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Docker vs Google Kubernetes Engine comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 13, 2024

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
56
Ranking in other categories
Development Platforms (1st), Software Supply Chain Security (5th)
Google Kubernetes Engine
Ranking in Container Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Container Management category, the mindshare of Docker is 3.1%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Kubernetes Engine is 2.2%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Management
 

Featured Reviews

Renat Babin - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy with an impressive networking feature
The volumes for persistent storage could be more user friendly right out of the box. I would like an option to just use it as local storage or some kind of NSF or CIF. Or to mount the volume straight to a Google Drive or through a particular cloud storage. It's not that these things are impossible, but you have to do some extra work or configurations.
Abhilash Gopidas - PeerSpot reviewer
The auto-scaling feature helps during peak hours, but the support is not great
The product has no downtime. Automated scaling is a valuable feature. During peak hours, the datasets are on a higher volume. We need scaling in place. Otherwise, there's a degradation in the performance. We might sometimes miss data, or there will be no data sync between systems. Auto-scaling helps deal with performance needs during peak hours. There's no lag time for processing data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is neat and very flexible."
"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."
"I have seen end-to-end performance with Docker. It's a great tool, and it's the most popular container service in the market."
"Kubernetes is the primary container orchestration tool I use with this solution. Docker provides a complete solution for deploying and managing workloads across multiple nodes. Container orchestration has significantly impacted my workload by automating tasks and streamlining operations. The availability of systems like Kubernetes is crucial for planning and managing complete clusters and computing environments. Every client's needs are different, and not one solution fits all."
"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."
"The scalability of Docker is good."
"The solution is easy to deploy for clients so it saves a lot of hassle."
"It is easy to use and deploy."
"The product has valuable security features. It can connect with multiple DevOps tools."
"The initial setup is very easy. We can create our cluster using the command line, or using our console."
"On the tip of a command, you can scale in or scale out, and it offers every robust platform to implement DevOps processes for your automation solutions. The product fully supports the IaC concept."
"The features are typical Kubernetes, but Google One offers a better GUI-based deployment. It's more sophisticated and integrates well with other services, providing a better customer experience."
"The feature that I like the most is the ease of use as compared to AWS. Its ease of use is very high, and I can quickly deploy clusters with a simple template."
"The most valuable aspect of Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) is its managed nature, which significantly reduces the burden on our platform team."
"The main advantage of GKE is that it is a managed service. This means that Google is responsible for managing the master node in the Kubernetes cluster system. As a result, we can focus on deploying applications to the slaves, while Google handles any updates and security patches. The fact that GKE is fully integrated into the Google ecosystem, including solutions such as BigQuery and VertexAI. This makes it easier for us to integrate these tools into our process. This integration ultimately speeds up our time to market and reduces the time and effort spent on managing infrastructure. The managed aspect of GKE allows us to simply deploy and utilize it without having to worry about the technicalities of infrastructure management."
 

Cons

"Docker could improve by having more advanced features."
"The backup compatibility for legacy window stations is an area of concern where improvement is required, especially since my company has certain legacy tools that we are struggling to move."
"Sometimes, we have sync-up issues where the build doesn't get processed due to these sync issues, causing the build to fail. That's one of the drawbacks I see. When we did a huge sync-up, we faced a couple of issues. It takes some time for us to complete the sync-up. For frequent, smaller updates, we haven't had any issues. However, challenges can arise for those who prefer doing everything in one go. This might not necessarily be due to the tool itself but because of the approach of doing everything in a single batch."
"We have found that it is not easy to install it into a Windows system."
"I have encountered network issues while connecting with microservices. I want to optimize the application layers over the bucket. It should also have better documentation."
"The vendor should release a monitoring tool or include monitoring capabilities in Docker"
"The product does not have an extensive documentation. The tool does not have good scenarios. We have to go through the GitHub repository and investigate similar scenarios. Also, if you are copying multiple things, then you can jeopardize the copy number. The copying aspect also lacks a UI part. We also need to limit the memory."
"There are elements of stability that are problematic. One of the most recent upgrades created a major incident on our cloud, whereby the containers were not restarting automatically."
"Our critique is that we have to do too much work to get the cluster production-ready."
"The primary area for improvement would be the complexity involved when working with Google Kubernetes Engine, especially when using Terraform."
"I would like to see the ability to create multiple notebook configurations."
"The user interface could be improved."
"I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten."
"The pricing could be more competitive. It should be cheaper."
"I use the Firebase tool with GKE and it would be helpful if the solution can give notifications when we reach the budget limit."
"I would like the solution to integrate with another Kubernetes product. I would also like it to monitor other platforms. It needs to also include scale-up container in the tool's next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Docker is a free open-source solution. However, there is the Docker Enterprise which is a paid solution."
"Pricing is based on the number of users."
"It's an open-source solution, so it doesn't cost anything"
"The product is not expensive."
"The product is a free open-source tool."
"Docker is a free open-source solution."
"The current cost for us is nothing as an open source."
"We use the open-source version."
"The price for Google Kubernetes Engine could be lower - I'd rate its pricing at three out of five."
"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. The product is competitively priced."
"We are planning to use external support, and hire a commercial partner for it."
"I would rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten. The tool costs around 3000 dollars per month. There are no additional costs apart from these."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"It is competitive, and it is not expensive. It is almost competitive with AWS and the rest of the cloud solutions. We are spending around 3K USD per month. There are four projects that are currently running, and each one is incurring a cost of around 3K USD."
"This is an open source solution, so there is no pricing or licensing."
"Its pricing is good. They bill us only per user. That's nice."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Insurance Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Docker?
Our customers buy the software and the prices are available on Docker Hub. The subscription is typically yearly, and customers will need to buy the subscription directly. They can purchase it thems...
What needs improvement with Docker?
Docker is a time-tested, proven solution with industry-wide applications. There can be challenges with port mapping, however, that's not related to Docker itself.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Kubernetes Engine?
For pricing, Google is considered cheaper compared to AWS, making it suitable for smaller to medium companies concerning cost. I would rate the cost around four out of ten, where ten is the higher ...
What needs improvement with Google Kubernetes Engine?
The management UI could be improved. When looking at the web interface, it feels kind of slow due to the many features involved. The interface could definitely be faster.
 

Also Known As

No data available
GKE
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Philips Lighting, Alpha Vertex, GroupBy, BQ
Find out what your peers are saying about Docker vs. Google Kubernetes Engine and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.