Docker vs. Kubernetes

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Docker
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Docker Enterprise was sold to Mirantis in 2019; that product is now sold as Mirantis Kubernetes Engine. But Docker now offers a 2-product suite that includes Docker Desktop, which they present as a fast way to containerize applications on a desktop; and, Docker Hub, a service for finding and sharing container images with a team and the Docker community, a repository of container images with an array of…
$5
per month
Kubernetes
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Kubernetes is an open-source container cluster manager.N/A
Pricing
DockerKubernetes
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
unlimited public repositories
Pro
$5.00
per month per user
Team
$7.00
per month per user
Business
$21
per month per user
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DockerKubernetes
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
DockerKubernetes
Considered Both Products
Docker
Chose Docker
Did use containerd or LXC for brief evaluation in the past, but settled on Docker and only see Docker as the mainstay for most organizations I worked in, as the container tool of choice so far. Docker is matured, feature-rich, and reliable enough to be the main choice all …
Chose Docker
The features and capabilities provided by Docker are incomparable and much vast in nature. Docker is much light weight and easy to onboard into the tech stack. It is also well supported by Container orchestration systems like Kubernetes which will be critical when applications …
Chose Docker
Our team uses Lando which is built on top of Docker. This makes using Docker even easier.
Chose Docker
Docker provides is effective container management and orchestration platform. It is highly suitable for Linux environments and allows the easy and quick deployment of production applications Other alternatives use replication and management of the virtual machines. Docker …
Kubernetes

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
TrustRadius Insights
DockerKubernetes
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Docker and Kubernetes are both container management software but offer different features that make them difficult to compare. Notably, while Docker and Kubernetes can run separately, many businesses also use both, as they have many unique features. Docker is designed to create containers, while Kubernetes focuses on controlling and managing containers. Kubernetes is most popular with large enterprises, while Docker is popular with businesses of all sizes.

Features and Limitations

Docker is an open-source file type and software that allows users to create and destroy containers. Containers are isolated packages of software and their dependencies, making them entirely self-sufficient. This is important as many technologies have large amounts of dependencies. Isolating software with its dependencies allows for quick and simple communication. Additionally, Docker containers allow businesses to use fewer virtual machines. Docker containers are easy for developers to work with. One challenge with Docker containers is that it can be difficult to get containers to share data or communicate with each other. Additionally, it can be challenging to scale with many container instances.

Kubernetes is an open-source orchestration software that helps businesses manage their containers, whether they are created via Docker or another software. Kubernetes reduces complexity when deploying containers across multiple servers as it can manage both containers and virtual machine instances. Where Docker containers run well on a single node, as complexity increases, Kubernetes allows businesses to manage many containers across a cluster of nodes. On its own, Kubernetes is less efficient for single nodes, or small scale projects.

Utilized together, Kubernetes and Docker allow users to benefit from containers on small projects and easily manage them as they grow. For businesses that aren’t worried about scaling, Docker alone may be a good choice, while organizations that are already developing at scale may prefer Kubernetes.

Pricing

Kubernetes and Docker are both open-source software, so their source code is available online for free. For businesses looking for hosting as a service or additional support, there are a number of vendors that host either software. Pricing for either software is dependent on the vendor, as well as support and feature needs.

Features
DockerKubernetes
Container Management
Comparison of Container Management features of Product A and Product B
Docker
-
Ratings
Kubernetes
7.8
1 Ratings
1% below category average
Security and Isolation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Container Orchestration00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Cluster Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Storage Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Resource Allocation and Optimization00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Discovery Tools00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Update Rollouts and Rollbacks00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Analytics, Monitoring, and Logging00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
DockerKubernetes
Small Businesses
Git
Git
Score 10.0 out of 10
Portainer
Portainer
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Git
Git
Score 10.0 out of 10
IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service
IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Git
Git
Score 10.0 out of 10
IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service
IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DockerKubernetes
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(13 ratings)
8.9
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DockerKubernetes
Likelihood to Recommend
Docker
You are going to be able to find the most resources and examples using Docker whenever you are working with a container orchestration software like Kubernetes. There will always some entropy when you run in a container, a containerized application will never be as purely performant as an app running directly on the OS. However, in most scenarios this loss will be negligible to the time saved in deployment, monitoring, etc.
Read full review
Kubernetes
K8s should be avoided - If your application works well without being converted into microservices-based architecture & fits correctly in a VM, needs less scaling, have a fixed traffic pattern then it is better to keep away from Kubernetes. Otherwise, the operational challenges & technical expertise will add a lot to the OPEX. Also, if you're the one who thinks that containers consume fewer resources as compared to VMs then this is not true. As soon as you convert your application to a microservice-based architecture, a lot of components will add up, shooting your resource consumption even higher than VMs so, please beware. Kubernetes is a good choice - When the application needs quick scaling, is already in microservice-based architecture, has no fixed traffic pattern, most of the employees already have desired skills.
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Pros
Docker
  • Packaging of application to limit the space occupied
  • Ease of running the application
  • Provide multiple ways to handle the application issues and integration of different components like pipeline, ansible, terraform etc
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Kubernetes
  • Complex cluster management can be done with simple commands with strong authentication and authorization schemes
  • Exhaustive documentation and open community smoothens the learning process
  • As a user a few concepts like pod, deployment and service are sufficient to go a long way
Read full review
Cons
Docker
  • Docker hub image retention policy can be relaxed
  • Docker hub policies can be more developer friendly
  • Docker CLI help section can be improved
  • Image and container storage (local) management can be optimized
Read full review
Kubernetes
  • Local development, Kubernetes does tend to be a bit complicated and unnecessary in environments where all development is done locally.
  • The need for add-ons, Helm is almost required when running Kubernetes. This brings a whole new tool to manage and learn before a developer can really start to use Kubernetes effectively.
  • Finicy configmap schemes. Kubernetes configmaps often have environment breaking hangups. The fail safes surrounding configmaps are sadly lacking.
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Usability
Docker
Very easy to use, great tutorials, documentation and cheat sheets out there to help you become a Docker Wiz
Read full review
Kubernetes
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Docker
Haven't seen any outages, fatal/unrecoverable errors in my usage so far. Enough said.
Read full review
Kubernetes
No answers on this topic
Performance
Docker
Docker Desktop. The CPU high usage is a known issue. Needs fixing. Otherwise, it is great overall. Would not use anything else still.
Read full review
Kubernetes
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Docker
The reason why we are still using Docker right now is due to that is the best among its peers and suits our needs the best. However, the trend we foresee for the future might indicate Amazon lambda could potentially fit our needs to code enviornmentless in the near future.
Read full review
Kubernetes
Most of the required features for any orchestration tool or framework, which is provided by Kubernetes. After understanding all modules and features of the K8S, it is the best fit for us as compared with others out there.
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Scalability
Docker
It is the only tool in our toolset that has not [had] any issues so far. That is really a mark of reliability, and it's a testimony to how well the product is made, and a tool that does its job well is a tool well worth having. It is the base tool that I would say any organisation must have if they do scalable deployment.
Read full review
Kubernetes
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Docker
  • Reduces the number of virtual machine which impacted our quarterly billing
  • Using docker with proxy we run multiple application on same port on same host.
  • impact on billing is we have to provide docker training to the people who are working on it.
Read full review
Kubernetes
  • Because of microservices, Kubernetes makes it easy to find the cost of each application easily.
  • Like every new technology, initially, it took more resources to educate ourselves but over a period of time, I believe it's going to be worth it.
Read full review
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