
"Docker's price is good."
"For commercial use, it's about $30 per month. The license itself isn't expensive, but if there are many users, the price becomes high."
"Docker is a free tool."
"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."
"I use the solution's open-source version."
"Customers pay for the license through a yearly subscription model, where they pay per license. This means that the license is based on a subscription, and the customer pays annually for each license they use."
"Regarding pricing, we primarily use AWS for our deployments since we have funding for it. We don't spend much on Docker-specific services, just the containerization product. Docker Hub isn't particularly expensive either, so overall, the pricing is pretty reasonable."
"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise34
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS CDK?
The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CDK?
Over time, I expect AWS to become more cost-efficient and resilient. Although the pricing is currently high, I hope they continue to improve their system, which will lead to cost reductions.
What needs improvement with AWS CDK?
There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging. The IAM policies could be simplified to make the setup process more straightfor...
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs. Docker and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.