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AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs Docker 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

AWS Cloud Development Kit (...
Ranking in Development Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Docker
Ranking in Development Platforms
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (4th), Software Supply Chain Security (3rd), AI Software Development (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Development Platforms category, the mindshare of AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) is 6.7%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Docker is 34.3%, down from 42.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Docker34.3%
AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK)6.7%
Other59.0%
Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

KA
Mid TypeScript/AWS Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Seamless integration and improved workflow with decent ROI
There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging. The IAM policies could be simplified to make the setup process more straightforward. AWS could also improve the transparency of Lambda's internal processes and provide more visibility into Lambda logs.
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.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The setup process is very straightforward."
"AWS CDK has notably streamlined the deployment process compared to other methods, primarily by defining cloud infrastructure as code."
"One of the most valuable aspects of CDK is its ability to integrate various components seamlessly, such as Lambda functions, API Gateway, DynamoDB, and EventBridge."
"AWS CDK offers seamless integration, which was a significant factor in choosing it for cloud computing."
"You can use AWS CDK to write code to provision infrastructure."
"The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment."
"There are ways of using Docker where you have absolutely no dependencies on the environment that you work in. This allows us to deploy Docker anywhere anytime and this has been most valuable."
"Docker allows you to run multiple virtual machines independently."
"The tool helps us in code versioning. I think it's pretty much easy to use and very straightforward. Even if someone is new to the tool, they can easily start using it with a little guidance or theoretical knowledge. Go through the tool and start using it without much struggle."
"Docker's containerization property is its main selling point."
"The solution helps save costs."
"Docker creates lightweight applications that are easy to manage and scale."
"Docker offers a resilient system with minimal failure chances and optimized performance"
"We find the auto scaling and auto healing functionality of this solution very good."
 

Cons

"There are some issues with different plugins."
"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"They could allow combining multiple languages, such as JavaScript and Python for the platform. At present, we can use only one language."
"Using AWS CDK requires some knowledge of popular programming languages."
"The primary issue we've encountered is pricing. Some customers find the pricing to be somewhat high. Additionally, there's a discrepancy between the promised resource utilization and the actual utilization. The resource utilization calculations don't align with the provided guidelines. So, the pricing and resource utilization calculations could be refined."
"There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging."
"I would like to see a more UI-based tool so that students can easily understand it rather than memorizing all of the Docker commands."
"We are facing multiple issues with the solution's stability."
"The solution is not easy to manage and it is one of the reasons why people introduce orchestration tools to manage it."
"The command line interface could be more intuitive. I constantly struggle with it."
"I would like to see a single package image orchestration bundled together."
"Sometimes, it can become heavy and cause performance issues."
"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."
"Docker management is very difficult when we have a large number of nodes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since AWS CDK is an open-source solution, it's free to use."
"We use the open-source version."
"I would rate the pricing of Docker as ten out of ten"
"Docker is open source. To use a Docker enterprise model, we would need to pay for it."
"This is an open-source solution, so there are no licensing costs."
"The solution offers an open-source version that is free and includes a lot of functionality."
"The current cost for us is nothing as an open source."
"Docker is cost-effective and open-source."
"We are using the open-source version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS CDK?
The most valuable features of the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) are its speed and ease of deployment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CDK?
Over time, I expect AWS to become more cost-efficient and resilient. Although the pricing is currently high, I hope they continue to improve their system, which will lead to cost reductions.
What needs improvement with AWS CDK?
There is room for improvement in the use of EventBridge and the initial setup of CDK, which can be a bit challenging. The IAM policies could be simplified to make the setup process more straightfor...
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) vs. Docker and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.