Codespaces vs Docker comparison

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Codespaces

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 14, 2024

Codespaces and Docker are robust tools designed for software development. Users tend to favor Docker for its versatility and broad feature set, but Codespaces is preferred for its smooth cloud integration and streamlined workflows.

Features: Codespaces offers excellent cloud integration, seamless collaboration features, and straightforward remote work and project sharing. Docker supports numerous environments, integrates well with various CI/CD tools, and has a broad feature set that suits larger teams and complex projects.

Room for Improvement: Codespaces could enhance its performance speed and customization options. Docker has a steep learning curve and would benefit from more user-friendly documentation and tutorials. The complexity of Docker is a common concern among users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Codespaces users praise its straightforward deployment process and supportive customer service. Docker users find the deployment process more challenging but appreciate the extensive online community and resources. Codespaces is more approachable for smaller teams, while Docker’s support networks help experienced developers navigate its complexities.

Pricing and ROI: Codespaces is recognized for lower initial setup costs and quicker ROI due to reduced setup time and ease of use. Docker requires a higher upfront investment in training and setup but is worth the price for its powerful features and adaptability, delivering substantial ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Codespaces vs. Docker Report (Updated: September 2025).

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Codespaces vs. Docker

September 2025

Helped 873,585 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

Codespaces

Ranking in Development Platforms

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IDE (1st)

Docker

Ranking in Development Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Container Management (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Codespaces is 11.7%, up from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 37.7%, down from 42.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Docker	37.7%
Codespaces	11.7%
Other	50.599999999999994%

Development Platforms

Featured Reviews

Zishan Sayyed Yunus

Assistant manager at Interactive avenues

Smooth workflow with deployment and validation efficiency

I think there should be a scheduler option if you want to run it, similar to Google Cloud, where you can specify how long you want to keep your scheduling active. If you want to use it as a server or for a temporary time duration, you should be able to schedule it so the server will be activated between specific durations and auto-deactivate to save costs. Sometimes, at the initial stages, there is a lack of instances. It takes more time to create the instance, but now it's much faster to activate your Codespaces and delete it. The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging.

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Sunny Nair

Solution Architect and Senior Consultant at Keysight Technologies

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.

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

"I prefer Codespaces because it gets activated in seconds and has all the pre-dependencies which any developer could need, such as Docker and Python."

"The integration with Visual Studio Code offers a good and fast user experience that feels like a local experience."

"The product allows us to implement feature-related changes or improvements on time. Whenever I write a section of the code or create a new code, it automatically integrates with the former code."

"The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security."

"The developer experience is consistent, and its pricing makes sense since it optimizes the resources."

"The review functionality of the pull requests is very handy, as not only can you give comments, but you can also suggest replacements for sentences with different words."

"Codespaces' most valuable feature is the repository, which helps the developers to work together. Its data commands are also useful."

"Kubernetes is the primary container orchestration tool I use with this solution. Docker provides a complete solution for deploying and managing workloads across multiple nodes. Container orchestration has significantly impacted my workload by automating tasks and streamlining operations. The availability of systems like Kubernetes is crucial for planning and managing complete clusters and computing environments. Every client's needs are different, and not one solution fits all."

"The ability to use an image with the software built into it, rather than just the software, is beneficial."

"The solution offers speed and flexibility."

"Docker's containerization property is its main selling point."

"The most valuable feature of Docker is automation. When I deploy the solution I am confident it will work anywhere. It is reliable and easy to use."

"Docker is convenient and easy to use."

"I think the best feature is to replicate anything in our local machine using a simple command."

"Docker allows you to create small applications and containerize them. You can create multiple such application containers that can run simultaneously on the Linux operating system. In a DevOps environment where multiple teams are creating applications, developing new versions, and deploying applications frequently, Docker is very helpful. The greatest benefit of the solution is that you can create applications and multiple versions of the same application, distributing them across various Linux platforms. Setting up Docker is very quick; whereas setting up a Linux operating system can take five to ten minutes, you can set up a Docker-based Linux OS container within minutes. For developers who frequently create and deploy applications, Docker makes it easy to quickly develop, deploy, and run the latest versions. The solution’s stability is great. I rate it a nine out of ten. Regarding scalability, Docker doesn't require any separate configuration for multiple users. If you are trying to create an application quickly for testing or development purposes, Docker is the best tool available."

More Docker pros

Cons

"When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands. This context switch affects productivity."

"The technical support could respond faster."

