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Portainer

Portainer

Overview

What is Portainer?

Portainer is a centralized container management platform for containerized apps and IoT device management. It helps accelerate container adoption and reduce time-to-value on Kubernetes, Docker, and Swarm with a management portal, allowing users to deliver and manage containerized applications from…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Portainer has emerged as a valuable solution for managing Docker environments, assisting users in reducing effort and focusing on other …
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Portainer, best choice!

10 out of 10
October 24, 2023
Incentivized
Allows me to manage everything myself without going through another provider. Can crash quickly if you make a mistake, but the community …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 6 features
  • Cluster Management (69)
    8.2
    82%
  • Security and Isolation (77)
    8.0
    80%
  • Resource Allocation and Optimization (72)
    7.7
    77%
  • Analytics, Monitoring, and Logging (78)
    7.5
    75%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Portainer Business - 3 Nodes Free

$0

Cloud

Home & Student

$149

Cloud
per year

Starter

$995

Cloud
per year

Entry-level set up fee?

  • Setup fee optional
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.portainer.io/pricing

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

Putting a UI around Docker with Portainer

YouTube

RBAC: Portainer vs Kubernetes

YouTube

Portainer 2.5.1 Top 5 Features

YouTube

SSO Support & Authentication with Portainer

YouTube

Portainer Deployment - PGBlitz.com

YouTube

How to automate software delivery with simple GitOps integration in Portainer

YouTube
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Features

Container Management

Features commonly found in Container Management software.

7.8
Avg 7.9
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Product Details

What is Portainer?

Portainer is a centralized container management platform for containerized apps and IoT device management. It helps accelerate container adoption and reduce time-to-value on Kubernetes, Docker, and Swarm with a management portal, allowing users to deliver and manage containerized applications from the data center to the edge. Portainer helps -
  • Reduce the operational complexity associated with multi-cluster management
  • Bridge the skills gap and facilitate feature discovery and learning with its UI
  • Codify cloud-native best practices with design templates and default configurations
  • Consistently apply and centrally manage access, permissions and activity logging
Portainer can help with multiple use cases including -
Deploy containers
Troubleshoot apps
Platform management
Security & Compliance
Lifecycle Management
IoT Device Management

Portainer Business is built on Portainer's open-source foundation, which boasts more than 1M users. Portainer is presented as a solution to transition to Kubernetes or speed up the adoption of containers inside an organization.

Portainer Features

Container Management Features

  • Supported: Security and Isolation
  • Supported: Cluster Management
  • Supported: Storage Management
  • Supported: Resource Allocation and Optimization
  • Supported: Discovery Tools
  • Supported: Analytics, Monitoring, and Logging

Additional Features

  • Supported: Platform Access Control

Portainer Screenshots

Screenshot of Portainer is a universal container management platform to help adopt and manage Docker, Kubernetes, Nomad and Edge environments.

Portainer Videos

Portainer for Kubernetes - making multi-cluster container management easier
Introducing Portainer - Container Management

Portainer Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported CountriesWorldwide

Frequently Asked Questions

Red Hat OpenShift, SUSE Rancher, and Mirantis Kubernetes Engine are common alternatives for Portainer.

Reviewers rate Cluster Management highest, with a score of 8.2.

The most common users of Portainer are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(190)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Portainer has emerged as a valuable solution for managing Docker environments, assisting users in reducing effort and focusing on other projects. By offering an intuitive GUI interface, Portainer simplifies the management of Docker containers, eliminating the need for command-line interaction. Users have greatly benefited from the ability to easily view running containers and their logs across multiple machines, streamlining debugging and troubleshooting processes. Moreover, Portainer enables the creation of isolated and sandboxed instances of applications, effectively resolving issues related to version and dependency mismatches. It's particularly useful for small teams as it saves valuable time by eliminating the need to troubleshoot infrastructure software problems. Additionally, Portainer facilitates container management on a single node server, allowing users to conveniently start or stop stacks when problems arise. Its seamless implementation and management capabilities make it an ideal option for getting started with Docker in enterprise environments, offering an intuitive web interface. With its user-friendly design and straightforward usability, Portainer proves to be a valuable tool in managing stacks and services. It simplifies various container management tasks such as starting, stopping, and restarting containers, managing configurations, and monitoring performance. The integration with container registries like Docker Hub further simplifies image deployment. From managing internal and external ports to handling volume management and data organization, Portainer provides comprehensive features that enhance security while simplifying these processes. Suitable for both development and production environments, Portainer is widely used in overseeing Docker installations, facilitating easy cluster deployment and monitoring tasks. It also proves effective in managing Docker Swarm environments by streamlining updates, scaling processes, and providing a comprehensive view of the environment. Portainer's extensive functionalities are valued in organizing and managing databases, websites, storage solutions, and CRM systems with ease of access to stack and container details. Furthermore, it supports secure user authentication through OAuth implementation and allows for role-based access control with flexible user provisioning. The API integration enables seamless container deployment through CI/CD pipelines. Portainer's versatility extends beyond Docker, as it is also utilized in Windows environments for easy adoption of containerization and cost reduction. Overall, Portainer presents a user-friendly interface that simplifies the day-to-day management of Docker containers, enabling users to troubleshoot, configure, and manage containers effectively.

