Kubernetes vs Portainer comparison

Kubernetes and Portainer are both solutions in the Container Management category. Kubernetes is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2, while Portainer is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. Kubernetes holds a 6.1% mindshare in CM, compared to Portainer’s 5.0% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Kubernetes users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Portainer users who would recommend it.

Kubernetes

Read 79 Kubernetes reviews

2,481 Views
2,456 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Portainer

Read 1 Portainer review

1,285 Views
1,285 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Kubernetes

Portainer

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Kubernetes and Portainer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes and others in Container Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Container Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Container Management

December 2025

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Helped 879,259 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

Kubernetes

Ranking in Container Management

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Portainer

Ranking in Container Management

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Kubernetes is 6.1%, up from 5.0% 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
Product	Market Share (%)
Kubernetes	6.1%
Portainer	5.0%
Other	88.9%

Container Management

Featured Reviews

Venu Boddu

AWS DevOps Engineer at Hexaware Technologies Limited

Manage infrastructure automation and smooth application deployment with robust auto-scaling capabilities

Kubernetes is highly valuable for its node-based setup, which allows for the running of multiple pods. This feature is essential for infrastructure automation and application deployment. Kubernetes also offers rollback control and auto-scaling capabilities, which are crucial for maintaining an application's availability even if nodes or pods go down. Additionally, Kubernetes supports load balancing to distribute traffic efficiently across multiple pods.

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Elio-Bonazzi

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.

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 like that it has really boosted cloud-native development and stood the test of time. The underlying architecture allows one to scale as per the business KPIs much faster."

"The auto-repair function in Kubernetes is perfect. When something breaks, the auto-repair function automatically repairs it. If you are running the content in Kubernetes, you have a good set up. You do not need to do anything for the management of this. So, the automation of Kubernetes is number one."

"All the current features are quite harmonic."

"The solution is easy to use."

"There's a lot of community support if you need to get help."

"Kubernetes' most valuable features include scalability and deployment."

"If you don't have resources, you can certainly add another worker node and expand the cluster."

"With the use of our blueprint, my experience with the initial setup has been a ten out of ten where one is difficult and ten is easy."

More Kubernetes pros

"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

"Although we face issues when migrating to new versions of Kubernetes, such as misunderstandings on using new features or integration with proxy services, these issues can be addressed with proper preparation."

"The pricing could be improved. It would be ideal if it was a bit less."

"We faced a challenge while migrating and upgrading versions of Kubernetes."

"We would like to see more validation tools added to this solution, this would provide pre-deployment analysis that developers could use before publishing their infrastructure."

"There are features in Google Cloud or AWS that aren't in Azure. They need to implement a couple more tools in Azure."

"They should make documentation simpler for learning."

"Management features could be simplified."

"They need to focus on more security internally."

More Kubernetes cons

"Portainer needs to be more intuitive."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Google Kubernetes Engine is free in the simplest setup, AWS Kubernetes Engine costs about $50 (depending on the region), in a three master setup, so it's almost the same as the cost of the EC2 instances and it's totally fine from my point of view."

"The solution requires a license to use it."

"There are no licensing fees."

"The management layer is free, which is perfect. You don't need to pay money for the management layer, but in AWS develop service, you need to pay. I think it is €75 per month for the management layer. It is free here, so you can have as many Kubernetes clusters as you need. You are paying just for the workload, that is, for the machine, CPU, memory, and everything."

"It's an affordable solution"

"There is a license to use Kubernetes."

"Kubernetes is open-source."

"Kubernetes is free; it's open-source software."

More Kubernetes pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	47

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kubernetes?

There are many good features. I feel that the scale-out features, like replica sets, are very good. The number of running containers can be autoscaled.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kubernetes?

I have had a good experience with pricing, but the setup costs are high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Kubernetes?

Kubernetes can be improved, though I cannot specify exactly how at this time.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Portainer?

Portainer needs to be more intuitive.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Portainer?

The tool is a GUI that helps to administer a docker using a browser.

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Kubernetes

Compared 23% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) vs Kubernetes

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs Kubernetes

Compared 8% of the time

HashiCorp Nomad vs Kubernetes

Compared 7% of the time

Google Kubernetes Engine vs Kubernetes

Compared 6% of the time

More Kubernetes Competitors

Komodor vs Portainer

Compared 54% of the time

Docker vs Portainer

Compared 13% of the time

HashiCorp Nomad vs Portainer

Compared 8% of the time

VMware Tanzu Platform vs Portainer

Compared 5% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs Portainer

Compared 3% of the time

More Portainer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Kubernetes

December 2025

Download Kubernetes product report

Buyer's Guide

Container Management

December 2025

Download Portainer product report

Also Known As

No data available

Overview

Kubernetes (K8s) is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery. Kubernetes builds upon 15 years of experience of running production workloads at Google, combined with best-of-breed ideas and practices from the community.

Kubernetes

Portainer offers a robust platform for managing Docker environments, streamlining containerized application deployments and simplifying complex processes. It provides scalability and efficiency for IT operations.

Portainer facilitates comprehensive management of containerized environments, increasing operational efficiency. Known for its intuitive interface and broad functionality, Portainer minimizes time spent on mundane management tasks. Users benefit from resource optimization and improved visibility in container orchestration. As organizations continue to embrace cloud-native technologies, Portainer becomes a reliable choice for those looking to harness the full potential of Docker while maintaining easy control and oversight of container workloads.

What key features does Portainer offer?

Container Management: Simplifies handling of Docker containers with an easy-to-use interface.
Application Templates: Provides pre-defined templates for faster deployment of applications.
Role-Based Access Control: Ensures secure access through detailed permission settings.
Support for Multi-Cluster: Allows managing multiple clusters from a single point.
Monitoring and Logging: Offers detailed insights and logging for efficient resource monitoring.

Which benefits should be expected from Portainer?

Time Savings: Reduces time spent on manual configurations with its streamlined processes.
Cost Efficiency: Maximizes resource utilization, potentially lowering operational costs.
Enhanced Security: Provides secure management of access and deployments.
Scalability: Supports growth with features that accommodate expanding infrastructures.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Portainer is deployed to manage sensitive data workflows, ensuring compliance and security. It's used in manufacturing for optimizing IoT integrations and in the tech industry to manage microservices efficiently, aligning with modern agile development practices.

Portainer

Sample Customers

China unicom, NetEase Cloud, Nav, AppDirect

Information Not Available

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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