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Docker vs Portainer 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
Ranking in Container Management
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd), AI Software Development (6th)
Portainer
Ranking in Container Management
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 4.7%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portainer is 5.0%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Docker4.7%
Portainer5.0%
Other90.3%
Container Management
 

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.…
EB
Developer with 1-10 employees
A GUI solution that helps to administer a docker using a browser
The first time using Portainer involves a learning curve. It takes longer as you're unfamiliar with the processes and might be lazy to consult the manual. Initially, you may rely on intuition within the GUI. However, after repeating the same tasks three or four times, the process becomes much quicker.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to use an image with the software built into it, rather than just the software, is beneficial."
"Docker is highly scalable."
"The most valuable feature is that it is cost-saving."
"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."
"Traditional deployments take more time and builds can be inconsistent across different environments. Docker solves these issues."
"The solution is easy to deploy for clients so it saves a lot of hassle."
"The capability of the solution to convert an application into a Docker image is a vital functionality"
"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Portainer comes with the ability to take the information of docker definition. Using it, I can visually observe how the container has been created. It allows me to create networks. I can also visually generate volumes and working stacks."
 

Cons

"The learning curve with Docker is huge and extensive"
"There are elements of stability that are problematic. One of the most recent upgrades created a major incident on our cloud, whereby the containers were not restarting automatically."
"Owing to a few shortcomings in its stability, I would say that its stability can be improved."
"I advise new users to review their website, commands, and the steps for creating images."
"I think Docker can improve as it relates to overall stability."
"Docker volumes. When I integrated volumes, I faced challenges. I have not essentially used add volumes to the existing instances."
"I would like to see better management layers."
"We would like to see improvement in adding the node into the Docker Swarm cluster, as at present it is a little tricky and requires a lot of manual steps."
"Portainer needs to be more intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license needed to use Docker."
"The current cost for us is nothing as an open source."
"Docker is a free open-source solution. However, there is the Docker Enterprise which is a paid solution."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"The offering and service are quite free."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"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."
"Docker has made some changes and there is an enterprise version that is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

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

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 Portainer?
Portainer comes with the ability to take the information of docker definition. Using it, I can visually observe how the container has been created. It allows me to create networks. I can also visua...
What needs improvement with Portainer?
Portainer needs to be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Portainer?
The tool is a GUI that helps to administer a docker using a browser.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes and others in Container Management. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.