Intuitive and User-Friendly Interface: Users have consistently praised Portainer's intuitive and user-friendly interface, with many reviewers stating that it is easy to navigate and provides a positive user experience. The clean and organized layout of the interface has been particularly appreciated by users, as it allows for efficient management of multiple repositories and reduces incidents. Additionally, users have found the GUI design to be visually appealing and well-suited for users of all levels of expertise.

Seamless User Access Control: Reviewers have commended Portainer's RBAC feature, which integrates seamlessly with SAML IDP services like Azure and Okta. This functionality has received positive feedback from users who appreciate the flexibility it offers in terms of user access control. Furthermore, users value the support for various authentication options provided by Portainer, as it enhances security while ensuring a smooth login experience.

Simplified Management of Complex Clusters: Many users have highlighted Portainer's capability to manage complex clusters such as Swarm or Kubernetes as one of its standout features. With this functionality, deploying new applications, stacks, and clusters becomes simpler and more streamlined. The visualization of the overall infrastructure has also been highly regarded by reviewers, as it provides a comprehensive view of all components in one place, making management and monitoring tasks easier to handle.

Confusing User Interface: Some users have found the user interface of Portainer to be confusing and have expressed difficulties in completing tasks. They mentioned that navigating through the various menus and options can be overwhelming, leading to a steep learning curve.

Performance Issues: Users have frequently reported experiencing performance issues with Portainer. They have noticed that the software can feel slow, especially when working with large clusters or managing multiple containers simultaneously. This has resulted in delays and frustration during their workflow.

Lack of Additional Features: Many users have expressed the need for additional features in Portainer to enhance its functionality. Specifically, they would like to see more add-ons or extensions available that can extend the capabilities of the software. These additional features could potentially improve productivity and provide more flexibility in managing containerized applications.

Users have made several recommendations for Portainer based on their experience with the product. Firstly, many users find Portainer to be user-friendly and easy to use. They appreciate the fact that it has almost no learning curve and is easy to set up as a self-hosted instance. This makes it a great option for beginners who are new to Docker and Kubernetes management. Secondly, Portainer is highly recommended for managing multiple Docker hosts without using Kubernetes. Users find it effective in overseeing and controlling various Docker environments, making it a valuable tool for both beginners and experts. Lastly, users suggest that Portainer is ideal for rapid deployment of services and troubleshooting in Kubernetes clusters. They praise its ability to manage containers efficiently and consider it an excellent solution for Docker management. Many users highly recommend giving it a try for effective containerization. Overall, users recommend Portainer for its ease of use, flexibility in managing multiple hosts, and its ability to rapid deploy and troubleshoot services in Kubernetes clusters.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 81)
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Ubaidillah Hakim F | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Portainer for manage my docker container cluster for many service that my company use. I already search other similar tools but i think Portainer is the best. Dashboard UI is very simple and complete wee all needed for operate. We face the business problem about pulling new image deployed after process CI is completed, but with webhook feature at business version is solving the problem. Good job for Portainer team.
Sathir M. Mansoor | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our development environment is fully containerized and we used Docker Desktop earlier and the functionality and the price I wasn’t happy, tried rancher it was too complicated and not seemed user friendly, and tried Dockage that was too simple and couldn’t do everything, but the Portainer is simply perfect, able to connect multiple environments, able to update images simply, I got free 3 nodes so I’m using one for my homelab and there was a dedicated widget to connect my Portainer, setup is also very simple, hope the Portainer team doesn’t change the perfect ui and make it too complicated for intermediate users.
Kevin Spharler | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Portainer provides a convenient and easy-to-access dashboard for container management that is intuitive and approachable by users of varying skill levels. Advanced operators can use it to create a wide array of container configurations while novice or unskilled users can easily view basic operating status and start/stop services with the click of a button (permissions allowing).
I used Portainer to easily spin up several services to be demo'd and considered for deployment for business use. Decision makers didn't need to know how the technology worked in order to understand the utility of the Portainer dashboard in running these services, and many of the configurable settings were plainly visible (stop/start, port assignment, logs, etc.).
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Portainer to manage our existing and new Docker containers. With the growing need to implement containers in our business, and in some of our clients' businesses, we needed a robust, secure, and yet an easy-to-use container management solution. Portainer provides us and in the near future, some of our clients, the ability to efficiently manage docker containers, etc.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have recently began transitioning from using many virtual machines each running specific services to a containerized system. Portainer has eased this transition to docker and gives us a well designed and easy to use management interface with great user permissions. This has greatly cut down on our compute requirements allowing downsizing cloud providers, which in turn has saved money and time.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Portainer is a container management tool that simplifies the deployment and management of containerized applications. It offers a user-friendly interface to interact with Docker, Kubernetes, and other container orchestration platforms. The scope of use cases for Portainer can vary based on organizational needs. It's commonly used by small to large enterprises in various industries to streamline container management, enhance collaboration between development and operations teams, and provide a more accessible interface for container orchestration. As a freelancer responsible for maintaining and running various applications, Portainer serves as a valuable tool to streamline container management and orchestration. With its user-friendly interface, Portainer simplifies the deployment and operation of essential applications such as websites, collaboration tools, mail servers, and reverse proxies. It provides an accessible platform for efficiently managing containers, offering features like user access control, monitoring, and logging. For a freelancer overseeing diverse applications across a network, Portainer's centralized management capabilities make it easier to handle tasks ranging from deployment to resource optimization, ultimately enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the client's infrastructure.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Portainer made it a lot easier to manage, monitor and update the docker containers we use for software development, allowing us to save time and avoid errors during devops operations. In the past we needed a devops specialist for trivial tasks as start or stop a container, and now those operations can be done by the developers themselves.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it for the management of our docker containers. There are a lot of use cases for us. The main goal is it to run new software or components with a minimum effort, without changes to infrastructure and separated from other systems. Because Portainer can be run as a docker container too, the effort to run it itself is also reduced to a minimum.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Portainer each day to manage a few servers with all our company services deployed there. In my free time, I use Portainer to manage my Kubernetes cluster, and all my docker instances. The features that come with the business license are awesome, specially: OAuth (which I use in both my personal and job accounts), Automatic stack updates, GitOps features that support monitoring my stacks in GitHub... All of them are a huge save of time, and I highly recommend using the s3 backup feature. Just to be safe in case of disaster
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We were using the community version of Portainer but were missing the ability to delegate rights based on our AD. It's why I decided to order the business edition, it handles this perfectly. We use Portainer to manager docker standalone containers, K3S infrastructure in a same place and in a visual way.
October 24, 2023

