Docker vs Splunk Observability Cloud comparison

Docker and Splunk are both solutions in the Container Management category. Docker is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.9, while Splunk is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7. Docker holds a 2.6% mindshare in CM, compared to Splunk’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Docker users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

Docker

Read 56 Docker reviews

1,212 Views
724 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Splunk Observability Cloud

Read 52 Splunk Observability Cloud reviews

113 Views
49 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Docker

Splunk Observability Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 11, 2025

Splunk Observability Cloud and Docker both compete in the area of application monitoring and deployment solutions. Splunk Observability Cloud seems to have an upper hand in comprehensive data integration and monitoring, but Docker is favored for its lightweight and portable containers.

Features: Splunk Observability Cloud excels in data integration, providing monitoring solutions and customizable dashboards to manage security and application performance efficiently. It can handle large data volumes adeptly. Docker stands out with its lightweight containers that aid in easy application deployment across environments. Its simplicity allows for uniform environments which are significant advantages for diverse deployment needs.

Room for Improvement: Suggestions for Splunk Observability Cloud include better integration with other solutions, improved documentation, and enhanced scalability. Additionally, users find the cost and configuration complexity to be areas for criticism. Docker could benefit from improvements in documentation and stability, and users suggest additional features such as GPU support and a more intuitive command line interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Splunk Observability Cloud supports hybrid and multi-cloud setups and offers satisfactory technical support, although improving the first-level support would be beneficial. Docker's deployment across various cloud environments is straightforward, often relying on community support rather than formal channels, with suggestions for improving customer assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Splunk Observability Cloud is seen as expensive due to its licensing based on data volume, yet users acknowledge its value in reducing downtime. Docker offers a cost-effective model as a free open-source solution with enterprise support options, though the introduction of licensing fees prompts some to consider alternatives. Both solutions offer potential ROI, with Docker recognized for its cost-effectiveness and Splunk for operational efficiencies.

To learn more, read our detailed Docker vs. Splunk Observability Cloud Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Docker vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

June 2025

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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

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)

Splunk Observability Cloud

Ranking in Container Management

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (11th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (7th), Cloud Monitoring Software (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 2.6%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Observability Cloud is 0.5%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Container Management

Featured Reviews

Rikin Parekh

Backend Engineer at Northeastern University

Useful to create sandbox environments to run applications and makes it easy to test them

Overall, setting up the Docker environment is quite easy. Many methods exist, such as using Docker Compose and Docker networks to communicate between containers. The main challenge lies in designing the architecture and integrating different frameworks and microservices. I would rate the ease of setting up the tool at around nine out of ten. The time it takes to deploy depends on the scale of the system. For the early-stage startup I'm currently working with, it doesn't take much time. It's just me handling the deployment. In our early-stage startup, we have a couple of teams with around four to five backend APIs and two front-end services. Deploying these doesn't take much time. My focus is more on minimizing costs due to our lean startup structure.

Read full review

Lakshmi Padaga

Java Developer at U.S. Bank

Collaborates performance metrics with log data to pinpoint the exact cause of issues and offers error detection

Splunk APM is a robust tool with many capabilities. There are always areas for potential improvement to enhance its functionality and user experience. For Splunk APM, there could be simplified navigation, like streamlining the user interface to make navigation more intuitive for our users, especially those new to APM, which can enhance usability. We can provide more customization options for dashboards and visualizations to help users tailor the platform to their specific needs. There could be more integration capabilities with a wider range of third-party tools and platforms would also be beneficial. By focusing on these areas, Splunk APM can enhance its value proposition, improve user satisfaction, and better meet the evolving needs of organizations monitoring their application performance.

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

"Traditional deployments take more time and builds can be inconsistent across different environments. Docker solves these issues."

"The most valuable feature is the simple containerization."

"The most valuable feature is that it gives you the same environment as on a developer machine as well as a production machine relevant to specifications."

"Docker is convenient and easy to use."

"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."

"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"I am impressed with the product's independence. We can also deploy it anywhere."

More Docker pros

"The initial setup was straightforward. We didn't find it to be too complex."

"The solution is stable and reliable."

"Splunk has drawn our attention to how the network is running. If there are alarms on things that are not functioning, it gives us early warning on problems that could arise."

"The best features in Splunk Observability Cloud are the metrics; I can see any logs or anything related to the server or services we want to monitor, and the metrics are a good function."

"The most valuable thing that we have seen within our group is the ability to ingest all this raw data and have it organized in a certain way so that different groups can get effective alerting from this massive amount of raw data that is out there."

"The features are pretty much ready out of the box."

"The most valuable features are troubleshooting and optimizing application performance."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring gives us complete visibility without the need for storage."

More Splunk Observability Cloud pros

Cons

"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."

"I would like to see a single package image orchestration bundled together."

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

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

"The volumes for persistent storage could be more user friendly right out of the box."