"The earlier Git Codespaces billing setup on GitHub was much simpler. You could easily see how much credit you have, how much you have used, and your balance. Now they have changed it, and it's confusing to understand how much Codespaces time you have, how much you have used, and how much they are charging."

"The product indicates incorrect statistics."

"We get merge conflict errors and need to resolve them."

"The main issue is related to state preservation on a disconnection. When I close the laptop and open it in a different place, the state of the environment disappears, and I need to rerun several commands."

"Unfortunately, base images are not currently available."

"The command line interface could be more intuitive. I constantly struggle with it."

"Docker needs to improve its pricing."

"Marketing of Docker is one area that needs to improve."

"The learning curve with Docker is huge and extensive"

"Sometimes, it can become heavy and cause performance issues."

"The solution is not easy to manage and it is one of the reasons why people introduce orchestration tools to manage it."

"I advise new users to review their website, commands, and the steps for creating images."

More Docker cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"From what I've seen, the solution doesn't seem like it's overly expensive for what you get."

"I am using the product’s free version."

"The product is not expensive."

"I use the solution's open-source version."

"Docker is a free open-source solution."

"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."

"There is a license needed to use Docker."

"The pricing of the solution is fairly cheap."

"Docker is a free tool."

"The offering and service are quite free."

More Docker pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Development Platforms solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	34

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Codespaces?

The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Codespaces?

It's not expensive. It's very cheap compared to others such as Google. Google's same service is much more expensive because it will install the pre-dependencies and takes a longer time to activate....

What needs improvement with Codespaces?

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.

SonarQube for IDE (formerly SonarLint) vs Codespaces

Comparisons

AWS Cloud9 vs Codespaces

Compared 41% of the time

Replit vs Codespaces

Compared 30% of the time

Compared 6% of the time

JetBrains IDEs vs Codespaces

Compared 4% of the time

RStudio vs Codespaces

Compared 3% of the time

More Codespaces Competitors

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Docker

Compared 14% of the time

Portainer vs Docker

Compared 9% of the time

Minimus vs Docker

Compared 9% of the time

Mirantis Container Runtime vs Docker

Compared 7% of the time

NGINX Ingress Controller vs Docker

Compared 7% of the time

More Docker Competitors

Product Reports

Download Codespaces product report

Codespaces

November 2025

Download Docker product report

November 2025

Overview

Your instant dev environment
Get the full Visual Studio Code experience without leaving GitHub.

Code without compromise
Code, build, test, debug, and deploy with a complete development environment in your browser.

Simplify your workflow
Automatically set up dependencies and SSH keys. Go from code to commit faster on any project.

Extend and customize
Configure your editor with dotfiles and VS Code extensions to create a consistent environment in every codespace.

Develop from anywhere, anytime
With your development in the cloud, you can contribute code from any device, using VS Code or your browser.

Dependencies, decluttered
Contribute to projects without complicating your local setup. Spin up dev environments with a click—even for projects you haven't worked on before—and switch between them with ease.

GitHub

Docker is a versatile container platform used for running and deploying applications in isolated environments, ensuring consistency across development, testing, and production.

Docker offers solutions for containerizing applications, automating deployments, and managing infrastructure through its robust platform. It supports CI/CD workflows, provides a development platform for container management, and simplifies the setup by using streamlined tools. Organizations leverage Docker for building microservices, running UI applications, deploying web services, and setting up secure environments. It also facilitates managing containers via Kubernetes and creating development stacks for enhanced productivity.

What are Docker's key features?

Security: Offers containment and isolation of applications.
Easy Use: Simplifies the deployment and management of applications.
Documentation: Extensive resources to aid in understanding and implementation.
Customization: Flexible environment configurations.
Scalability: Efficiently handles applications irrespective of scale.
Internal DNS: Manages network configurations within the container ecosystem.
Overlay Networks: Facilitates seamless inter-container communication.
Resource Efficiency: Optimizes usage of system resources.

What benefits should users look for?

Consistency: Ensures homogeneous environments across development, testing, and production stages.
Portability: Allows applications to run consistently on any platform.
Cost-Effectiveness: Reduces overhead costs associated with application deployment.
Speed: Accelerates the build, test, and deployment cycles.
Flexibility: Supports various tools and integrations to adapt to different workflows.

Industries implement Docker for CI/CD pipelines, scaling services, and improving resource utilization. Tech companies use Docker for building and deploying their software in isolated environments. Finance and healthcare sectors deploy applications securely, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Educational institutions set up consistent development environments for coding labs and training students in advanced technologies.