Portainer, best choice!

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Allows me to manage everything myself without going through another provider. Can crash quickly if you make a mistake, but the community being so large I find all the necessary information on the forums.
Thibaut Boudier | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I personally use it to take care of any docker container that I have. It simplify a lot of work when stopping or changing projects.<br>It might be used on a wider scale to help k3s environments to be used not only be devOps or engineer with enough knowledge, but also by project manager and other people with less knowledge on this part.<br>Might be tricky to understand how to set up for the first time, but their knowloedge database is stuffed enough to have the answer of our questions.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Portainer is currently used to manage our Docker Swarm environment where we are running multiple in-house and customer services. Portainer has taken the headache out of managing Docker updates by immediately showing you which containers are out of date and giving you a seamless updating capability. Scaling and HA with Docker Swarm is made so much simpler with Portainer, and showing us the environment status through a single pane of glass is cutting down on time spent to know what is going on in the environment.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If you work on a docker this is a 'must have' for You! Working on Portainer is a pleasure now. Very fast answers from technical support, I asked about business license and got an answer after 5minutes! In addition, the ability to pick up a business license for 3 nodes is really cool. I recommend and i'm very satisfied!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Portainer as a GUI to manage docker containers. The business problems it addresses is the complicated management of docker with lots of containers and using the command line. It's way easier to manage docker containers with Portainer due to the friendly Web GUI it provides. It literally makes the management really easy, for updating, creating, recreating and managing the containers.
September 12, 2023

Portaining my containers

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Portainer to access and manage all of our docker environments, its a great tool for users new to docker currently learning the technology, Portainer makes docker easier to understand and reducing the learning curve by showing the "bigger picture";

Also it helps us to make new users take actions very soon.
September 11, 2023

Fast and easy

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Portainer to manage containerized services on for my personal projects and home lab. I have deployed it on Lindode/akamai and AWS as well as locally.

I spend my day job administering Windows and Linux servers. I appreciate that Portainer lets me bring up my stack of services and monitor them from any web browser I choose.

Ahmed Elemam | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have containers deployed around the globe to perform different monitoring tasks and Portainer makes it easier to manage and deploy with ease. Its very useful when it comes to our customer support team who wants to take a quick glance to know that the containers are healthy and doing their job appropriately
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We currently use Portainer to manage a 3 node private test K3S cluster. The aim is to have it run at a client site where we will have 3 dev, 3 test and 6 production K3S nodes.
We want to us Portainer to implement a Kubernetes strategy at our clients to be used in future projects.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We needed lots of containers and database management, with Portainer running on Ubuntu Server, life got very easy, we were able to organize, manage our database, website and storage along with CRM. The interface is smooth, all the details on stacks and containers easy to find.

Managing internal and external ports along with volume management makes it very convenient to organize data. Managing resources for our internal Intranet site and sharing secured documents via secured access all made very easy with containers installed on Portainer.

Separate network for containers made port-opening secured on our interfaces.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use Portainer to manage my organization's Docker and Kubernetes containers. It works with standalone Docker, Docker Swarms, and K8s clusters. It's fantastic that you can attach multiple hubs, manage networks, and all other settings, without memorizing the command line commands and arguments.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Support and use for developers to share distributed resources at different levels and in different access regimes.<br>The integration and monitoring of different host systems and clusters is very easy and the interface can be used intuitively. The effort to manage or add additional resources to individual containers is minimal. The same applies to the management and authentication layers of internal or external users.
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