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

"Unfortunately, base images are not currently available."

"Management can be improved with the necessary tools for orchestration."

More Docker cons

"There is room for improvement in the alerting system, which is complicated and has less documentation available. We sometimes encountered issues in setting up alerts."

"There are always areas for potential improvement to enhance its functionality and user experience."

"One thing I recently ran into was that the logs on the server most often get Gzipped after they have been rotated. We found that we were not monitoring some of the things, so we had to go back and pull them in. Right now, it pulls one at a time, untars it, or unzips it, so I cannot look at the entire history. There can be an improvement in that area."

"Splunk APM should include a better correlation between resources and infrastructure monitoring."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring's data analytics can be improved by including suggestions for various types of continuous monitoring."

"There is a lot of room for improvement with the automation."

"We currently lack log analysis capabilities in Splunk APM."

"Splunk's functionality could be improved by adding database connectors for other platforms like AWS and Azure."

More Splunk Observability Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"

"Docker is a free open-source solution."

"We use the 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."

"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."

"The offering and service are quite free."

"Docker has made some changes and there is an enterprise version that is affordable."

"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."

More Docker pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is competitive. I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten. The price of the solution could be cheaper."

"The product is a bit expensive considering the competition but the company may negotiate the price."

"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring is an expensive solution."

"Splunk APM is expensive."

"This is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"Splunk's infrastructure monitoring costs can be high because our billing is based on data volume measured in terabytes, rather than the number of devices being monitored."

"Splunk APM is a very cost-efficient solution."

More Splunk Observability Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

16%

Retailer

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Docker?

We are using Docker to host applications.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker?

I consider Docker's pricing to be affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Docker?

In terms of communication between services, perhaps the configuration within networks between containers could be improved.

See all answers

What do you like most about SignalFx?

The most valuable feature is dashboard creation.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SignalFx?

Regarding dashboard customization, while Splunk has many dashboard building options, customers sometimes need to create specific dashboards, particularly for applicative metrics such as Java and pr...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SignalFx?

The solution involves observability in general, such as Application Performance Monitoring, and generally addresses digital applications, web applications, sites, and mobile applications. I worked ...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Docker

Compared 27% of the time

Mirantis Container Runtime vs Docker

Compared 13% of the time

Codespaces vs Docker

Compared 13% of the time

Rancher Labs vs Docker

Compared 11% of the time

AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs Docker

Compared 7% of the time

More Docker Competitors

Observe vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 18% of the time

Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence) vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 6% of the time

Dynatrace vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

ServiceNow IT Operations Management vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 5% of the time

Rancher Labs vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

More Splunk Observability Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Docker

June 2025

Download Docker product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk Observability Cloud

May 2025

Download Splunk Observability Cloud product report

Also Known As

No data available

Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring

Overview

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.

Docker

Splunk Observability Cloud combines log search, data integration, and dashboards for seamless monitoring, enhancing infrastructure visibility and security. Its cloud integration and scalability support diverse environments, improving operational efficiency.

Splunk Observability Cloud offers comprehensive monitoring tools with user-friendly interfaces, enabling end-to-end infrastructure visibility. Its real-time alerting and predictive capabilities enhance security monitoring, while centralized dashboards provide cross-platform visibility. Users benefit from fast data integration and extensive insights into application performance. Despite its advantages, improvements could be made in integration with other tools, data reliability, scalability, and cost management. Users face challenges in configuration complexity and require better automation and endpoint protection features. Enhancing AI integration, alerts, and adaptation for high-throughput services could further improve usability.

What are the key features of Splunk Observability Cloud?

Log Search: Efficiently search and analyze log data for enhanced insights.
Data Integration: Fast integration across platforms for comprehensive visibility.
Custom Dashboards: Powerful and adaptable dashboards for real-time monitoring.
Cloud Integration: Seamless integration with cloud services for scalable solutions.
Application Performance Monitoring: Advanced tools for improving application performance.

What benefits and ROI should be expected?

Infrastructure Monitoring: Improved visibility and monitoring across infrastructure components.
Operational Efficiency: Enhancements in data analysis lead to efficient operations.
Business Resilience: Supports adaptability and swift responses to changing needs.
Security Management: Enhances threat identification and response through real-time alerts.
Compliance Support: Aids in meeting compliance and auditing requirements effectively.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Splunk Observability Cloud is implemented for application performance monitoring and infrastructure metrics. Its ability to track incidents and analyze machine data benefits network infrastructure, while distributed tracing and log analysis aid in tackling security threats. Organizations often integrate it for compliance and auditing purposes, enhancing visibility into network traffic and optimizing performance.

Splunk

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Sunrun, Yelp, Onshape, Tapjoy, Symphony Commerce, Chairish, Clever, Grovo, Bazaar Voice, Zenefits, Avalara

Buyer's Guide

Docker vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

June 2025

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