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Docker vs Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE [EOL] 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

Docker
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Container Management (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd), AI Software Development (6th)
Nutanix Kubernetes Engine N...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

PB
Senior Cloud Engineer - AWS at Bytedance
Time-saving deployment with seamless virtualization for diverse environments
I used Docker to Dockerize Java code. We had a code base, and I needed to create a Docker image from it so that it could be deployed. At the time, we used Docker Compose, which is somewhat similar to Kubernetes Docker allows virtualization at a higher level without the need for a host machine.…
reviewer2741271 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nutanix Administrator at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Has provided seamless upgrade experiences and robust technical support
I have heard there are many features added in NKP that are not available in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE, such as load balancer features. The unified control plane feature is not being used in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE. We are currently using a third-party tool for load balancing, but going forward, NKP will include load balancer, ingress, and egress features, making infrastructure management much easier. There is no auto-scaling feature in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE; however, NKP offers it. In NKE, we created additional worker nodes and increased CPU and RAM capacity, but it required manual intervention. Concerning policy-driven governance in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE, we have the ability to implement RBAC at the cluster level, which helps maintain security by not granting full admin privileges to every end user, thus restricting access effectively.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The lift and shift creates a lightweight image."
"The most valuable features of Docker are its security, detailed documentation, and ease of use, and the Docker Swarm is not as complex as Kubernetes."
"Docker is perfect for what I do...The solution is scalable."
"I am impressed with the product's independence. We can also deploy it anywhere."
"The ability to use an image with the software built into it, rather than just the software, is beneficial."
"The most valuable feature of Docker is that it provides a containerized environment. The isolation between the environments is beneficial. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."
"The solution is easy to install."
"Docker's containerization property is its main selling point."
"The technical support is excellent."
"The solution is embedded in the hypervisor and there are no deployment costs."
"The solution provides no downtime features. If we face issues, we create a new port, deploy it there, and then drop the existing one. This way, we avoid NKE downtime on our website."
"The most valuable features of the Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) are its simplicity and efficiency during the initial cluster creation phase."
"We can add some add-ons and plugins to the product if we need to."
"The solution is easy to manage. You can get everything in a single platform. It is also easy to work with Terraform as a code."
"Nutanix is very stable and reliable, based on my experience with many customers, including large banks and telcos."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The runtime and security could improve in Docker. Security is paramount in the cloud and important."
"If you install Docker on a host, it creates its own firewalls. It can become an issue. Usually, when you want to install Docker, you need to restart the firewall or restart the active tables on the machine, but this is not the case with Kubernetes. It uses the default set up by the next administrator, but with Docker, you have to restart the firewall and restart Docker before the firewall on the system will be okay. If you do not the rules will not be created."
"Marketing of Docker is one area that needs to improve."
"Docker management is very difficult when we have a large number of nodes."
"I have encountered network issues while connecting with microservices. I want to optimize the application layers over the bucket. It should also have better documentation."
"Deployment could be quicker."
"We'd like knowledge transfer to be easier."
"The documentation could be improved."
"NKE could benefit from additional features that support more advanced Kubernetes functionalities and configurations."
"I would like to have more nodes for availability and storage."
"I have issues with the product's interoperability."
"Areas for improvement in Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) include upgrading management capabilities and enhancing the user interface for improved usability."
"We need a backup of production clusters."
"The product lacks some virtualization capabilities, making it an area for improvement where the solution can focus on providing users with more virtualization capabilities related to disk systems."
"It's mostly for lab purposes; we haven't seen a lot of traction in the market from enterprise customers yet."
"GUI lacks sufficient information to help with understanding the installation and process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Docker's price is good."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"There is a license needed to use Docker."
"The offering and service are quite free."
"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."
"It's free."
"Since Docker is an open-source solution, it is free of cost."
"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."
"I rate the product price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"The product's licenses are included in the software version deployed in our data center."
"The platform is averagely priced. I rate the pricing as four out of ten."
"While deploying Kubernetes clusters on Nutanix is cost-effective, there may be additional costs for remote branch offices where Kubernetes is less common."
"I rate NKE's pricing a six out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
The most valuable features of the Nutanix Kubernetes Engine (NKE) are its simplicity and efficiency during the initial cluster creation phase.
What needs improvement with Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
In terms of features, I cannot comment technically, but the real value is the consolidated out-of-the-box solution that Nutanix offers. Nutanix has built great branding and a lot of credibility and...
What is your primary use case for Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE?
I have experience with OpenShift, Kubernetes, and Nutanix, as we are one of the largest Nutanix resellers in the Middle East. We handle Kubernetes on the cloud as well, so we manage most of the Kub...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Nutanix Karbon
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
JetBlue, International Speedway Corporation, SAIC Volkswagen
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes and others in Container Management. Updated: December 2025.
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