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Codespaces vs Docker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 11, 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

Codespaces
Ranking in Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
IDE (1st)
Docker
Ranking in Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd), AI Software Development (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Codespaces is 10.3%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 29.6%, down from 43.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Docker29.6%
Codespaces10.3%
Other60.099999999999994%
Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Zishan Sayyed Yunus - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer2787357 - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Reliability Engineer at Granicus Inc.
Containerization has standardized deployments and drives faster, more reliable delivery
As Docker is already a very mature tool, there are areas where it can be improved based on real-world usage. One area I consider is the Windows container experience. The pain point here is that Windows containers are heavier and slower than Linux containers because I have worked in both environments and felt that Windows containers are heavier and slower than Linux containers. This also limits the ecosystem and tooling maturity compared to Linux containers. Improvements could include performance optimization and better parity with Linux container features. Apart from that, observability and debugging is another area. The pain point is the limited native metrics available and limited logging and tracing features. Improvements could include adding a good amount of metrics, logging, and tracing, as well as better built-in observability features and easier container introspection. Network complexity is also present. I face issues with Docker networking that can become confusing in complex setups, and debugging container-to-container issues is not always intuitive. Improvements can be made with simpler networking abstractions and better built-in troubleshooting tools. Docker is excellent for containerization and CI/CD, but it can be improved in areas of built-in security, network simplicity, and observability. These points should be kept in mind and worked on.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 integration with Visual Studio Code offers a good and fast user experience that feels like a local experience."
"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."
"The developer experience is consistent, and its pricing makes sense since it optimizes the resources."
"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."
"Codespaces' most valuable feature is the repository, which helps the developers to work together. Its data commands are also useful."
"The most valuable features of the solution are Copilot and Advanced Security."
"We see benefits from Codespaces in terms of onboarding new team members; it is very simple."
"The deployment is quite fast, which is beneficial."
"It is neat and very flexible."
"We find the auto scaling and auto healing functionality of this solution very good."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is its integration with other solutions, such as KVM and AlmaLinux."
"We are using Docker to host applications."
"Docker has had a major positive impact by standardizing how applications are built, shipped, and deployed, which improved speed, reliability, and collaboration across my teams."
"The scalability of Docker is good."
"I am impressed with the product's independence. We can also deploy it anywhere."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"We get merge conflict errors and need to resolve them."
"Sometimes it is just two or three hours a day where they are totally unreachable, and it might happen like five times a month."
"The technical support could respond faster."
"The product indicates incorrect statistics."
"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."
"I would like to see a single package image orchestration bundled together."
"Docker could improve by having more advanced features."
"There is always room for improvement. I often refer to forums such as StackOverflow to learn from other developers' experiences and the challenges they have faced while using Docker."
"Enhancing artificial intelligence capabilities and cluster management should be a priority. It should facilitate some security management."
"The solution needs to be more scalable for local machines."
"We'd like knowledge transfer to be easier."
"I would like to see better management layers."
"The solution could offer better documentation."
 

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 a free open-source tool."
"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs."
"Docker is a free open-source solution. However, there is the Docker Enterprise which is a paid solution."
"Since Docker is an open-source solution, it is free of cost."
"I use the solution's open-source version."
"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise35
 

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?
We found the price of Codespaces is acceptable for us.
What needs improvement with Codespaces?
I am not the best person regarding the negative sides of Codespaces. As I mentioned, our team provides different tools for developers, so we are not so deep in every tool. From time to time, we got...
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.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Codespaces vs. Docker and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.